French Immersion: Learning in French

French Exchange Information Meetings

The International Education Services Department is pleased to announce that we are offering WCDSB grade 10 students an immersive, reciprocal Exchange opportunity in the Brittany and Loire Regions of France. Join us for the information sessions to learn more about our Exchange opportunity for Grade 10 students taking Core or French Immersion in 2026-27.

Click here for a PDF poster of the French Exchange Information Meetings

Information Session Details

Dates: January 12, 2026 at 7:00pm to 8:00pm at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School or January 15, 2026 at 6:00pm to 7:00pm at St. David Catholic Secondary School.

Click here to register for the French Exchange Information Meetings

Secondary French Immersion (FI) Program & Transportation Update

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board continues to expand its secondary French Immersion (FI) offerings, with programs now available at St. David CSS (since 2023) and St. Benedict CSS (since 2024), and the new school being built in East Kitchener set to open in 2026. As part of this growth, the Board is aligning transportation services for FI students with the existing transportation procedure APO012 to ensure consistency and equity across all sites. Under this alignment, transportation will continue for current Grades 10 and 11 Out of Boundary FI students at St. David until their graduation. Grade 9 FI students living in the future 7-12 school boundary who started at St. David in 2025/26 will continue to receive busing in 2025/26, before transitioning to the new school for Grade 10 in 2026/27.

In 2026/27:

Students graduating from St Anne (K) will attend the new 7-12 school in East Kitchener and will receive busing in accordance with APO012 if they are in the school’s English catchment area.
Students graduating from Sir Edgar Bauer will continue to attend St David and will continue receive busing in accordance with APO012 if they are in the school’s English catchment area.
Students graduating from Our Lady of Fatima will continue to attend St. Benedict and will continue to receive busing in accordance with APO012 if they are in the school’s English catchment area.

Effective September 2026, FI students attending St. David, St. Benedict or the new 7-12 school for French Immersion from outside a school’s English boundaries will not be eligible for transportation, with the exception of FI Students in grades 11 & 12 that graduated from St Anne (K), who will continue to receive hub-style transportation to St. David until they graduate.

French Immersion Students from St. Anne Kitchener

French Immersion: Transition to Secondary Q and A

French Immersion at St. Benedicts Cambridge

A preview image of PDF file: French Immersion Pathway Information

Following the French Immersion Pathway

Grades 9 – 12

In Secondary school, French Immersion students take 10 courses in French: four in French language, and 6 in which other content subjects that are taught in French. One grade 9 French credit, either Core or Immersion, is required to obtain a Secondary School diploma. French Immersion courses in grades 10-12 are optional and lead to a certificate of French Immersion studies, upon graduation. The prerequisite for the grade 9 French Immersion course is 3200 hours of French instruction in elementary school.

Registration for French Immersion courses is done through the course selection process. It will be assumed that grade 8 French Immersion students are attending their feeder French Immersion school unless families tell their elementary school otherwise. Grade 9 students following the French Immersion Pathway take the following courses in grade 9:

Compulsory Courses (French):