Surrey schools: a home buyer's guide

The Surrey district in numbers

Surrey Schools (SD36) is the largest school district in British Columbia. It operates 105 elementary schools and 21 secondary schools and enrolled 76,977 K-12 students in 2025-26 (SD36). For two decades enrolment grew almost every year; 2025-26 was the first slight dip, which the district attributed to federal immigration and work-permit changes.

For a buyer, the scale cuts both ways. There's real choice, traditional schools, fine arts, Montessori, French immersion, and a school on nearly every corner. But sustained growth means many Surrey schools run over capacity, so being in a catchment doesn't always mean a seat. That tension shapes everything below.

Highest-rated elementary schools

The table below shows Surrey's top-rated elementary schools on the Fraser Institute's 2024 report card (its rating runs 0 to 10, built from standardized FSA test results). One thing to notice: the very top of the Surrey list is dominated by independent (private) schools, not public ones. That's a common pattern in FSA-based rankings.

The highest-rated strictly public elementary on this edition was Erma Stephenson at 8.2. Pacific Heights Elementary is also worth a mention the Fraser Institute has flagged it as one of the province's fastest-improving schools, though we'd confirm its current single-year rating with the district before leaning on a number.

Top secondary schools (2020 report card)

Secondary ratings come with a big asterisk: the most recent Fraser Institute BC secondary report card is the 2020 edition, built on 2018/19 data. There's no newer one, so every figure here is five-plus years old. Read it as history, not a current scoreboard.

Catchments and French immersion in Surrey

Your Surrey catchment is set by your address on the district boundary map, confirm it with Surrey's online school locator for the exact home you're considering (SD36). In-catchment students get priority, but with the district's growth, many elementary schools are "closed to out-of-catchment registration requests" in a given year, and secondary out-of-catchment students go on a waitlist. Don't assume you can cross-boundary into a popular school.

French immersion runs as a district program of choice, open regardless of where you live. Early French Immersion (Kindergarten) is allocated by an online lottery; immersion elementary schools include Riverdale, Simon Cunningham, Martha Currie, Laronde, Pacific Heights, Peace Arch, and Snokomish, with Late French Immersion (Grade 6) starting at schools such as K.B. Woodward, Sunrise Ridge, Crescent Park, and Jessie Lee (SD36). Surrey also runs Montessori, fine arts, and traditional kindergarten programs through the same lottery.

What this means for Surrey buyers

Surrey's size is a gift and a trap. The gift: more program choice than anywhere in the Valley. The trap: the best-known schools are often the fullest, and the highest FSA scores cluster in independent schools and pricier catchments. We tell Surrey buyers to confirm the catchment on the locator, call the school about actual space, and remember that a strong rating frequently rides on a higher-priced neighbourhood.

Want to line schools up against prices and SkyTrain access? Pair this with our first-time buyer guide for Surrey and the catchments guide, or browse Surrey condos for sale. Comparing cities? Head back to the Fraser Valley schools hub.