Where Are Ottawa’s Best Schools?
A Parent’s Guide to Schools, Rankings & Neighbourhoods.
Ottawa is home to a number of wonderful schools, excellent community programs, and a variety of family-friendly amenities that make it an attractive place to live.
The latest Fraser Institute results show strong academic performance in communities across the city, from Old Ottawa South and Ottawa's established west end to Kanata and other suburban communities.
The Fraser Institute rates schools on a scale of 0 to 10. These scores are based primarily on province-wide academic assessment data and other academic indicators. They're useful for comparing academic results, but they're only one piece of the puzzle when evaluating a school.
Kanata
Kanata is particularly noteworthy in the latest results, with several schools achieving some of the highest Fraser Institute scores in the Ottawa area:
Those are impressive numbers. St. Gabriel's 9.9 places it within approximately the top 1% of the 3,052 Ontario elementary schools included in the report.
Kanata also performs strongly at the secondary level. In the 2025 Fraser Institute secondary-school report:
From a real-estate perspective, this makes Kanata particularly interesting for families. Buyers can choose between established areas such as Beaverbrook and Katimavik, newer communities in Kanata Lakes and Kanata North, and growing areas farther west—all while having a significant number of school options to investigate.
Old Ottawa South, the Glebe & Central Ottawa
There are also some excellent results closer to downtown.
Hopewell Avenue Public School, in Old Ottawa South, received an 8.5/10 Fraser Institute rating and ranked #199 in Ontario.
Other highly rated central Ottawa elementary schools include:
For families considering neighbourhoods such as Old Ottawa South and the Glebe, the attraction isn't simply academic performance.
These communities offer a very different lifestyle from suburban Ottawa. Depending on the address, children may be able to walk to school, parks, friends and activities, while the family has easy access to Bank Street, Lansdowne, the Rideau Canal and downtown.
Westboro, McKellar Park & Ottawa's West End
Ottawa's established west end also has several noteworthy schools.
Agincourt Road Public School received an 8.4/10 rating in the latest Fraser Institute report, tying it at #231 in Ontario.
Broadview Public School, another school that frequently comes up when families are considering Ottawa's west end, received a 7.9/10 rating and ranked #392 provincially.
Neighbourhoods throughout Westboro, McKellar Park and the surrounding west end combine established schools with mature streets, parks, access to the Ottawa River and a mixture of older homes, renovated properties and newer infill.
Rockcliffe Park & Ottawa's East/Central Communities
There are strong performers east of downtown as well.
This is also a good reminder that Ottawa families aren't choosing only between English public and Catholic schools. Ottawa's French-language public and Catholic systems add another layer of options worth investigating.
What About Orléans, Stittsville and Barrhaven?
There are well-performing schools throughout Ottawa's suburban communities too, and school results can vary significantly even within the same part of the city.
That's why I wouldn't choose a community based on a single school's score.
If you're considering Orléans, Stittsville, Barrhaven, Riverside South or another suburban community, look at the specific schools associated with the properties you're considering rather than relying on a general reputation for the neighbourhood.
A house being physically close to a highly rated school doesn't necessarily mean that address falls within its attendance boundary.
What Do Fraser Institute Scores Actually Mean?
This is an important distinction.
A Fraser Institute score of 9.9/10 doesn't mean that a school is "99% perfect," nor does a 7.0 necessarily mean that one school will provide a worse experience for your child than a school scoring 9.0.
The Fraser Institute's 2025 elementary report compares more than 3,000 Ontario schools using nine academic indicators derived largely from province-wide testing.
That's valuable information - but it's measuring academic performance, not every aspect of a school.
As a parent with a child in elementary school myself, I would want to know much more.
What is the school community like? What programs are offered? Is French immersion available? What are the before-and-after-school options? What extracurricular activities are available? How will my child get to school? And, most importantly, does the environment seem like somewhere my child will actually thrive?
I'd use the Fraser Institute rankings as a research tool rather than a shopping list.
Helpful Ottawa School Research Tools
If schools are influencing your home search, these are some of the resources I'd recommend bookmarking.
Fraser Institute School Report Cards
Compare current Ontario elementary and secondary school academic rankings and review individual school performance.
View the Fraser Institute School Report Cards →
OCDSB School Locator
Enter a prospective home address to see the English public schools associated with the property and explore different programs and grades.
Search the OCDSB School Locator →
Ottawa Catholic School Board Boundaries
Check designated Catholic schools and attendance boundaries.
Search OCSB School Boundaries →
French Public Schools – CEPEO
French Catholic Schools – CECCE
International Baccalaureate
Use the official IB directory to find authorized IB schools and see which IB programmes individual schools offer.
A Final Note for Home Buyers
If a particular school is a major reason you're considering a property, verify the school's attendance boundary directly with the appropriate school board before making your purchasing decision.
Boundaries and programs can change, and the closest school isn't necessarily the designated school for that address.
As both a Realtor and a parent with a child in elementary school, I understand why this can become such an important part of a home search.
Instead of simply asking:
"Where are Ottawa's best schools?"
I think the more useful question is:
"Which neighbourhood gives our family the right combination of schools, home, lifestyle, commute and budget?"
That's where I can help.
We can incorporate school boundaries, neighbourhoods, housing options and your family's priorities into the search and then verify the school information directly with the appropriate board before you make a decision.