Schools in Willoughby, Langley: Catchments, Crowding and the September 2027 Changes

Two things decide which school your child attends in Willoughby: the address and the year. This part of Langley has been taking most of the district’s new students, so the schools are full, new ones are being built, and the answer to “which school?” changes again in September 2027.

Which school will my child attend?

Put the address into the Langley School District’s school locator. Do it before you sign an offer or a lease, not after. A school being two blocks away does not mean your child is entitled to a place there, and the school named in a listing is not a catchment guarantee.

The locator shows today’s catchment. For a move in September 2027 or later, also look at the district’s approved transition map (covered below). SD35 says cross-boundary requests are accepted only if there is space, so don’t plan on one.

The public schools

The table covers the seven elementary schools, two middle schools and one secondary school serving Willoughby today, plus the nearby French-language public school. Headcounts are September 2025 enrolment from the province’s data, all grades, so they are a year old. Each school name links to its BC Ministry of Education and Child Care report page.

Are Willoughby schools overcrowded?

Yes, by the district’s own numbers. In its January 2026 presentation on boundary changes, SD35 reported that 552 of the 641 additional students who joined the district in 2025 landed on what it calls the Willoughby Slope. That is about 86%. It listed the effects: pressure on specialist rooms, portables, and adjusted school-day arrangements.

For a sense of scale, here are the last elementary figures we could find that put enrolment, capacity and portables side by side. They are from 2023, published in the district’s long-range facilities plan in June 2024, before Josette Dandurand opened and before the 2025 additions. Please don’t read them as today’s numbers.

New space has opened since: Josette Dandurand (555 places), 150 more places at Lynn Fripps and 275 more at Peter Ewart, all in September 2025. We couldn’t find a school-by-school portable count for 2026-27, so ask the school’s office or the district what it looks like this year. Don’t divide 2025 enrolment by the 2023 capacities and call it utilization; the buildings changed.

What changes in September 2027?

Two new schools, both targeted for September 2027:

• stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle, 7467 212 Street Connector, planned for 900 places.
• Emery Dosdall Secondary, 7587 212 Street Connector, planned for 1,900 places. Its October 2026 school information sets out catchments and the planned programs.

These are targets, not guaranteed opening dates. SD35’s approved transition chart for the Willoughby Slope looks like this:

Some details that catch families out:

• Students entering Grade 12 in September 2027 at R.E. Mountain may stay to graduate. Younger siblings are not automatically grandfathered.
• New-student registration for Emery Dosdall opens in January 2027 through MyEdBC, according to SD35’s 21 October 2026 notice. If you are staying in your catchment you do not need to re-register.
• IB stays a district-wide program at R.E. Mountain and accepts students from outside its catchment. Emery Dosdall plans Pre-IB Honours in grades 9 and 10 and AP-related programming.
• If a boundary hardship affects you, SD35 says to raise it with your current principal.

Check the district’s catchment change page for the exact boundary lines, since “east” and “west” Donna Gabriel Robins is a line on a map, not a street name we can promise.

More space on the way

The province announced $42 million in April 2026 for a 300-place addition at R.E. Mountain. The district expects construction to start in summer 2027, with the space ready for students in late 2028. Both are targets.

Willoughby Elementary may eventually move. A February 2026 partnership between the Township and the district, reaffirmed in the June 2026 board reporting, is exploring a roughly 2.4-hectare site on 80 Avenue beside the Langley Tennis Centre, south of Yorkson Community Park, together with community amenities. Nothing is funded or scheduled that we could confirm, so don’t plan around it.

French immersion and other programs

École James Kennedy, 9060 212 Street in Walnut Grove, is the nearest school with English and French immersion. Getting in is a district application, and a Willoughby address does not guarantee a place. Our French immersion guide explains the process.

École des Voyageurs, 8736 216 Street, is different: it is a French-language public school run by the Conseil scolaire francophone for families who qualify under its own admission rules, and it is not an ordinary SD35 catchment school.

Independent schools nearby

The King’s School, a Christian K-12 school at 21783 76B Avenue, sits just east of the core Willoughby area. Programs and admissions are on its website. More options are on our independent schools page.

Preschool, StrongStart and child care

• StrongStart is a free, drop-in early learning program where a parent or caregiver stays. It runs at Langley Meadows (2244 Willoughby Way) and at Donna Gabriel Robins (7844 204B Street). Check the session calendar first, as it isn’t daycare.
• $10-a-day child care: the province’s list includes the YMCA child care at Donna Gabriel Robins (7844 204B Street), with 25 licensed spaces for ages 3 to 5 and 54 school-age spaces. Those are licensed capacity, not open spots; ask the YMCA about waits.
• Tiny Hoppers Langley Willoughby, A230-20689 Willoughby Town Centre Drive, publishes its own program details. Before signing up with any provider, look it up in Fraser Health’s child care inspection system.

Our preschools and child care guide covers the wider Langley picture.

Walking to school

Several schools sit next to parks, which makes short walks possible at Lynn Fripps, Richard Bulpitt, Donna Gabriel Robins and Langley Meadows. We aren’t going to give you a universal walking time, because catchments are irregular and some routes cross busy roads. The Township has done traffic calming at 83 Avenue beside Lynn Fripps, on Willoughby Way beside Langley Meadows, and at 78 Avenue and 204B Street beside Donna Gabriel Robins, where it includes speed humps and a raised crossing. Walk the real route at drop-off time and look hard at every crossing.

After high school

Trinity Western University and the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Langley campus are both in the Langley area. See our directory pages on Trinity Western University and the KPU Langley campus.

How do these schools perform?

We don’t rank schools. Each school’s Ministry of Education and Child Care page, linked in the table, has the public reports. The Fraser Institute’s Compare School Rankings is a think-tank ranking with its own method, so search by exact school name and look at the data year. A school with no ranking hasn’t necessarily done badly.

More on Willoughby: the overview, getting around (including the school-run roads), and pros and cons. District-wide registration steps are in our Langley schools guide.