Elementary schools play an important role in a child’s development and aid in their academic growth. Vancouver has many great options for parents to choose from, including faith-based and international elementary schools. 

There are also exemplary public schools located in the city which offer a wide variety of courses to enrich children’s knowledge. 

Keep reading as we list down some of the best elementary schools in Vancouver! Do take note that this list is in no particular order, by the way.

The Best Elementary Schools in Vancouver

Finding the best elementary schools in Vancouver can be a difficult task. There are lots of factors that go into deciding where to send your children, such as the type of education they will get, the area it will be located in, and its safety rating. 

The type of elementary school you choose will affect your child for years to come so it is important that you do a little research to find the best option for them.

We’ve assessed the following elementary schools based on the criteria below:

Reputation – A school’s reputation is critical because it establishes a school’s excellence. 
⮕Years of Experience – We look at how long these schools have been in operation because it demonstrates their consistency in providing excellent education.
⮕Student Feedback –  We interviewed former and current students to find out how satisfied they are with the education they are receiving.

Range of Subjects- We made certain to include elementary schools with a diverse curriculum.

Efficiency – In this criterion, we examine the passing rates at these schools.

Facilities – Clean, spacious, and numerous classrooms are essential for students to focus while learning.
⮕Classroom Capacity – We evaluate how many students their classrooms can accommodate.
⮕Cleanliness – Having clean school facilities reduce the number of ill students and teachers.

1. Tyee Elementary School

CRITERIA	RATING
Reputation	★★★★☆ 4/5
Years of Experience	★★★★★ 5/5
Student Feedback	★★★★★ 5/5
Range of Subjects	★★★★★ 5/5
Efficiency	★★★★☆ 4/5
Facilities	★★★★★ 5/5
Classroom Capacity	★★★★★ 5/5
Cleanliness	★★★★★ 5/5

Tyee Elementary School encourages learning and active participation in various learning experiences. 

We liked how they believe that each learner is unique and that providing a supportive environment in which each student can thrive is critical.

This school strictly enforces punctuality and respect towards other students. We particularly liked that they provided students with numerous leadership opportunities.

These include joining the student council, public announcers, library monitors, and many more. In our opinion, this encourages students to take on more tasks, enabling them to be more responsible.

What we liked best about Tyee Elementary School is that it has multicultural liaison workers that can provide support for students and families from different cultural backgrounds. 

We believe this makes them ideal not only for Canadian students but for foreign learners as well. 

Moreover, Tyee Elementary School teaches French as a Second Language (FSL) to students in Grades 5 to 7. We think this is beneficial for students to understand other cultures.

They also have a garden, which began as a small butterfly garden. This is now filled with plants, grafted apple trees, and various types of compost.

Unfortunately, they have a limited number of school events. We only wish they had more school programs to encourage students to participate more actively.

Nevertheless, we still think Tyee Elementary School is one of the best elementary schools in Vancouver as they promote leadership alongside educational excellence.

Customer Reviews

Practical and responsible teachers

“The montessori education at this school was really good and practical. Made really nice friends at this school as well, and teachers are really responsible and helpful!.” -Its M. 

Great school

“Most amazing school in history of amazing schools.” -Chi N.

2. Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School

CRITERIA	RATING
Reputation	★★★★☆ 4/5
Years of Experience	★★★★★ 5/5
Student Feedback	★★★★☆ 4/5
Range of Subjects	★★★★☆ 4/5
Efficiency	★★★★★ 5/5
Facilities	★★★★★ 5/5
Classroom Capacity	★★★★★ 5/5
Cleanliness	★★★★★ 5/5

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School believes that learning is a lifelong task and provides students with a caring and supportive environment.

We thought it was worth mentioning that this school has a hot lunch system that provides nutritious and tasty meals such as chicken teriyaki boxes, dumplings, lasagna, and many more.

We believe this daily meal program will benefit students by providing them with a well-balanced meal that will allow them to concentrate in class.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School also hosts numerous school events such as neighborhood clean-up parties, virtual book fairs, online auctions, and many more. 

Students at this school are encouraged to S.O.A.R. ( (Supportive – Open Minded- Awesome – Respectful). The school’s code of conduct, we believe, encourages students to be respectful and welcoming to everyone they meet.

They also have numerous student leadership opportunities, such as library monitors, lunch monitors, and many more. 

What distinguished them from the rest was their recycling committee, which is open to students in Grades 4,5,6, and 7. This, in our opinion, encourages students to be more environmentally conscious from a young age.

We particularly liked their school safety patrol opportunities for students in grades 5, 6, and 7. We believe this program suits learners who want to take on more responsibilities.

This school has a dedicated library website where students can find all the information they need for their projects and homework, which we thought was helpful.

Now, we were disappointed to learn that they do not provide foreign language programs. We believe this would have been an excellent addition to their curriculum.

Overall, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School is one of the best elementary schools in Vancouver, as we believe they provide a supportive learning environment for learners.

Customer Reviews

Excellent school

“Excellent school that is conveniently located for all kids residing in West of Cambie in Marpol neighborhood.” -Taras T. 

Welcoming staff

“I love the school. The people there are very welcoming, but people who are almost 60 years old have gone to the school in kindergarten. It’s pretty old.” -Kheyria I.

3. Emily Carr Elementary School

CRITERIA	RATING
Reputation	★★★★☆ 4/5
Years of Experience	★★★★★ 5/5
Student Feedback	★★★★☆ 4/5
Range of Subjects	★★★★★ 5/5
Efficiency	★★★★★ 5/5
Facilities	★★★★☆ 4/5
Classroom Capacity	★★★★★ 5/5
Cleanliness	★★★★☆ 4/5

Founded in 1910, the Emily Carr Elementary School has assisted students in reaching their full potential as individuals and members of society.

What we liked best about this school is that they provide numerous student support such as free Office 365 resources for students, emergency preparedness programs, and many more. 

This school is unique because it has a dedicated music program available for Grade 1 to 7 learners. This program allows them to play a wide variety of instruments.

We believe this is ideal for students to start developing their musical skills early. Some instruments they teach include xylophones, West African hand drums, and small hand percussion instruments. 

We also appreciate that this school allows parents to meet with their children’s teachers. We believe this helps parents understand and monitor their children’s academic progress.

We also found it convenient that they provide an online platform where parents can quickly pay school fees. 

This school also has a dedicated chess club every Wednesday during lunch. In our opinion, having activities outside of school improves their time management skills and helps them learn new skills. 

However, we only wish they held more school events so students could be more involved. 

Even so, we strongly recommend Emily Carr Elementary School for its numerous student support resources that assist students in reaching their full potential.

Customer Reviews

Great school and excellent teachers

“Good school, good playground, and excelent teachers and staff!.” -Majapahiti E. 

Knowledgeable teachers and great playground for kids

“Good school, good playground, and excelent teachers and staff the principal is wonderful and responsible. overall it’s a good school, the children and parents are great either, the teachers are knowledgeable and kind.” -Minoo A.

4. Queen Mary Elementary School

CRITERIA	RATING
Reputation	★★★★☆ 4/5
Years of Experience	★★★★★ 5/5
Student Feedback	★★★★☆ 4/5
Range of Subjects	★★★★★ 5/5
Efficiency	★★★★☆ 4/5
Facilities	★★★★★ 5/5
Classroom Capacity	★★★★★ 5/5
Cleanliness	★★★★★ 5/5

The Queen Mary Elementary School, founded in 1915, provides Kindergarten through Grade 7 elementary education and is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) World School.

We were impressed by the school’s multiple events, which include games, music and movie nights, bake sales, and fundraisers. They also encourage students to be more active by holding September fun runs.

However, we couldn’t help but notice that their entrance fees for school events are costly. 

Despite that, we liked that they are environmentally conscious. To reduce the environmental impact of school events, they use compostable plates, napkins, and recyclable drink containers.

The Queen Mary Elementary School also has its own full line of clothing, which we thought was impressive because a portion of the proceeds goes toward school funding.

What also caught our attention is that they have multiple volunteering programs where students and parents can get more involved in helping the community.

This includes supporting events, donating to fundraising events, volunteering as a classroom parent, and many more. 

Students looking to be more active can also join their athletics program, which offers cross country, basketball, soccer, and many more. 

In our opinion, these extracurricular activities allow students to develop their social skills and learn the importance of teamwork.

All in all, we felt Queen Mary Elementary School deserved to be on our list because their years of experience have allowed them to provide a good balance of learning and fun.

Customer Reviews

Great school and accessible location

“Good public school, visitors generally can get access to this location. Nice environment- lot’s of children!.”

Amazing teachers

“My kids go there. The teachers are AMAZING! My kids love it and have good memories there.” -Justin M.

5. Westside Montessori School

CRITERIA	RATING
Reputation	★★★★☆ 4/5
Years of Experience	★★★★★ 5/5
Student Feedback	★★★★☆ 4/5
Range of Subjects	★★★★☆ 4/5
Efficiency	★★★★★ 5/5
Facilities	★★★★★ 5/5
Classroom Capacity	★★★★★ 5/5
Cleanliness	★★★★★ 5/5

Westside Montessori School is a student-centered institution founded in 1986. We immediately noticed they provide flexible programs such as half-day or full-schedule classes.

In our opinion, this allows the school to accommodate different learning needs.

Tuition fees at the Westside Montessori School cost around CAD 10,000 to CAD 18,950, which is relatively higher, but we think this is reasonable as they provide numerous classes and programs.

Their annual tuition fee includes all snacks, specialty classes, field trips, and other activities. We appreciate that they do not charge additional fees because it allows parents to plan ahead of time.

Perhaps what impressed us the most about this school is its specialist classes that encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities.

Some classes they offer include French, Yoga, and Orff music held three days a week for 30 minutes. These classes are already included in their tuition. 

This school also organizes two to three field trips annually, which we believe helps them improve their observation and social skills while also increasing their understanding of their community.

On a whole, we believe Westside Montessori School is one of the best elementary schools in Vancouver as they offer a more student-centered approach to learning.

Customer Reviews

Caring and passionate teachers

“Westside Montessori Elementary is a beautiful school with caring and passionate teachers. The classroom is stunning with lots of colour and natural light. The lovingly curated materials are thoughtfully displayed throughout the classroom and the cozy reading nook/loft adds a really special feature to the room. My daughter is in her third year at Westside Montessori Elementary and she still runs to the door in the mornings and leaves school everyday with a smile on her face. We love this school and highly recommend it!.” -Raechel J. 

Supportive learning environment

“Everyone in our family is beyond excited about the Westside Montessori Elementary school, Cambie Street. My daughter currently attends Kindergarten at WMS, Oak Street. The three year cycle is an exceptional program with phenomenal teachers and I count my blessings everyday that my daughter is a part of such an incredible, loving and supportive environment. It’s been a tremendous third year so far and my daughter continues to thrive, making WMS Elementary an obvious choice for first grade. I couldn’t image her anywhere else. I had the opportunity to visit the new space and it’s really something special. It’s a must see!! Simply beautiful!.” -Sean M. 

FAQs about Elementary Schools in Vancouver

---

That’s about everything we know about the best elementary schools in Vancouver. We hope our list made it easier for you to find the right school for your children.

Just in case you’re looking for a math tutor, we highly recommend you check out our list of the top math tutors in Vancouver.