Photo: Shoju foge · CC BY-SA 3.0Vermilion leans Catholic: 3 of its 6 schools, where in Alberta it is 18%
The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division run the Catholic ones. On the tests, 2 of 4 schools land above the middle in Alberta, 2 under it. 1,977 students attend the 2 elementary schools, 1 secondary school and 3 schools for every grade in or within 3 km of Vermilion.
What stands out about Vermilion’s schools
Small elementary schools
Elementary schools here average 149 students, against 274 in Alberta. Every school ↓
The comparisons are with the province’s schools, never across provinces.
Who runs Vermilion’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 2, English Catholic 3 and independent or other 1.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How Vermilion’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 | 74% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 4 | 11% | 13% |
On the standard of excellence the area trails, 11% against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (4)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Vermilion Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 80% · Excellence 19% | Second fifth |
| St. Jerome's SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 73% · Excellence 17% | Second fifth |
| J. R. Robson SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 74% · Excellence 3% | Fourth fifth |
| School of HopeAll grades · Grades 1–12 | Acceptable 11% · Excellence 5% | 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 6 schools in and around Vermilion 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 Vermilion
English, French and other languages of instruction, beside the mix in Alberta.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Alberta.
Schooling in French isn’t on offer here.
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
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
Of 2 boards, the largest here is The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division, with 3.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School DivisionHope Home Schooling, School of Hope, St. Jerome's | English Catholic | 3 | 1,442 |
| The Buffalo Trail School DivisionVermilion, J. R. Robson | English public | 2 | 518 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Vermilion
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 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 6 schools in and around Vermilion
High schools within reach of Vermilion
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Counting out to 15 km, there are 4: 3 English Catholic and 1 English public. Hope Home Schooling is closest, at 0.6 km.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hope Home SchoolingAll grades · Grades K–12 | The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | – | 525 | 0.6 km |
| School of HopeAll grades · Grades 1–12 | The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | Bottom fifth | 481 | 0.6 km |
| J. R. Robson SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | The Buffalo Trail School Division | English public | Fourth fifth | 238 | 0.7 km |
| St. Jerome's SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | Second fifth | 436 | 0.7 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Alberta
Similar-sized towns and their schools within 3 km, by population.
| Town | Population | Schools | Students | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonnie Doon | 6,697 | 56 | 28,586 | 6 | 0.1 km |
| … | |||||
| Claresholm | 4,242 | 2 | 678 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| Calder | 4,221 | 51 | 23,306 | 1 | 0.5 km |
| Ozerna | 4,216 | 36 | 20,818 | 0 | 1.2 km |
| Jackson Heights | 4,195 | 28 | 12,537 | 0 | 1.2 km |
| Vermilion | 4,192 | 6 | 1,977 | 0 | 0.6 km |
| Callaghan | 4,180 | 10 | 9,075 | 0 | 0.9 km |
| Wildwood | 4,177 | 80 | 32,214 | 1 | 0.8 km |
| Banff Trail | 4,175 | 70 | 31,777 | 2 | 0.4 km |
| Patterson | 4,169 | 52 | 22,340 | 1 | 1.8 km |
| … | |||||
| Rimbey | 2,502 | 4 | 823 | 0 | 12 km |
More schools are within reach in 231 of the 276 other towns. A school in French is nearby in 118 towns of 277.
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
- Which schools count. A 3 km band around Vermilion’s outline is included, as it is for every town on the site.
- 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.
- What isn’t here. Inspection reports with ratings don’t exist here, and the lists give enrolment for one year at most.
- Bands, not ranks. Bands compare within Alberta only: never a place in a league table.
- The year. The province’s 2025/26 list.
- Boards and systems. Boards are set by language and, in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, by faith: public or Catholic.
Questions about schools in Vermilion
How many schools are there in Vermilion?
Every one of them, 6, is inside the town.
Is there a French-language school in Vermilion?
No, none within 3 km of Vermilion; ask the French-language board for the nearest.
How do I get a place at a school in Vermilion?
Registration is with the board, which assigns the school for the home address.
Which boards run the schools in Vermilion?
The East Central Alberta Catholic Separate School Division (3) and The Buffalo Trail School Division (2), 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).