Photo: bgilliard from St. Catharines, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Most schools around Forest score below the middle in Ontario: 3 of 5
The strongest results are at St John Fisher Catholic School. In or within 3 km of Forest: 4 elementary schools and 1 secondary school, with 1,645 students.
How Forest’s schools do on Ontario’s tests
EQAO’s Grade 3, 6 and 9 assessments and the literacy test, 2024-25: each school against every school in Ontario.
Its School Grade is B: 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 | Ontario |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 reading | 4 | 80% | 76% |
| Grade 3 writing | 4 | 55% | 65% |
| Grade 3 math | 4 | 68% | 65% |
| Grade 6 reading | 4 | 84% | 88% |
| Grade 6 writing | 4 | 80% | 86% |
| Grade 6 math | 4 | 45% | 51% |
| Grade 9 math | 1 | 45% | 55% |
| Literacy test (OSSLT), first try | 1 | 83% | 85% |
On Grade 9 math the area trails, 45% against 55% in Ontario. Above the middle on 2, below on 5: that is the 8 measures. Over three years, 2 schools gained on most measures and 2 lost ground.
Every school’s results (5)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| St John Fisher Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 91% · G3 writing 83% · G3 math 85% · G6 reading 89% · G6 writing 89% · G6 math 81% | Second fifth |
| Kinnwood Central Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 81% · G3 writing 52% · G3 math 71% · G6 reading 89% · G6 writing 80% · G6 math 46% | Middle fifth |
| North Lambton Secondary SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | G9 math 45% · OSSLT 83% | Fourth fifth |
| Bosanquet Central Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 78% · G3 writing 50% · G3 math 56% · G6 reading 79% · G6 writing 79% · G6 math 43% | Fourth fifth |
| Grand Bend Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 73% · G3 writing 57% · G3 math 65% · G6 reading 72% · G6 writing 80% · G6 math 44% | Fourth fifth |
Ontario Ministry of Education, School Information Finder 2024–25 (EQAO results; N/R where groups are too small). Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Where the 5 schools in and around Forest are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Forest
Each school by its language of instruction, with the share in Ontario marked.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Ontario.
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.
Who runs Forest’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
Split by system, that is English public 4 and English Catholic 1.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
2 boards, school by school
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
The biggest of the 2 is Lambton Kent DSB: 4 schools.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lambton Kent DSBNorth Lambton, Kinnwood Central, Grand Bend, Bosanquet Central | English public | 4 | 1,320 |
| St Clair CDSBSt John Fisher | English Catholic | 1 | 325 |
Boards as Ontario’s list names them (its short forms: DSB, CDSB, CS).
How children get a place in Forest
The neighbourhood school
No application round, no lottery: the address fixes the school, and the board handles the paperwork.
Catholic schools
Families who aren’t Catholic can usually choose a Catholic high school, though rarely a Catholic elementary one.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 5 schools in and around Forest
High schools within reach of Forest
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 2 high schools: 2 English public. North Middlesex District High School is closest, at 14 km.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Middlesex District High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Thames Valley DSB | English public | Bottom fifth | 140 | 14 km |
| North Lambton Secondary SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Lambton Kent DSB | English public | Fourth fifth | 575 | 15 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Ontario
Places of about the same size and their schools in or within 3 km, largest first.
| Town | Population | Schools | Students | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorncliffe Park | 20,637 | 74 | 37,470 | 5 | 1 km |
| … | |||||
| Deerfield | 13,090 | 51 | 29,920 | 0 | 1.2 km |
| Ayr | 13,051 | 51 | 24,180 | 1 | 9.1 km |
| Peel Village | 13,037 | 77 | 33,340 | 2 | 0.4 km |
| Carrville Corners | 13,004 | 29 | 15,220 | 2 | 2.4 km |
| Forest | 12,962 | 5 | 1,645 | 0 | 14 km |
| Erin | 12,924 | 12 | 3,440 | 0 | 2 km |
| Brighton | 12,900 | 5 | 2,055 | 0 | 0.4 km |
| Westboro | 12,899 | 39 | 13,315 | 13 | 1 km |
| Yonge-Bay Corridor | 12,888 | 79 | 22,925 | 5 | 0.5 km |
| … | |||||
| Dryden | 7,808 | 6 | 1,600 | 2 | 1.3 km |
Of the 385 others, 367 count more schools. A French-language school is within reach in 293 of the 386.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Forest
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 km |
| Kettle Point 44 12 km | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 km |
| Parkhill 15 km | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1.6 km |
Top among the neighbours: Parkhill, 6 schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Bands, not ranks. Bands compare within Ontario only, measure by measure, then average: never a place in a league table.
- What isn’t here. No ratings by inspectors, no enrolment trend: neither is published school by school.
- The year. As the province lists them in 2024-25.
- Boards and systems. Every public school has a board: English or French, and in this province public or Catholic too. Independent schools have none.
- Which schools count. The page takes in schools within Forest and up to 3 km past its boundary, so a school just over the line is still here.
- The kinds of school. Kindergarten to Grade 8 is elementary, Grade 9 to 12 secondary, though the split varies by province and board.
Questions about schools in Forest
Is there a French-language school in Forest?
There is none in or near Forest (within 3 km); the French-language board covers the area from elsewhere.
How many schools are there in Forest?
All 5 are inside the town itself.
How do I get a place at a school in Forest?
Choose a system, then register with its board; the address decides the school.
Which boards run the schools in Forest?
By number of schools: Lambton Kent DSB (4) and St Clair CDSB (1).
Sources: Ontario Ministry of Education, School Information Finder 2024–25 and school contact list (Open Government Licence – Ontario) · 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).