Schools, language pathways, and early learning across Metro Vancouver

The Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver Chinese Language School (also called SK Lee Academy) has offered Cantonese and Mandarin classes since 1981, from preschool through advanced levels with arts electives, camps, and both in-person and online options. The Chinatown campus at 50 East Pender Street is the flagship site, with additional campuses in Richmond, East Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and the North Shore.

• Heritage Language
• Weekend
• Mandarin
• Cantonese
• Preschool
• Elementary
• Summer

Founded in 1906, Vancouver Japanese Language School is B.C.'s oldest Japanese language school. Annual Saturday and Sunday classes run September through June for Kinder, heritage speakers, and students learning Japanese as an additional language, with kids camps on holidays and Pro-D days plus summer camp weeks.

• Heritage Language
• Japanese
• Weekend
• Preschool
• Elementary
• Summer
• Day Camp

The Vancouver School Board's Early Mandarin Bilingual pathway at Norquay Elementary runs Kindergarten through Grade 7 with about half the day in Mandarin and half in English. Families apply through District Choice processes, and the district frames the program as language instruction where children both learn Mandarin and study in Mandarin for part of the school day.

• Public District
• Elementary
• Mandarin
• English
• Bilingual
• Dual Language
• School Day

Trudeau Elementary hosts the VSB Mandarin Bilingual choice program for Grades 4 to 7. Core subjects stay in English while Mandarin Language Arts builds oral, reading, and writing skills with Chinese characters. The district is explicit that this is not an immersion model, and the pathway continues at Eric Hamber Secondary.

• Public District
• Elementary
• Mandarin
• English
• School Day
• Middle School

χpey̓ is the Vancouver School Board's Indigenous Focus Choice School for Kindergarten through Grade 7. Indigenous and non-Indigenous students from across the district can apply. The Musqueam-gifted name means cedar in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, and the school centers Indigenous ways of knowing, belonging, and academic goals rather than a single neighbourhood catchment.

• Public District
• Elementary
• Indigenous
• School Day
• Kindergarten
• Family Navigation

Chaoyin Bilingual Academy Daycare is a licensed English-Mandarin early learning program on the same Richmond campus as Chaoyin Bilingual Elementary. It serves children from 30 months to school age during the September-to-June year and is designed as a bridge into the school's Kindergarten to Grade 7 Mandarin bilingual pathway.

• Preschool
• Toddler
• Bilingual
• Mandarin
• English
• Full Day
• Tuition

Richmond Continuing Education offers fee-based Mandarin classes for children from age 4 through youth and adult levels. Families can choose read/write tracks in simplified or traditional characters, conversation classes, a Cantonese read/write hybrid with Mandarin speaking, and exam prep. Classes run in person, online, or hybrid through RichmondCE.ca.

• Heritage Language
• Mandarin
• Cantonese
• Preschool
• Elementary
• Weekend
• Tuition

Richmond School District French Immersion is designed for non-francophone students seeking functional bilingualism, with Early Immersion beginning in Kindergarten or Grade 1 (full French through Grade 2, then mostly French through Grade 7) and Late Immersion beginning in Grade 6. Placement follows catchment priorities and may use a draw when spaces are scarce.

• Public District
• French
• English
• Immersion
• Elementary
• Kindergarten
• School Day

Burnaby Schools French Immersion offers Early Immersion entry in Kindergarten or Grade 1 and Late Immersion entry in Grade 6, with continuation through Grade 12. Elementary sites are dual-track schools that also run English programs. Families first complete catchment registration, then apply through the District Language Program process, typically in February.

• Public District
• French
• English
• Immersion
• Elementary
• Kindergarten
• School Day

North Vancouver School District French Immersion is a Kindergarten to Grade 12 district program without neighbourhood catchment boundaries. Elementary Immersion is offered at six schools, with secondary pathways at Argyle, Handsworth, and Windsor. When demand exceeds spaces, non-sibling placement is decided by lottery through Central Registration.

• Public District
• French
• English
• Immersion
• Elementary
• High School
• Kindergarten

Coquitlam School District's Mandarin Bilingual Program of Choice delivers about half the B.C. curriculum in Mandarin and half in English. Elementary entry is at Walton Elementary, with continuation through Scott Creek Middle and Gleneagle Secondary. Families apply during the district Programs of Choice window rather than treating it as a neighbourhood default.

• Public District
• Mandarin
• English
• Bilingual
• Elementary
• Middle School
• High School

École Gabrielle-Roy is a Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique public school in Surrey. CSF schools provide francophone education for eligible rights-holder families, which is a different pathway from French Immersion designed for non-francophone learners. Use the CSF school directory and eligibility guidance before treating this as an Immersion alternative.

• Public District
• French
• Francophone
• Elementary
• School Day
• Family Navigation

Surrey Schools Early French Immersion starts in Kindergarten, or Grade 1 when space remains, with instruction entirely in French until Grade 3. From Grades 4 to 7 the balance shifts to about 20% English and 80% French. Kindergarten entry uses a district lottery across named Immersion sites from City Centre to South Surrey and White Rock.

• Public District
• French
• English
• Immersion
• Elementary
• Kindergarten
• School Day

Surrey Schools offers Punjabi as a four-year language pathway that can meet the provincial second-language requirement instead of French. Students begin in Grade 5 and continue through Grades 6 and 7, with an expectation to stay into Grade 8. Elementary classes currently list Green Timbers and Beaver Creek, with secondary Punjabi at Enver Creek and Tamanawis.

• Public District
• Punjabi
• Elementary
• Middle School
• High School
• Heritage Language
• School Day

Langley School District Early French Immersion starts at Kindergarten at Belmont and James Kennedy Elementary. Late French Immersion begins in Grade 6 at Alex Hope and Noel Booth. Entry is by Programs of Choice application, not ordinary catchment registration, so families need the district's current online application window.

• Public District
• French
• English
• Immersion
• Elementary
• Kindergarten
• School Day