DPA History
THE STORY OF DIPONTE ACADEMY
The history of Diponte Academy can be traced back to 1923. In 1923, China was in the middle of a warlords fighting for power, and forces were divided to different sides. Richard, a Canadian missionary, and his brethren from the United States and Britain, came to Sichuan, China, to spread the Christian doctrine to the local villagers. However, during this time of war, starvation was more important than a foreigner’s religious beliefs. Richard and his missionary friends were mostly well-educated individuals and they decided to use their knowledge to open a local missionary school. It was started, so that local girls who couldn’t afford to go to school, received a free education.
During this time in history, even boys rarely had the opportunity to go to foreign schools, let alone girls who were forced to submit to social conventions. At first, it was very difficult for the school to recruit students, there were only a few parishioners’ children, but it soon developed into the only local girls’ school on a large scale. The school was wholly funded by the local church, and any girl who wanted to be educated, could come to study for free. This school was the predecessor to Diponte Academy. The school was forced to close in the late 1940s because of the years of war and with a shift of political power, despite being a high level school.
In 2016, Lydia, the founder of the school, took the opportunity presented to her, and decided to start a private high school. At the end of 2016, Diponte Academy officially reopened in the hometown of Richard, where the founder of the school was from. After six years of operation, Diponte Academy has become an influential international high school in Northern Toronto and is accredited for both onsite and online schools. Diponte has opened two international campuses around the globe since 2019 and has helped hundreds of students successfully achieve their academic goals.
