The tone is set in
Junior & Senior Kindergarten
Two years that set the tone: language, number, and the habit of finishing what you start, in a room built for five-year-old seriousness.
Childhood, taken seriously.
JK through Grade 8 in Oakville. Small classes, teachers you'll know by name, published tuition, and an admissions office that answers in hours — not weeks.
9:15 a.m., Grade 3
The work is real.
A Grade 3 class is rehearsing arguments for Friday's debate — not a worksheet about debating. Down the hall, Kindergarten is counting actual things. The difference sounds small. Over ten years it is everything.
Classes are small enough that written work is read closely and handed back with real comments. Children rise to being taken seriously. That is the whole school, in one sentence.
The fundamentals, mastered in
Lower School · Grades 1–4
Small classes, real books, written work that gets read closely. The fundamentals, taught like they matter — because they do.
Ready for what's next in
Upper School · Grades 5–8
Long-form projects, public speaking, first languages and laboratory science — graduates leave ready for the most demanding secondary schools.
The programs
One school, three chapters
A child can arrive at four and graduate at fourteen ready for the most demanding secondary schools — one community, one standard, the entire way.
Join the waitlistAdmissions
Begin with the waitlist
Tell us about your child once — it takes about 90 seconds. The admissions office is notified the moment you submit, and you can track your place anytime.
- A private link to check your family's status — no calls needed
- A personal reply from admissions within two business days
- Main entry at JK and Grade 5; all grades welcome to list
“Hawthorn made our daughter a writer and a debater. Her secondary school asked where she'd learned to work like that.”
Tuition
Tuition, published
Families deserve the number before the tour. All-inclusive tuition — lunch, materials, and trips — with no surprises in September.
Junior & Senior Kindergarten
$19,800/year
- Ages 3.5 yrs to 6 yrs
- 5 days · 08:30–15:30
- Includes lunch program and all materials.
Lower School · Grades 1–4
$23,400/year
- Ages 6 yrs to 10 yrs
- 5 days · 08:30–15:45
- Includes lunch program, materials, and day excursions.
Upper School · Grades 5–8
$26,800/year
- Ages 10 yrs to 14 yrs
- 5 days · 08:30–16:00
- Includes lunch program, materials, athletics, and overnight trips.
Shown: The Lower School. Every campus publishes its complete schedule — nothing is “call for pricing.”
Hawthorn at a glance
Founded in 1998 and still deliberately small: two schools on one lane, and a head who knows every child's name.
1998Founded in Oakville
JK–Gr. 8One continuous journey
2Schools, one laneOne lane in Oakville
Two schools, sixty seconds apart
The Lower and Upper Schools share one lane, one philosophy, and one head of each — names below, doors open.
The Lower School
40 Hawthorn Lane, Oakville
Margaret EllisHead of the Lower School
(905) 555-0100The Upper School
44 Hawthorn Lane, Oakville
Daniel OkaforHead of the Upper School
(905) 555-0101Practical matters
What families ask
How does admission work?
Inquire online, visit during a school day, then apply. Families hear back at every step within two business days — most within hours.
Which grades accept new students?
Junior Kindergarten and Grade 5 are the main entry points; other grades admit as spaces open. Join the waitlist for any grade and track your place online.
Is tuition really all-inclusive?
Published tuition includes lunch, materials, and program trips. The only additions are optional after-school clubs and the uniform.
Where do graduates go?
Our Grade 8 graduates move on to the region's most demanding secondary schools — and arrive ready. Ask on your visit for this year's placements; we'll name them in person, not in marketing.
Do you offer tuition assistance?
A limited bursary fund supports continuing families through changed circumstances, and merit awards exist at Grade 5 entry. Ask on your visit.
Visit
See a school day in progress
Forty-five minutes on a working morning. Sit in on a class, meet the head of school, and ask anything at all.