Photo: Erik Lizee · Public domainMost schools around Clearwater County score below the middle in Alberta: 5 of 6
They come under 4 school boards. Counting a 3 km margin, Clearwater County has 5 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools and 5 schools for every grade, for 2,741 students.
How Clearwater County’s schools do on Alberta’s tests
The Provincial Achievement Tests in Grades 6 and 9: each school against every school in Alberta.
Its School Grade is C: it compares these results with the other towns of the province.
The area’s schools by fifth of the province
Each school’s band is the average of its measures’ fifths. The mark shows an even fifth of the area’s schools.
| Measure | Schools | Middle here | Alberta |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAT: acceptable standard | 6 | 61% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 6 | 9% | 13% |
Furthest from the provincial middle is the standard of excellence: 9% here, against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (6)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| St. Matthews Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 | Acceptable 79% · Excellence 8% | Middle fifth |
| David Thompson SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 66% · Excellence 7% | Fourth fifth |
| Pioneer SchoolElementary · Grades 6–8 | Acceptable 65% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| Rocky Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 56% · Excellence 13% | Fourth fifth |
| Caroline SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 57% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| West Central High SchoolAll grades · Grades 6–12 | Acceptable 39% · Excellence 4% | Bottom fifth |
Alberta Education and Childcare, PAT multiyear school results (core courses pooled). Alberta’s own notes: breaches in 2021–22, wildfires in 2022–24, the January 2026 sitting cancelled, pilot-curriculum students excused. Open Government Licence – Alberta.
4 boards, school by school
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Wild Rose School DivisionWest Central, Caroline, Pioneer, Lochearn, Ecole Rocky, David Thompson, Rocky Christian, Visions West … | English public | 9 | 2,186 |
| The Chinook's Edge School DivisionPine Hill Colony | English public | 1 | 15 |
| The Wolf Creek School DivisionLeedale Hutterite Colony | English public | 1 | 16 |
| The Red Deer Catholic Separate School DivisionSt. Matthews | English Catholic | 1 | 524 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
Where the 12 schools in and around Clearwater County are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists; Alberta’s missing ones from OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim (© OpenStreetMap contributors).
Schooling in English and French around Clearwater County
The language each school teaches in, against every school in Alberta.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Alberta.
For schooling in French, families look further afield.
Section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives French-speaking parents the right to French-language schooling for their children, through the French-language boards.
Who runs Clearwater County’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
System by system: English public 11 and English Catholic 1.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How children get a place in Clearwater County
The neighbourhood school
Each school serves a defined area. A place elsewhere is possible when that school has room.
Catholic schools
Catholic schools are public here, run by separate boards that set their own admissions.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 12 schools in and around Clearwater County
High schools within reach of Clearwater County
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 3 high schools: 3 English public. Visions West School lies closest, 13 km from the centre.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visions West SchoolAll grades · Grades 5–12 | The Wild Rose School Division | English public | – | 110 | 13 km |
| West Central High SchoolAll grades · Grades 6–12 | The Wild Rose School Division | English public | Bottom fifth | 487 | 14 km |
| Rocky Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | The Wild Rose School Division | English public | Fourth fifth | 166 | 14 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Alberta
Towns of a similar population, with their schools in or within 3 km; described, not ranked.
| Town | Population | Schools | Students | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn Bay | 18,296 | 26 | 17,918 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| … | |||||
| Blackfalds | 12,258 | 5 | 1,551 | 0 | 2 km |
| Wetaskiwin County No. 10 | 12,117 | 20 | 3,807 | 0 | 4.7 km |
| The Hamptons | 12,008 | 16 | 8,431 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| McKenzie Lake | 11,966 | 33 | 18,654 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| Clearwater County | 11,856 | 12 | 2,741 | 0 | 13 km |
| Cityscape | 11,782 | 134 | 75,012 | 2 | 1.4 km |
| West Springs | 11,632 | 39 | 18,923 | 0 | 0.4 km |
| Bowness | 11,548 | 51 | 22,974 | 2 | 0.5 km |
| Banff | 11,402 | 2 | 534 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| … | |||||
| Cougar Ridge | 7,101 | 38 | 16,760 | 2 | 0.3 km |
In 120 of the 156 others the count is higher. Teaching in French: 62 of the 157 have it.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Clearwater County
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County | 12 | 0 | 1 | 13 km |
| Rocky Mountain House 14 km | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.6 km |
Each of its 1 neighbours has fewer schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The year. The 2025/26 list.
- Boards and systems. Boards are set by language and, in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, by faith: public or Catholic.
- What isn’t here. Ontario’s private schools aren’t in the open list; no province publishes inspection grades.
- Bands, not ranks. The fifths are of schools, not students: a small school counts as much as a large one.
- Which schools count. Counted: Clearwater County’s own schools and any within 3 km of its edge.
- The kinds of school. An all-grade school teaches from kindergarten through high school; elementary and secondary schools split those years.
Questions about schools in Clearwater County
How do I get a place at a school in Clearwater County?
Contact the board: it names the school for your address and takes the registration.
Which boards run the schools in Clearwater County?
By number of schools: The Wild Rose School Division (9), The Chinook's Edge School Division (1), The Wolf Creek School Division (1) and The Red Deer Catholic Separate School Division (1).
Is there a French-language school in Clearwater County?
No, none within 3 km of Clearwater County; ask the French-language board for the nearest.
How many schools are there in Clearwater County?
3 in the town, 9 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Sources: Alberta Education and Childcare, school enrolment 2025/26 (Open Government Licence – Alberta) · map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).