Photo: Connorbrown22 · CC BY-SA 4.03 of High River’s 7 schools are Catholic, more than the 18% in Alberta
Catholic schooling here comes from The Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate School Division. Results are mixed: 1 of 4 schools above the middle in Alberta, 2 below it. Taken together, High River and its 3 km edge hold 4 elementary schools and 3 secondary schools for 2,453 students.
Who runs High River’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
By the system they belong to: English public 4 and English Catholic 3.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How High River’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 B−: 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 | 4 | 63% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 4 | 13% | 13% |
The widest gap is on the acceptable standard, where the area’s schools reach 63% against 67% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (4)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Spirit AcademyElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 78% · Excellence 21% | Second fifth |
| Ecole Secondaire Highwood High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Acceptable 65% · Excellence 12% | Middle fifth |
| Notre Dame CollegiateSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 60% · Excellence 13% | Fourth fifth |
| Senator Riley SchoolElementary · Grades 6–8 | Acceptable 49% · Excellence 3% | 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 7 schools in and around High River 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 High River
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.
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.
The 2 boards that run schools here
Each board’s schools in the area, largest first.
Of 2 boards, the largest here is The Foothills School Division, with 4.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Foothills School DivisionEcole Secondaire Highwood, Senator Riley, Right Honorable Joe Clark, Spitzee | English public | 4 | 1,357 |
| The Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate School DivisionHoly Spirit Academy, Notre Dame Collegiate, St. Luke's Outreach Centre High River | English Catholic | 3 | 1,096 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in High River
Catholic schools
The province funds Catholic separate schools beside the public ones. Each separate board sets its own admission rules, usually giving Catholic families first place.
The neighbourhood school
Each board draws attendance areas: a child’s home address gives a designated school in each system. Families register with the board, and a school outside the area takes a child only if it has room.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 7 schools in and around High River
High schools within reach of High River
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 3 high schools: 2 English Catholic and 1 English public. St. Luke's Outreach Centre High River lies closest, 0.5 km from the centre.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Luke's Outreach Centre High RiverSecondary · Grades 10–12 | The Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | – | 36 | 0.5 km |
| Ecole Secondaire Highwood High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | The Foothills School Division | English public | Middle fifth | 515 | 1.7 km |
| Notre Dame CollegiateSecondary · Grades 7–12 | The Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | Fourth fifth | 526 | 2.1 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Alberta
Places of about the same size and their schools in or within 3 km, largest first.
| Town | Population | Schools | Students | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Deer County | 22,076 | 57 | 20,163 | 1 | 3.8 km |
| … | |||||
| Summerside | 16,760 | 18 | 10,845 | 0 | 0.2 km |
| Strathmore | 16,416 | 31 | 5,213 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Leduc County | 16,400 | 54 | 28,200 | 1 | 5.8 km |
| Thorncliffe | 15,570 | 57 | 27,386 | 1 | 1 km |
| High River | 15,508 | 7 | 2,453 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Edgemont | 15,359 | 47 | 23,280 | 1 | 1.2 km |
| Laurel | 15,263 | 26 | 13,191 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| Windermere | 14,922 | 22 | 16,064 | 0 | 1.6 km |
| Chappelle | 14,815 | 22 | 17,085 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| … | |||||
| Silver Berry | 9,439 | 31 | 14,846 | 0 | 1.1 km |
Of the 94 others, 85 count more schools. In 36 of the 95, at least one school teaches in French.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around High River
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High River | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0.5 km |
| Okotoks 17 km | 21 | 1 | 11 | 0.1 km |
Of the neighbours, Okotoks counts the most schools: 21.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Each school is placed by its address point; those inside High River or within 3 km of it are here.
- The kinds of school. Kindergarten to Grade 8 is elementary, Grade 9 to 12 secondary, though the split varies by province and board.
- The year. The province’s 2025/26 list.
- Boards and systems. Public and Catholic boards are both publicly funded here, in English and in French; an independent school answers to no board.
- Bands, not ranks. Alberta publishes the share at each PAT standard and suppresses small groups, so the page gives fifths, not ranks.
- What isn’t here. No ratings by inspectors, no enrolment trend: neither is published school by school.
Questions about schools in High River
How do I get a place at a school in High River?
The board’s school locator gives the designated school; registration is with the board or the school.
Which boards run the schools in High River?
The Foothills School Division (4) and The Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate School Division (3), with each one’s schools in brackets.
Is there a French-language school in High River?
There is none in or near High River (within 3 km); the French-language board covers the area from elsewhere.
How many schools are there in High River?
Every one of them, 7, is inside the town.
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).