Photo: Kiwibirdman · CC BY 3.0Highlands’s teenagers travel 7.7 km to the nearest high school
Within 3 km of the town there are 7 elementary schools and 2 alternative or adult schools only. Of the 7 with results, 6 sit in the lower two fifths in British Columbia.
High schools within reach of Highlands
Every secondary school within 15 km of the town, nearest first.
Within 15 km, families can reach 10 high schools: 6 English public and 4 independent. Closest of all: Stelly's Secondary (7.7 km).
| School | Board | System | Band | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stelly's SecondarySecondary | SD 63 Saanich | English public | Middle fifth | 7.7 km |
| Lakeview Christian SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Middle fifth | 9.4 km |
| Claremont SecondarySecondary | SD 63 Saanich | English public | Second fifth | 10 km |
| Spectrum CommunitySecondary | SD 61 Greater Victoria | English public | Middle fifth | 11 km |
| St Andrew's Regional HighSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 13 km |
| Brentwood CollegeSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 13 km |
| Esquimalt High SchoolSecondary | SD 61 Greater Victoria | English public | Fourth fifth | 14 km |
| Frances Kelsey SecondarySecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | Second fifth | 14 km |
| Selkirk Montessori SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Top fifth | 14 km |
| Lambrick Park SecondarySecondary | SD 61 Greater Victoria | English public | Second fifth | 15 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
How Highlands’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) | 6 | 439 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 6 | 440 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 1 | 411 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 1 | 377 | 454 |
The widest gap is on Grade 7 numeracy, where the area’s schools reach 377 against 454 in British Columbia. On 0 of 4 measures the area beats the provincial middle; on 4 it trails.
Every school’s results (7)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect Lake ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 477 · G4 numeracy 467 | Middle fifth |
| Lakewood ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 439 · G4 numeracy 443 | Fourth fifth |
| Millstream ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 441 · G4 numeracy 449 | Fourth fifth |
| Crystal View ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 433 · G4 numeracy 437 | Bottom fifth |
| Willway ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 439 · G4 numeracy 419 | Bottom fifth |
| Ruth King ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 401 · G4 numeracy 375 | Bottom fifth |
| Spencer Middle SchoolElementary | G7 literacy 411 · G7 numeracy 377 | 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 9 schools in and around Highlands are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Highlands
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.
Not one teaches in French.
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 Highlands’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
No mix of systems here: every one English public.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
2 boards, school by school
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
Among 2 boards, SD 62 Sooke leads with 8.
| Board | System | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| SD 62 SookeCrystal View, Lakewood, Millstream, Ruth King, SD62 Continuing Education, SD62 Online, Spencer, Willway | English public | 8 |
| SD 63 SaanichProspect Lake | English public | 1 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Highlands
The neighbourhood school
Boards set boundaries for each school; living inside one guarantees a place there, and moving across one usually means a request.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 9 schools in and around Highlands
Alternative, adult and other schools around Highlands
Also within reach: adult and continuing education at SD62 Continuing Education; online learning through SD62 Online School. Their cards ↑
The kinds as the provincial lists give them (alternative, adult and continuing education, online, provincial schools).
Towns its size in British Columbia
Places of about the same size and their schools in or within 3 km, largest first.
| Town | Population | Schools | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rossland | 4,355 | 3 | 1 | 0.1 km |
| … | ||||
| Cultus Lake | 2,773 | 9 | 0 | 6 km |
| Tofino | 2,772 | 1 | 0 | 18 km |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley | 2,761 | 5 | 0 | 3.9 km |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | 6 | 0 | 6.3 km |
| Highlands | 2,753 | 9 | 0 | 7.7 km |
| Electoral Area E, Peace River | 2,737 | 8 | 0 | 41 km |
| Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast | 2,691 | 7 | 0 | 4.1 km |
| Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay | 2,668 | 1 | 0 | 30 km |
| Tumbler Ridge | 2,663 | 2 | 0 | 72 km |
| … | ||||
| Clearwater | 2,500 | 3 | 0 | 85 km |
18 of the 63 others have more schools in reach. Of the 64, 15 offer 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 Highlands
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7.7 km |
| Central Saanich 7.5 km | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.7 km |
| Langford 9.8 km | 27 | 0 | 3 | 1 km |
| View Royal 9.8 km | 35 | 2 | 5 | 2.9 km |
| East Saanich 2 11 km | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 km |
| New Songhees 1A 12 km | 24 | 2 | 5 | 2 km |
| Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley 12 km | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1.1 km |
Top among the neighbours: View Royal, 35 schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Boards and systems. Boards here split by language only: English districts and a French-language board.
- The year. The province’s 2025/26 list.
- 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.
- The kinds of school. An all-grade school teaches from kindergarten through high school; elementary and secondary schools split those years.
- Which schools count. Each school is placed by its address point; those inside Highlands or within 3 km of it are here.
Questions about schools in Highlands
Which boards run the schools in Highlands?
By number of schools: SD 62 Sooke (8) and SD 63 Saanich (1).
How do I get a place at a school in Highlands?
Each board registers its own students; its website gives the school for an address.
How many schools are there in Highlands?
0 in the town, 9 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Is there a French-language school in Highlands?
Not near Highlands: within 3 km there is none, and the French-language board points to the closest.
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).