Photo: Eric Friedebach · CC BY 3.0No high school in or near Merritt: the closest is 0.5 km off
The town’s own schools, within 3 km, are 6 elementary schools and 2 alternative or adult schools. 5 of 7 schools with results score below the middle in British Columbia.
High schools within reach of Merritt
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
No secondary school is within 15 km of the town.
How Merritt’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 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 | British Columbia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 literacy (FSA score) | 5 | 439 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 5 | 412 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 6 | 417 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 6 | 380 | 454 |
| First-time Grade 12 graduation | 2 | 75% | 91% |
On first-time graduation the area trails, 75% against 91% in British Columbia. Across 5 measures: 0 above the middle, 5 below.
Every school’s results (7)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Nicola Canford ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 469 · G4 numeracy 520 · G7 literacy 463 · G7 numeracy 594 | Second fifth |
| Collettville ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 473 · G4 numeracy 436 · G7 literacy 501 · G7 numeracy 450 | Middle fifth |
| Merritt SecondaryElementary | Graduation 85% | Fourth fifth |
| Merritt Bench ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 439 · G4 numeracy 412 · G7 literacy 444 · G7 numeracy 429 | Fourth fifth |
| Diamond Vale ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 395 · G4 numeracy 367 · G7 literacy 390 · G7 numeracy 330 | Bottom fifth |
| Merritt Central ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 387 · G4 numeracy 392 · G7 literacy 351 · G7 numeracy 313 | Bottom fifth |
| South Central Interior Distance EDAlternative or adult | G4 literacy no data · G4 numeracy no data · G7 literacy 273 · G7 numeracy 292 · Graduation 65% | 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 8 schools in and around Merritt are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Merritt
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.
Schooling in French isn’t on offer here.
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 Merritt’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
A single system: every one English public.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How children get a place in Merritt
The neighbourhood school
The neighbourhood school is the one the board designates for the address; choice beyond it depends on space.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 8 schools in and around Merritt
Alternative, adult and other schools around Merritt
Other schooling here: alternative programs at Kengard Alternate School; online learning through South Central Interior Distance ED. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Lake | 11,462 | 12 | 0 | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||
| Holdom | 7,976 | 35 | 0 | 1.3 km |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 21 | 1 | 3.7 km |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 7,825 | 7 | 0 | 1.9 km |
| Lochdale | 7,463 | 36 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Merritt | 7,190 | 8 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Hope | 7,183 | 6 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Fairwinds | 7,125 | 3 | 0 | 13 km |
| Kent | 7,093 | 6 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Fernie | 7,086 | 5 | 1 | 23 km |
| … | ||||
| Invermere | 4,305 | 6 | 0 | 0.5 km |
In 46 of the 90 others the count is higher. In 20 of the 91, at least one school teaches in French.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Merritt
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merritt | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Electoral Area M (Beautiful Nicola Valley - North), Thompson-Nicola 8.9 km | 9 | 0 | 2 | 8.9 km |
The neighbour with most schools is Electoral Area M (Beautiful Nicola Valley - North), Thompson-Nicola (9).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The kinds of school. Elementary means kindergarten to Grade 6 or 8, secondary up to Grade 12 (Secondary V in Quebec); a few schools take every grade.
- Which schools count. A school counts when it sits inside Merritt or less than 3 km beyond its edge.
- Boards and systems. English and French boards share the province, each with its own schools; there are no separate Catholic boards here.
- The year. The provincial list for 2025/26.
- Bands, not ranks. Each result is placed in a fifth of BC’s schools on the same measure; a school’s band averages its fifths. BC masks small groups and counts resident students only, so no school is ranked to the place.
- What isn’t here. What no open list gives: inspection grades, several years of enrolment, and Ontario’s private schools.
Questions about schools in Merritt
How do I get a place at a school in Merritt?
Registration is with the board, which assigns the school for the home address.
How many schools are there in Merritt?
Every one of them, 8, is inside the town.
Is there a French-language school in Merritt?
There is none in or near Merritt (within 3 km); the French-language board covers the area from elsewhere.
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).