Photo: SempreVolando · CC BY 3.0Teaching in French: 2 of Lac la Biche County’s 7 schools
The East Central Francophone Education Region runs them: École Beauséjour and École Sainte-Catherine. Results lean low: 3 of 4 in the lower two fifths in Alberta. Taken together, Lac la Biche County and its 3 km edge hold 3 elementary schools, 3 secondary schools and 1 school for every grade for 1,435 students.
What stands out about Lac la Biche County’s schools
Several boards
3 boards run schools in the area: The Northern Lights School Division, The East Central Francophone Education Region and Portage College. The boards ↓
Fewer Catholic schools
Catholic schools are 0 of 7 here, below the 18% in Alberta. Who runs them ↓
Each finding compares the town’s schools with every school in its province.
Schooling in English and French around Lac la Biche County
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.
The East Central Francophone Education Region runs the French-language ones: École Beauséjour and École Sainte-Catherine.
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.
How Lac la Biche 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 | 4 | 47% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 4 | 9% | 13% |
The widest gap is on the standard of excellence, where the area’s schools reach 9% against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (4)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| École BeauséjourAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 76% · Excellence 21% | Second fifth |
| Aurora Middle SchoolElementary · Grades 4–8 | Acceptable 55% · Excellence 5% | Fourth fifth |
| École Sainte-CatherineElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 38% · Excellence 13% | Fourth fifth |
| J A Williams High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Acceptable 40% · 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 7 schools in and around Lac la Biche County are
Each pin is a school, coloured by the system that runs it, sized by its students where the province publishes them.
Points from the provincial lists; Alberta’s missing ones from OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim (© OpenStreetMap contributors).
Who runs Lac la Biche County’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, French-language 2 and independent or other 1.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
The 3 boards that run schools here
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Northern Lights School DivisionJ A Williams, Aurora, Vera M. Welsh, Lac La Biche Outreach | English public | 4 | 1,224 |
| The East Central Francophone Education RegionBeauséjour, Sainte-Catherine | French public | 2 | 128 |
| Portage CollegePortage College Lac La Biche | Other | 1 | 83 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Lac la Biche County
The neighbourhood school
Boards set boundaries for each school; living inside one guarantees a place there, and moving across one usually means a request.
French-language schools
French-language boards admit the children of rights-holders under section 23 of the Charter (a parent whose first language is French, or who was schooled in French in Canada), and may admit others through an admissions committee.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 7 schools in and around Lac la Biche County
High schools within reach of Lac la Biche County
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
3 secondary schools are within 15 km: 2 English public and 1 other. Lac La Biche Outreach lies closest, 0.6 km from the centre.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac La Biche OutreachSecondary · Grades 10–12 | The Northern Lights School Division | English public | – | 61 | 0.6 km |
| Portage College Lac La BicheSecondary · Grades 12–12 | Portage College | Other | – | 83 | 1.2 km |
| J A Williams High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | The Northern Lights School Division | English public | Bottom fifth | 459 | 2.5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walker | 13,388 | 21 | 11,855 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| … | |||||
| Edson | 8,692 | 8 | 2,449 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Strathcona Park | 8,680 | 48 | 20,472 | 0 | 1.5 km |
| Dalhousie | 8,617 | 51 | 21,586 | 2 | 0.6 km |
| Nolan Hill | 8,581 | 11 | 6,570 | 0 | 1.6 km |
| Lac la Biche County | 8,580 | 7 | 1,435 | 2 | 0.6 km |
| Wild Rose | 8,534 | 27 | 12,879 | 0 | 0.4 km |
| Garneau | 8,492 | 76 | 33,074 | 7 | 0.9 km |
| Ogden | 8,484 | 53 | 29,781 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| Drumheller | 8,439 | 4 | 1,234 | 0 | 1.3 km |
| … | |||||
| Twin Brooks | 5,102 | 28 | 19,751 | 0 | 1.6 km |
196 of the 221 others have more schools in reach. In 93 of the 222, at least one school teaches in French.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What isn’t here. What no open list gives: inspection grades, several years of enrolment, and Ontario’s private schools.
- Bands, not ranks. Bands compare within Alberta only: never a place in a league table.
- Boards and systems. English and French, public and Catholic: the board decides the system, and the address decides the school.
- The year. The 2025/26 list.
- The kinds of school. Elementary means kindergarten to Grade 6 or 8, secondary up to Grade 12 (Secondary V in Quebec); a few schools take every grade.
- Which schools count. A 3 km band around Lac la Biche County’s outline is included, as it is for every town on the site.
Questions about schools in Lac la Biche County
Is there a French-language school in Lac la Biche County?
Yes, schooling in French is at École Beauséjour and École Sainte-Catherine.
How many schools are there in Lac la Biche County?
Every one of them, 7, is inside the town.
Which boards run the schools in Lac la Biche County?
The Northern Lights School Division (4), The East Central Francophone Education Region (2) and Portage College (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
How do I get a place at a school in Lac la Biche County?
The board’s school locator gives the designated school; registration is with the board or the school.
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).