Photo: Jeffrey Wallace · CC BY-SA 4.0Catholic schools are a larger share around Woodlands County: 4 of 10, against 18% in Alberta
Catholic schooling here comes from The Living Waters Catholic Separate School Division. 3 boards run its schools. In or within 3 km of Woodlands County: 5 elementary schools, 4 secondary schools and 1 school for every grade, with 2,611 students.
What stands out about Woodlands County’s schools
Results on both sides
The results split: 2 of 5 schools in the upper two fifths in Alberta, 2 in the lower, with École St. Joseph School, École St. Mary School and Fort Assiniboine School on top. Results ↓
The comparisons are with the province’s schools, never across provinces.
Who runs Woodlands County’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 6 and English Catholic 4.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
Which of the 3 boards runs which school
Each board’s schools in the area, largest first.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Northern Gateway School DivisionHilltop, Percy Baxter, Whitecourt Central, Pat Hardy Primary, Gateway Academy Whitecourt | English public | 5 | 1,622 |
| The Living Waters Catholic Separate School DivisionSt. Joseph, St. Anne, St. Mary, Across the Waters Outreach | English Catholic | 4 | 903 |
| The Pembina Hills School DivisionFort Assiniboine | English public | 1 | 86 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How Woodlands 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 | 5 | 63% | 67% |
| PAT: standard of excellence | 5 | 14% | 13% |
Furthest from the provincial middle is the standard of excellence: 14% here, against 13% in Alberta.
Every school’s results (5)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| École St. Joseph SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Acceptable 82% · Excellence 14% | Second fifth |
| École St. Mary SchoolElementary · Grades 4–6 | Acceptable 73% · Excellence 19% | Second fifth |
| Fort Assiniboine SchoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | Acceptable 59% · Excellence 18% | Middle fifth |
| Hilltop High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Acceptable 63% · Excellence 8% | Fourth fifth |
| Percy Baxter Middle SchoolElementary · Grades 6–8 | Acceptable 47% · Excellence 4% | 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 10 schools in and around Woodlands 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 Woodlands County
The language each school teaches in, against every school in Alberta.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Alberta.
There is no French-language school among them.
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.
How children get a place in Woodlands County
Catholic schools
Here the Catholic schools form a funded separate system; non-Catholic families may apply where a board allows it.
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 10 schools in and around Woodlands County
High schools within reach of Woodlands County
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
Counting out to 15 km, there are 4: 2 English Catholic and 2 English public. Closest of all: École St. Joseph School (7.5 km).
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| École St. Joseph SchoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | The Living Waters Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | Second fifth | 330 | 7.5 km |
| Gateway Academy WhitecourtSecondary · Grades 10–12 | The Northern Gateway School Division | English public | – | 99 | 8.6 km |
| Hilltop High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | The Northern Gateway School Division | English public | Fourth fifth | 540 | 8.6 km |
| Across the Waters OutreachSecondary · Grades 8–12 | The Living Waters Catholic Separate School Division | English Catholic | – | 32 | 8.8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlock County | 7,556 | 9 | 1,895 | 0 | 8.7 km |
| … | |||||
| Richmond | 4,811 | 79 | 27,602 | 1 | 0.4 km |
| Central McDougall | 4,802 | 41 | 17,910 | 4 | 0.5 km |
| Canora | 4,799 | 50 | 20,063 | 2 | 0.4 km |
| Baturyn | 4,796 | 29 | 12,931 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Woodlands County | 4,778 | 10 | 2,611 | 0 | 7.4 km |
| Barrhead | 4,768 | 3 | 1,299 | 0 | 0.2 km |
| Macewan Glen | 4,718 | 76 | 38,865 | 2 | 1.4 km |
| Kingsland | 4,700 | 62 | 27,613 | 1 | 0.5 km |
| Eastwood | 4,681 | 65 | 32,041 | 1 | 0.1 km |
| … | |||||
| Black Diamond | 2,910 | 2 | 587 | 0 | 0.5 km |
Set against 271 others, 217 have more schools in reach. 121 towns of the 272 have 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 Woodlands 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodlands County | 10 | 0 | 4 | 7.4 km |
| Whitecourt 9.4 km | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1.2 km |
Of 1 neighbours, none has more schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The kinds of school. Kindergarten to Grade 8 is elementary, Grade 9 to 12 secondary, though the split varies by province and board.
- Which schools count. Counted: Woodlands County’s own schools and any within 3 km of its edge.
- Boards and systems. Public and Catholic boards are both publicly funded here, in English and in French; an independent school answers to no board.
- The year. As the province lists them in 2025/26.
- What isn’t here. Enrolment is a single year, where published at all, and no inspectorate rates schools.
- 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.
Questions about schools in Woodlands County
Which boards run the schools in Woodlands County?
The Northern Gateway School Division (5), The Living Waters Catholic Separate School Division (4) and The Pembina Hills School Division (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
How do I get a place at a school in Woodlands County?
Each board registers its own students; its website gives the school for an address.
How many schools are there in Woodlands County?
1 in the town, 9 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Is there a French-language school in Woodlands County?
Not within 3 km of Woodlands County. The French-language board still serves families here.
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).