Student enrolment exceeds projections in Surrey Schools

Enrolment in the Surrey School District exceeded projections this year, with more than 2,200 new students enrolling in the district for the 2022-23 school year.

“Prior to the pandemic, our district averaged about 1,000 new students every school year,” said Mark Pearmain, Superintendent of Surrey Schools. “Enrolment did significantly decline during the pandemic, and this spring we were anticipating pre-pandemic enrolment numbers, with a projection of about 900 new students. 

“We exceeded our estimates by over 1,300 new students. More and more families are choosing the Surrey School District and we are committed to providing quality education for every student in our district. But we also recognize that rapid growth like this puts increased pressure on our resources. Many of our schools are operating over capacity as the rising population continues to outpace available space. We have been working closely with the province and our municipal partners to address this exponential growth and find sustainable solutions for our school communities to meet capacity needs.”

Since 2017, six new schools and seven additions to existing schools have opened in the district, while one new school and four school expansions are currently under construction (progress details on these projects are in this table). An additional four projects are under business case development and another new school is currently in the design phase.

This summer, the district submitted its annual capital submission to the Ministry of Education and Child Care outlining additional projects that can support the district’s capacity needs. The 2022/23 capital submission is available here.

Surrey Schools serves the City of Surrey, the City of White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island. The district is the largest and fastest growing school district in British Columbia, with over 78,000 students and 13,000 staff.