Located along Canada's Atlantic coast, Nova Scotia is a quiet, industrious community of modern cities, bustling towns, and coastal and rural villages.

Geographically, we're centrally located: next to the northeastern United States, less than two hours' flight from Boston and New York, or from Toronto and Montreal. 

Halifax, the capital, offers an international airport with connections to Europe, Central and South America, and Mexico.

But Nova Scotia is worlds away from the traffic jammed streets, pollution, and problems of a major city.

Serene.  Scenic.  Safe. These are the most common words used to describe Nova Scotia by the many visitors who enjoy our beaches, parks, and resorts. 

Nova Scotia offers a perfect ocean playground for a wealth of activities: from sailing, wind surfing, and swimming; to hiking, biking, and golfing; to skiing, skating, and hockey. 

Our temperate climate allows a wide range of outdoor activities in all four seasons throughout the year. Nova Scotia's history is as old as Canada itself. First peopled by Mi’kmaq 10,000 years ago, Nova Scotia has seen immigrants from the British Isles and Europe for over 200 years.  Today, people of African and Asian descent also enjoy their distinct cultures.  They give our communities a cosmopolitan outlook that celebrates our rich, multi-cultural heritage in festivals, concerts, and exhibitions all year round.

Recognized by the United Nations for our quality of life, Nova Scotians enjoy state of the art medical facilities, varied cultural and sports activities, and a safe, clean environment.

Nova Scotia is an ideal place in which to live and the perfect location to learn and grow.

A Nova Scotian education is a North American education.  It is a wonderful and safe immersion in the language, music, art, and lifestyle of North America. And an ideal way to develop social and business connections for a lifetime.

Our public education system is one of the best in the world.  The philosophy is simple: prepare students for continued success in post-secondary studies or the workplace. The results speak for themselves.  Most of our graduates pursue post-secondary training.  You'll find our graduates at universities across Canada and the US, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT.

Many international students come to Nova Scotia for their last year of secondary studies.  Their studies and experience prepare them to enter a Canadian or American university and succeed in the program of their choice.

"Dynamic" best describes our approach to education.  Students enjoy a wide variety of academic activities focusing on the arts and sciences, languages, and computers.  Courses are taught under the careful supervision of qualified teachers.  All are certified professionals.  Many have postgraduate degrees and are published authors in education.  And Nova Scotia teachers regularly take top honours in national competitions for innovation in teaching.
A child’s education doesn't end with the last bell of the day. Students can choose from any number of extra curricular activities; outdoor pursuits include soccer, track and field, skiing, rugby, golf, and scuba diving.  There are drama and music programs, student governments, debating and yearbook clubs-even stock market clubs!

There are six regional school boards in the province accept international students, and most schools are located throughout the province in both small and large communities.

The communities range from the urban capital region of the province, Halifax; the industrial area of Sydney, Cape Breton; the commercial centres of Truro, Bridgewater, Yarmouth, Kentville, Antigonish, and Amherst; to the rural areas of Oxford, Barrington Passage, Stellarton, and Bridgetown. The rural areas vary from fishing communities found along the Atlantic coast to farming communities and small regional centres of northern Nova Scotia and the Annapolis Valley.

 All schools follow the curriculum set by the provincial government, yet each has its own unique characteristics in academic programs and extra-curricular activities.

Language concerns are well looked after in Nova Scotia.  We are a leader in language training, especially in the area of English or French as a second language.

In today's knowledge-based economy, education and skills are the keys to global competitiveness.  Nova Scotia's public education system prepares its graduates to compete and succeed in the global economy.

Nova Scotians have always placed great importance on education. This small Canadian province, with a population of less than a million people, is home to 11 universities providing programs at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.  Plus, French and English community college systems offer skills training that meets the changing needs of the labour market.

 The foundation of our successful post-secondary institutions is a public school system that is among the best in the world.

Nova Scotia offers:

• a quality of life second to none in the world - the United Nations has named Canada as the best place to live in the world

• a safe, clean environment and affordable cost of living

• a choice of rural, urban, and suburban lifestyles with all the cultural amenities 

• a health care system that is among the best in the world

• a state-of-the-art telecommunications system, with more Internet users per capita than anywhere else in Canada

• more universities per capita than anywhere else in Canada, offering superior education in all programs including science and technology, all the professions, fine arts, and music

• a public school system that can accommodate both gifted and challenged children-French immersion and English as a second language programs are also available

For more information on Nova Scotia please visit http://explore.gov.ns.ca