High School Semester Course

Originally published in the Communicator Magazine, July/August 2026.

At first glance, a high school classroom may seem an unlikely place to discover the magic of radio. Yet that is exactly what happened when our July 2026 Summer School RF Communications course introduced a group of students to the world of Amateur Radio—and the results were extraordinary [The Communicator, September–October [YEAR]]. By the end of that program, 19 students had earned their Canadian Basic Amateur Radio Certificate, several with Honours (and HF privileges), while three went on to achieve Advanced certification.

That remarkable beginning inspired high school electronics teacher Adam Drake, VE7ZAL, himself a graduate of my Surrey Amateur Radio Communications Basic course, to think bigger. He applied to the Surrey School Board for permission to turn the idea into a full-semester credit course: 17 weeks long, with five 80-minute classes each week, first thing every morning. Approval came through, and once again I was invited to help teach the RF and amateur radio portions. I accepted—though not without some hesitation, as dawn has never been my favourite hour. Still, the Summer School experience had been so rewarding that I was eager to see what might happen when the subject was given room to breathe over an entire term. What followed was not simply a repeat of the summer's success, but a far more complex, complete, and ultimately more revealing, experience.

For someone who left school 55 years ago—and who is more than four times the age of these Grade 11 and 12 students—it offered an eye-opening glimpse into the realities of today's classroom. Kwantlen Park High School, an inner-city school serving many immigrant families, is shaped in part by the challenges that come with language barriers and varied educational backgrounds. From the outset, students were told there was no obligation to write the Amateur Radio exam. A passing mark—and three course credits—could be earned by completing two assignments built around electronics principles and kit construction. Out of 30 students, about a third had deliberately chosen the course and were genuinely curious about the subject and the careers it might lead to. Another third were willing to give it a try because it sounded interesting. The rest had ended up there simply because their first-choice elective was unavailable.

That uneven starting point soon made itself felt. Two students never appeared at all. A few others drifted into class late, half-awake or distracted by video games. Punctuality and attendance were not what they might once have been, and Adam, with the calm realism of an experienced teacher, helped me understand that this too was part of the modern classroom. But if that had been the whole story, it would hardly be worth telling. The real story was what happened when curiosity took hold.

We brought in a number of guest presenters, and their visits changed the atmosphere in the room. These were people who knew both Amateur Radio and the professional RF world firsthand, and they shared their new knowledge with generosity and enthusiasm. For the students, it was a chance to step beyond theory and textbooks and see where these skills could lead in the real world. For me, it was a pleasure to watch the subject come alive for the students. I remain deeply grateful to them for helping make that happen.

The students who had chosen the course responded exactly as one might hope. They overcame mic fright, learned to use transceivers, practised operating procedures, and threw themselves into the hands-on side of radio. Some built an antenna. Two even tried their hand at CW. When exam time arrived, several needed more than one attempt to reach the required 70%, but they persisted. By the end of June, eleven students had earned a VE or VA7 callsign, several with Honours. In a classroom where success was never guaranteed, that felt not only hard-won, but genuinely inspiring. Kudos to those that applied themselves.

To me, that makes this a true success story—especially for what may well be the only course of its kind in not only the Canadian public school system, but in North America. More importantly, it is a reminder that when young people are offered something practical, challenging, and connected to the wider world, many will surprise you. Sometimes all it takes is the right spark. As one student put it, after passing with honour certification: "This is the best thing that ever happened to me." And for me, that makes getting up at dawn all the more worthwhile.

~ John VE7TI