Parents who focus attention on ranking lists (provided hesitantly below) risk forgetting what's truly important: the needs of their children. When we meet parents at the Vancouver private school expo or elsewhere, they often ask us for rankings. Along with schools themselves and education experts, we think this focus is misguided. School ranking lists can provide nominal value to parents, if they are used with prudence, as one small tool in a much larger process of researching school choices. If you're going to look at school rankings like those below, we urge you to follow some precautions:
In part to meet parents' requests, we offer the Vancouver school rankings below. While we do so, tenuously, Our Kids is the "Trusted Source" because of our longstanding relationship with private schools. Lists below draw heavily from our history of working with schools and helping them to elucidate their value, strengths and weaknesses.
To help you truly focus on finding the best school for your child, we offer much more worthwhile advice elsewhere. School profiles are your richest source of information. Our school expos offer parents the opportunity to speak to schools in depth. Finding the right school for your child(ren) should be a deep process where you start with the basics, understand all your options, and make a fully informed choice. Lists below should be used as a nominally helpful tool in that much larger process.
Schools that are difficult to get into would seem to be in high demand, an indication of how good the school is. However, it's much more important that parents focus on the needs of child(ren) in the school search. Below are schools ranked on their reported acceptance rates. This list might also be helpful to families who want a cursory look at the chances of getting into these schools.
| School | Location | Grades | Acceptance rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pear Tree School | Vancouver, BC | K to 8 | 50% |
| 2 | Bodwell High School | North Vancouver, BC | 8 to 12 | 60% |
| 3 | Claren Academy | Vancouver, BC | K to 7 | 75% |
Some people mistakenly equate the most expensive with the best. This is not a good assumption to make, of course. It may be true that schools charging a higher tuition will be able to provide superior facilities, hire some of the most qualified instructors and offer other very high quality amenities and features. However, many Vancouver private schools charging lower tuition rates produce top tier graduates who go on to highly successful careers and lives. Along with schools themselves, we preach the importance of searching for a school that is the right fit for your child. Placing any focus on a relatively superficial metric like the one ranked below is misguided. For interest's sake and as an overview of the landscape, we look at Vancouver's most expensive private schools below.
| School | Location | Grades | Tuition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stratford Hall | Vancouver, BC | K to 12 | $28,220 to $32,970 |
| 2 | Bodwell High School | North Vancouver, BC | 8 to 12 | $26,000 to $29,000 |
| 3 | Pear Tree School | Vancouver, BC | K to 8 | $21,120 to $27,445 |
| 4 | Pythagoras Academy | Richmond, BC | JK to 8 | $21,400 to $25,800 |
| 5 | Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology | Vancouver, BC | 8 to 12 | $1 to $23,400 |
| 6 | Alexander Academy | Vancouver, BC | 10 to 12 | $16,500 to $22,800 |
| 7 | Whytecliff Agile Learning Centre - Burnaby | Burnaby, BC | 8 to 12 | $8,900 to $21,000 |
| 8 | Claren Academy | Vancouver, BC | K to 7 | $19,855 |
| 9 | HongDe Elementary School | Vancouver, BC | K to 6 | $16,800 to $19,800 |
Listed below are Vancouver’s oldest private schools, in order. A school’s long history may indicate prestige to some parents. However, there are many other factors that should go into your decision process when finding a school that is right for your child(ren).
| School | Location | Grades | Founded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bodwell High School | North Vancouver, BC | 8 to 12 | 1991 |
| 2 | Whytecliff Agile Learning Centre - Burnaby | Burnaby, BC | 8 to 12 | 1993 |
| 3 | Stratford Hall | Vancouver, BC | K to 12 | 2000 |
Are Vancouver private schools good?
We interviewed both parents and students. You can read reviews about Vancouver private schools on this page.
What is the most expensive Vancouver private school?
Stratford Hall has the highest tuition fees from $28,220 to $32,970 per year with an average tuition of $30,595 per year.
Which Vancouver private school has the lowest acceptance rates?
The Vancouver private school with the lowest acceptance rate is Pear Tree School. The school has an overall accepance rate of 50%.
What is the oldest Vancouver private school?
Bodwell High School is the oldest Vancouver private school. The school was founded in 1991.
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