Chilliwack schools: a home buyer's guide

The Chilliwack district in numbers

Chilliwack School District (SD33) runs 30 schools, 19 elementary (K-5), four middle (6-8), two K-8 schools, and five secondary (9-12), serving roughly 15,000 students (SD33). Affordability keeps drawing families, and the enrolment shows it: as of November 2025 the district was at about 103% of functional capacity, with 12 of 29 sites over capacity and Chilliwack Secondary, the city's largest school, enrolling around 1,620 students against a designed capacity of 1,200 (Fraser Valley Today).

That capacity pressure is the practical headline for buyers: in a district where a third of sites are full, an in-catchment home is your best shot at a seat but not a promise.

Highest-rated elementary schools

Chilliwack's top-rated elementary schools on the Fraser Institute's 2025 report card (2023/24 data) are led by an independent school, with Greendale standing out clearly among the public schools.

Secondary schools: no current ranking

Chilliwack's public secondary schools are Chilliwack Secondary, G.W. Graham Secondary, Sardis Secondary, Imagine High Integrated Arts and Technology, and Kw'íyeqel Secondary. We're not publishing rating numbers for them, and here's the honest reason: the Fraser Institute's most recent BC secondary report card is the 2020 edition, and we could not verify current Chilliwack secondary ratings from a primary source. Rather than repeat a number we can't stand behind, we'd point you to visiting the schools directly. (See how rankings work for why the secondary data is stale.)

Catchments and French immersion in Chilliwack

Chilliwack places in-catchment students at their catchment school and uses a school-locator tool to confirm boundaries by address (SD33). Out-of-catchment requests are handled between May and September based on available space, with priority running from continuing in-catchment students down to out-of-district families so plan around your catchment in a district this full.

French immersion is a program of choice: Early French Immersion (Kindergarten) at Cheam Elementary, Late French Immersion (Grade 6) at Chilliwack Middle and Vedder Middle, continuing at Sardis Secondary (SD33). Immersion sites can shift, so confirm the current locations with the district before you base a move on one.

What this means for Chilliwack buyers

Chilliwack's draw is price, the lowest entry points in the Valley, in family-friendly pockets like Sardis, Promontory, and Garrison Crossing. With several schools over capacity, the move is to confirm both the catchment and the actual available space for the exact address before you fall for a home. The savings versus Langley or Surrey are real; just don't assume a full school will make room.

Pair this with our first-time buyer guide for Chilliwack and the catchments guide, estimate your BC property transfer tax, or compare cities on the Fraser Valley schools hub.