Inter-A

Inter-A is one of the many options available to high school students in British Columbia, Canada. The program is based on leadership and is available to students in grades 7-12. Inter-A is situated within Kwantlen Park Secondary School which is part of School District 36 Surrey.

The Inter-A program was devised by Victor Vollrath and John Harper. The two teachers were sharing a classroom and teaching at opposite sides, when they came to the realization that this way of teaching was highly productive for students. In fact, individual students with the skills and motivation to excel maintain this level of productivity to this day. Thus, Inter-A was born.

The program was originally located at Len Shepherd Secondary School. There it remained for many years, and the school was separated into Inter-A and the original Len Shepherd students evenly. Inter-A started off small, with thirty or less students ranging from grades 7-12, as opposed to the regular 8-12 found in most British Columbia high schools.

Inter-A moved to Kwantlen Park Secondary School in 2002, opening the door to many more students. Victor Vollrath and John Harper retired as teachers a year later, but their roots are passed off onto the new teachers. The ideas of teamwork, self-motivation, community service and leadership and creativity that started the program still run strong today, and the program is looked favourably upon by the school district, for it has fallen into its guidelines without jeopardizing its intents.

Inter-A students can be found in the hallways at different times of the day, which suggests that Inter-A has more freedom than its mainstream counterpart. It offers all the electives necessary for graduation and a place at any University or College in British Columbia or in Canada. The main differences are that Physical Education is demanded of the students until graduation, Fine Arts programs are chosen by the students, and the Inter-A Component.

The students are broken off into two categories: Intermediates (grades 8-9) and Seniors (10-12). There are six blocks in the day, as opposed to the standard four to accommodate the average high school attention span. There are also six units of six-weeks per school year, with a report card at the end of each one, as opposed to the two-semester system. Mathematically inclined students thrive in the at-your-own-pace math program, while those who struggle are asked how they can be helped.

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