Welcome to Our Kids.
bc-private-schools-british-columbiaWe’re here to help you find the right school, the right way.
For more than 20 years we’ve worked with leading education and child development experts to explore and improve the school-choice process. The result is a robust suite of tools—used by over 2.6 million families every year—which enable you to choose your best-fit school among the 350+ profiled on this site.
We’re your virtual school-placement consultant: your personal guide to discovering, evaluating, and choosing the right school for your child.
Take 2 minutes now to open your free account. It will give you access to exclusive insights on how specific schools are a fit (or not) for your student’s learning needs.
Private schools are a well-established aspect of British Columbia's education system. This province provides many strong private schools that offer a wide-range of choice, such as boarding, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, special needs, gifted, preschool, and alternative. Read more
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Meadowridge is an IB Continuum World School that supports the development of the whole child in a safe, supportive and challenging environment.
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Independent Kindergarten to Grade 12 boarding and day school in Victoria, BC, Canada focusing on university and life preparation. Find out how a SMUS education can benefit your family.
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St. Margaret's School offers inter-disciplinary and experiential learning from JK3 to Grade 12. Confidence, leadership and academic rigor lead to student success. At SMS, 'She Can'!
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Whytecliff is a safe, empathetic & supportive place for teens with a diverse range of learning needs / personal challenges. Our positive community & high-growth environment pulls each child up to be their very best!
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Brookes Westshore, an IB World School on beautiful Vancouver Island, BC, offers grades 4 to 12 and both day and boarding programmes, with an average class size of 12 students.
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Our rigorous, personalized programme and strong teacher-student relationships enable us to cultivate each student's talents, helping them build on strengths and discover the joy of learning.
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Authentic Montessori Preschool. Students completing our 3 year program at The Maria Montessori School test extremely well. We balance academics, exploration and skills guided by your child's natural interests.
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Collingwood creates opportunities for our JK to Grade 12 students to excel. Our four strand approach is delivered through a comprehensive educational experience that in collaborative, interdisciplinary and relevant.
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UNISUS was founded by the leaders of the top Private Schools in BC. Based on IB Education/Innovation/Technology, Entrepreneurship/ Outdoor Education. Boarding, Sports Academies and Global Partnerships/Opportunities.
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Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School is a centre of excellence in developmentally informed instruction that empowers children with learning disabilities in a passionate, progressive and inspiring learning environment.
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Beginning in Grade 8, our unique Shawnigan journey purposefully guides students through a distinct, unparalleled and bold educational experience on our stunning waterfront campus on Canada’s beautiful West Coast.
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We are an arts-based, hands-on, creative high school in Vancouver (grades 08 to 12) that has already established a record of excellence in getting students admitted to some of the best arts universities in North America.
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Brockton School is an independent, co-ed, non-denominational, IB World School.
Brockton hosts an Early Learning Years program, a Junior School, and a Senior School, with students from Junior Kindergarten to grade 12.
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Brentwood is a truly co-educational, progressive day/boarding school for Grades 8 to 12 located on an oceanfront campus on Vancouver Island, BC. Tuition runs from $31,500 to $59,000.
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Venture Academy is a therapeutic treatment and education program for students who may be struggling with ADHD, learning challenges, underachieving, behavioural issues, and a variety of clinical diagnoses.
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GNS is an independent JK-12 International Baccalaureate day-school in Victoria, BC, that challenges and supports each of our students to do their best through truth and courage in learning and in life.
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We understand the importance of developing a well rounded individual. Our Tech, Art and Sport Expert Streams are integrated with the Academic curriculum to amplify our students’ growth into capable and confident adults.
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We aim to create the opportunity for students to achieve their learning goals. In collaborative learning spaces, students explore content, ideas and perspectives to better understand the world around them.
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Alexander Academy is a private high school offering the BC Dogwood High School Diploma and a unique University Transfer Program in a culturally rich and academically challenging environment.
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The UWC National Committee of Canada and Pearson College UWC represent the United World Colleges in Canada. We are seeking daring young Canadians who aspire to make the world a better place.
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LCV High School is a unique place to learn. With a deep history of creative arts education, we have an enhanced modern curriculum that prepares students for success in post secondary education.
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Bodwell High School in North Vancouver is a boarding school that enrolls 650 students. Tuition starts at $21,500. We provide Education for a Changing World. The school's motto is "Strength in Diversity."
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With over 120 years of excellence in all-girls’ education, our rigorous academic program is complemented by strong arts, design technology and athletic programs. Financial assistance is available.
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Pear Tree is a progressive elementary and high school located in Kitsilano, Vancouver. A Pear Tree student is one who has lifelong confidence to pursue their passions and tackle life's challenges.
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MLWS offers a unique high school model - a high school located on a university campus. We offer “dual acceptance” that allows for students in grades 11 and 12 to receive conditional acceptance to our partner university.
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Mulgrave School offers programmes from Preschool to Grade 12 in West Vancouver to all genders. Its average class size is 20 students with teacher to student ratios of 1:8.
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ArtsCalibre Academy empowers students through creativity, mindfulness and leadership. We offer comprehensive educational programs for Preschool through Grade 12.
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Queen Margaret's School is a gender inclusive independent day/boarding university preparatory school in Duncan, BC that focuses on preparing young trailblazers for an unknown future.
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Claren Academy is a future-focused independent school located in the heart of Vancouver. We give students the tools to be creative, competent, and happy in their changing world.
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For more information about BC's private and independent schools, visit the Our Kids' Vancouver Private School Expo. Here, you can meet administrators and instructors from some of the best private schools from across BC.
To further serve the families who turn to us, we've been working with Microsoft to innovate in support of online learning. To that end, we're pleased to announce the launch of the Our Kids Store by Microsoft.
Gain access to exclusive discounts on Surface products—from laptops to accessories that support remote learning—at the Store through your Our Kids account dashboard.
This includes schools in Vancouver, including the Greater Vancouver Area (GVA), Lower Mainland, and Tri-Cities (i.e., Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody). It also includes the cities of Victoria, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Kelowna, Delta, Langley, White Rock, Maple Ridge, Summerland, and more.
British Columbia recognizes the distinct advantages of private and independent schools and therefore funds many of them. The provincial government partially funds private schools according to the quality of education that they provide. To receive funding, a school must meet clearly identified criteria, such as employing only provincially certified teachers. More than 85% of BC's private schools receive some provincial funding, thereby increasing their affordability.
The British Columbia Ministry of Education inspects and regulates private schools in the province. All schools in B.C. are accountable to the School Act which identifies their responsibilities and requirements. The Ministry of Education also educates teachers about their classroom duties and boundaries.
British Columbia has many private and independent schools, so you'll have plenty of options to choose from. Below, we describe some of the main types of private and independent schools you’ll find in BC.
Special needs: Many BC schools offer special education programs. This includes schools with dedicated, integrated, and withdrawal special needs classes. BC private schools support students with a wide range of learning, developmental, behavioural, and physical disabilities. This includes dyslexia, ADHD, Asperger’s, autism, Down syndrome, and more.
Alternative: Alternative schools are more student-centred than traditional or mainstream schools. They tend to emphasize individualized learning, decentralized instruction, and experiential learning, among other things. A popular alternative school in BC is Montessori.
Faith-based: Many BC schools have a faith-based orientation. This means their teaching approach is informed by a particular religion, such as Christianity, Catholicism, or Judiasm.
Advanced academics: BC private schools offer several different kinds of advanced study programs. These schools offer high-level academics, where high-achieving students have the opportunity to study subjects in more depth and breadth, and sometimes at a faster pace. Programs offered include dedicated gifted classes, the International Baccalaureate (IB), and Advanced Placement (AP) classes.
Whether you enjoy lively cities, like Vancouver, Victoria, or Kelowna or you prefer living in beautiful natural scenery in British Columbia, you will find a city or town that suits your family's needs and wants. BC is simply a wonderful place to raise a family! Finding the right school is a little more work, but we have resources to help.
You should begin searching for a private school for your child well before your expected time of enrolment (some parents begin looking for a preschool or daycare when their child is still a baby). Such promptness will give you sufficient time to consider a multitude of necessary factors. Here are some considerations:
Many private and independent schools in BC have unique educational philosophies. For instance, there are language-immersion, special needs, Christian, Catholic, AP, and IB schools. You should find out whether those approaches are suited to your child's educational needs.
Will the school help you fund your child's tuition? Private and independent school need not be beyond your financial means, as many institutions allocate funds to scholarships and bursaries. To find out more about paying for private school, you may consult our list of 18 tips for paying private school tuition.
How far is the school from your home? Distance can be important if your children are young or there is limited public transportation. If you want your child to experience a private school's diverse programs (i.e., extracurricular activities), you might need to drive him or her to school at hours that do not fit your schedule.
What do other students and their parents say about the school? Get as much feedback from school parents as possible.
What is the school's reputation? You could contact a Ministry representative to learn about a given school's reputation. Our Kids also tenuously offers BC private school rankings based on verifiable factors like admission rate, cost and foundation date.
To learn more, read our step-by-step choosing guide as well as our guide to private school questions. You can also read our comprehensive schools profiles on OurKids.net.
On this page, we list the top private schools in BC (British Columbia). Click on a link to learn all about a school, including its location, cost, programs, and curriculum.
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