Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.04 of Parry Sound’s 4 tested schools score in the lower two fifths in Ontario
2 of the 8 teach in French, against 10% of schools in Ontario. Counting a 3 km margin, Parry Sound has 6 elementary schools and 2 secondary schools, for 1,560 students.
What stands out about Parry Sound’s schools
Fewer Catholic schools
Catholic schools are 1 of 8 here, below the 34% in Ontario. Who runs them ↓
Several boards
3 boards run schools in the area: Near North DSB, CS public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario and Simcoe Muskoka CDSB. The boards ↓
The comparisons are with the province’s schools, never across provinces.
How Parry Sound’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 D: 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 | 3 | 51% | 76% |
| Grade 3 writing | 3 | 33% | 65% |
| Grade 3 math | 3 | 35% | 65% |
| Grade 6 reading | 2 | 82% | 88% |
| Grade 6 writing | 2 | 79% | 86% |
| Grade 6 math | 2 | 32% | 51% |
| Grade 9 math | 1 | 40% | 55% |
| Literacy test (OSSLT), first try | 1 | 69% | 85% |
On Grade 3 writing the area trails, 33% against 65% in Ontario. 0 measures above the provincial middle, 8 below, out of 8. Over three years, 2 schools gained on most measures and 1 lost ground.
Every school’s results (4)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Parry Sound Public School SchoolElementary · Grades JK–6 | G3 reading 51% · G3 writing 33% · G3 math 35% · G6 reading 88% · G6 writing 90% · G6 math 51% | Fourth fifth |
| McDougall Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 57% · G3 writing 36% · G3 math 50% · G6 reading not reported · G6 writing not reported · G6 math not reported | Bottom fifth |
| Parry Sound High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | G9 math 40% · OSSLT 69% | Bottom fifth |
| St Peter the Apostle SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 32% · G3 writing 9% · G3 math 9% · G6 reading 76% · G6 writing 68% · G6 math 12% | Bottom fifth |
Ontario Ministry of Education, School Information Finder 2024–25 (EQAO results; N/R where groups are too small). Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Schooling in English and French around Parry Sound
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.
By name, in French: École élémentaire publique aux Quatre-Vents and École secondaire publique aux Quatre-Vents (CS public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario).
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 8 schools in and around Parry Sound 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.
Who runs Parry Sound’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 5, English Catholic 1 and French-language 2.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
The 3 boards that run schools here
The boards and their schools here.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near North DSBParry Sound, Parry Sound Public School, McDougall, Parry Sound Intermediate School, TBA - Near North District School Board. (Elementary) | English public | 5 | 1,345 |
| CS public du Nord-Est de l'Ontariopublique aux Quatre-Vents, publique aux Quatre-Vents | French public | 2 | – |
| Simcoe Muskoka CDSBSt Peter the Apostle | English Catholic | 1 | 215 |
Boards as Ontario’s list names them (its short forms: DSB, CDSB, CS).
How children get a place in Parry Sound
French-language schools
A child qualifies for a French-language school when a parent’s first language is French or a parent went to French school in Canada; an admissions committee can admit others.
Catholic schools
Ontario’s Catholic boards are publicly funded. Their elementary schools generally ask that a parent or the child be Catholic; their high schools are open to all students.
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 8 schools in and around Parry Sound
High schools within reach of Parry Sound
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Within 15 km, families can reach 2 high schools: 1 English public and 1 French public. Parry Sound High School lies closest, 0.7 km from the centre.
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parry Sound High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Near North DSB | English public | Bottom fifth | 625 | 0.7 km |
| École secondaire publique aux Quatre-VentsSecondary · Grades 9–12 | CS public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario | French public | – | – | 1.6 km |
Distances in a straight line from the town’s centre point.
Towns its size in Ontario
Similar-sized towns and their schools within 3 km, by population.
| Town | Population | Schools | Students | French | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapman Mills | 12,075 | 42 | 24,420 | 12 | 1.1 km |
| … | |||||
| Blackburn Hamlet | 7,606 | 28 | 12,250 | 9 | 1 km |
| Port Credit | 7,606 | 26 | 11,210 | 0 | 0.9 km |
| Fairview | 7,597 | 48 | 20,445 | 1 | 0.4 km |
| University | 7,595 | 105 | 31,765 | 9 | 0.3 km |
| Parry Sound | 7,584 | 8 | 1,560 | 2 | 0.8 km |
| Gibson | 7,581 | 33 | 15,795 | 2 | 1.1 km |
| N-Section (bramalea) | 7,513 | 58 | 29,315 | 2 | 0.9 km |
| Blake-Jones | 7,494 | 82 | 34,365 | 6 | 0.5 km |
| Colborne | 7,447 | 17 | 8,170 | 0 | 2.9 km |
| … | |||||
| Iroquois Falls | 4,640 | 8 | 730 | 4 | 3.3 km |
265 out of 335 comparable towns have more schools. 233 of the 336 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 Parry Sound
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parry Sound | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0.8 km |
| The Archipelago 5.8 km | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 km |
| McDougall 12 km | 9 | 2 | 1 | 11 km |
| McKellar 16 km | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 km |
| Carling 17 km | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 km |
| Seguin 18 km | 7 | 1 | 1 | 19 km |
The busiest neighbour is McDougall, with 9 schools.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Each school is placed by its address point; those inside Parry Sound or within 3 km of it are here.
- The kinds of school. Each school is elementary, secondary or all-grade by the grades it teaches; alternative, adult and online programs sit in a group of their own.
- Bands, not ranks. Bands compare within Ontario only, measure by measure, then average: never a place in a league table.
- What isn’t here. Inspection reports with ratings don’t exist here, and the lists give enrolment for one year at most.
- The year. The 2024-25 list.
- Boards and systems. A school’s system is its board’s: the language it teaches in, and whether the board is public or Catholic.
Questions about schools in Parry Sound
How many schools are there in Parry Sound?
7 in the town, 1 just beyond it, within 3 km.
Is there a French-language school in Parry Sound?
Yes: École élémentaire publique aux Quatre-Vents and École secondaire publique aux Quatre-Vents, the French-language schools here.
How do I get a place at a school in Parry Sound?
Register with the board that runs the school: the address decides the designated school in each system, and the board can say which one it is.
Which boards run the schools in Parry Sound?
By number of schools: Near North DSB (5), CS public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario (2) and Simcoe Muskoka 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).