Registration in New Westminster Schools

New Westminster Schools welcomes students to our district. We offer 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 1 secondary school, and alternate, online, home learning and adult education programs … all delivering a wide range of programs, opportunities and pathways to enrich our students and support families.

Our district has a centralized registration process, run out of the new Welcome Centre at New Westminster Secondary School: 820 Sixth Street, New Westminster (exterior entrance is on the south side, half way down the building).

To register for the 2023-24 school year

As we are outside of the regular registration period (November to January) for the 2023-24 school year, all applications received will be placed at a school within the District, as space permits. Efforts will be made to place your child in the appropriate catchment school, but where full schools or individual grades may be at capacity, placement at an alternative school may be required.

To register, parents or caregivers should book an appointment with our Registration Team, where you will bring copies of the documents outlined in the (below) Document Guide for Parents and Caregivers along with the filled-in Registration Form.  Please note, if you do not have access to a printer or photocopier, the team will help you print, photocopy and complete all required paperwork at the time of your appointment.

Documents you will need:

To book a registration appointment with our Registration Team, please use this calendar*: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/RegistrationsCalendar@sd40.bc.ca/bookings/
* If you need support of a translator for your registration appointment, please let us know in advance and we will do our best to see if there is someone within our Welcome Centre who can support you through your appointment. 

If for any reason you do not have the documents suggested within the guide, we would be happy to have a confidential conversation with you to see if there is another solution. To start the process or answer any other questions you may have, please call the Registration Team at 604.517.6200 or email registrations@sd40.bc.ca.

To register for the 2024-25 school year (students starting September 2024)

The regular registration window for the 2024-25 school year will open on Monday, November 6th, 2023, and will close on Friday, January 26th, 2024.

You will need to make an appointment to register for the 2024-25 school year. Our appointment booking system will be posted here, and will open on Monday, October 23rd, 2024.
Please note: regular registration for the following school year is NOT time sensitive. All applications received within the window are evaluated and placed using the same procedures. So, if appointments in the first few weeks are full, please know that it will not affect your child’s registration.  

Our District is facing significant capacity issues, due to growing enrollment and limited space. While we continue to work to place every new student we can into their catchment or preferred school, we will not always be able to do so. What does that mean? In cases where the number of in-catchment requests made within the regular registration period for new students (e.g. for those children entering kindergarten the following year), exceeds the ability for us to create adequate classroom space, a randomized lottery will be used to determine placement at that school. Any student unable to be placed will be added to a waitlist for the catchment school and offered a spot at the closest available school.

You can read more about capacity and the status of each school here: https://newwestschools.ca/our-schools/registration/school-capacity-status/

Programs of Choice

The regular application window for these programs, for the 2023-24 school year, is now closed. 

The regular application window for French Immersion, Montessori and the Home Learners Program, for the 2024-25 school year will open on Monday January 8th at 9am, and will close at 4pm on Friday, February 2nd, 2024. Links to the applications will be posted here when the application window opens.

Applications and offers for placement within all of our Programs of Choice, for those that have been received within the regular registration window, follow these processes:

  • Early French Immersion
    • All new Early French Immersion students with sibling status will be given first priority.
    • Applications for Kindergarten or Grade 1 entry that are received within the regular application window will be entered into a lottery to determine placement (this process is not time-sensitive for those who apply within the assigned window).
    • Applications for students who want to join the program in grades 2 or higher will be placed as space permits, based on the date and time of the applications submitted within the Programs of Choice registration window.
      NOTE: Students applying for Early French Immersion that would start in grades 2 or higher must have previously been in Early French Immersion program in another District.
  • Late French Immersion (students entering French Immersion in grade 6)
    • Students with sibling status are given priority.
    • Students who submitted an application using the previous application process (prior to June 2015) will be given second priority.
    • All other applications will be entered into the lottery to determine placement (this process is not time-sensitive within this window).
  • Montessori
    • All new Montessori students with sibling status will be given first priority.
    • Applications for Kindergarten or Grade 1 entry that are received within the regular application window will be entered into the lottery to determine placement (this process is not time-sensitive within this window).
    • Applications for students who want to join the program in grades 2 or higher will be placed as space permits, based on the date and time of the applications submitted within the Programs of Choice registration window.
  • Home Learners Program
    • The Ministry of Education has made revisions to the policies that affect how the Home Learners Program is funded and offered.
    • New Home Learners Program students with sibling status will be given first priority, as placement will follow the priorities outlined in Administrative Procedure 220.

Waitlist applications – Programs of Choice

Links to Programs of Choice waitlist applications for the 2023-24 school year opened at 9:00am on Monday, April 17th. Please use the following links to apply your child for a Programs of Choice waitlist (all waitlists are dissolved on September 30th):

Early French Immersion Program: https://newwestschools.ca/early-french-immersion-waitlist-application-2023-2024/
Late French Immersion Program: https://newwestschools.ca/late-french-immersion-waitlist-application-2023-2024/
Montessori Program: https://newwestschools.ca/montessori-waitlist-application-2023-2024/
Home Learners Program: https://newwestschools.ca/home-learners-program-2023-2024-waitlist-interest-form/

January 10th-13th, 2023 was Discover New Westminster Schools Week! Throughout the week sessions were held both in-person and online that discuss our Programs of Choice, course selection and other learning options available to students.

The main Discover New Westminster Schools event was held on January 10th. You can read all about it here: https://newwestschools.ca/youre-invited-to-discover-new-westminster-schools/

Later in the week virtual events walked parents through the specifics of the Programs of Choice. Recordings of the meetings have been posted with the Programs of Choice section in our website: https://newwestschools.ca/programs-services/programs-of-choice/overview/

If have any questions about Programs of Choice, please email programsofchoice@sd40.bc.ca

For more information on other types of registration, please use the below drop down options:

The window for transfer applications for the 2023-24 school year opened on February 6, 2023.

However, due to significant capacity issues that our district is facing, all elementary and middle schools have been deemed as being "at full capacity" for the 2023-24 school year: meaning that they are closed for transfers or any out-of-catchment placements. The only exception to this will be for those applying under sibling status (where an older sibling is already enrolled at the out-of-catchment school, and where that sibling will still be attending in September 2023).

If your have any questions about out-of-catchment applications, please email registrations@sd40.bc.ca.

The application period for out-of-catchment or transfer requests for the 2023-24 school year ended on February 24th, 2023, at 4:00 pm and is now closed. Admission decisions will be made in June and communicated by June 9, 2023.

The window for out-of-district applications for the 2023-24 school year opened on February 6, 2023.

However, due to significant capacity issues that our district is facing, all elementary and middle schools have been deemed as being "at full capacity" for the 2023-24 school year: meaning that they are closed for any out-of-catchment or out-of-district placements. The only school that will be accepting requests for out-of-district enrolment will be New Westminster Secondary School.

If your have any questions about out-of-catchment applications, please email registrations@sd40.bc.ca.

The application period for a out-of-district requests for the 2023-2024 school year ended on February 24th, 2023, at 4:00 pm. Admission decisions will be made in June and communicated by June 9, 2023.

A student who lives in New Westminster, accompanied by a parent/legal guardian who can provide the appropriate documentation to meet the required criteria, may be eligible for provincial funding.

The criteria can be found by reviewing our Document Guide for Parents and Caregivers Document Guide for Parents and Caregivers, or our Registration Team would be happy to walk you through the options as well.

They can be reached at: registrations@sd40.bc.ca.

Sanctuary Schools Policy

At New Westminster Schools we’re proud of the fact that we were the first district in BC to introduce a Sanctuary Schools Policy … providing access for all by ensuring that a New Westminster family’s immigration status does not affect their child’s ability to access safe and welcoming educational opportunities. Find out more here: https://newwestschools.ca/about-us/safe-and-caring-schools/access-for-all-sanctuary-schools-policy/

Detailed information regarding all student registration is outlined in Administrative Procedure 300 – Student Registration, Enrollment and Placement.