Funding announced for 32-classroom, four-storey addition to Fleetwood Park Secondary
From left, Surrey Board of Education Trustee Terry Allen -- pictured alongside Surrey-Fleetwood MLA Jagrup Brar, Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh, and Fleetwood Park Secondary principal Jodie Perry -- was on hand Friday, Aug. 16, for the announcement of funding for a four-storey, 800-seat addition to the secondary school as the district continues to manage its growing student population. (Photo by Jacob Zinn)
The provincial government is committing $78.6 million for a 32-classroom addition to Fleetwood Park Secondary, standing four storeys and creating an additional 800 student spaces for youth in Surrey.
Announced Friday (Aug. 16) by Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh, the funding will increase capacity at the school from 1,200 to 2,000 and will help to address ongoing enrolment growth in the Fleetwood area.
“We continue to face high enrolment and unprecedented population growth right across this district as we welcome new residents to our wonderful city,” said Surrey Board of Education Trustee Terry Allen. “The expansion of Fleetwood Park is an ideal solution for this community and one of a series of important steps needed to help create the type of learning environment all Surrey students deserve.”
The addition is the biggest since Sullivan Heights Secondary’s 700-seat, four-storey addition and will include a neighbourhood learning centre with an Indigenous learning and meeting space, as well as a separate space for child care for families in the community. It will also feature a gymnasium, three science rooms, a low-impact studio, a counsellor’s space, and spaces for arts, music, technology and diverse learning needs.
The project joins a growing list of government-funded secondary expansions in the district:
- Kwantlen Park Secondary (20 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy fall 2027)
- Guildford Park Secondary (18 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy spring 2028)
- Tamanawis Secondary (23 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy spring 2028)
Collectively, the four funded additions will create 2,325 spaces for secondary students upon opening. The Ministry has also expressed support, pending funding approval, for a 20-classroom addition to Grandview Heights Secondary and Clayton Heights Secondary.
With Fleetwood Park being one of six secondary schools going on an extended day schedule in the fall, and with the Langley SkyTrain expansion expected to increase development in Fleetwood, the much-needed addition aims to offset overcrowding at the school as the district continues to experience unprecedented enrolment growth.
In recent years, the district’s annual average enrolment increase has tripled from 800 to more than 2,500 students, bringing the total headcount to more than 85,000 students. This past school year alone, the district started the with 3,089 more students than the previous year and grew by another 1,563 students by mid-March, adding up to 4,652 new students before year’s end.
As enrolment projections forecast up to 96,000 students by 2033, and growth outpaces construction of new school space, the district is also exploring hybrid learning models and tri-semester schooling as alternative solutions.
The Fleetwood Park Secondary addition is anticipated to be completed in January 2029.
