Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMixed results around Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley: 3 high and 6 low of 11 schools in British Columbia
The strongest results are at Sunrise Waldorf School and Queen Margaret's. Of the 16, one teaches in French (2% of schools in British Columbia). Counting a 3 km margin, Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley has 9 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools, 2 schools for every grade and 3 alternative or adult schools.
What stands out about Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s schools
The strongest results
Top of the area: Sunrise Waldorf School (all grades), its results in the top fifth in British Columbia. Results ↓
Every figure here sets the area’s schools beside the rest of its province.
How Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’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 | 464 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 9 | 447 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 9 | 435 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 9 | 443 | 454 |
| First-time Grade 12 graduation | 4 | 93% | 91% |
Furthest from the provincial middle is Grade 7 literacy: 435 here, against 467 in British Columbia. 0 measures above the provincial middle, 2 below, out of 5.
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 |
| 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 |
| Alex AitkenElementary | G4 literacy 458 · G4 numeracy 447 · G7 literacy 435 · G7 numeracy 443 | Fourth fifth |
| Queen of Angels SchoolAll grades | G4 literacy 469 · G4 numeracy 435 · G7 literacy 402 · G7 numeracy 368 | Fourth fifth |
| Tansor ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 457 · G4 numeracy 440 · G7 literacy 399 · G7 numeracy 372 | 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
The language each school teaches in, against every school 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
System by system: English public 10, French-language 1 and independent 5.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
The 2 boards that run schools here
The boards and their schools here.
SD 79 Cowichan Valley runs the most, 10 of them, among 2 boards.
| Board | System | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| SD 79 Cowichan ValleyAdult Learning Centre, Alex Aitken, Alexander, Bench, Cowichan Open, Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning, Cowichan Valley Open Learning Co-Op, Khowhemun … | 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
The neighbourhood school
Registration happens with the board, not the school; the board names the school for the address.
French-language schools
French-language schools are for children of section 23 rights-holders first; the board may admit others case by case.
Independent schools
Independent schools here charge fees but receive some provincial funding if they meet its standards.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 16 schools in and around Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
High schools within reach of Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
5 secondary schools are within 15 km: 3 independent and 2 English public. The nearest is Cowichan Open School, 2.4 km away.
| School | Board | System | Band | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowichan Open SchoolSecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | Second fifth | 2.4 km |
| Quamichan SchoolSecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | – | 2.5 km |
| Queen of Angels SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Fourth fifth | 3.2 km |
| Sunrise Waldorf SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Top fifth | 6.4 km |
| Shawnigan LakeSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 13 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Alternative, adult and other schools around Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merritt | 7,190 | 8 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| … | ||||
| Vanderhoof | 4,545 | 8 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks), Thompson-Nicola | 4,540 | 10 | 0 | 16 km |
| Bowen Island | 4,501 | 2 | 0 | 7.6 km |
| Sparwood | 4,486 | 2 | 0 | 32 km |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 16 | 1 | 2.4 km |
| Golden | 4,433 | 5 | 1 | 0.1 km |
| Rossland | 4,355 | 3 | 1 | 0.1 km |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | 4,309 | 18 | 2 | 3.1 km |
| Grand Forks | 4,308 | 4 | 0 | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||
| Electoral Area E, Peace River | 2,737 | 8 | 0 | 41 km |
Among 105 towns its size, 16 have more schools nearby. 22 of the 106 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 Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2.4 km |
| Cowichan 1.2 km | 19 | 1 | 5 | 2 km |
| Duncan 1.5 km | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1.1 km |
| North Cowichan 5.1 km | 22 | 1 | 4 | 2.8 km |
| Cowichan Bay 7.3 km | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2.6 km |
| Cobble Hill 12 km | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 km |
| Shawnigan 13 km | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0.8 km |
North Cowichan has the most schools nearby, 22.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What isn’t here. What no open list gives: inspection grades, several years of enrolment, and Ontario’s private schools.
- Bands, not ranks. FSA scores and first-time graduation are placed by fifths among BC’s schools; international fee-paying students aren’t counted.
- Boards and systems. Boards here split by language only: English districts and a French-language board.
- The year. The provincial list for 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. The area is Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley plus a 3 km margin around it, measured from its census outline.
Questions about schools in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley
Is there a French-language school in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
Yes: Des Cascades, the French-language schools here.
How many schools are there in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
2 in the town, 14 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Which boards run the schools in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
By number of schools: SD 79 Cowichan Valley (10) and SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophone (1).
How do I get a place at a school in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
Contact the board: it names the school for your address and takes the registration.
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).