Hello I'm looking to move my family out to Vancouver next year (hopefully around Feb 2018) and will need to register my son who will turn 5 in Sept 2018 for school. Please can people advise on:

- the school year - is it Sept to August like in the UK?
- the best districts to live in for the elementary schools? We are a professional family of 4 and will be renting initially with a view to buying if all is going well. Looking for a suburb with good amenities and other professional families.
- the wrap-around care options available in Vancouver - what do families where both parents work typically do? Are there breakfast and after school clubs like in the UK?
- any websites with good general information about the school system and best state schools in Van?

Many thanks

https://www.vsb.bc.ca/

Do some reading though, There have been some major issues with the VSB and the relationship between the teachers union and the provincial government in the past year.

Vancouver School Board fired by B.C. education minister - British Columbia - CBC News
BCTF wins landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling over B.C. government | Vancouver Sun

September to June.

For an elementary school? Seriously, don't sweat it. Find a neighborhood you like. The local public (i.e. state) elementary school will be just fine. There are good, family friendly, neighborhoods everywhere. There are some less good everywhere. There are some (though very few) "you don't want to live there" neighborhoods. Without knowing what else you want out of life it is hard to make recommendations.

+1

School year is September to June but children are in grades according to their birthday Jan-Dec so my girls Feb/Mar birthdays were/are among the oldest in their grade whereas in the UK they were in the middle.

The westside of Vancouver, Norma Rose Point school. The UBC area is a nice place to live as well.

nice ....... but VERY expensive

you'll certainly get lots of "other professional families" there, but not that many UBC faculty .............. they can't afford to buy houses.


OP .... have you checked out costs of living in Vancouver and in suburbs?

Point Grey is a nice area.

UBC, nice if you can afford it

University of Beautiful Cars

You're (unknowingly) thinking about this move as if you were planning a move to somewhere else in the UK.

Nobody in Vancouver chooses where to live based on the local elementary school or the school district. Only people from the UK do this. This is a reflection of UK values in UK society, but it's not worth worrying about in Canada, especially in Vancouver, where there is really not much difference in the quality of education from one elementary school to the next. There is no social status associated with elementary schools.

Focus your efforts instead on other factors. In Vancouver, this usually means price and affordability for the desirable neighbourhoods. Desirability in Vancouver is rarely based on the reputation of the local elementary school. Desirability is usually on other factors such as: is the neighbourhood hip and happening or are you stuck in homogenous surburban sprawl? Can you walk to grocery stores? Is there a view? Are you close walking distance to parks or the beach? Is the commute to work within a reasonable distance (can you commute without crossing a bridge)? Are there public transit options nearby or bike lanes? Are locals active within the local community or do they keep to themselves? Is the neighbourhood quiet or busy with traffic? Is the demographic homogenous, multicultural, conservative, liberal?

Since all elementary schools offer a similar quality education, and since the school system in BC functions so that elementary school is more about building social skills with peers rather than academic skills, the local elementary school, wherever you live in Vancouver, will be perfectly fine.

Also keep in mind that what looks lovely on paper can be different in reality. UBC and Point Grey look lovely on paper (and are visually beautiful and are at the affluent old money end of the Vancouver spectrum) but culturally are an isolating snoozefest compared to other areas in Vancouver that may not look quite as posh on paper.

I sent this link to a former student asking "have you seen this"?

"Only in person, sadly. There used to be a food co-op in the Student Union Building when I was at school - lunch was beans and rice and the price was "pay what you can." I went to the SUB recently but all I could find was a fancy panini place and a store selling $14 juice."

Was the response.

and almost all, if not all, belong to students ......... and mainly undergraduates if other stories are to be believed. That's based on where those cars are parked during the day time.

A very large number of students are now supported by very wealthy parents, many offshore ......... one of the problems of encouraging foreign students because they pay much higher fees that allow the university to continue to provide its mandates of teaching and research.

Faculty tend to use bikes, and have much cheaper and older cars.

True!!

I gather one no longer eats in SUB ........... you either take in your own food, go to the "Village" at Wesbrook and University Boulevard, or go off campus.

The "Village" has changed a lot, with high rise apartments ........ but also some cheap places to find food (eg, sushi, bakery).

The new Wesbrook Village also has shops, grocery store, etc, and I know some UBC staff go there, usually to buy take outs ......... but is up-market market housing, so expect restaurants and even the Save-on-foods to be slightly more expensive than in cheaper areas of town!


There is currently a complaint being made to UBC about the cost of food plans for students in residences ........... students are running out of money on their card in February and March. One of the causes is alleged to be the $1100 taken off the top to cover "services and staff".



UBC has changed!!!

Note that my correspondent graduated in 2012.

I have just checked real estate in Point Grey.

The cheapest houses on sale right now are over $5 million dollars, although one was sold for just under $3 million not longer ......... for knock down and re-build.

The most expensive assessed is over $75 million, while the most expensive currently on sale is around $35 million.

It has been discovered that a student is the legal owner of one house that cost $31 to buy