selective admissions process, as well as optional attendance lotteries. There is a large variety of gifted courses available at all grade levels and AP courses available at the grade 11 and 12 levels. Each year, Northern's students obtain over $1 million in university scholarships. Northern's students have won numerous national & international awards in multiple academic disciplines. These include the NASA space settlement competition, the World Debates at Oxford, England, and the Canadian Association of Physicists national contest. Northern debaters are also the current reigning OSDU provincial debate championships. The school has over 50 active clubs, associations and committees, as well as over 120 teachers, resulting in a 15 to 1 student teacher ratio. Over 25% of the school’s students have special learning needs and therefore are on an individual education plan. Sports The school has over 50 varsity athletic teams. Northern's football team, the Red Knights, have won numerous titles in Toronto's high school league (including two Metro Bowls, and the first Toronto Bowl). A number of top players have gone on to join the Canadian Football League. Numerous alumni of the school have also gone on to play in the National Hockey League, the Greek Basket League, Major League Soccer, the Israeli Premier League, the as well as the Rugby World Cup. In popular culture The school has been used as a location for several films including Carrie (2013 film), as well as Jarvis Collegiate Institute, and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which were filmed inside the school. The academic decathlon scene of Billy Madison was filmed in the school's auditorium. The 2009 documentary Fight for the Planet was also filmed at the school. Numerous commercials have also been filmed on the school's premises. Charity Northern has a long history of supporting national & international charities, with over 40 years of participation in the United Way fundraisers for poverty alleviation. The school has been the top fundraiser amongst Toronto high schools for a number of years. Notable alumni and staff Alumni of the school include one Academy Award winner, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, holders of the Order of Canada, as well as Grey Cup and Stanley Cup champions, a Spitfire pilot who played a key role in an escape from a German prison camp by Allied airmen which is remembered today as "The Great Escape", and a prominent Hebrew Bible scholar. Painter Lawren P.