Glenlyon Norfolk School - Victoria, British Columbia

rebecca burrows

We are so happy to have our daughter there. After a not such a great experience in the public school system, we are happy to see her settle into a more structured environment. GNS has a wonderful teaching staff and support system, could not be happier! In the process of applying for our younger son. Thanks!

james boutilier

Glenlyon Norfolk School is a longstanding private school with an outstanding reputation for its sense of community, dedication, and academic excellence. Because it is relatively modest in size, its student body has a sense of pride, intimacy, and cohesion that many larger schools, no doubt, envy. GNS excels at keeping the families of their students informed about the affairs and expectations of the school. Furthermore, it places a premium on encouraging students to expand their horizons by taking part in a wide variety of activities--musical, artistic, athletic--as well as community service. The objective, quite rightly, is to graduate self-confident. high-performing student-citizens who can not only succeed in their careers but give back to their communities.

Ming A

WORST school I have ever been to. It‘s a long story.
No empathy or compassion toward children- They indifferent your kind for some reasons, and they do not treat everyone fairly. Many disgusting thing happened and no body cared, and they even tried to make you shut up.
Racism and Rudeness. Place full of pathetic people. They looks nice but if you been there long enough you would understand they don’t give a shxt. The staff only cares about their benefits, and they would show prejudice towards others. I mean unfairness. I found that some teachers, they would give some students higher marks, even if they did the same as others. These often happens to me and other students from India.
Poor equipment, poor teaching quality
They really ruined the IB system. Can’t believe they could be considered as an IB school. The purpose of IB isn’t making students lose creativity and become robots. Taming students is just not the point. Equipments are much worse than other school, and teachers basically teach normal stuff even poorer than public school and put it in an IB rule bric.

Overall, if u get a chance to go somewhere else, I would say the challenge program in mount doug is ten times more worth it. I am now in grade 11 at oak bay, which really feels much better than the

Overall, this school, indifferent people and give me a great pressure and uncomfortableness. It is not a good place to go.

It was not just me. Many people told me their bad experiences. This includes harassment, purposeful isolation.etc…it isn’t a place for u unless ur ambitious and tough and a teachers pet. Sad story for me.

lisa layera

"Excellent school. Freedom. Customized programs. Caring, thoughtful teachers. A big-hearted community. The perfect place to learn and grow. A place where challenges are embraced.'- That is the unedited review from our 12-year-old daughter who entered for Grade 4 and watched her older brother graduate happily when he spent Grade 12 year at GNS finishing his IB diploma after beginning it internationally. I have directly experienced 'The Beach' and the Junior School, Middle School, and the Senior School via our son and daughter's experience. Our 12-year-old sums it up accurately based on my observations.
We have lived in multiple countries and have a fair share of school experiences under the belt. GNS is very unique for being able to draw upon very strong core values that are timeless and go back whole generations. It is a place that feels 'larger than yourself' and as a result, develops incredibly powerful characteristics around courage, service, work ethic, problem-solving, kindness, fairness, politeness, and perseverance, because these are all parts of the GNS DNA. Remarkably, for being such an old institution it has the dynamism and vision of the kind of organization that one might expect more from Silicon Valley. The GNS I have experienced is very forward-looking. GNS' response to COVID-19 has kept the children's lives largely normalized but very, very safe- their commitment to a plan and their execution has been exemplary as one example. That they have been an authorized IB Diploma program since 1996 is another. They are one of the few schools in all of Canada that runs the IB program through all of the grades- it's impressive to see the curriculum synthesized from the youngest to oldest. If you care about critical thinking, global perspectives, project-based learning, problem-solving, and learning to deal with challenges, GNS is a school that incorporates all of this into its curriculum. This very old institution works extraordinarily hard to deliver a very 21st Century education and I believe they succeed.
The magic lies in the teachers whom I have found to be committed beyond measure and among the kindest and caring I have ever known. The idea that GNS sets out to care about and nurture each child individually is not marketing, I have seen this mission carried out in the classroom, at provincial sporting events, in debate club, at graduation, and remarkably beyond graduation. GNS is more than an ordinary educational institution because what transpires during the school years carries over into life-long friendships, relationships with teachers and families, and in the preparation for a life well-led. Your student won't be a statistic or a test score, they will, however, be challenged to be the best person they can be in character, action, and academics. Worth visiting the campus for yourself and taking in the culture- it is palpable.

If this review seems long it is coming from the heart- this is our last child in school of three and we feel very grateful for the educational experience and community that we have found at GNS. There is recently a new Head, I don't believe the one star reviews reflect the caliber of teachers and environment that we have experienced first-hand.

Candice

The only reason I'm giving this school a one star review is because It needs to be at least one star. The teachers are unqualified and simply read off a PowerPoint. Do not send your kid here, you overpay for something that isn't worth it in the long run. Waste of my time and money send you can do better for your kids.

Butterfield Law

My son has been at GNS since he was a Junior Kindie. We highly recommend the school because it provides a supportive and caring learning environment. He is in Grade 8 and loves the school. His teachers support his exploration and learning. There is a strong sense of community. The students are encouraged to learn, make mistakes, and learn from their errors. The school supports and encourages the unique and the original. There is no sense of a cookie cutter education. There is a sense that GNS wants every child to succeed and is committed to that success. The fees are a lot of money, but the value is priceless. I would sell my car and skip vacations to ensure my child could grow at GNS.
Michael Butterfield

nikky

Racism in this school harvery throw up gave the worst advices ?.

J. Embree

Awesome teachers, facilities, a real community for my son. I'm very thankful we can afford to send our son to this excellent, supportive, first class school.