The Island Oak High School was founded by the Steiner Educational Society, a group of parents and community members in 1995, and opened its doors in September 1996 with a Grade 9 class. In November 1998 our school was certified by the Ministry of Education of British Columbia. Enrollment has increased each year and now Grades 9 to 12 are being offered.

We are a High School Initiative under the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. Typically, one-half to three-quarters of the Grade Nine students entering our school are graduates of a Waldorf School. Sunrise Waldorf School, a Kindergarten to Grade Eight school also located in the Cowichan Valley, provides many of our students. Since 1980, the Sunrise Waldorf School has grown to provide a preschool and K-8 Waldorf education which integrates academic and artistic development at appropriate stages in the growth of the child. Sunrise Waldorf School is also provincially recognised and funded as a Group One Independent School and meets B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum guidelines.

Every year since our founding, a number of boarding students and exchange students have enriched our academic and social life. Waldorf Schools in England, Russia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Colombia, Peru and Australia have sent us students for periods ranging from three months to a year. The opportunity to travel to other countries, to study and learn other languages and immerse themselves in other cultures is an attractive prospect for many of our Grade Ten and Eleven students. This year we will have five boarders and five exchange students from five countries in our classes.