Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMixed results around Southern Gulf Islands: 1 high and 0 low of 6 schools in British Columbia
The strongest results are at Pender Islands Elem-Secondary. Counting a 3 km margin, Southern Gulf Islands has 6 elementary schools, 1 secondary school and 1 school for every grade.
How Southern Gulf Islands’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) | 4 | 483 | 468 |
| Grade 4 numeracy (FSA score) | 3 | 512 | 472 |
| Grade 7 literacy (FSA score) | 3 | 446 | 467 |
| Grade 7 numeracy (FSA score) | 3 | 449 | 454 |
| First-time Grade 12 graduation | 1 | 91% | 91% |
The widest gap is on Grade 4 numeracy, where the area’s schools reach 512 against 472 in British Columbia. Of 5 measures, 2 sit above the province’s middle and 1 below.
Every school’s results (6)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Pender Islands Elem-SecondaryAll grades | G4 literacy 503 · G4 numeracy 522 · G7 literacy 446 · G7 numeracy 480 | Second fifth |
| Sidney ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 473 · G4 numeracy 490 | Middle fifth |
| Fernwood ElementaryElementary | G4 literacy 492 · G4 numeracy 512 · G7 literacy 444 · G7 numeracy 426 | Middle fifth |
| Galiano Community SchoolElementary | G4 literacy 474 · G4 numeracy masked · G7 literacy masked · G7 numeracy masked | Middle fifth |
| North Saanich Middle SchoolElementary | G7 literacy 455 · G7 numeracy 449 | Middle fifth |
| Parkland SecondarySecondary | Graduation 91% | Middle 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 Southern Gulf Islands 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 Southern Gulf Islands
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.
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 Southern Gulf Islands’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.
Which of the 2 boards runs which school
Each board’s schools in the area, largest first.
Of 2 boards, the largest here is SD 64 Gulf Islands, with 5.
| Board | System | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| SD 64 Gulf IslandsFernwood, Galiano, Mayne Island, Pender Islands Elem-Secondary, Saturna Island Elementary Secondary | English public | 5 |
| SD 63 SaanichNorth Saanich, Parkland Secondary, Sidney | English public | 3 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Southern Gulf Islands
The neighbourhood school
A home address sets the designated school in each board’s attendance area. Registration is with the board; a school outside the area admits only where there is 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 Southern Gulf Islands
High schools within reach of Southern Gulf Islands
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
Only Pender Islands Elem-Secondary is within 15 km, 4.5 km from the centre.
| School | Board | System | Band | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pender Islands Elem-SecondaryAll grades | SD 64 Gulf Islands | English public | Second fifth | 4.5 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in British Columbia
Similar-sized towns and their schools within 3 km, by population.
| Town | Population | Schools | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal Harbour | 10,407 | 29 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||
| Kent | 7,093 | 6 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Fernie | 7,086 | 5 | 1 | 23 km |
| Electoral Area C, East Kootenay | 7,006 | 12 | 0 | 4.6 km |
| Anniedale | 6,715 | 53 | 0 | 3.7 km |
| Southern Gulf Islands | 6,691 | 8 | 0 | 4.5 km |
| Garden Village | 6,492 | 56 | 1 | 0.7 km |
| South Surrey | 6,431 | 24 | 0 | 3.8 km |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River | 6,344 | 19 | 0 | 4.2 km |
| Peachland | 6,302 | 2 | 0 | 9.4 km |
| … | ||||
| Okanagan Falls | 4,002 | 14 | 2 | 11 km |
More schools than here: 46 of the 95 others. 21 of the 96 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 Southern Gulf Islands
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Gulf Islands | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 km |
| Saltspring Island 17 km | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| North Saanich 19 km | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 km |
| Sidney 19 km | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 km |
None of its 3 neighbours has more schools in reach.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The kinds of school. Middle and junior high schools count as secondary when they start at Grade 7 or later, elementary otherwise.
- Which schools count. Every school inside Southern Gulf Islands’s outline or within 3 km of it, the rule used across the site.
- Boards and systems. Two systems share the province, English and French, each run by its own board or district.
- The year. 2025/26, the latest open list.
- Bands, not ranks. Bands compare within BC only, measure by measure: never a place in a league table.
- What isn’t here. What no open list gives: inspection grades, several years of enrolment, and Ontario’s private schools.
Questions about schools in Southern Gulf Islands
Which boards run the schools in Southern Gulf Islands?
By number of schools: SD 64 Gulf Islands (5) and SD 63 Saanich (3).
How do I get a place at a school in Southern Gulf Islands?
Contact the board: it names the school for your address and takes the registration.
How many schools are there in Southern Gulf Islands?
4 are inside the town itself and 4 lie within 3 km of its edge.
Is there a French-language school in Southern Gulf Islands?
Not near Southern Gulf Islands: 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).