Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most schools around Smiths Falls score below the middle in Ontario: 4 of 5
The Catholic boards run 4 of its 7 schools, against 34% in Ontario. Within 3 km of Smiths Falls are 4 elementary schools and 3 secondary schools, teaching 2,015 students.
What stands out about Smiths Falls’s schools
Results on the rise
At 4 tested schools out of 5, the three-year changes lean upward; Chimo Elementary School, St Francis de Sales Separate School and Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute gained most often. Results ↓
Each finding compares the town’s schools with every school in its province.
How Smiths Falls’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 | 61% | 76% |
| Grade 3 writing | 3 | 58% | 65% |
| Grade 3 math | 3 | 42% | 65% |
| Grade 6 reading | 3 | 85% | 88% |
| Grade 6 writing | 3 | 77% | 86% |
| Grade 6 math | 3 | 31% | 51% |
| Grade 9 math | 1 | 29% | 55% |
| Literacy test (OSSLT), first try | 2 | 49% | 85% |
The widest gap is on Grade 9 math, where the area’s schools reach 29% against 55% in Ontario. Across 8 measures: 0 above the middle, 8 below.
Every school’s results (5)
| School | Measure | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Chimo Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 82% · G3 writing 82% · G3 math 75% · G6 reading 88% · G6 writing 77% · G6 math 54% | Middle fifth |
| St Francis de Sales Separate SchoolElementary · Grades JK–6 | G3 reading 61% · G3 writing 43% · G3 math 39% · G6 reading 85% · G6 writing 87% · G6 math 31% | Fourth fifth |
| Smiths Falls District Collegiate InstituteSecondary · Grades 9–12 | G9 math 29% · OSSLT 79% | Bottom fifth |
| Duncan J Schoular Public SchoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | G3 reading 50% · G3 writing 58% · G3 math 42% · G6 reading 48% · G6 writing 67% · G6 math 15% | Bottom fifth |
| St. Luke Catholic High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | G9 math not reported · OSSLT 19% | Bottom fifth |
Ontario Ministry of Education, School Information Finder 2024–25 (EQAO results; N/R where groups are too small). Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Who runs Smiths Falls’s schools
Each level’s schools by system: English public, English Catholic, French-language, and independent or other.
Who runs them, in numbers: English public 3 and English Catholic 4.
The provincial school lists: each school’s board, language and Catholic or public status.
Where the 7 schools in and around Smiths Falls are
A pin for every school, its colour the system it belongs to.
Points from the provincial lists.
Schooling in English and French around Smiths Falls
The language each school teaches in, against every school in Ontario.
The mark on each bar is the share of schools in Ontario.
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.
2 boards, school by school
Every board or service centre with a school in the area, and its schools.
CDSB of Eastern Ontario runs the most, 4 of them, among 2 boards.
| Board | System | Schools | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDSB of Eastern OntarioSt Francis de Sales Separate, St. Luke Catholic, St. James Catholic Education Centre, St. Luke | English Catholic | 4 | 540 |
| Upper Canada DSBSmiths Falls District, Chimo, Duncan J Schoular | English public | 3 | 1,475 |
Boards as Ontario’s list names them (its short forms: DSB, CDSB, CS).
How children get a place in Smiths Falls
The neighbourhood school
Registration happens with the board, not the school; the board names the school for the address.
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 7 schools in and around Smiths Falls
High schools within reach of Smiths Falls
Secondary and all-grade schools within 15 km, by distance.
Counting out to 15 km, there are 3: 2 English Catholic and 1 English public. Closest of all: St. James Catholic Education Centre High School (0.1 km).
| School | Board | System | Band | Students | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. James Catholic Education Centre High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | CDSB of Eastern Ontario | English Catholic | – | – | 0.1 km |
| St. Luke Catholic High SchoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | CDSB of Eastern Ontario | English Catholic | Bottom fifth | 110 | 1.5 km |
| Smiths Falls District Collegiate InstituteSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Upper Canada DSB | English public | Bottom fifth | 700 | 1.7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clanton Park | 17,673 | 56 | 25,350 | 1 | 1.8 km |
| … | |||||
| Whitehaven - Woodpark - Glabar Park | 11,111 | 46 | 16,930 | 9 | 1 km |
| Sheridan | 11,110 | 41 | 20,000 | 1 | 0.3 km |
| Snelgrove | 11,109 | 34 | 21,780 | 1 | 3.1 km |
| Borden Farm - Fisher Glen | 11,100 | 34 | 14,370 | 6 | 0.4 km |
| Smiths Falls | 11,093 | 7 | 2,015 | 0 | 0.1 km |
| Broadview North | 11,080 | 99 | 45,545 | 8 | 1.6 km |
| Forest Hill South | 11,059 | 82 | 35,400 | 1 | 1.2 km |
| Cathedraltown | 11,029 | 18 | 11,615 | 1 | 2 km |
| Rothwell Heights - Beacon Hill North | 10,985 | 45 | 16,310 | 19 | 0.2 km |
| … | |||||
| Old Ottawa South | 6,704 | 54 | 23,490 | 12 | 1.6 km |
325 out of 376 comparable towns have more schools. Of the 377, 276 offer 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 Smiths Falls
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | French | Catholic or independent | Nearest secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smiths Falls | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0.1 km |
| Montague 6.9 km | 10 | 1 | 5 | 7 km |
| Merrickville 12 km | 9 | 1 | 5 | 12 km |
| Drummond/North Elmsley 16 km | 18 | 0 | 8 | 6.6 km |
| Perth 19 km | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0.5 km |
Most schools next door: Drummond/North Elmsley, 18.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The year. Listed for 2024-25.
- Boards and systems. Public and Catholic boards are both publicly funded here, in English and in French; an independent school answers to no board.
- What isn’t here. Ontario’s private schools aren’t in the open list; no province publishes inspection grades.
- Bands, not ranks. Fifths are worked out among every Ontario school with a result on that measure, then averaged per school.
- Which schools count. Inside Smiths Falls’s boundary, or no more than 3 km outside it: that is which schools are counted.
- 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.
Questions about schools in Smiths Falls
How do I get a place at a school in Smiths Falls?
Contact the board: it names the school for your address and takes the registration.
Which boards run the schools in Smiths Falls?
By number of schools: CDSB of Eastern Ontario (4) and Upper Canada DSB (3).
Is there a French-language school in Smiths Falls?
Not within 3 km of Smiths Falls. The French-language board still serves families here.
How many schools are there in Smiths Falls?
All 7 sit within the town’s own boundary.
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).