Financial Aid
Celebrating Excellence
St. John’s Academy offers a range of scholarships designed to recognize and reward the students who exemplify our values of curiosity, courage, and care. Entrance scholarships celebrate academic achievement, community involvement, global citizenship, and geographic diversity. Internal awards honour those who lead quietly and contribute generously to the life of the school. Our Endeavour Awards offer three years of full tuition to three exceptional students entering Grade 10 each year.
Entrance Scholarships
Our entrance scholarships are awarded to exceptional new students who bring academic excellence, personal character, and a genuine commitment to contributing to our community. Each scholarship is a one-year award applicable to a student’s first year of enrollment, and recipients are celebrated as an integral part of the St. John’s Academy community from the moment they arrive.
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This scholarship recognizes new students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and a genuine love of learning. Valued at up to 50% of first-year tuition, it is awarded to students who arrive at St. John’s Academy ready to engage deeply with their studies and take on leadership opportunities that enrich the school community around them.
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This scholarship honours incoming students who have shown a meaningful commitment to service, active citizenship, and positive contribution to the communities they are part of. Valued at up to 25% of first-year tuition, it recognizes students who understand that who you are beyond the classroom matters just as much as what you achieve within it, and who are eager to carry that spirit into life at St. John’s Academy.
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This scholarship was created to welcome outstanding students from remote or underserved communities, recognizing that access to independent education can look very different depending on where a student calls home. Valued at up to 25% of first-year tuition, it is awarded to students who demonstrate a strong commitment to learning and community engagement, and who will bring a perspective to St. John’s Academy that makes our school richer for their presence.
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This scholarship welcomes exceptional international students who embody the spirit of global citizenship: students who lead with awareness, engage with the world around them, and are committed to contributing meaningfully wherever they go. Valued at up to 50% of first-year tuition, recipients bring their unique perspectives, experiences, and voices to the St. John’s Academy community, enriching the lives of every student they learn alongside.
Internal Awards
At St. John’s Academy, some of our most meaningful recognition comes not from an application, but from the people who know our students best. The following awards are nominated and selected by our Head of School and Senior Education Leadership Team, a reflection of the deep attention we pay to every member of our community and the values we see lived out in our hallways, on our fields, and along the shores of Shawnigan Lake every day.
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The Seawolf Identity Award recognizes the students who embody what it truly means to be part of this community. Awarded to two Junior School students and two Senior School students each year, it celebrates those who lead by example, show up for their peers, and bring the Seawolf spirit to life in everything they do, whether that looks like bold leadership, quiet encouragement, or an adventurous willingness to try something new. Each award is valued at $1,000 and recipients are selected through the thoughtful recommendation of our educators and leadership team.
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Named in honour of the founding Head of School of St. John’s Academy, the Dave Pontich Legacy Award is one of our most deeply felt recognitions. It is awarded each year to a student who has demonstrated exceptional resilience, meaningful personal growth, and the kind of quiet, steady leadership that makes everyone around them better. Selected entirely through staff nomination, this award cannot be applied for; it can only be earned through the character a student shows up with every single day. Valued at $5,000.
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Generously established by the Hotchen/McNulty family, this scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating Grade 12 student who has shown a genuine and sustained commitment to the health and wellbeing of those around them and who intends to pursue a career in the health care sector. It is a celebration of compassion as much as it is of ambition, and a reminder that some of the most important contributions a person can make are the ones that help others feel well, cared for, and seen. Valued at $1,000, recipients are selected by application through a letter to the selection committee.
Bursaries
St. John’s Academy Shawnigan Lake provides need-based bursaries to ensure qualified students can access our education regardless of financial barriers. Bursaries are separate from merit scholarships and are granted solely on demonstrated financial need. SJASL uses Apple Financial Services to conduct an independent, confidential analysis of family financial capacity. Apple Financial evaluates total income, assets, expenses, and liabilities to provide a neutral award recommendation to the school.
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When filing your application, please submit one application per household; families with multiple students in the same home do not need to submit more than one application.
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St. John’s Academy will notify families of award decisions following Apple Financial Service’s evaluation.
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Award decisions are impartial, with tuition adjustments recommended by a neutral third party (Apple Financial Services).
The Endeavour Awards
The Endeavour Awards are St. John’s Academy’s most prestigious scholarships: three full-tuition awards offered each year to exceptional students entering Grade 10 and carried through to graduation at the end of Grade 12. One award is designated for a local day student, one for a Canadian boarding student, and one for an international boarding student, reflecting our commitment to building a senior school community that is as diverse and accomplished as it is driven.
The selection process is rigorous and competitive, spanning academic transcripts, personal statements, reference letters, a collaborative assessment, and a formal interview with school leadership. Awards are renewed annually based on academic performance, pathway engagement, and continued contribution to the school community.
Applications open in November each year, with a deadline of February 15. Formal offers are issued in March alongside standard admissions notifications.
Leadership & Representation
Endeavour recipients are students who have already shown what they are capable of and are ready to step into one of St. John’s Academy senior pursuits, the IB Diploma Programme, WILD, CREATE, BEACON, or COMPASS, with purpose, ambition, and a genuine desire to contribute to the life of the school around them. As Endeavour Scholars, they take on roles as student leaders, peer mentors, and ambassadors for everything St. John’s Academy stands for.