My Home Away from Home.
Albert College has been called home by many generations of students, both boarding and day. The students and staff at Albert will soon become your extended family. Albert College offers residency to both male and female students from grades seven to post graduate. A "home away from home" to students from across the world, Albert College provides its students with the unique opportunity to learn and understand about other cultures.
There are three residences at Albert College: Baker House, Graham Hall and Victoria Manor. Male boarding students from grades 7-10 live in Baker House, while the senior boys call Graham Hall home. Victoria Manor houses all boarding female students. The junior and senior girls are divided into two different wings. All residences have common rooms with TV/VCR equipment, gaming equipment, lounge furniture, laundry facilities and areas for making light snacks. All rooms are wired for computer access to the Internet and our local network.
The residential lifestyle offers many opportunities for boarding students to become leaders among their peers. The flat senior program is specifically designed to develop leadership skills in young students. Flat seniors assist residential staff in numerous activities, from social events to study hall sign-ins. Day and residential prefects, members of a team of graduate students elected by the school, also provide leadership and support to the student body.
The residential teams are also available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to provide support, friendship, and guidance. At Albert College, students will learn about other cultures and make lifelong friends while also learning a great deal about themselves as individuals. We treat our community of boarders as an extended family that studies, learns, works, plays and grows together.We look forward to welcoming you to our home!
Ashley Ming on Victoria Manor
Grade 11 boarding student from Bermuda, Ashley Ming, has been a student at Albert for the past five years. When asked what she will miss the most about residential life after graduation next year, Ashley replied, “I think I will miss always having someone to talk to and hang out with and ordering pizza on Saturday nights at midnight!” Ashley’s favourite memory from the Manor has been the Halloween Fear Factor Party. “We had a haunted house and ate crazy things. It was so much fun!” replies Ashley. When asked which weekend excursion had been her favourite so far, Ashley mentioned the Kingston trip. She enjoyed the small city and great shopping. Looking back at her five years at Albert and anxiously anticipating graduation in 2010, Ashley said, “Dinner at the Kidds’ home will be my most valuable memory. Mr. Kidd is an awesome cook!”
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“The whole atmosphere at Albert is so warm, wonderful and inviting. We left Albert knowing that this was the only school where we would ever send our kids. Not only did the school offer great programs and have an excellent academic record, but the family environment made us feel like our kids would be nurtured, loved and cared for while they were away from home.”
- Past Parents, Robert and Pam D'Andrade (Barbados)
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“Deborah and I drive past Albert frequently and one or the other of us always mentions our affection for the school and the sense of relief we had while Simon was boarding at Albert. I do not think that Simon would be where he is today without the two years that he spent in the intimate world that Graham Hall provided. It was a stable and predictable environment when he needed those qualities the most. There is no one teacher or experience that I would single out rather it was his integration into the Albert family which was tolerant, flexible, and demanding in a straight-forward way.”
- Alumni Parents, Hew Elcock and Deborah Schuller (Ontario)
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Matthew Foy on Baker House
Grade 12 boarding student, Matthew Foy, has attended Albert for the past five years from Ottawa, Ontario. “The thing I will miss most about residential life is my friends. In residence all your friends are within a few steps of you, it's really great” says Matthew. When Matthew was asked what his favourite weekend residence activities were he remembered going to Canada's Wonderland and paint balling. He said, “Canada’s Wonderland was a blast; I had never been before so going on the Behemoth rollercoaster was a real treat!” Looking back at his five years at Albert, Matthew’s most valuable memory is of being surrounded by many great friends and making memories and friendship that will last a lifetime. Matthew says, “It is hard to feel left out in residence when you are surrounded by great people.”
Five-Day Boarding Programme
The five-day boarding programme provides the best of both worlds - weekends with the family - weekdays to concentrate on school and spend extra time with their teachers and peers. Structured independence in a safe, nurturing environment is what make Albert’s five-day boarding programme unique. Students who have had the opportunity to live away from home for the first time during high school often have a smoother transition to post-secondary studies. Boarding in a familiar, nurturing environment provides students the opportunity to safely explore their independence.
Living at Albert College allows students to develop their independence and self-confidence. Alyssa LeBlanc '09 was a five-day boarding student at Albert College, returning home to Kingston on weekends. After only one year at Albert College, Alyssa graduated an Ontario Scholar, was class valedictorian and the recipient of many awards including the Governor-General’s Academic Medal. “I am not the same person that I was before Albert College. I have worked hard and achieved more than I ever thought was possible. Albert is more than a school, it’s a home and a second family,” says Alyssa. Like those in the over 150 years before her, Alyssa will leave Albert College with the skills required for success at university.