Officials with a new private school to open in Summerland in fall expect an enrolment of 60 to 70 students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6.
Cindy Leung, operations director for the new Unisus International School, said the school, at the site of the former Glenfir School, will draw students from the central and south Okanagan when it opens in fall.
“The interest is in Penticton, Kelowna, West Kelowna and Summerland,” she said.
The school will also construct a dormitory to house international students and Canadian students from outside the region. However, Leung said the building will not be ready by the time the school year begins in September.
The site of the dormitory has been changed and it will now be constructed near the tennis courts behind the school building.
The foundation work on the dormitory will begin in summer. Once completed, the dormitory will be able to accommodate up to 100 students.
The school will follow the International Baccalaureate program when it opens.
For the first year, it will offer Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, with higher grades being added in future years. The first students expected to graduate from the school in the spring of 2022.
Leung said if the initial classes are small, the school may have split classes, with two grades in one classroom.
“Starting up a school is not easy,” Leung said.
The school has hired its founding head of school and is completing the hiring of a junior principal.