The BC Ministry of Education and Child Care has opened a bond claim process for former students of Phoenix Magnet Academy, a Squamish boarding school that closed partway through the 2024-25 school year.
The school operated as an international boarding school for Grades 8 to 12, and was classified as a group four independent school, meaning it was evaluated by an external evaluation committee at least once every two years, and received a monitoring inspection in the alternate years between.
PMA was based in the Squamish Valley and described its program as combining the standard BC Ministry of Education curriculum with experiential education, supported by dedicated academic counselling and experiential education staff alongside its academic teaching team.
The school operated with small class sizes and said it aimed to prepare students for life beyond university, not just for university admission itself. Under Head of School Geoff Taylor, who holds a BA in English and a Master of Education in Curriculum, the school drew an international student body, including students from Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, Cuba, Japan and China.
As a condition of its Group 4 certification, the school was required to maintain a bond held by the province. That bond is designed to provide a prorated, not full, repayment of fees to students in the case that courses went uncompleted because a school closes or has its certification suspended or cancelled. Former PMA students can now file a claim against that bond if they paid for courses that were scheduled to begin after July 1, 2024, and for which they never received a final grade.
According to the claim application, the limitation period for filing runs until June 30, 2027, and no claims will be accepted after that date. The ministry has said it will not begin assessing claims until after that deadline passes, a process intended to give all potential claimants equal time to come forward. The application also notes that submitting a claim does not guarantee any repayment, and that the timeline for review and refund will depend on the number and complexity of claims received.
To apply, claimants need a six digit identification number issued by the ministry’s Independent Schools Office. Those who were minors at the time of the school’s closure must have a parent or guardian submit the claim on their behalf, since applications submitted by minors are not considered valid. Anyone who has not received a claim number can contact the Independent Schools Office at EDUC.IndependentSchoolsOffice@gov.bc.ca.
