Westmount Secondary School

Westmount Secondary School is located at 39 Montcalm Dr Hamilton Ontario, and is a member of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. The school opened in 1961, and has a 2009–10 enrolment of 1217 students. The school is a member of the Canadian Coalition of Self-Directed Learning, 1 of 8 schools in Canada. Westmount is also known for its Sports Academy. Westmount also offers gifted classes, special education classes, as well as an ESL programming for students with needs.Since 1990, Westmount has operated under a self-directed learning program, more commonly known as self-paced, environment, where the students work at their own pace. They are able to carry over unfinished courses into the next semester, or fast track courses, finishing in half a semester. This unique teaching approach draws students from all over the Greater Hamilton Area. It is one of the only schools with this program in Canada, and often plays host to international visitors wishing to view the teaching process in person. It is also home to a 'sports academy', in which students looking to gain a career in professional sports may hone their skills. Due to the self pacing program, they are also able to miss school to attend championships and not fall behind. Westmount is also home to a newly instituted Advanced Placement program, and one of Hamilton's best gifted programs. Westmount has a growing media arts and animation program, and owns a Macintosh computer lab with a separate Macintosh network. Approximately 35% of computers used at Westmount are Apple Mac computers.Westmount is an extremely multicultural school. Its primary language spoken, after English, is Arabic. There are both Christian and Muslim prayer societies, with the Muslim prayer group meeting daily to fulfil salat.