Photo: Dicklyon · CC BY-SA 4.05 of Ponoka County’s 8 tested schools score in the lower two fifths in Alberta
Best placed: Ponoka Christian School. Counting a 3 km margin, Ponoka County has 2 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools and 8 schools for every grade, for 2,866 students.
How Ponoka 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 | 8 | 61% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 8 | 12% | 13% |
Furthest from the provincial middle is the acceptable standard: 61% here, against 67% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (8)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Ponoka Christian SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 87% · Excellence 17% | Second fifth |
| Crestomere SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 66% · Excellence 17% | Middle fifth |
| St. Augustine SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 61% · Excellence 15% | Middle fifth |
| Bluffton SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 61% · Excellence 14% | Fourth fifth |
| Mecca Glen SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 67% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| Ponoka Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 55% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| Ponoka Secondary CampusSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 45% · Excellence 8% | Bottom fifth |
| Mamawi Atosketan Native SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 11% · 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.
Where the 12 schools in and around Ponoka County are
Every school as a pin, coloured by system; each opens its own page.
Points from the provincial lists; Alberta’s missing ones from OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim (© OpenStreetMap contributors).
Schooling in English and French around Ponoka 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.
No school here teaches in French.
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 Ponoka County’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
Counted by who runs them: English public 8, English Catholic 1 and independent or other 3.
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 Wolf Creek School Division has 8 of the area’s schools, the most of the 2 boards.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Wolf Creek School DivisionPonoka, Ponoka Secondary Campus, The Brick Learning Centre, Crestomere, Bluffton, Mecca Glen, Ferrybank Colony, Leedale Hutterite Colony | English public | 8 | 1,714 |
| The St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School DivisionSt. Augustine | English Catholic | 1 | 749 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Ponoka County
The neighbourhood school
Ask the board first. It holds the enrolment list and points each street to its own school; out-of-area requests go ahead only with space to spare.
Catholic schools
Here the Catholic schools form a funded separate system; non-Catholic families may apply where a board allows it.
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 12 schools in and around Ponoka County
High schools within reach of Ponoka County
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Only Crestomere School is within 15 km, 2.7 km from the centre.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crestomere SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | The Wolf Creek School Division | English public | Middle fifth | 167 | 2.7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerside | 16,760 | 18 | 10,845 | 0 | 0.2 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 |
| Ponoka County | 10,670 | 12 | 2,866 | 0 | 2.7 km |
| Hidden Valley | 10,614 | 27 | 19,070 | 0 | 0.1 km |
| Rundle | 10,549 | 70 | 32,069 | 0 | 0.2 km |
| Temple | 10,545 | 49 | 26,574 | 1 | 0.1 km |
| Arbour Lake | 10,454 | 36 | 14,481 | 1 | 0.4 km |
| … | |||||
| Crescent Heights | 6,411 | 69 | 34,910 | 1 | 0.5 km |
Set against 173 others, 136 have more schools in reach. A school in French is nearby in 72 towns of 174.
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
- The year. 2025/26, the latest open list.
- Boards and systems. Each board covers a territory in one language and one system, public or Catholic; boards of different systems overlap.
- Bands, not ranks. The fifths are of schools, not students: a small school counts as much as a large one.
- What isn’t here. What no open list gives: inspection grades, several years of enrolment, and Ontario’s private schools.
- Which schools count. Counted: Ponoka County’s own schools and any within 3 km of its edge.
- The kinds of school. Schools are grouped by what they teach: elementary, secondary, every grade, and the alternative, adult and online programs.
Questions about schools in Ponoka County
How do I get a place at a school in Ponoka County?
Choose a system, then register with its board; the address decides the school.
Which boards run the schools in Ponoka County?
The Wolf Creek School Division (8) and The St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Separate School Division (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
How many schools are there in Ponoka County?
The town holds 5 of them; 7 more are within 3 km of its outline.
Is there a French-language school in Ponoka County?
No, none within 3 km of Ponoka County; 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).