Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainAround Didsbury, 1 elementary school, 2 secondary schools and 1 school for every grade: 4 schools in all
All of them are within the town’s own boundary. NorthStar Academy is the biggest, at 1,382 students. 1,952 students attend them (2025/26).
The 4 schools in and around Didsbury
How Didsbury’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 D: 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 | 1 | 57% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 1 | 4% | 13% |
On the standard of excellence the area trails, 4% against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (1)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Didsbury High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Acceptable 57% · 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.
Where the 4 schools in and around Didsbury are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
2 more have no point in the source and are listed below the map.
Points from the provincial lists; Alberta’s missing ones from OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim (© OpenStreetMap contributors).
Schooling in English and French around Didsbury
Each school by its language of instruction, with the share in Alberta marked.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Alberta.
There is no French-language school among them.
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 Didsbury’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
They all share one system, every one English public.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
2 boards, school by school
Each board’s schools in the area, largest first.
The biggest of the 2 is The Chinook's Edge School Division: 3 schools.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Chinook's Edge School DivisionRoss Ford, Didsbury, Didsbury Career | English public | 3 | 570 |
| The Golden Hills School DivisionNorthStar Academy | English public | 1 | 1,382 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Didsbury
The neighbourhood school
Where a family lives sets the school: each board draws a catchment around every one of its schools, and a child living inside it has a place there. Other schools take children from outside when they have room.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
High schools within reach of Didsbury
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 5 high schools: 5 English public. Nearest: Didsbury High School, 0.3 km off.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Didsbury High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | The Chinook's Edge School Division | English public | Bottom fifth | 263 | 0.3 km |
| Olds Koinonia Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | The Chinook's Edge School Division | English public | Second fifth | 394 | 10 km |
| Hugh Sutherland SchoolAll grades · Grades 5–12 | The Chinook's Edge School Division | English public | Middle fifth | 840 | 11 km |
| École Olds High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | The Chinook's Edge School Division | English public | Fourth fifth | 611 | 14 km |
| Horizon Alternate ProgramAll grades · Grades 2–12 | The Chinook's Edge School Division | English public | – | 14 | 15 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Alberta
Similar-sized towns and their schools within 3 km, by population.
| Town | Population | Schools | Students | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strathcona | 8,283 | 62 | 27,171 | 7 | 0.2 km |
| … | |||||
| Ritchie | 5,215 | 57 | 22,035 | 6 | 0.6 km |
| Tweddle Place | 5,211 | 47 | 18,787 | 0 | 0.6 km |
| Bearspaw | 5,192 | 34 | 19,432 | 0 | 2 km |
| Bannerman | 5,187 | 24 | 9,342 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Didsbury | 5,185 | 4 | 1,952 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Rundle Heights | 5,175 | 27 | 11,579 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| Kneehill County | 5,129 | 13 | 2,902 | 0 | 1.2 km |
| Big Lakes County | 5,106 | 8 | 1,648 | 0 | 21 km |
| Queen Alexandra | 5,106 | 55 | 25,260 | 4 | 0.8 km |
| … | |||||
| Clear Hills | 3,110 | 2 | 115 | 0 | 13 km |
Of the 281 others, 261 count more schools. Teaching in French: 127 of the 282 have it.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Didsbury
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Didsbury | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Carstairs 12 km | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 km |
| Olds 15 km | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 km |
| Mountain View County 17 km | 16 | 0 | 1 | 6.9 km |
Most schools next door: Mountain View County, 16.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Boards and systems. Boards are set by language and, in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, by faith: public or Catholic.
- The year. The province’s school list, 2025/26.
- Bands, not ranks. A suppressed result gives no band; a school with both measures averages its fifths.
- What isn’t here. What no open list gives: inspection grades, several years of enrolment, and Ontario’s private schools.
- The kinds of school. An all-grade school teaches from kindergarten through high school; elementary and secondary schools split those years.
- Which schools count. Every school inside Didsbury’s outline or within 3 km of it, the rule used across the site.
Questions about schools in Didsbury
Which schools near Didsbury have the best results?
None sits in the top fifth in Alberta; the strongest is Didsbury High School.
How do I get a place at a school in Didsbury?
Start with the board for the system you want; your address sets the school.
Which boards run the schools in Didsbury?
By number of schools: The Chinook's Edge School Division (3) and The Golden Hills School Division (1).
Is there a French-language school in Didsbury?
No, none within 3 km of Didsbury; ask the French-language board for the nearest.
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).