Photo: Wilson Hui from Calgary, Canada · CC BY 2.0In the lower two fifths in Alberta: 6 of the 8 schools around Westlock County with results
Counting a 3 km margin, Westlock County has 2 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools and 5 schools for every grade, for 1,895 students.
How Westlock 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 D: 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 | 62% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 8 | 10% | 13% |
The widest gap is on the standard of excellence, where the area’s schools reach 10% against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (8)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Richard F Staples Secondary SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 64% · Excellence 11% | Middle fifth |
| St. Mary Catholic SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | Acceptable 66% · Excellence 11% | Middle fifth |
| Busby SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 74% · Excellence 4% | Fourth fifth |
| Eleanor Hall SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 58% · Excellence 13% | Fourth fifth |
| Pembina North Community SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 60% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| Westlock Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Acceptable 66% · Excellence 10% | Fourth fifth |
| Pibroch Colony SchoolAll grades · Grades 1–9 | Acceptable 13% · Excellence 0% | Bottom fifth |
| Sunny Bend Colony SchoolAll grades · Grades 1–9 | Acceptable 27% · 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 9 schools in and around Westlock 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 Westlock County
The language each school teaches in, against every school in Alberta.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Alberta.
For schooling in French, families look further afield.
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 Westlock County’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
Their systems: English public 8 and English Catholic 1.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
Which of the 2 boards runs which school
The boards and their schools here.
Of 2 boards, the largest here is The Pembina Hills School Division, with 8.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pembina Hills School DivisionRichard F Staples, Westlock, Eleanor Hall, Pembina North, Busby, Westlock Outreach, Pibroch Colony, Sunny Bend Colony | English public | 8 | 1,604 |
| The Evergreen Catholic Separate School DivisionSt. Mary | English Catholic | 1 | 291 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Westlock County
Catholic schools
Catholic separate schools are publicly funded here; each separate board decides whom it admits, Catholic families first.
The neighbourhood school
Registration happens with the board, not the school; the board names the school for the address.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 9 schools in and around Westlock County
High schools within reach of Westlock County
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 5 high schools: 4 English public and 1 English Catholic. For the shortest journey, Westlock Outreach: 8.9 km.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlock OutreachSecondary · Grades 10–12 | The Pembina Hills School Division | English public | – | 25 | 8.9 km |
| Richard F Staples Secondary SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | The Pembina Hills School Division | English public | Middle fifth | 573 | 9.3 km |
| St. Mary Catholic SchoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | The Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | Middle fifth | 291 | 9.4 km |
| Pibroch Colony SchoolAll grades · Grades 1–9 | The Pembina Hills School Division | English public | Bottom fifth | 20 | 12 km |
| Pembina North Community SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | The Pembina Hills School Division | English public | Fourth fifth | 186 | 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hamptons | 12,008 | 16 | 8,431 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| … | |||||
| Valley Ridge | 7,782 | 22 | 10,076 | 1 | 2.9 km |
| Ambleside | 7,733 | 21 | 17,796 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Brazeau County | 7,685 | 9 | 3,504 | 0 | 1.4 km |
| Altadore | 7,675 | 72 | 28,068 | 1 | 0.3 km |
| Westlock County | 7,556 | 9 | 1,895 | 0 | 8.7 km |
| Forest Lawn | 7,513 | 46 | 18,108 | 0 | 0.6 km |
| Ermineskin | 7,483 | 40 | 19,498 | 0 | 1.5 km |
| Ranchlands | 7,376 | 45 | 20,483 | 1 | 1.4 km |
| Brentwood | 7,369 | 59 | 26,958 | 1 | 0.6 km |
| … | |||||
| Warner County No. 5 | 4,533 | 13 | 1,655 | 0 | 7.8 km |
In 190 of the 231 others the count is higher. Teaching in French: 103 of the 232 have it.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Westlock County
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlock County | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8.7 km |
| Westlock 9.5 km | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0.7 km |
Each of its 1 neighbours has fewer schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. A 3 km band around Westlock County’s outline is included, as it is for every town on the site.
- The kinds of school. Elementary and secondary come from the grades each school offers; a school offering both counts as all-grade.
- The year. Listed for 2025/26.
- 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.
- Bands, not ranks. A suppressed result gives no band; a school with both measures averages its fifths.
- What isn’t here. Ontario’s private schools aren’t in the open list; no province publishes inspection grades.
Questions about schools in Westlock County
How do I get a place at a school in Westlock County?
Registration is with the board, which assigns the school for the home address.
Which boards run the schools in Westlock County?
By number of schools: The Pembina Hills School Division (8) and The Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division (1).
How many schools are there in Westlock County?
The town holds 5 of them; 4 more are within 3 km of its outline.
Is there a French-language school in Westlock County?
None within 3 km of Westlock County. The French-language board serves it from schools further off.
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).