Photo: Gerry Thomasen from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0In the lower two fifths in British Columbia: 24 of the 35 schools around Nanaimo with results
Best placed: Aspengrove School and Nanaimo Christian School. No single board runs them all: there are 3. The 3 km around Nanaimo counts 30 elementary schools, 5 secondary schools, 1 school for every grade and 3 alternative or adult schools.
What stands out about Nanaimo’s schools
The strongest results
Top of the area: Aspengrove School (elementary), its results in the top fifth in British Columbia. Results ↓
The comparisons are with the province’s schools, never across provinces.
How Nanaimo’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) | 28 | 456 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 28 | 447 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 28 | 442 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 28 | 426 | 454 |
| First-time Grade 12 graduation | 9 | 87% | 91% |
Furthest from the provincial middle is Grade 7 numeracy: 426 here, against 454 in British Columbia. 0 measures above the provincial middle, 4 below, out of 5.
Every school’s results (35)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Aspengrove SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 560 · G4 numeracy 548 · G7 literacy 548 · G7 numeracy 484 · Graduation 100% | Top fifth |
| Nanaimo Christian SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 510 · G4 numeracy 546 · G7 literacy 477 · G7 numeracy 486 · Graduation 100% | Second fifth |
| Hammond Bay ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 490 · G4 numeracy 499 · G7 literacy 507 · G7 numeracy 534 | Second fifth |
| Departure Bay ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 483 · G4 numeracy 532 · G7 literacy 469 · G7 numeracy 485 | Second fifth |
| Nanaimo District SecondarySecondary | Graduation 93% | Second fifth |
| Discover Montessori SchoolAll grades | G4 literacy 576 · G4 numeracy 492 · G7 literacy 483 · G7 numeracy 429 | Second fifth |
| OceaneElementary | G4 literacy 500 · G4 numeracy 485 · G7 literacy 477 · G7 numeracy 440 | Middle fifth |
| Pauline Haarer ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 472 · G4 numeracy 473 · G7 literacy 511 · G7 numeracy 503 | Middle fifth |
| Randerson Ridge ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 483 · G4 numeracy 500 · G7 literacy 449 · G7 numeracy 447 | Middle fifth |
| Dover Bay SecondaryElementary | Graduation 89% | Middle fifth |
| Park Avenue ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 459 · G4 numeracy 487 · G7 literacy 443 · G7 numeracy 414 | Middle fifth |
| Cinnabar Valley ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 449 · G4 numeracy 492 · G7 literacy 449 · G7 numeracy 413 | Fourth fifth |
| McGirr ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 435 · G4 numeracy 441 · G7 literacy 471 · G7 numeracy 451 | Fourth fifth |
| Pleasant Valley ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 474 · G4 numeracy 513 · G7 literacy 406 · G7 numeracy 439 | Fourth fifth |
| Seaview ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 472 · G4 numeracy 450 · G7 literacy 429 · G7 numeracy 449 | Fourth fifth |
| Frank J. Ney ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 448 · G4 numeracy 444 · G7 literacy 460 · G7 numeracy 414 | Fourth fifth |
| Syuẁén'ct Elementary SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 453 · G4 numeracy 429 · G7 literacy 473 · G7 numeracy 431 | Fourth fifth |
| Career Technical CentreElementary | Graduation 87% | Fourth fifth |
| Cedar SecondarySecondary | Graduation 80% | Fourth fifth |
| Cilaire ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 476 · G4 numeracy 461 · G7 literacy 380 · G7 numeracy 378 | Fourth fifth |
| Fulford Community ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 475 · G4 numeracy 416 · G7 literacy 454 · G7 numeracy 397 | Fourth fifth |
| Wellington SecondarySecondary | Graduation 87% | Fourth fifth |
| Brechin ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 474 · G4 numeracy 423 · G7 literacy 427 · G7 numeracy 404 | Fourth fifth |
| Quarterway ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 382 · G4 numeracy 406 · G7 literacy 429 · G7 numeracy 441 | Fourth fifth |
| Uplands Park ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 454 · G4 numeracy 456 · G7 literacy 390 · G7 numeracy 423 | Fourth fifth |
| Chase River ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 423 · G4 numeracy 436 · G7 literacy 421 · G7 numeracy 415 | Bottom fifth |
| Fairview ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 406 · G4 numeracy 415 · G7 literacy 416 · G7 numeracy 456 | Bottom fifth |
| Rutherford ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 402 · G4 numeracy 415 · G7 literacy 441 · G7 numeracy 419 | Bottom fifth |
| Forest Park ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 436 · G4 numeracy 417 · G7 literacy 362 · G7 numeracy 361 | Bottom fifth |
| Bayview ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 350 · G4 numeracy 285 · G7 literacy 299 · G7 numeracy 302 | Bottom fifth |
| Georgia Avenue ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 386 · G4 numeracy 363 · G7 literacy 357 · G7 numeracy 320 | Bottom fifth |
| John Barsby SecondarySecondary | Graduation 76% | Bottom fifth |
| Learning AlternativesAlternative or adult | G7 literacy masked · G7 numeracy masked · Graduation 52% | Bottom fifth |
| Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh Community SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 370 · G4 numeracy 360 · G7 literacy 344 · G7 numeracy 337 | Bottom fifth |
| Rock City ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 401 · G4 numeracy 387 · G7 literacy 386 · G7 numeracy 373 | 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.
The 3 boards that run schools here
The boards and their schools here.
| Board | System | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| SD 68 Nanaimo-LadysmithBayview, Brechin, Career Technical Centre, Cedar Secondary, Chase River, Cilaire, Cinnabar Valley, Continuing Ed SD 68 … | English public | 33 |
| SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophoneOceane, Secondaire de Nanaimo | French public | 2 |
| SD 64 Gulf IslandsFulford Community | English public | 1 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
Where the 39 schools in and around Nanaimo are
Each pin is a school, coloured by the system that runs it, sized by its students where the province publishes them.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Nanaimo
Each school by its language of instruction, with the share in British Columbia marked.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in British Columbia.
Schooling in French, 2 schools: Oceane and Secondaire de Nanaimo, with SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophone running the public ones.
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 Nanaimo’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
Split by system, that is English public 34, French-language 2 and independent 3.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How children get a place in Nanaimo
French-language schools
The French boards take rights-holders’ children by right and others by committee.
Independent schools
Admission to an independent school is by its own rules; fees apply, lowered by partial provincial funding.
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 39 schools in and around Nanaimo
Show all 30 elementary schools
High schools within reach of Nanaimo
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
6 secondary schools are within 15 km: 4 English public, 1 independent and 1 French public. For the shortest journey, Discover Montessori School: 1.3 km.
| School | Board | System | Band | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discover Montessori SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Second fifth | 1.3 km |
| Wellington SecondarySecondary | SD 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith | English public | Fourth fifth | 2.5 km |
| Nanaimo District SecondarySecondary | SD 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith | English public | Second fifth | 3.6 km |
| Secondaire de NanaimoSecondary | SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophone | French public | – | 3.6 km |
| John Barsby SecondarySecondary | SD 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith | English public | Bottom fifth | 5.3 km |
| Cedar SecondarySecondary | SD 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith | English public | Fourth fifth | 12 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Alternative, adult and other schools around Nanaimo
Besides the elementary and high schools: adult and continuing education at Continuing Ed SD 68; online learning through Island Connected K-12; alternative programs at Learning Alternatives. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | 175,358 | 79 | 1 | 1.5 km |
| … | ||||
| Kelowna | 167,654 | 49 | 1 | 2.4 km |
| Langley | 163,885 | 104 | 1 | 0.8 km |
| Saanich | 126,011 | 83 | 2 | 1 km |
| Delta | 124,670 | 113 | 2 | 6.6 km |
| Nanaimo | 111,845 | 39 | 2 | 1.3 km |
| Kamloops | 108,793 | 42 | 1 | 2.5 km |
| Maple Ridge | 105,925 | 42 | 0 | 0.6 km |
| Chilliwack | 105,520 | 42 | 1 | 1.9 km |
| Victoria | 103,888 | 57 | 2 | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||
| Port Coquitlam | 67,724 | 67 | 1 | 0.8 km |
It has fewer schools than any of 14 similar towns. 13 towns of the 15 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 Nanaimo
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanaimo | 39 | 2 | 3 | 1.3 km |
| Electoral Area C, Nanaimo 3.4 km | 36 | 2 | 3 | 3.2 km |
| Lantzville 9.9 km | 7 | 0 | 1 | 7.6 km |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo 14 km | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 km |
| Electoral Area B, Nanaimo 14 km | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 km |
| Fairwinds 17 km | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 km |
No neighbour of the 5 counts more schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The kinds of school. The kind of school is what its province lists: elementary, secondary or both.
- Which schools count. Inside Nanaimo’s boundary, or no more than 3 km outside it: that is which schools are counted.
- Bands, not ranks. A masked or missing result gives no band; a school with several results averages its fifths.
- What isn’t here. Ontario’s private schools aren’t in the open list; no province publishes inspection grades.
- Boards and systems. The French-language board covers the whole province, the English districts one area each.
- The year. As the province lists them in 2025/26.
Questions about schools in Nanaimo
How many schools are there in Nanaimo?
35 in the town, 4 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Is there a French-language school in Nanaimo?
Yes, there are French-language schools: Oceane and Secondaire de Nanaimo.
Which boards run the schools in Nanaimo?
SD 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith (33), SD 93 Conseil scolaire francophone (2) and SD 64 Gulf Islands (1), with each one’s schools in brackets.
How do I get a place at a school in Nanaimo?
Register with the board that runs the school: the address decides the designated school in each system, and the board can say which one it is.
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).