Photo: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0Independent schools are common around Shawnigan: 5 of 10
Shawnigan Lake, St John's Preparatory Academy Shawnigan and Sunrise Waldorf School are among them. On results, 5 of its 9 tested schools sit in the top two fifths in British Columbia. Within 3 km of Shawnigan are 6 elementary schools, 3 secondary schools and 1 school for every grade.
What stands out about Shawnigan’s schools
The strongest results
Top of the area: Brentwood College (secondary), its results in the top fifth in British Columbia. Results ↓
Every figure here sets the area’s schools beside the rest of its province.
Who runs Shawnigan’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
Their systems: English public 5 and independent 5.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How Shawnigan’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 A+: 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 | 474 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 6 | 468 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 6 | 477 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 6 | 466 | 454 |
| First-time Grade 12 graduation | 3 | 100% | 91% |
The widest gap is on first-time graduation, where the area’s schools reach 100% against 91% in British Columbia. Above the middle on 1, below on 0: that is the 5 measures.
Every school’s results (9)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Brentwood CollegeSecondary | Graduation 100% | Top fifth |
| Shawnigan LakeSecondary | Graduation 100% | Top fifth |
| Sunrise Waldorf SchoolAll grades | G4 literacy 630 · G4 numeracy 615 · G7 literacy 567 · G7 numeracy 540 | Top fifth |
| St John's Preparatory Academy ShawniganElementary | G4 literacy 570 · G4 numeracy 481 · G7 literacy 554 · G7 numeracy 495 · Graduation masked | Second fifth |
| Frances Kelsey SecondarySecondary | Graduation 94% | Second fifth |
| Ecole Cobble Hill ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 468 · G4 numeracy 474 · G7 literacy 486 · G7 numeracy 454 | Middle fifth |
| Bench ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 479 · G4 numeracy 462 · G7 literacy 441 · G7 numeracy 447 | Middle fifth |
| George Bonner ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 461 · G4 numeracy 436 · G7 literacy 468 · G7 numeracy 478 | Middle fifth |
| Discovery ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 432 · G4 numeracy 431 · G7 literacy 420 · G7 numeracy 401 | 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 10 schools in and around Shawnigan 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 Shawnigan
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.
All teach in the province’s majority language; none 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.
How children get a place in Shawnigan
Independent schools
Independent schools choose their students and charge fees, with part of their costs paid by the province when they qualify.
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.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 10 schools in and around Shawnigan
High schools within reach of Shawnigan
Every secondary school within 15 km of the town, nearest first.
5 secondary schools are within 15 km: 4 independent and 1 English public. 0.8 km away, Shawnigan Lake is the nearest.
| School | Board | System | Band | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnigan LakeSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 0.8 km |
| Frances Kelsey SecondarySecondary | SD 79 Cowichan Valley | English public | Second fifth | 5.7 km |
| Brentwood CollegeSecondary | – | Independent | Top fifth | 6.7 km |
| Sunrise Waldorf SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Top fifth | 8 km |
| Queen of Angels SchoolAll grades | – | Independent | Fourth fifth | 15 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lougheed | 15,442 | 41 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||
| Quesnel | 10,253 | 13 | 0 | 1.1 km |
| Kitimat | 10,019 | 5 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Blind Bay | 9,984 | 5 | 0 | 5.5 km |
| Ladysmith | 9,926 | 5 | 0 | 0.9 km |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 10 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| South Cambie | 9,846 | 78 | 3 | 1.1 km |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 15 | 0 | 9.6 km |
| Qualicum Beach | 9,640 | 6 | 0 | 0.7 km |
| Castlegar | 9,465 | 4 | 0 | 3.3 km |
| … | ||||
| Creston | 5,976 | 6 | 0 | 0.6 km |
More schools than here: 49 of the 75 others. Of the 76, 22 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 Shawnigan
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnigan | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0.8 km |
| Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley 6.6 km | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1.1 km |
| Cobble Hill 7 km | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 km |
| Cowichan Bay 9.6 km | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2.6 km |
| Cowichan 13 km | 19 | 1 | 5 | 2 km |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley 13 km | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2.4 km |
| Duncan 15 km | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1.1 km |
Among the neighbours, Cowichan has 19, the most.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The kinds of school. Where a province publishes grades, the card gives them; elementary and secondary follow those grades.
- Which schools count. The area is Shawnigan plus a 3 km margin around it, measured from its census outline.
- Bands, not ranks. A masked or missing result gives no band; a school with several results averages its fifths.
- What isn’t here. Missing: inspection ratings (no province gives them), enrolment trends and Ontario’s private schools.
- Boards and systems. English and French boards share the province, each with its own schools; there are no separate Catholic boards here.
- The year. Schools as listed for 2025/26.
Questions about schools in Shawnigan
How many schools are there in Shawnigan?
The town holds 3 of them; 7 more are within 3 km of its outline.
Is there a French-language school in Shawnigan?
Not in or within 3 km of Shawnigan; the French-language board can name the nearest.
How do I get a place at a school in Shawnigan?
The board’s school locator gives the designated school; registration is with the board or the school.
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).