The Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences, usually referred to simply as TOPS is a mathematics- and science-oriented high school program in Toronto, Canada. It is located at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute (MGCI) which is located at Flemingdon Park.
Application And Entrance
To gain acceptance into the program a grade 8 student must apply online or at the school during December or early January. After this, for a fee of around $20 the student will be elligible to write an entrance exam. Based on the exam results, the students' first term marks, and teacher referrals, 60 students will be selected for the program. A student is allowed to drop out of the program and attend their home school at any point once they are selected.
The Program
The students who are part of this program will attend Marc Garneau as their high school. A large percentages of their courses will be considered enriched (for example, the course code will be ENG2D3 for grade 10 English as opposed to ENG2D1 which is regular grade 10 acadamic English). For most of these courses the TOPS students will be working together, seperated from their other peers at MGCI. However for optional courses such as Drama, Computer Engineering, Health and Physical Education, etc, they will have the oppurtunity to mingle with the other students of Marc Garneau.
Recognition
TOPS students have received a handful of scholarships and science fair awards. Four of the teachers in the TOPS program have also received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. In June 2004, Maclean's magazine stated that Marc Garneau was the best high school in Canada, and credited the TOPS program for it. The September 2006 issue of Toronto Life also stated that Marc Garneau was the best high school in Toronto for math and science, once again largely crediting the TOPS program.
Criticism
One criticism of the TOPS program is its ___location. Flemingdon Park is known for its crime rate and some consider it unsafe. Also, Marc Garneau is in general a small school compared to other high school. The school becomes almost full every year with local residents and the TOPS program adds in 60 outsiders.