Results around Smoky River No. 130 lean low: 4 of 5 schools in the lower two fifths in Alberta
One school here teaches in French; in Alberta, 2% of schools do. In or within 3 km of Smoky River No. 130: 2 elementary schools, 1 secondary school and 2 schools for every grade, with 650 students.
What stands out about Smoky River No. 130’s schools
Several boards
3 boards run schools in the area: The High Prairie School Division, The Northern Gateway School Division and The Northwest Francophone Education Region. The boards ↓
Fewer Catholic schools
Catholic schools are 0 of 5 here, below the 18% in Alberta. Who runs them ↓
Small elementary schools
At 114 students on average, against 274 in Alberta, the elementary schools are small. Every school ↓
The comparisons are with the province’s schools, never across provinces.
How Smoky River No. 130’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 | 5 | 61% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 5 | 6% | 13% |
The widest gap is on the standard of excellence, where the area’s schools reach 6% against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (5)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Homeland Colony SchoolAll grades · Grades 1–9 | Acceptable 78% · Excellence 6% | Middle fifth |
| Georges P Vanier SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 53% · Excellence 7% | Fourth fifth |
| Routhier SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 61% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| École HéritageAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 67% · Excellence 3% | Fourth fifth |
| Twilight Colony SchoolElementary · Grades 1–8 | Acceptable 56% · 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.
Schooling in English and French around Smoky River No. 130
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 Northwest Francophone Education Region runs the French-language ones: École Héritage.
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.
Where the 5 schools in and around Smoky River No. 130 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).
Who runs Smoky River No. 130’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 French-language 1.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
The 3 boards that run schools here
The boards and their schools here.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The High Prairie School DivisionGeorges P Vanier, Routhier | English public | 2 | 401 |
| The Northern Gateway School DivisionTwilight Colony, Homeland Colony | English public | 2 | 70 |
| The Northwest Francophone Education RegionHéritage | French public | 1 | 179 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Smoky River No. 130
The neighbourhood school
Attendance zones do the sorting here. Inside the zone a child is in; outside it, the answer turns on how full the school is.
French-language schools
The French boards take rights-holders’ children by right and others by committee.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 5 schools in and around Smoky River No. 130
High schools within reach of Smoky River No. 130
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 2 high schools: 1 French public and 1 English public. The closest high school is École Héritage, 7.9 km out.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| École HéritageAll grades · Grades K–12 | The Northwest Francophone Education Region | French public | Fourth fifth | 179 | 7.9 km |
| Georges P Vanier SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | The High Prairie School Division | English public | Fourth fifth | 217 | 12 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Schools in the towns around Smoky River No. 130
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky River No. 130 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7.8 km |
| Falher 7.6 km | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.4 km |
Each of its 1 neighbours has fewer schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What isn’t here. Provinces don’t grade schools by inspection; class sizes and enrolment over time aren’t in the open lists.
- Bands, not ranks. The fifths are of schools, not students: a small school counts as much as a large one.
- Boards and systems. Boards come in one language each, and where the province funds Catholic schools, as public or Catholic; independent schools stand outside them.
- The year. The province’s school list, 2025/26.
- The kinds of school. The levels follow each school’s published grades: elementary below Grade 7 or 9, secondary above, all-grade when it runs the whole way.
- Which schools count. A school counts when it sits inside Smoky River No. 130 or less than 3 km beyond its edge.
Questions about schools in Smoky River No. 130
Is there a French-language school in Smoky River No. 130?
Yes, there are French-language schools: École Héritage.
How many schools are there in Smoky River No. 130?
3 in the town, 2 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Which boards run the schools in Smoky River No. 130?
The High Prairie School Division (2), The Northern Gateway School Division (2) and The Northwest Francophone Education Region (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
How do I get a place at a school in Smoky River No. 130?
Start with the board for the system you want; your address sets 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).