Photo: Umbra Lab, Inc. · CC BY 4.0Most schools around Lacombe County score below the middle in Alberta: 8 of 13
The strongest results are at Lacombe Christian School and Terrace Ridge School. 3 boards run its schools. Taken together, Lacombe County and its 3 km edge hold 9 elementary schools, 4 secondary schools and 8 schools for every grade for 5,960 students.
What stands out about Lacombe County’s schools
The strongest results
Lacombe Christian School (all grades) posts the area’s strongest results: the top fifth in Alberta. Results ↓
Each finding compares the town’s schools with every school in its province.
How Lacombe 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 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 | 13 | 68% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 13 | 9% | 13% |
Furthest from the provincial middle is the standard of excellence: 9% here, against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (13)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Lacombe Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 81% · Excellence 28% | Top fifth |
| Terrace Ridge SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 85% · Excellence 28% | Top fifth |
| Ecole Lacombe Junior High SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Acceptable 70% · Excellence 13% | Middle fifth |
| Ecole Lacombe Upper Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades 4–6 | Acceptable 69% · Excellence 14% | Middle fifth |
| St. Gregory The Great Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 69% · Excellence 13% | Middle fifth |
| Bentley SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 66% · Excellence 7% | Fourth fifth |
| Clive SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 66% · Excellence 8% | Fourth fifth |
| College Heights Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 69% · Excellence 9% | Fourth fifth |
| Eckville Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 65% · Excellence 8% | Fourth fifth |
| Father Lacombe Catholic SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 68% · Excellence 9% | Fourth fifth |
| Iron Ridge Junior CampusElementary · Grades 7–8 | Acceptable 62% · Excellence 15% | Fourth fifth |
| Iron Ridge Intermediate CampusElementary · Grades 4–6 | Acceptable 61% · Excellence 7% | Fourth fifth |
| Lacombe Outreach SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 9% · Excellence 0% | 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.
Which of the 3 boards runs which school
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Wolf Creek School DivisionEcole Secondaire Lacombe, Ecole Lacombe Junior, Ecole James S. McCormick, Bentley, Ecole Lacombe Upper, Iron Ridge Intermediate Campus, Terrace Ridge, Iron Ridge Junior Campus … | English public | 15 | 4,011 |
| The Red Deer Catholic Separate School DivisionSt. Gregory The Great | English Catholic | 1 | 469 |
| The St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School DivisionFather Lacombe | English Catholic | 1 | 275 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
Where the 21 schools in and around Lacombe 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).
Schooling in English and French around Lacombe County
English, French and other languages of instruction, beside the mix in Alberta.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Alberta.
A French-language school would mean a trip out of the area.
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 Lacombe County’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
Split by system, that is English public 15, English Catholic 2 and independent or other 4.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How children get a place in Lacombe County
The neighbourhood school
A home address sets the designated school in each board’s attendance area. Registration is with the board; a school outside the area admits only where there is space.
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.
Independent schools
Independent schools here charge fees but receive some provincial funding if they meet its standards.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 21 schools in and around Lacombe County
High schools within reach of Lacombe County
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
Within 15 km, families can reach 9 high schools: 4 independent, 4 English public and 1 English Catholic. The closest high school is Central Alberta Christian High School, 2.8 km out.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Alberta Christian High SchoolSecondary · Grades 10–12 | – | Independent | – | 144 | 2.8 km |
| Lacombe Outreach SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | The Wolf Creek School Division | English public | Bottom fifth | 243 | 3 km |
| Father Lacombe Catholic SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | The St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | Fourth fifth | 275 | 3.1 km |
| Ecole Secondaire Lacombe Composite High SchoolSecondary · Grades 10–12 | The Wolf Creek School Division | English public | – | 779 | 3.3 km |
| Lacombe Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | – | Independent | Top fifth | 466 | 3.4 km |
| Ecole Lacombe Junior High SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–9 | The Wolf Creek School Division | English public | Middle fifth | 516 | 4 km |
| College Heights Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | – | Independent | Fourth fifth | 330 | 5.1 km |
| Prairie Adventist Christian eSchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | – | Independent | – | 265 | 5.3 km |
| Bentley Colony SchoolAll grades · Grades 4–9 | The Wolf Creek School Division | English public | – | 7 | 5.6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks | 17,537 | 13 | 4,065 | 1 | 0.2 km |
| … | |||||
| Banff | 11,402 | 2 | 534 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Beddington Heights | 11,333 | 29 | 15,439 | 0 | 1.7 km |
| Whitehorn | 11,273 | 52 | 25,957 | 1 | 0.2 km |
| Lake Bonavista | 11,154 | 63 | 28,636 | 2 | 1 km |
| Lacombe County | 11,072 | 21 | 5,960 | 0 | 2.8 km |
| Lethbridge County | 10,988 | 61 | 20,706 | 1 | 3.5 km |
| Yellowhead County | 10,966 | 19 | 4,751 | 0 | 17 km |
| Morinville | 10,763 | 7 | 4,814 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Whitecourt | 10,708 | 9 | 2,525 | 0 | 1.2 km |
| … | |||||
| Griesbach | 6,640 | 61 | 28,549 | 1 | 0.7 km |
Of the 167 others, 110 count more schools. Of the 168, 69 offer a French-language school.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Lacombe County
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lacombe County | 21 | 0 | 6 | 2.8 km |
| Lacombe 4.2 km | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0.3 km |
| Blackfalds 7.3 km | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 km |
| Bentley 18 km | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 km |
It has more schools than any of its 3 neighbours.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What isn’t here. Ontario’s private schools aren’t in the open list; no province publishes inspection grades.
- Bands, not ranks. A band is the fifth of Alberta’s schools a result falls in, averaged over the two PAT measures; suppressed groups would make places misleading.
- The year. The open list of 2025/26.
- Boards and systems. Public and Catholic boards are both publicly funded here, in English and in French; an independent school answers to no board.
- Which schools count. Every school inside Lacombe County’s outline or within 3 km of it, the rule used across the site.
- The kinds of school. Elementary and secondary come from the grades each school offers; a school offering both counts as all-grade.
Questions about schools in Lacombe County
Is there a French-language school in Lacombe County?
None within 3 km of Lacombe County. The French-language board serves it from schools further off.
How many schools are there in Lacombe County?
4 in the town, 17 just beyond it, within 3 km.
How do I get a place at a school in Lacombe County?
Enrolment goes through the board; schools outside your area take students when they have room.
Which boards run the schools in Lacombe County?
The Wolf Creek School Division (15), The Red Deer Catholic Separate School Division (1) and The St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School Division (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
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).