Robert Land Academy Robert Land Academy ( RLA ) is Canada ' s only non - university level military academy . Located in the former township of Gainsborough on the north shores of the Welland River five kilometres west of the hamlet of Wellandport in West Lincoln , Ontario , the Academy began to accept students in 1978 . The Academy is an all - boy ' s institution . On average , a total of 160 students between Grade 6 ( last year of elementary school ) and Grade 12 ( last year of high school ) are enrolled at the Academy during any one school year . All students enrolled at the Academy live in military - style dormitories located on - campus throughout the school year . The barracks are normally named in tribute to famous military figures in pre - Confederation Canadian history , such as Major - General Isaac Brock ( leader of British forces at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812 ) , Major John Butler ( leader of the irregular militia regiment named after him , Butler ' s Rangers , formed for service in the American Revolutionary War ) , and Joseph Brant ( 1743 – 1807 ) who was a Mohawk military and political leader who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution . The Academy is serviced by over 75 staff . Namesake . The school itself is named after Robert Land , a United Empire Loyalist originally from New York who migrated into what later became Upper Canada with his family in the mid - 1780s , in the wake of the American Revolutionary War . Land is often seen as one of the first inhabitants of modern - day Hamilton , Ontario . The Academy ' s founder and current headmaster , Mr . Scott Bowman , is a direct descendant of Land . The Academy ' s Purpose . According to the Academy ' s website , the military theme allows for the reinforcement of the importance of organization , teamwork , discipline and personal responsibility . Students admitted to the Academy are chosen for their potential for success . Students admitted to the Academy have , while trying to succeed in the public school system , experienced difficulties related to attitude , concentration , focus or respect . Other students have been diagnosed with various learning disorders , including Attention - Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder , Oppositional Defiant Disorder and various forms of learning disability . The Academy asserts that each year 100 % of its graduating class who apply to university or college are accepted . It also states that 95 % of all students experience a dramatic improvement in their academic performance and success within their first semester of enrollment . Motto and Insignia . The Academy ' s motto is " Deus et Patria " ( Latin for " God and Country " ) . Affiliations With The Canadian Armed Forces . The Academy sponsors a closed cadet corps of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets , # 2968 Robert Land Academy Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps , which is also affiliated with The Lincoln and Welland Regiment ( the Niagara Region ' s local Canadian Forces army reserve infantry unit ) and The Royal Canadian Regiment ( one of the Canadian Forces ' three Regular Force infantry regiments ) . Membership in # 2968 RCACC was mandatory for grade 9 students of the 08 / 09 year . The Five Values of Robert Land Academy . The Academy emphasizes five core social value s in everything it strives to teach to its students , within and beyond the bounds of the class : Loyalty , Labour , Courage , Commitment and Honour . As the Academy ' s parent ' s handbook explains : Activities Outside The Class . As part of the Academy curriculum , the staff provide , atop regular classes , the following for the student body : monitored evening and weekend study halls to permit homework to be completed on time ; a physical education program that includes indoor and outdoor sports , extracurricular clubs , and adventure training . Sports teams compete with area high schools in Zone II of SOSSA ( Southern Ontario Secondary School Athletics ) . Varsity sports include basketball , soccer , wrestling , climbing and volleyball . Clubs and adventure training activities include weight lifting , boxing , mountain biking , archery , music , automobile restoration , fitness , SCUBA and parachuting . Ranks Structure Within The Academy . Student Ranks . All students , on first being accepted at the Academy , hold the rank of Recruit . The first phase of non - academic training at the Academy for new students , normally lasting a month ' s period , is always referred to as " Recruit Period . " On passing Recruit Period , the student is then promoted to Cadet and given the right to wear the Academy ' s crest on their beret s as a cap badge . After being promoted to the rank of Cadet , students at the Academy , on proving their ability to demonstrate rudimentary leadership and organizational skills , may then be promoted to the rank of Barman , which is normally marked by a silver bar similar to the insignia of a United States Army lieutenant . On reaching Barman rank , the student may then advance in either one of two ways : The senior ranking student on campus during a school year is acknowledged as ' " Head Boy " ' , and normally wears the rank of Sergeant or Warrant Officer . The other two senior student positions are ' " Parade Sergeant Major " ' and ' " Aide - de - Camp " ' , both of which may wear either the rank of Sergeant or Warrant Officer . Staff Ranks . Staff at the Academy are organized into three general categories : Academy officers normally wear the officer rank insignia which existed in the Canadian Army prior to 1968 ( " pips " and crowns ) . Teachers wear either a second lieutenant ' s one " pip " or a lieutenant ' s two " pip " stars , company commanders wear a captain ' s three " pip " stars and the Headmaster wears a lieutenant colonel ' s crown and one " pip " . Academy staff non - commissioned officers are normally composed of the Academy Sergeant - Major ( ASM ) and his immediate subordinates , the Company Sergeants - Major ( CSM ) . The ASM and the CSMs handle all daily drill and other military - theme classes at the Academy . Academy " civilian " staff ( including the staff running the Academy kitchen , the groundskeepers and the administrative staff ) do not wear military - style uniforms and do not hold an Academy rank .