Students learning

School of the Greats

Every Saturday morning, our campus welcomes around 120 students in grades 1 to 6 from three Ottawa elementary schools. Over 50 uOttawa student volunteers help them learn through play, lessons, and workshops.

Our mission

Launched in Montreal in 2015 and now offered in Ottawa, the School of the Greats program is an initiative aimed at students from at-risk communities, to help them succeed in school. Today, we can see its positive effects on youth, both in terms of their classroom motivation and level of engagement and thirst for learning. 

Young students doing robotics

A typical day

8:55 a.m.: Students arrive by schoolbus 

9 a.m.: Group breakfast  

9:15 a.m.: French activity* 

10:15 a.m. Mathematics activity* 

11 a.m.: Introduction to science activity (science and computer science)* 

Noon: Return home  

* Schedule for information purposes only. Activities may vary. 

student with her computer

Our resources


Students can benefit from many educational resources on campus and have access to a range of tools to help them learn experientially, for example, through material adapted to their age. The campus learning environment is a motivation for those both big and small. 

Gee-Gee waving flag

Volunteering with the School of the Greats

Are you a uOttawa student? Would you like to work with us to guide these students? We’re looking for dynamic, responsible and engaging Gee-Gees who’d like to help our youngest to reach their full potential. Your volunteer hours can count for the Extracurricular Volunteering (EV) or the Community Service Learning (CSL) program. Volunteer hours you enter appear on your uOttawa Co-Curricular Record.

In uoZone, search for :
#93 Mentoring in French and in mathematics
#94 Mentoring in science and computer science