Collingwood School
🇨🇦 Vancouver · Founded 1984 · Canadian · Ages 4–18
Reviewed by Priscilla Han · 2026-07-23
A well-established West Vancouver independent day school delivering the BC curriculum with a broad Advanced Placement offering; a strong four-strand (academics, arts, athletics, service) programme with no published external graded band.
Curricula
Canadian
Age range
4–18
Languages of instruction
English
Annual fees
SGD CAD 28,550–31,900
Enrollment
1,260
Boarding
No (day school)
Accreditations
CAIS (Canadian Accredited Independent Schools), ISABC (Independent Schools Association of BC)
Tier Profile
We only tier dimensions backed by a public inspection verdict or verifiable accreditation. Other dimensions show a data flag — never a guessed score.
BrightKey's Assessment
Collingwood School is a co-educational, non-denominational university-preparatory day school founded in 1984, serving roughly 1,260 students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 across two West Vancouver campuses (Wentworth for JK–Grade 7, Morven for Grades 8–12). It teaches the British Columbia Ministry of Education curriculum, supplemented by 20+ Advanced Placement courses and its own Collingwood Certificate graduation standard. It is accredited by CAIS and ISABC and is a member of the international Round Square network. It reports a low teacher-to-student ratio (about 1:8) and an average class size near 20.
Why These Ratings?
Inspection & AccreditationA — Excellent
Canada has no single public inspectorate that publishes an Outstanding/Good-style graded band per school, so the tier caps at A. Collingwood holds CAIS and ISABC accreditation (both school-reported on its own site) and delivers the provincially recognised BC curriculum, which supports the A rating; no verbatim top graded band exists to justify an S.
Strengths & Trade-offs
Strengths
- Broad Advanced Placement offering (20+ AP courses) plus additional advanced courses in mathematics and organic chemistry, giving strong university-preparation depth
- Full JK–Grade 12 continuity on two purpose-built West Vancouver campuses
- Low reported teacher-to-student ratio (about 1:8) and moderate average class size (about 20)
- Dual accreditation (CAIS and ISABC) and membership of the international Round Square network with global service trips
- Explicit four-strand model balancing academics, arts, athletics and service
Trade-offs
- Day school only — no boarding option for families needing residential places
- No IB or Cambridge pathway; families specifically seeking those programmes are served elsewhere
- English-as-an-additional-language support is not published on the school site, so its scope is unclear
- Tuition sits at the higher end of the Vancouver independent-school market
Is It Right For You?
Best For
- ✓West Vancouver families wanting a full JK–12 independent day school
- ✓Academically ambitious students who will use a wide Advanced Placement menu for university preparation
- ✓Families valuing a balanced academics-arts-athletics-service programme and a global Round Square network
Not Ideal For
- ✕Families needing boarding
- ✕Families set on an IB or Cambridge (IGCSE/A-Level) curriculum
- ✕Families requiring confirmed, structured intensive EAL provision (not published)
Curriculum
Delivers the British Columbia Ministry of Education K-12 curriculum (classified here as Canadian), supplemented by 20+ Advanced Placement courses, two additional advanced courses (Advanced Topics in Mathematics, Organic Chemistry), and the school’s own Collingwood Certificate graduation standard. No IB or Cambridge programme is offered.
Fees
Standard 2025-26 annual tuition ranges from CAD 28,550 (JK–Grade 5) to CAD 31,900 (Grades 10–12), per the school’s official schedule of fees. A one-time, non-refundable New Student Administrative Fee of CAD 7,500 applies on acceptance, a CAD 4,500 non-refundable tuition deposit is included in tuition, and non-resident students pay an additional CAD 5,000 annually. Targeted Support programme tuition is higher (CAD 40,750–45,150).
Admissions
Competitive independent-school admissions; re-registration and new-student intake run on published deadlines (the 2025-26 re-registration deadline was February 7, 2025). A one-time New Student Administrative Fee of CAD 7,500 is payable on acceptance. Specific entry-assessment details are not published on the pages reviewed.
Campus Life
Two West Vancouver campuses: Wentworth (2605 Wentworth Avenue) for JK–Grade 7 and Morven (70 Morven Drive), redeveloped in 2014 with a theatre, dance studio, library, gymnasium and athletics field, for Grades 8–12. Strong athletics tradition (the school reports 54 provincial athletic championships), plus debating, public speaking and Model UN, and international Round Square service trips.
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
University-destination and graduate-placement data are not published on the pages reviewed (school-reported outcomes not available).
Sources
Every verifiable fact carries a public source — verify it yourself.
📬 Get notified when we publish new university guides
Compare Collingwood School with
Side-by-side: curriculum, fees, accreditation, honest trade-offs