Surrey Schools enrolment exceeds 83,000 students for 2024-25 school year

October 29, 2024

Surrey Schools is home to 83,259 students this school year, with an increase of more than 1,500 students in the district's 105 elementary schools and 21 secondary schools. While the year-over-year increase is less than the last two years' average, it is still double the traditional rate of growth over the previous 10 years. (Image via iStock)

Classes are firmly in session at Surrey Schools and the headcount for the 2024-25 school year is 83,259 students – a considerable increase from last October.

The latest enrolment numbers were presented at the Oct. 9 Surrey Board of Education public meeting after first being submitted to the Ministry of Education and Child Care. Each year, B.C. school districts submit reports to the ministry reflecting enrolment numbers as of Sept. 30 to accurately measure enrolment changes year to year.

“The Surrey School District continues to grow rapidly and we continue to need new seats for students to accommodate this growth,” said Deputy Supt. Andrew Holland. “Our regular K-12 student growth was up by 1,507 students this year, the equivalent of three elementary schools.”

With more than 1,500 new students, the full-time elementary and secondary count rose 1.7% from October 2023. Student numbers for SAIL (Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning), which offers online courses, also saw increases, while there were small declines in learning centres, continuing education and international education programs.

The latest year-over-year increase falls short of the district’s average of 2,598 students over the last two years, but is still roughly double the traditional rate of growth measured prior to 2022, when the district averaged 800 students per year.

Holland noted the smaller increase is consistent with other Lower Mainland school districts and attributed it to changes to federal immigration policy, particularly around work permits, that could affect the number of families coming to Surrey and White Rock. However, he also noted an increase of 1,321 students who receive English Language Learner (ELL) support, meaning a substantial number of students are still coming to Canada and enrolling in the district.

“That almost parallels our K-12 program growth, which shows that many of the students coming to the schools are newcomers to our country and require English language learning support,” said Holland. “We welcome these students, we embrace them, we have supports in place for them, and it speaks to our need. As Surrey continues to grow, we need more school spaces.”

Funding for new schools and additions comes from the ministry, which also determines which capital projects receive funding approval for all public schools in B.C. The board continues to advocate for new student spaces from the provincial government.

Currently, the district has 16 capital projects funded by the ministry, totalling 223 classrooms. Six are under construction while the remaining 10 are in planning and design.

In May, the board approved the 2025-26 five-year capital plan, which seeks $5.03 billion from the ministry to fund 63 major capital projects to address the district’s ongoing, exponential growth. The request includes 20 new schools, 19 additions, 21 site acquisitions, two school replacements and one seismic upgrade in order to provide enough student spaces to match 10-year projections of up to 96,866 students in 2033.

The 16 current projects include:

New Schools

Snokomish Elementary (27 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy March 2026)

Onsite Additions

Semiahmoo Trail Elementary (10 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy May 2025)
South Meridian Elementary (eight classrooms, scheduled for occupancy May 2025)
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)
Fleetwood Park Secondary (20 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy January 2029)
Forsyth Road Elementary (eight classrooms, scheduled for occupancy Fall 2028)
Old Yale Road Elementary (10 +7 classrooms, occupancy to be determined)

Prefabricated Additions

Lena Shaw Elementary (eight classrooms, scheduled for occupancy Fall 2024)
Walnut Road Elementary (12 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy Fall 2024, additional four classrooms scheduled for occupancy Fall 2025)
Woodland Park Elementary (16 classrooms, scheduled for occupancy Fall 2024)
École Martha Currie Elementary (six classrooms, occupancy to be determined)
Latimer Road Elementary (six classrooms, occupancy to be determined)
William Watson Elementary (12 classrooms, occupancy to be determined)
George Greenaway Elementary (14 classrooms, occupancy to be determined)

For status updates on the current capital projects, see the Capital Project Office progress chart.