When Sacred Heart Academy opened its doors for the first time last September, it joined a growing number of schools feeding a demand for a classical Catholic education.

OTTAWA -- Myths that independent schools in Ontario are bastions of privilege are getting in the way of an education funding model that is “fair and flexible” in Canada’s largest province, an Ontario-based religious think tank says.

A year ago, Patrick was a struggling Grade 2 student in Ontario’s publicly funded Catholic school system. But after switching to a private school in September he is thriving in an environment that his mother says is smaller and more attentive to individual needs.