Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainThe 6 schools of Chester: 5 elementary schools and 1 secondary school
1 of them lie outside the boundary, within 3 km; 5 are inside. The province reports its assessments by regional centre, and that series stops in 2019–20, which leaves towns in Nova Scotia without a schools grade.
Where the 6 schools in and around Chester are
Every school as a pin, coloured by system; each opens its own page.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Chester
Each school by its language of instruction, with the share in Nova Scotia marked.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Nova Scotia.
No school here 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 Chester’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
They belong to one system, every one English public.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
The 2 boards that run schools here
Each board’s schools in the area, largest first.
South Shore Regional Centre for Education counts 5, more than any of the other boards of the 2.
| Board | System | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| South Shore Regional Centre for EducationAspotogan Consolidated, Chester Area, Chester District, Forest Heights, New Ross Consolidated | English public | 5 |
| Halifax Regional Centre for EducationShatford Memorial | English public | 1 |
Boards and districts as the provincial lists name them.
How children get a place in Chester
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 6 schools in and around Chester
High schools within reach of Chester
The high schools a family here could reach, within 15 km.
Forest Heights Community School, 3.9 km away, is the only secondary school within 15 km.
| School | Board | System | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Heights Community SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–RG | South Shore Regional Centre for Education | English public | 3.9 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Nova Scotia
Towns of a similar population, with their schools in or within 3 km; described, not ranked.
| Town | Population | Schools | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schmidtville | 18,105 | 24 | 1 | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||
| Manor Park | 14,148 | 30 | 4 | 1.7 km |
| Hammonds Plains | 13,844 | 31 | 2 | 2.1 km |
| Windsor Park | 13,044 | 32 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Kings County, Subdivision B | 12,661 | 11 | 0 | 7 km |
| Chester | 11,740 | 6 | 0 | 4 km |
| Timberlea | 11,014 | 21 | 2 | 4.6 km |
| Liverpool | 10,997 | 6 | 0 | 3.8 km |
| Eastern Passage | 10,745 | 17 | 1 | 0.8 km |
| Yarmouth | 10,637 | 8 | 1 | 8.4 km |
| … | ||||
| Springhill | 7,015 | 6 | 0 | 24 km |
Among 30 towns its size, 20 have more schools nearby. 14 of the 31 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 Chester
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 km |
| Mahone Bay 18 km | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 km |
It has more schools than any of its 1 neighbours.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. A 3 km band around Chester’s outline is included, as it is for every town on the site.
- The kinds of school. Elementary schools run from kindergarten to Grade 6 or 8, secondary ones to Grade 12; some cover every grade, and alternative, adult and online schools are listed apart.
- What isn’t here. No ratings by inspectors, no enrolment trend: neither is published school by school.
- The year. The province’s 2025-26 list.
- Boards and systems. Each public school has a board or district, English or French; independent schools stand outside them.
Questions about schools in Chester
Is there a French-language school in Chester?
None within 3 km of Chester. The French-language board serves it from schools further off.
Which boards run the schools in Chester?
By number of schools: South Shore Regional Centre for Education (5) and Halifax Regional Centre for Education (1).
How do I get a place at a school in Chester?
The board’s school locator gives the designated school; registration is with the board or the school.
Sources: Nova Scotia Department of Education, school contact list 2025-26 (Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia) · 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).