When the environment changes, the kid changes.
Mentorship that’s real. Life skills taught alongside the subjects. Support that catches the struggling student. Challenge that pushes the strong one.
- 10–18 students / class
- 20 years in operation
Four reasons families make the move.
Public high school is too big to see your kid.
At DA, every student is known by every teacher. Class sizes of 10–18. No rotating teachers. No strikes. No disappearing.
Your child has more in them — and you can see it.
Most marks problems are knowledge problems. Fix the foundation and the marks follow. Individual attention, expert teachers, and a founder who won’t let a student fall behind.
After Grade 11, there’s no more runway.
Grade 12 decides. Grade 11 prepares. Grade 9 shapes who shows up. We treat Grade 9 and 10 as the years that build the student — not as filler before university prep.
The reason math feels impossible isn’t that it’s difficult.
Bright students hit walls when a foundation gap from earlier years catches up. DA teachers diagnose the gap and teach the course properly — not just the homework.
Most Grade 12s aren't ready for first year. Ours are.
University doesn’t grade on effort. It grades on output. We teach independent work, real research, and the academic stamina that first year demands — starting in Grade 9, not in panic mode in Grade 12.
DA doesn't stop at the subject. We teach the student behind it.
We build the habits and mindset that carry a student through high school and beyond — focus that holds for two-hour exams, calm under pressure when stakes are real, and the quiet discipline that turns ability into results.
This isn’t a program bolted on. It’s part of how the school runs every day.
Breathing & meditation
Settles a student before a test, a presentation, a hard conversation.
Two-minute reset before every major assessment.
Self-directed motivation
Students learn to stay motivated toward their own goals — not someone else’s expectations.
Weekly “why this matters to me” check-in.
Discipline & goal-setting
Taught as skills, not lectured as values.
Monday plan · Friday review · own the week.
Positive thinking
Practised, not preached.
Reframe drill after every graded mistake.
The four things that make high school here different.
Diagnostic approach
We diagnose, then we close. A weak foundation doesn’t get reviewed away — it gets fixed. We assess every incoming student and rebuild the gaps that decide first-term marks.
Selective by intention
Not every student is right for DA. We’re looking for students who are ready to grow — or ready to find out they can.
Family-like environment
A school this size feels like a family. Every teacher knows every student. Older students look out for younger ones, friendships cross grades, and no one slips through the cracks.
Real high school
Student council, in-school events, school trips, graduation. Tight-knit community.
Where our graduates go.
Our students set real goals — university acceptances, specific marks, projects worth showing — and we help them get there. Specific outcomes with a plan behind them, weekly check-ins, and a teacher who notices when the work starts to slip.
The goal is theirs. The accountability is ours.
- University of Toronto
TORONTO, ON
43.66°N · 79.40°W
- Queen’s
KINGSTON, ON
44.23°N · 76.49°W
- McGill
MONTRÉAL, QC
45.50°N · 73.57°W
- Ryerson
TORONTO, ON
43.66°N · 79.38°W
- Waterloo
WATERLOO, ON
43.47°N · 80.54°W
- Western
LONDON, ON
43.01°N · 81.27°W
- Schulich / York
TORONTO, ON
43.77°N · 79.50°W
- Guelph
GUELPH, ON
43.53°N · 80.23°W
Every graduate, accepted to every institution they applied to.
Teachers who know your child — and are willing to help.
Every teacher at DA is hand-picked by our founder, Dr. Marina Blumin. Masters and PhD-level credentials, or university graduates who have mastered the subject they teach. Patience, multiple ways of explaining an idea, and smart use of technology are requirements — not extras.
- Masters, PhD, and subject-specialist university graduates.
- Patient, methodical, willing to re-teach a concept in three different ways.
- Extra help built into the week — not an afterthought.
- IEP accommodations attended to directly by teachers and academic leadership.
Get more information
With our academic director. We reply within one business day.
One business day. No mailing list.
Book a meeting with our academic director — or request a tour.
The meeting is the higher-intent path for families already considering a move. The tour is the lower-friction path if you’re earlier in the process.
Dr. Marina Blumin
Dr. Marina Blumin founded Discovery Academy on one principle: improve the student’s knowledge and the marks follow. She spent 20 years at the University of Toronto and has taught mathematics for more than 40 years. Every teacher on our staff is selected by her. Every student’s progress is her concern.
Every teacher, personally selected.
- 20 years at the University of Toronto.
- 40+ years teaching mathematics.
- Personally selects every teacher at DA.
- Known across the GTA for teaching Grades 9–12 math in a way students actually understand.
Full Ontario curriculum, all core subjects.
A selection below. Additional courses available upon request.
Mathematics
6 COURSES
Sciences
5 COURSES
Social Sciences & Humanities
4 COURSES
Sciences
5 COURSES
The specifics parents ask first.
Includes after-school extra help, 3–4 PM daily.
All subjects. Included in tuition.
Subject-specialist teacher in every class.
Attended to by teachers and academic leadership.
MIDENT 884964.
Founded in 2006 in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
What Grade 9–12 parents ask most.
Don’t see your question? Ask it on the booking form.
My child is in Grade 10 (or 11). Is it too late to transfer?
No. Most families come to us mid-high-school. The earlier we see your child, the more we can do — but a transfer in Grade 11 still changes Grade 12 outcomes.
Will the OSSD credits transfer cleanly?
Yes. DA is OSSD credit-granting (MIDENT 884964). Credits earned at DA carry directly into university applications.
What’s the phone policy?
Phones are not used during class time. We don’t confiscate — we set the expectation and we hold it. The culture of the school makes it easier than parents expect.
How does extra help actually work?
3:00–4:00 PM daily, with the same teacher who taught the class. All subjects. Included in tuition. It’s how marks problems get solved before they show up on a report card.
What about university prep/guidance?
Academic leadership tracks every Grade 11 and 12 student. References are written by teachers who actually know your child. Applications are reviewed by staff who’ve seen the destinations our graduates reach.
My child has specific learning needs. Can DA accommodate?
Yes. IEP accommodations are attended to directly by classroom teachers and academic leadership. Small classes make real individualisation possible.
What do you report to parents?
We report specifics — not just letter grades. If your child is falling behind, you hear from us before the report card.
Won't being two grades ahead burn my child out?
No — because we don’t accelerate by piling on volume. We teach harder material more deeply, with smaller classes and more support. Strong students find it engaging, not exhausting.
Book a meeting with our academic director — or request a tour.
The meeting is the higher-intent path for families already considering a move. The tour is the lower-friction path if you’re earlier in the process.
Get more information
With our academic director. We reply within one business day.
One business day. No mailing list.