Elementary and Secondary Overview

District school boards administer publicly funded elementary and secondary schools. Working within the framework of the province’s K-12 education program and its regulations, district school boards adapt provincial education policy to local situations. Trustees, as elected members of the board, represent the local community and provide a link between electors and the education system.

There are 3 type of schools in BC:

• Elementary for Kindergarten to Grade 7
• Middle schools for Grades 6 through 8, and
• High Schools for Grades 8 to 12. The High School program is based on the credit system. In order to graduate and receive a diploma, students must earn 52 credits in grades 11 and 12. There are 28 credits required in Foundation Studies, which are credits in core subjects that each student must have. The remaining 24 credits consist of Selected Studies, which are courses that students select based on their interests and career goals. Courses have values of between 1 to 4 credits based on hours of instruction and difficulty of the curriculum. In addition, each student is required to have 30 hours of work experience to be eligible for graduation.

Schools in BC offer many types of special programs from French Immersion and Aboriginal Education to Mandarin and Japanese Language Programs.

BC is a part of the Western Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Basic Education Kindergarten to Grade 12. This is a project that involves The Northwest Territories, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nunavut. They are working on developing common curriculum formats for math, computer guided learning, languages, and cultures.

In British Columbia, children begin school in September of the year they turn 5 and are kept with their age-appropriate peers. The school year runs from September-June with a two-week break in late December (Christmas Break) and typically a one-week break in March. 

Registration Procedures

Each school district may have a slightly different registration procedure, but as soon as you have secured an address, you should proceed with the registration procedure. The process may not be able to be completed, however, until you are physically present in the Vancouver area. 

For information on the B.C. Curriculum, please visit: Curriculum & Assessment.

Public Schools

Greater Victoria School District No. 61

556 Boleskine Road 
Victoria, B.C. V8Z1E8 
Phone: 250-475-3212
Website

The Greater Victoria School District covers Victoria and the municipalities of Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Victoria, View Royal and a portion of Saanich and Highlands. 

Island Catholic Schools
#1-4044 Nelthorpe Street 
Victoria, BC V8X2A1 
Phone: 250-727-6893
Website

The Island Catholic Schools provides a public catholic elementary education. They have 3 schools (2 elementary and 1 high school) in Victoria. 

Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique

100 – 13511 Commerce Parkway 

Richmond, BC V6V2J8 
Phone: 604-214-2600
Website

Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique has one school in Esquimalt for the francophone community in Victoria. École Victor-Brodeur is a K to 12 school. 

The other school boards which operate in the Greater Victoria area are: Sooke School District #62 and Saanich School District #63