Student Life

Campus Life

Live where you learn...love where you live!

The KES Campus Life Program provides an enhanced, academically-motivated environment developing confident students who are challenged to be more, in a safe, welcoming, and encouraging community, while striving to reach their unique potentials as healthy, well-rounded, global citizens.
  • All members of the KES Community make treating one another with dignity and respect a priority.
  • Learning is best achieved in a well-balanced and stimulating environment, which values the body, mind, and spirit.
  • Meaningful, lifelong, worldwide friendships and valuable lessons learned outside of the classroom are some of the most significant elements of the KES experience.
  • By challenging, inspiring, and supporting our students, we can help them to step outside of their comfort zones, build confidence, and live the life they have dreamed of living.
  • Little things are big things, and qualities such as having fun, being kind, and having an open mind are essential and will serve you well throughout life.

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  • Why choose a boarding school?

    The boarding experience gives students and parents the gift of less time spent in the car and more time focusing on education, extra-curricular activities, and character development.
    Learn More

Home Away From Home

Boarding schools are a home away from home for many children whose parents are looking to give their children the tools they need to do and be more. Enrolling your child in a boarding school means giving them the freedom to form lifelong friendships and experience an educational experience unlike any other. Parents send their children to KES because they know they are providing them with the best opportunities to be more.
King’s-Edgehill School is proud to be a Canadian Accredited Independent School (CAIS) boarding school. Our family consists of 350 university-bound students from Canada, North America and around the globe. We not only offer outstanding academic programming, including the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, but we also strive to provide the best in athletics, arts, and extra-curricular activities for all KES students. 

Our students are not only ahead academically – they are also taught resilience, leadership skills, and independence. These skills stay with our students long after they graduate. 

Our boarding students start their day with breakfast between 7:00 and 7:45 am, followed by a room inspection. Then at 8:10 am students congregate in either the Chapel, for assembly or for their advisor meeting. Then it’s off to class until lunchtime around noon. After lunch, there are more classes until 2:30 pm when students then participate in sports and clubs until supper at 5:30 pm. Supper is followed by free time and/or clubs, followed by prep and then more free time and, of course, a delicious evening snack! Lights out start at 9:45 pm for our Junior School, with everyone’s lights out by 10:30 pm.
 
Students are provided with healthy and tasty food options thanks to Chartwells, our food service provider. As any of our students will tell you, they are amazing! Chartwells offers cooking nights for students and prides themselves in producing sustainable, creative and delicious food to our students.
A Day in the Life of a Boarding Student
  • 7:00-7:45 – Breakfast (Check in with Houseparent in the Cafeteria)
  • 7:50 – Room Inspection
  • 8:00 – Clear out
  • 8:10 – Chapel/Assembly/Advisor meetings
    (Gr.’s 6-10 Mon/Thurs Chapel & Gr.’s 11-12 Tues/Fri Chapel, General Assembly on Wednesdays)
  • 8:35-12:00/12:45 – Classes
  • 12:00-1:30 – Lunch (Junior lunch is 12:00-12:45; Senior lunch is 12:45-1:30)
  • 1:30-2:30 – Classes
  • 2:30-4:30 – Sports and clubs for Junior School
  • 2:30-3:00 – Tutorial period for Senior School
  • 3:15-5:00 – Sports for Senior School
  • 5:30-6:15 – Supper
  • 6:15-7:10 – Free time and clubs
  • 7:10 – Call up for evening prep
  • 7:30-9:30 – Evening prep
  • 9:30-10:00 – Free time and evening snack
  • 10:00 – Call up for lights out
  • 10:30 – Lights out
* Prep for Juniors (Grades 7 and 8) is from 7:30-9:00 pm, with lights out at 9:45 pm.
* Sunday-Thursday following prep is “Quiet House” (no loud music and quiet in hallways).

Extracurricular Activities

At King’s-Edgehill School we understand the importance of keeping boarding students engaged and energized. To keep things fresh and stimulating, the extracurricular activities available to KES boarding students vary in scope and include events on and off campus.
Whether it is venturing to Acadia University to watch a musical or taking a skating trip to the Halifax Oval, there is no shortage of things to do on weekends for King’s-Edgehill students. Thanks to our staff chaperones, students have the option to take a weekend shopping trip to Halifax, visit a film festival, watch a Ted Talk or participate in a day trip to historical Peggy’s Cove. For students interested in sports, King’s-Edgehill has a 3-on-3 basketball league that meets every Wednesday evening. Weekend evenings are full of surprises, including ping-pong tournaments in the gym and other co-curricular activities. 

Thanks to our shuttle service, students never need to worry about transportation to and from their weekend trips! And for those students who wish to enjoy their weekends on campus, they have the freedom to access the campus gym and pool or participate in evening intramural leagues, sledding, or playing hockey on Long Pond. Of course, we also encourage some downtime in the student lounge or house common room areas.
 
Residence life events, such as the Campus Cup, are also an important part of life on campus for students. From decorating gingerbread houses and carving pumpkins, to competing in Sunday Night “Minute to Win It” challenges, and “Taxi Trivia”, there are several events where flat members come together for friendly challenges which are all about having fun and bonding with one another. There is always something to do for KES students! Review our Weekend Programming flyer.

Trips and Travel

At King’s-Edgehill School learning goes beyond the classroom, beyond the local community, and sometimes beyond the province and country. Through ample travel and volunteer opportunities, our students are enriched with worldly education.
While some private schools close during the breaks, King’s-Edgehill School offers programming during all breaks (except for Christmas). In the past, students have spent their breaks here in Nova Scotia and as far away as Africa or Europe. Thanksgiving break offers home stays or a local surfing and yoga trip, January break affords the chance to go skiing and there are usually several March Break trips to choose from including touring Europe and Africa or hiking in Costa Rica or the US. The trips can change from year to year, but every year there are enriching trips and programming offered for our students to take advantage of. And the list goes on and on, our trips are often based on the interests of the students in any given year.

From surfing in the Atlantic Ocean and skiing at some of the snowiest hills in Eastern North America to reaching new heights on Mount Kilimanjaro and taking cooking lessons under the Tuscan sun, our travel options are varied, appealing, and exciting.
King’s-Edgehill School is located in Mi'kma'ki, the unceded ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq People.