Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.029 schools in and around Portland Estates: 19 elementary schools, 8 secondary schools and 2 schools for every grade
Halifax Regional Centre for Education runs every one of them. None of them teaches in French, though 6% of schools in Nova Scotia do.
Schooling in English and French around Portland Estates
English, French and other languages of instruction, beside the mix in Nova Scotia.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Nova Scotia.
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.
Where the 29 schools in and around Portland Estates are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Who runs Portland Estates’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English and French public boards, independent and other schools.
They all share one 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 Portland Estates
The neighbourhood school
Children go to the board’s designated school for their address, unless another school agrees to take them.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 29 schools in and around Portland Estates
High schools within reach of Portland Estates
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 28 high schools: 26 English public and 2 French public. Nearest: Eric Graves Memorial Junior High, 2 km off.
| School | Board | System | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Graves Memorial Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 2 km |
| Ellenvale Junior HighAll grades · Grades 6–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 2 km |
| Sir Robert Borden Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 2.3 km |
| Woodlawn HighSecondary · Grades 10–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 2.4 km |
| Caledonia Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 3.1 km |
| Astral Drive Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 3.1 km |
| Cole Harbour District HighSecondary · Grades 10–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 3.2 km |
| Auburn Drive HighSecondary · Grades 10–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 4.2 km |
| BicentennialAll grades | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 4.3 km |
| Dartmouth HighSecondary · Grades 9–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 4.5 km |
All 28 secondary schools
| School | Board | System | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citadel HighSecondary · Grades 10–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 5.5 km |
| École Mer et MondeAll grades | Conseil scolaire acadien provincial | French public | 5.7 km |
| Gorsebrook Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 5.9 km |
| Ross RoadAll grades | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 6 km |
| John Martin Junior HighAll grades · Grades 6–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 6 km |
| Graham Creighton Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 6.1 km |
| Halifax Central Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 6.5 km |
| École secondaire MosaïqueSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Conseil scolaire acadien provincial | French public | 6.6 km |
| OxfordAll grades | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 6.7 km |
| Island View HighSecondary · Grades 9–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 6.8 km |
| Highland Park Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 7.2 km |
| St Agnes Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 8 km |
| Fairview Junior HighAll grades · Grades 6–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 10 km |
| Halifax West HighSecondary · Grades 9–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 12 km |
| Park WestSecondary | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 12 km |
| Ridgecliff Middle SchoolAll grades · Grades 6–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 13 km |
| Rocky Lake Junior HighSecondary · Grades 7–9 | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 13 km |
| Bedford and Forsyth Education CentresSecondary · Grades 10–RG | Halifax Regional Centre for Education | English public | 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview | 16,296 | 26 | 0 | 1.4 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 |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 6 | 0 | 3 km |
| Portland Estates | 10,164 | 29 | 0 | 2 km |
| Amherst | 10,072 | 5 | 0 | 1.2 km |
| Bridgewater | 9,989 | 5 | 1 | 0.2 km |
| Hatchet Lake | 9,930 | 19 | 0 | 1.8 km |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision A | 9,682 | 5 | 0 | 2.8 km |
| … | ||||
| Dutch Settlement | 6,234 | 13 | 0 | 8.5 km |
In 3 of the 38 others the count is higher. A school in French is nearby in 14 towns of 39.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Portland Estates
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Estates | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2 km |
| Manor Park 2.6 km | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1.7 km |
| Cole Harbour 2.8 km | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1.1 km |
| Woodlawn 3.3 km | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0.3 km |
| Westphal 4.5 km | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0.5 km |
| Schmidtville 5.1 km | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0.8 km |
| Austinville 5.3 km | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0.8 km |
Most schools next door: Woodlawn, 37.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What isn’t here. No ratings by inspectors, no enrolment trend: neither is published school by school.
- Boards and systems. The province’s public schools are run by districts in English and a French-language board; independents run themselves.
- The year. The open list of 2025-26.
- 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. Each school is placed by its address point; those inside Portland Estates or within 3 km of it are here.
Questions about schools in Portland Estates
How do I get a place at a school in Portland Estates?
Registration is with the board, which assigns the school for the home address.
Is there a French-language school in Portland Estates?
No, none within 3 km of Portland Estates; ask the French-language board for the nearest.
Sources: Nova Scotia Department of Education, school contact list 2025-26 (Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia) · Source note: the province reports its assessments by regional centre, and that series stops in 2019–20, so there’s no schools grade in 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).