About
Merriam High School, established in 2020
Merriam High School has been inspected and approved by the Ministry of Education to operate as a private school and grant credits toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
Go to our Courses page to see what classes we are currently offering!
How to Earn Music High School Credits in Ontario
For over 30 years, Merriam School of Music has been a leading pioneer of music education, known throughout Canada and the United States.
Ontario High Schools
Most high school music courses are limited to the instruments that the schools have available, but here you can continue to study your main instrument of choice – many high schools do not offer the option of learning piano due to the lack of space or instruments. During the COVID pandemic, where vocal and woodwind instrument instruction has been either altered or eliminated altogether, we are able to have students of all instruments participate in our course. We are able to incorporate your current weekly lesson into the high school course. You are already committed to learning on your instrument, so our courses combine your current lesson with additional instruction, either synchronous or asynchronous, depending on the grade level. Also, because we are exclusively a music school, each course not only encompasses the curriculum as set out by the Ministry but goes well beyond that. Therefore, the students will have a more extensive knowledge base and skill build after taking our course.
Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM)
In order to gain an equivalent grade 11 music credit towards an OSSD from the RCM program, students must successfully complete their grade 7 practical and theory examinations. For a grade 12 credit, students must successfully complete grade 8 practical and theory examinations. As the RCM structured their program around completion of their own examinations, and not the Ontario curriculum as set out by the Ministry of Education, it would take a student approximately 7-10 years to complete the necessary requirements to qualify for the OSSD equivalents. Our course follows the curriculum requirements set out by the Ministry and can be accomplished over one term. Merriam High School is a high school credit-granting authority as recognized by the Ministry of Education and therefore we can issue the credit directly upon course completion. In contrast, completion of the RCM GR7 and/or 8 exams do not grant you an OSSD credit automatically; you must submit your results to the school and it is granted with the approval of the principal through the school’s Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) program.In order to gain an equivalent grade 11 music credit towards an OSSD from the RCM program, students must successfully complete their grade 7 practical and theory examinations. For a grade 12 credit, students must successfully complete grade 8 practical and theory examinations. As the RCM structured their program around completion of their own examinations, and not the Ontario curriculum as set out by the Ministry of Education, it would take a student approximately 7-10 years to complete the necessary requirements to qualify for the OSSD equivalents. Our course follows the curriculum requirements set out by the Ministry and can be accomplished over one term. Merriam High School is a high school credit-granting authority as recognized by the Ministry of Education and therefore we can issue the credit directly upon course completion. In contrast, completion of the RCM GR7 and/or 8 exams do not grant you an OSSD credit automatically; you must submit your results to the school and it is granted with the approval of the principal through the school’s Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) program.
Merriam High School
Merriam High School provides students with a unique opportunity to earn a high school credit in the same timeline that they would earn any other credit at their current high school. Term schedules are similar and online group classes take place on a weekly basis. In addition, their private lessons will provide a unique one-on-one opportunity for students to hone their skills, receive feedback, and continue further learning, without needing to be at a specific level of proficiency. These private lessons can be completed either in-person or online. Once the courses are completed, Merriam High School will process the course results and send the necessary documentation to the student’s school to be added to their Ontario Secondary School Transcript (OST).