Photo: Glenn Ford · CC BY-SA 3.0Petawawa has 3 French-language schools among its 9
They are École élémentaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie, École secondaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie and École intermédiaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie, run by CSDC du Centre-Est de l'Ontario. The Catholic boards run 5 of its 9 schools, against 34% in Ontario. The 3 km around Petawawa counts 7 elementary schools and 2 secondary schools, 3,255 students between them.
What stands out about Petawawa’s schools
Several boards
3 boards run schools in the area: Renfrew County DSB, CSDC du Centre-Est de l'Ontario and Renfrew County CDSB. The boards ↓
Results on both sides
3 of the 8 tested schools sit above the middle in Ontario, 4 below it; École secondaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie, Our Lady of Sorrows Separate School and École élémentaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie score best. Results ↓
The strongest results
École secondaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie (secondary) posts the area’s strongest results: the top fifth in Ontario. Results ↓
Each finding compares the town’s schools with every school in its province.
Schooling in English and French around Petawawa
The language each school teaches in, against every school in Ontario.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Ontario.
CSDC du Centre-Est de l'Ontario runs the French-language ones: École élémentaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie, École secondaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie and École intermédiaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie.
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 Petawawa’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, English Catholic 2 and French-language 3.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
How Petawawa’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 | 6 | 78% | 76% |
| Grade 3 writing | 6 | 61% | 65% |
| Grade 3 math | 6 | 62% | 65% |
| Grade 6 reading | 6 | 89% | 88% |
| Grade 6 writing | 6 | 78% | 86% |
| Grade 6 math | 6 | 41% | 51% |
| Grade 9 math | 2 | 66% | 55% |
| Literacy test (OSSLT), first try | 2 | 86% | 85% |
On Grade 6 math the area trails, 41% against 51% in Ontario. On 1 of 8 measures the area beats the provincial middle; on 4 it trails. The three-year changes lean upward at 3 schools and downward at 3.
Every school’s results (8)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| École secondaire catholique Jeanne-LajoieSecondary · Grades 9–12 | G9 math 82% · OSSLT 93% | Top fifth |
| Our Lady of Sorrows Separate SchoolElementary · Grades JK–6 | G3 reading 89% · G3 writing 70% · G3 math 67% · G6 reading 92% · G6 writing 96% · G6 math 62% | Second fifth |
| École élémentaire catholique Jeanne-LajoieElementary · Grades JK–6 | G3 reading 73% · G3 writing 72% · G3 math 76% · G6 reading 92% · G6 writing 83% · G6 math 71% | Second fifth |
| St Francis of Assisi Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades JK–6 | G3 reading 91% · G3 writing 56% · G3 math 75% · G6 reading 89% · G6 writing 89% · G6 math 38% | Middle fifth |
| Herman Street Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 83% · G3 writing 66% · G3 math 56% · G6 reading 83% · G6 writing 63% · G6 math 9% | Fourth fifth |
| Valour JK to 12 School - Secondary SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | G9 math 49% · OSSLT 79% | Fourth fifth |
| Pine View Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 71% · G3 writing 29% · G3 math 41% · G6 reading 89% · G6 writing 72% · G6 math 44% | Fourth fifth |
| Valour JK to 12 School - Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 62% · G3 writing 47% · G3 math 47% · G6 reading 63% · G6 writing 65% · G6 math 20% | Bottom 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 9 schools in and around Petawawa are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Which of the 3 boards runs which school
The boards and their schools here.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renfrew County DSBValour JK to 12 School -, Valour JK to 12 School -, Herman Street, Pine View | English public | 4 | 1,830 |
| CSDC du Centre-Est de l'OntarioJeanne-Lajoie, Jeanne-Lajoie, intermédiaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie | French Catholic | 3 | 890 |
| Renfrew County CDSBSt Francis of Assisi, Our Lady of Sorrows Separate | English Catholic | 2 | 535 |
Boards as Ontario’s list names them (its short forms: DSB, CDSB, CS).
How children get a place in Petawawa
Catholic schools
Ontario funds the Catholic system in full; its high schools are open to all, its elementary schools mostly to Catholic families.
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.
The neighbourhood school
No application round, no lottery: the address fixes the school, and the board handles the paperwork.
The provinces’ education acts and the boards’ own admission policies; check with the board for a given address.
The 9 schools in and around Petawawa
High schools within reach of Petawawa
Every secondary school within 15 km of the town, nearest first.
Within 15 km, families can reach 4 high schools: 2 English public, 1 French Catholic and 1 French public. Closest of all: Valour JK to 12 School - Secondary School (1.3 km).
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valour JK to 12 School - Secondary SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Renfrew County DSB | English public | Fourth fifth | 490 | 1.3 km |
| École secondaire catholique Jeanne-LajoieSecondary · Grades 9–12 | CSDC du Centre-Est de l'Ontario | French Catholic | Top fifth | 220 | 11 km |
| Renfrew County Adult Day SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Renfrew County DSB | English public | – | 140 | 14 km |
| École secondaire publique L'ÉquinoxeSecondary · Grades 9–12 | CÉP de l'Est de l'Ontario | French public | Middle fifth | 50 | 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmira | 31,382 | 54 | 23,805 | 5 | 6.5 km |
| … | |||||
| Loyalist | 19,761 | 13 | 3,210 | 0 | 6.9 km |
| Stittsville | 19,753 | 23 | 12,405 | 4 | 0.8 km |
| Kemptville | 19,733 | 13 | 3,535 | 5 | 1.9 km |
| Mount Pleasant Village | 19,719 | 44 | 28,635 | 0 | 1 km |
| Petawawa | 19,606 | 9 | 3,255 | 3 | 1.4 km |
| Westmount | 19,591 | 37 | 21,660 | 3 | 0.5 km |
| Heart Lake South | 19,573 | 79 | 45,775 | 2 | 0.6 km |
| Vinegar Hill | 19,543 | 61 | 35,685 | 1 | 0.7 km |
| Walkerville | 19,541 | 38 | 17,120 | 7 | 0.9 km |
| … | |||||
| South Cameron | 11,804 | 41 | 20,545 | 7 | 0.8 km |
293 of 321 similar towns count more schools. In 252 of the 322, at least one school teaches in French.
Populations from Statistics Canada; schools from the provincial lists, in or within 3 km of each town.
Schools in the towns around Petawawa
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petawawa | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1.4 km |
| Laurentian Valley 13 km | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3.4 km |
| Pembroke 14 km | 15 | 5 | 8 | 0.4 km |
| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes 17 km | 20 | 6 | 9 | 2.2 km |
Next door, L'Isle-aux-Allumettes counts 20 schools, more than any other neighbour.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Which schools count. A school counts when it sits inside Petawawa or less than 3 km beyond its edge.
- Boards and systems. Every public school has a board: English or French, and in this province public or Catholic too. Independent schools have none.
- The year. The provincial list for 2024-25.
- What isn’t here. There are no inspection ratings to show, and a single year of enrolment gives no trend.
- Bands, not ranks. Fifths are worked out among every Ontario school with a result on that measure, then averaged per school.
Questions about schools in Petawawa
Which boards run the schools in Petawawa?
By number of schools: Renfrew County DSB (4), CSDC du Centre-Est de l'Ontario (3) and Renfrew County CDSB (2).
How do I get a place at a school in Petawawa?
Each board registers its own students; its website gives the school for an address.
Is there a French-language school in Petawawa?
Yes, there are French-language schools: École élémentaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie, École secondaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie and École intermédiaire catholique Jeanne-Lajoie.
How many schools are there in Petawawa?
6 in the town, 3 just beyond it, within 3 km.
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).