Photo: James Abbott from New Westminster, B.C., Canada · CC BY-SA 2.03 above the middle in British Columbia, 5 below: Cowichan Bay’s 11 tested schools
The highest results belong to Sunrise Waldorf School and Queen Margaret's. In French: one of the 16 schools, where in British Columbia the share is 2%. The 3 km around Cowichan Bay counts 9 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools, 2 schools for every grade and 3 alternative or adult schools.
What stands out about Cowichan Bay’s schools
The strongest results
The area’s best results are at Sunrise Waldorf School (all grades), in the top fifth in British Columbia. Results ↓
Every figure here sets the area’s schools beside the rest of its province.
How Cowichan Bay’s schools do on BC’s assessments
The Foundation Skills Assessment in Grades 4 and 7 and first-time graduation: each school against every school in BC.
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 | British Columbia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 literacy (FSA score) | 9 | 468 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 9 | 462 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 8 | 464 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 8 | 450 | 454 |
| First-time Grade 12 graduation | 4 | 93% | 91% |
No measure strays far from the province: Grade 4 numeracy, the furthest, is 462 against 472 in British Columbia. The area is ahead on 0 of 5 measures and behind on 0.
Every school’s results (11)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Waldorf SchoolAll grades | G4 literacy 630 · G4 numeracy 615 · G7 literacy 567 · G7 numeracy 540 | Top fifth |
| Queen Margaret'sElementary | G4 literacy 535 · G4 numeracy 547 · G7 literacy 521 · G7 numeracy 497 · Graduation 100% | Top fifth |
| Cowichan Open SchoolSecondary | G7 literacy masked · G7 numeracy masked · Graduation 94% | Second fifth |
| Ecole Cobble Hill ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 468 · G4 numeracy 474 · G7 literacy 486 · G7 numeracy 454 | Middle fifth |
| Duncan Christian SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 464 · G4 numeracy 476 · G7 literacy 506 · G7 numeracy 456 · Graduation 91% | Middle fifth |
| Bench ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 479 · G4 numeracy 462 · G7 literacy 441 · G7 numeracy 447 | Middle fifth |
| Queen of Angels SchoolAll grades | G4 literacy 469 · G4 numeracy 435 · G7 literacy 402 · G7 numeracy 368 | Fourth fifth |
| Crofton Elementary Community SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 440 · G4 numeracy 403 | Bottom fifth |
| Alexander ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 371 · G4 numeracy 318 · G7 literacy 366 · G7 numeracy 313 | Bottom fifth |
| Cowichan Valley Open Learning Co-OpAlternative or adult | Graduation 44% | Bottom fifth |
| Khowhemun ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 396 · G4 numeracy 342 · G7 literacy 402 · G7 numeracy 345 | Bottom fifth |
BC Ministry of Education and Child Care: FSA 2021/22 to 2025/26 (the latest year with a value) and first-time Grade 12 graduation; masked where groups are small; resident students only. Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
Where the 16 schools in and around Cowichan Bay are
Every school as a pin, coloured by system; each opens its own page.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Cowichan Bay
English, French and other languages of instruction, beside the mix in British Columbia.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in British Columbia.
SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophone runs the French-language ones: Des Cascades.
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 Cowichan Bay’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
By the system they belong to: English public 10, French-language 1 and independent 5.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
2 boards, school by school
The boards and their schools here.
Among 2 boards, SD 79 Cowichan Valley leads with 10.
| Board | System | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| SD 79 Cowichan ValleyAdult Learning Centre, Alexander, Bench, Cowichan Open, Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning, Cowichan Valley Open Learning Co-Op, Crofton Elementary, Ecole Cobble Hill … | English public | 10 |
| SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophoneDes Cascades | French public | 1 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Cowichan Bay
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.
Independent schools
Admission to an independent school is by its own rules; fees apply, lowered by partial provincial funding.
French-language schools
French-language boards admit the children of rights-holders under section 23 of the Charter (a parent whose first language is French, or who was schooled in French in Canada), and may admit others through an admissions committee.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 16 schools in and around Cowichan Bay
High schools within reach of Cowichan Bay
Every secondary school within 15 km of the town, nearest first.
Counting out to 15 km, there are 7: 4 independent and 3 English public. Nearest: Sunrise Waldorf School, 2.5 km off.
| School | Board | System | Band | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Waldorf SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Top fifth | 2.5 km |
| Queen of Angels SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Fourth fifth | 6.4 km |
| Quamichan SchoolSecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | – | 7.8 km |
| Cowichan Open SchoolSecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | Second fifth | 9 km |
| Shawnigan LakeSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 9 km |
| Frances Kelsey SecondarySecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | Second fifth | 9.2 km |
| Brentwood CollegeSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 10 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Alternative, adult and other schools around Cowichan Bay
Other schooling here: adult and continuing education at Adult Learning Centre; online learning through Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning; alternative programs at Cowichan Valley Open Learning Co-Op. Their cards ↑
The kinds as the provincial lists give them (alternative, adult and continuing education, online, provincial schools).
Towns its size in British Columbia
Towns of a similar population, with their schools in or within 3 km; described, not ranked.
| Town | Population | Schools | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 108 Recreational Ranch | 5,887 | 5 | 0 | 11 km |
| … | ||||
| Roberts Creek | 3,779 | 7 | 2 | 8.1 km |
| Electoral Area A, Fraser-Fort George | 3,764 | 3 | 0 | 6 km |
| Lake Cowichan | 3,757 | 3 | 0 | 24 km |
| Electoral Area C, Nanaimo | 3,733 | 36 | 2 | 3.2 km |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 16 | 1 | 2.6 km |
| Electoral Area A, Columbia-Shuswap | 3,672 | 6 | 1 | 4.6 km |
| Electoral Area F, Bulkley-Nechako | 3,643 | 9 | 0 | 4.1 km |
| Pemberton | 3,620 | 3 | 1 | 0.7 km |
| Colebrook | 3,617 | 31 | 1 | 1.9 km |
| … | ||||
| Clearwater | 2,500 | 3 | 0 | 85 km |
Among 98 towns its size, 12 have more schools nearby. Teaching in French: 21 of the 99 have it.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Cowichan Bay
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowichan Bay | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2.6 km |
| Cobble Hill 5.6 km | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 km |
| Cowichan 6.4 km | 19 | 1 | 5 | 2 km |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley 7.3 km | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2.4 km |
| Duncan 7.8 km | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1.1 km |
| Shawnigan 9.6 km | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0.8 km |
| North Cowichan 10 km | 22 | 1 | 4 | 2.8 km |
Top among the neighbours: North Cowichan, 22 schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The year. Schools as listed for 2025/26.
- Boards and systems. Public schools come under a board of one language; independent schools are run privately.
- What isn’t here. Ontario’s private schools aren’t in the open list; no province publishes inspection grades.
- Bands, not ranks. Top fifth means a result among the best fifth of BC’s schools on that measure; the card shows a school’s average fifth.
- Which schools count. A 3 km band around Cowichan Bay’s outline is included, as it is for every town on the site.
- The kinds of school. An all-grade school teaches from kindergarten through high school; elementary and secondary schools split those years.
Questions about schools in Cowichan Bay
How do I get a place at a school in Cowichan Bay?
Choose a system, then register with its board; the address decides the school.
Which boards run the schools in Cowichan Bay?
SD 79 Cowichan Valley (10) and SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophone (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
Is there a French-language school in Cowichan Bay?
Yes, there are French-language schools: Des Cascades.
How many schools are there in Cowichan Bay?
The town holds 1 of them; 15 more are within 3 km of its outline.
Sources: BC Ministry of Education and Child Care, K-12 school list 2025/26 (Open Government Licence – British Columbia) · 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).