Riverbendacademy Reviews 

Our experience with Riverbend was mixed. There is no question in my mind that the Head of School cares deeply about the school and has put a tremendous amount of herself into it. I also believe there are families and children for whom Riverbend can be a very good fit. For a period of time, we felt it was a good fit for our child as well.

There were positives. The smaller environment meant our child received a good amount of one-on-one attention, and I can see how that would be very appealing to many families.

Academically, though, we did not find the program as strong as we had hoped or expected from an independent school. Our bigger concern over time was the culture. We experienced what we felt was clear favouritism, and the internal politics and close relationships within the school gradually affected our level of trust. We also had concerns about confidentiality and whether information shared in confidence was always handled as carefully as we would have expected.

For me, that is where independent education ultimately comes down to fit and trust. Families are making a significant financial commitment, but an even bigger commitment when it comes to their child. One of the realities of private education is that parents can ultimately vote with their pocketbook. If you no longer feel confident in the academics, culture or overall environment, it is reasonable to decide that another option is better for your family.

That is what we eventually did, and unfortunately the way our departure was handled became one of the most disappointing parts of our experience. Once we made the decision to leave, we increasingly felt discounted as parents and less involved in decisions and communication around our own child. That was difficult because, regardless of whether a family is staying or leaving, I believe parents should continue to feel respected and included in their child’s education right through the transition.

At times, the way we were dealt with after making our decision felt unnecessarily petty to us. It was particularly disappointing because our decision to leave was not intended as a personal criticism of anyone. We were simply making the decision we believed was best for our child. I had hoped that could have been respected and that the relationship could have ended on a more positive and professional note.

We ultimately moved our child into the public school system, and our child is thriving. For us, that has reinforced that leaving was the right decision.

I would not suggest that our experience will be everyone else’s. There are clearly families who are very happy at Riverbend, and I respect that. My advice to prospective parents would simply be to visit, ask a lot of questions, speak with both current and former families, and pay close attention to whether the culture feels right for you.

We appreciated some aspects of our time there, particularly the individual attention, but ultimately our concerns around academics, favouritism, confidentiality and trust outweighed those positives for our family.

My son attended Riverbend since the school opened. He was in grade 5 at the time. He stayed at Riverbend until he graduated with honors from grade 12. He is now just finishing university. Since then my grandson now attends He started in JK and is now entering grade 4. I have really enjoyed the structure and socialization that kids are taught and reinforced at the school. I really appreciate the hot meals provided every day. Lots of healthy choices. They have a great drama, arts and music program that all students are involved in. The staff are great to deal with, open to suggestions, and encourage kids to meet their potential.

I kept quiet about my experience at Riverbend for a long time because it was painful to talk about. Even now, writing this is hard, but I want to share my honest experience. They are still trying to protect their image by mass reporting and flagging all of the honest (bad) reviews. Not to mention the only 2 “good” reviews on this site are from either the principal herself or a staff member that was told to write one.

When I first started there, Riverbend seemed warm, creative, and welcoming. That is the version parents often saw, or people who hadn’t been at the school long enough to see the bad side of it. But as a student, my experience felt very different.

There were teachers I truly cared about, and I will always be grateful for the ones who made me feel seen and supported. But even those teachers often seemed broken down. I remember walking in seeing teachers crying in their classrooms. It was heartbreaking to see as a student, and that stayed with me. It made the school feel heavy and unsafe, like even the adults who cared so much about the children were struggling to survive there. Unfortunately, all the kind teachers I can remember to this day were fired or left the school because of the way they were treated by the principal.

The most frustrating part for me was the unfair environment. There was clear favoritism, especially toward the principal’s grandchildren, or people who’s parents had been loyal to the school. It felt like rules changed depending on who you were. Some students were protected no matter what they did, while others were singled out, embarrassed, or made to feel small. I remember at every award assembly atleast one grandchild got an award, and it was clear to every student. It felt very unfair because other people should be recognized aswell.
I also felt like students’ personal information was not always respected. Things that should have been private felt like they were talked about too openly. That made it hard to trust people and open up honestly about my concerns.

Academics also felt pushed aside. The arts, especially the plays, seemed to take over everything. Performing arts can be amazing, but at Riverbend, the pressure became exhausting. I did not feel inspired, neither was it something I enjoyed after doing it for countless hours. I so felt anxious, drained, and burnt out.
Looking back, I believe the performances mattered most because they made the school look good. But behind the applause and the polished image, there were students struggling every day.

What hurt me most was feeling vulnerable and then feeling like that vulnerability was used against me and my family. I felt dismissed. I felt manipulated. I was made to question my own experience, and that is something I still carry.

Riverbend seriously affected my mental health. Now that I am in a school where I feel safe, respected, and supported, I can see even more clearly and reflect how unhealthy and not normal my time there was.

No student should leave a school feeling damaged, unheard, or afraid to speak the truth. Please do not send your kids to this school. I wouldn’t want any kid to go through what I went through.

Once again all the bad reviews have been flagged! Censorship and dictatorship at its finest. I guess there is no time for self reflection on why multiple people are saying the same thing; it is just protecting an image. Keep your kids away from this school at all costs! There is favouritism towards grandchildren and children creating an unforgiving and intimidating experience for all other kids attending this school. DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS TO THIS SCHOOL!!!!

We enrolled our child at a time when care, professionalism, and stability were critical. We were looking for a supportive environment that would protect their wellbeing, respect their privacy, and provide a reasonable academic experience. Instead, what we encountered was an environment shaped by poor leadership, favouritism, and a lack of professionalism that, in our view, placed internal relationships ahead of the needs of the children.

The behaviour of the Head of School was one of the most concerning aspects. In our experience, she set a tone that was not grounded in fairness, discretion, or consistent care. There was a clear sense of favouritism in how certain families and students were treated, while others were left feeling sidelined. That kind of inconsistency creates an unhealthy environment, particularly in a school that presents itself as student-centred.

Over time, it became difficult to ignore the sense that this operated more like a family business than a professionally run school. There appeared to be a focus on internal loyalty and employing family, rather than accountability and delivering a high-quality student experience.

To be fair, there were some teachers who clearly cared and were there for the right reasons. However, several appeared to become disenchanted. In our experience, those who raised concerns either left or were let go, which only reinforced concerns about the culture and leadership.

One of the most troubling issues was the handling of confidential information. We shared a personal situation affecting our child outside of school in confidence. In our experience, that information was then shared with other parents. This was shocking, inappropriate, and a serious breach of trust. Any school should understand the importance of privacy, especially when a child’s wellbeing is involved.

This did not feel like an isolated issue, but part of a broader pattern of poor judgment and unprofessional conduct. We did not experience leadership that inspired confidence or demonstrated the discretion expected in a school setting.

Academically, our expectations were reasonable. We were not looking for perfection, but we did expect consistency, structure, and properly prepared teachers. That was not our experience. The academic environment felt underwhelming and lacked the level of rigor and professionalism we expected.

Most importantly, we chose this school because we believed it would support our child’s emotional wellbeing. Instead, the environment made things worse. Our child experienced increased stress and a lack of support at a time when they needed the opposite.

Since leaving, our child has been thriving in the public system. The difference has been clear. They are doing better both emotionally and academically, in an environment that feels more stable, supportive, and professional.

We do not write this lightly. We trusted this school during a vulnerable time, and in our experience that trust was not respected. Between the behaviour of the Head of School, the culture of favouritism, the lack of professionalism, the concerns about teacher retention, the academic experience, and the breach of confidentiality, we cannot recommend this school.

This is an incredible school. I went for a tour and was so impressed. The kids were so kind, the classes are small, they have a cooked meal everyday, they work daily on virtues of character, they have morning meditation, they have an actual curriculum for real life skills, they do aikido weekly, lots of art, various instruments. I can go on and on. They allowed my children to have full trial day including lunch. My kids are vegetarian and they accommodated them. Most importantly, when i picked them up, they were smiling and so happy. My nine year old said “that was just a regular day of school but still the best day i ever had at a school.
The kids were next level friendly and welcoming.

They did not ask me for a review and they do not know im making one. Just a sincere experience I had so wanted to share.

As a former student, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my experience at Riverbend Academy, and I feel it is important to share it.

To start, the heavy focus on performing arts eventually became unenjoyable. At first, I thought it might be exciting, but when it became nonstop and felt expected or forced, it stopped being something I looked forward to. Over time, it began to feel less about student growth and more like pressure to perform so the school could look good. By the time I left, I was so burned out that I actually lost interest in the arts altogether, which is especially sad because I did not feel that way before attending this school.

Along with that, the inconsistency in class time made learning feel unstable. Because schedules were frequently interrupted or shifted to accommodate performances, many students seemed behind where they should have been for their grade level. It often felt like the basics were not being reinforced, and instead of slowing down to help students catch up, the school simply kept moving forward to the next event. That is worrying, especially when students are preparing to enter high school and may be missing key building blocks they need to succeed.

Unfortunately, academics were not the only concern. Another major issue was the overall lack of professionalism. Some teachers did not behave in a way that felt appropriate for an educational setting, and problems were not always handled calmly or fairly. At times, it felt like there were different rules depending on who you were, and the sense of preferential treatment created an atmosphere that felt tense and unfair. In addition, I often got the impression that some staff were not properly qualified or did not have prior teaching experience, which made it harder to trust the learning environment.

On top of this, confidentiality did not feel respected. There were situations where personal issues that should have remained private did not stay private, and as a student, that makes you hesitate to speak up or ask for help. I heard my own personal concerns discussed with teachers who did not need to be involved, and at times it felt like that information was later used against me. I also witnessed other students private information being shared with parents and even other students, which felt like a serious breach of privacy. Every child deserves the right to confidentiality and to feel safe seeking support.

Another factor that added to my discomfort was how common family connections seemed to be within staffing. It did not give me confidence that hiring decisions were always based on qualifications or professionalism. Beyond that, having family members working together sometimes affected the atmosphere in ways that students could not ignore. There were moments when related staff argued in front of students, which was stressful and uncomfortable to witness. At times, class was delayed or interrupted because adults were dealing with personal conflict, and that meant students lost learning time. As a student, it felt like we were caught in the middle of adult issues, and it made the school feel chaotic rather than focused on education.

Finally, the principal’s behavior was, in my experience, one of the most troubling parts of the environment. I personally witnessed frequent verbal outbursts, rude comments, and interactions where students were spoken to in a way that felt disrespectful and emotionally charged rather than calm or supportive. Instead of feeling guided or protected by leadership, I often felt anxious, and that tension seemed to carry through the school as a whole. This concern was especially strong when it came to students with special needs. I saw students who clearly needed patience, understanding, and accommodations not receive the care they required, and in some cases they were spoken to harshly or treated like an inconvenience. A school should be a safe and supportive place for every student, especially those who need extra help, and that was not what I experienced.

Overall, Riverbend Academy made me feel more anxious than supported, and I do not believe it prepared students as well as it should have. I would not recommend it to families, and I urge anyone considering enrolling their child to think carefully before paying to send them

Principal was cruel to most of her students you could hear her yelling at her class through the walls. students were constantly subjected to harrasment and cruel behavior if you weren't liked by her. Mrs.Graystone the Principal would enter the women's change room and look us up and down and said that 'we didn't need to hide because we all had the same parts.' Students weren't allowed to say the word gay in class or date your peers even if you were in grade 12 or you could be suspended. Principal threatened to send me home because I wouldn't tell her somthing personal I said to my friend. Students in my class flinched when our class door opened because Mrs.graystone came in to yelled at them so much. In my personal opinion Mrs.Graystone needs to seek professional help and I urge you to keep your kids away from this school for there sake.

When we first enrolled at Riverbend Academy in London(Delaware), Ontario, we were genuinely optimistic. The school presented itself as a warm, creative environment. At first, it felt like a great fit. Unfortunately, over the past few years, the experience has shifted dramatically—and not in a positive way.

Academic quality has clearly declined. There is a heavy emphasis on performing arts and "enrichment," but it often comes at the expense of core subjects. Students who need structure, challenge, or consistent academic support are frequently overlooked.

Teacher turnover is a major concern. It is difficult for students to succeed when their teachers change so frequently, especially when some instructors lack formal classroom experience. This constant instability undermines learning and consistency.

Equity is another issue. Some students appear to receive more favourable treatment than others, and families outside the school's inner social circle may feel excluded. Those who try to raise concerns—even respectfully—sometimes observe changes in how their child is treated.

Concerns also exist around leadership. Unprofessional conduct, inconsistent communication, and a lack of follow-through have created an environment that often feels unsupportive and unpredictable—particularly for students who do not conform to certain expectations.

A school should nurture all children—academically, socially, and emotionally. Unfortunately, our experience at Riverbend left us feeling that appearances and politics were often placed ahead of student wellbeing.

We truly hoped for better.

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