School Catchments: Vancouver, Burnaby and the North Shore (2026)

For many families, the school down the street is part of what they’re buying. In British Columbia’s public schools, your home address decides your catchment school, and living in that catchment gives your child priority for a place there. Priority isn’t a guarantee, though, and each school district runs it a little differently. Here’s how catchments work in Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver and West Vancouver, and what to check before you make an offer.

How catchment priority works

Every public school has a catchment, the area the school board has set as its attendance area. Under BC’s School Act, a child who lives in a school’s catchment has priority to enrol there, as long as the school has space. After them come children from elsewhere in the same district, then children from other districts. Most districts also give priority to brothers and sisters of students already at the school.

West Vancouver Schools publishes its order, and it’s a good example of how it works:

In catchment, with a brother or sister at the school
In catchment
Out of catchment but in the district, with a brother or sister at the school
Out of catchment but in the district
Then families from outside the district

When a school is full, even in-catchment children can be placed at another school nearby. That’s why a catchment is a strong advantage, but not a promise.

Vancouver (Vancouver School Board)

Find your school with the VSB School Locator, using the exact address.
Kindergarten priority registration runs from November 1 to January 31. You must live in the catchment when you apply.
If a school has more applicants than spaces, places are given by random draw. Children who aren’t drawn go on the school’s waitlist and are offered a place at another Vancouver school in the meantime.
Proof of address can include a property tax notice, a purchase agreement or a rental agreement, plus a recent bill in your name. Schools under enrolment pressure may ask for more.
Specialty programs such as the International Baccalaureate, offered at schools including Britannia, King George and Sir Winston Churchill, are applied for rather than assigned by address.

Burnaby (Burnaby School District)

Eight secondary schools, each with its own catchment map: Alpha, Burnaby Central, Burnaby Mountain, Burnaby North, Burnaby South, Byrne Creek, Cariboo Hill and Moscrop. Burnaby North was rebuilt and reopened in 2024.
Register at your catchment school first. Families who want a different Burnaby school then apply for a cross-district transfer, usually in February for the following September.
Some elementary schools straddle two secondary catchments. Their Grade 7 students have priority for one of the two high schools, so check which one an address actually feeds.
French Immersion at the secondary level is offered at Alpha, Cariboo Hill and Moscrop. The district also offers Advanced Placement courses and the AP Capstone diploma.

Our guides to North Burnaby, Capitol Hill and Brentwood name the schools near each area.

North Vancouver (North Vancouver School District)

Six secondary schools, each anchoring a “Family of Schools”: the elementary schools that feed into it. Your address decides your elementary school, and your elementary school usually decides your high school.
The School Locator is the final word. The district publishes a catchment map, but says that where the map and the locator disagree, the locator is right.
Kindergarten has a priority placement window each winter. Families can name a second or third choice within their Family of Schools.
Buying a presale or a home that hasn’t completed? Ask the district what it will accept as proof of residence before you count on registering at the new address.

West Vancouver (West Vancouver Schools)

The priority order above applies, and placement depends on space. Use the district’s school locator for the exact address.
For 2027 to 2028, the district is accepting Kindergarten applications from every catchment, but Grades 1 to 12 only from families in catchment.
Three secondary schools: West Vancouver Secondary, home of the district’s IB Diploma Programme, which accepts applicants from across the district; École Sentinel, which offers French Immersion at the secondary level; and Rockridge.
Early French Immersion kindergarten places are given by lottery.

Our guides to the British Properties, Ambleside and Dundarave name the schools near each.

French Immersion and specialty programs

French Immersion, IB and other specialty programs are usually programs of choice: you apply, and places can be limited or given by lottery. They can also change which high school a child goes to. If a program matters to you, look at its own rules as well as the catchment.

What to check before you buy

Look up the exact address in the district’s locator. Boundaries follow streets, ravines and creeks, not neighbourhood names, and one side of a street can be in a different catchment from the other.
Ask the school about space in the grade your child will enter, and whether there’s a waitlist.
Line up the dates. Know when registration opens and closes, and whether your completion date lets you register in time.
Know what proof of address the district accepts, especially if you’re buying a presale or renting first.
Remember that boundaries can change. Districts review catchments as enrolment shifts.
Think about resale. Even if you’re choosing an independent school, the next buyer of your home may want the public school, and a well-regarded catchment widens the number of buyers. Private schools in West Vancouver and Vancouver

Questions people ask

Does buying in a catchment guarantee my child a place?

No. It gives your child priority, but a full school can place in-catchment children at another school nearby.

Can I register before I move in?

Sometimes. Vancouver lists a purchase agreement as one accepted proof of address, but every district sets its own rules, and some may want more. Ask the district before you rely on it.

Do independent schools have catchments?

No. Admission is by application, and your address doesn’t give you a place.

General information for families buying in Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver and West Vancouver, current as of November 2026. School districts change their rules, dates and boundaries. Confirm with the district for any address before you make an offer.

School catchments in Vancouver, Burnaby and the North Shore