The 5 Best Schools Near St. Lawrence & the Distillery, Toronto (2026): What Condo Buyers Should Know

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 2 October 2026 · 11 min read — the public, Catholic, alternative and specialty schools around St. Lawrence and the Distillery, the West Don Lands school question, and how to confirm the school for your address.

How I chose these five schools

St. Lawrence is one of downtown’s older planned neighbourhoods, and its schools were built into it: both the public and the Catholic elementary schools sit inside the St. Lawrence development. The Distillery and the newer Canary District to the east are a different story: newer buildings, and a new school that the TDSB has had to plan for. I picked schools that cover both: the two neighbourhood elementary schools, an alternative school with a long local history, a secondary school, and one specialty school that draws families from across the city.

Check the school for your unit. The TDSB designates schools by residential address, and its Find Your School tool gives the school for a street address; the TCDSB has its own locator. Run the exact building through both before you sign. I do not publish attendance boundaries, because they change.

How I judged them. I have not used third-party league tables. Ontario’s own measure is EQAO results, published school by school in the province’s Find a school tool. Grades, addresses and programmes below come from the boards’ own pages. The order is my judgement of proximity and programmes, not an official ranking.

1. Market Lane Junior and Senior Public School

What it offers

Market Lane is a TDSB school at 246 The Esplanade, for JK to Grade 8. The board calls it “a relatively new school (1992)” that shares a building complex with a community recreation centre and apartments. Its profile is unusually strong on the arts and the pool: strings, brass, choir, African drumming and steel pan; partnerships with Soulpepper and Young People’s Theatre; and “All students receive weekly swim instruction.” St. Lawrence Daycare is in the same complex.

What it means for buyers and renters

For most St. Lawrence addresses this is the public school to check first. A JK to 8 school with a pool and child care in the building is exactly what a condo family without a backyard values.

Practical notes

Office: 416-393-1300. A 2021 TDSB business case reported Market Lane at 77 percent utilization with 328 students; that is a dated figure, so ask the school about current space.

2. St. Michael Catholic School

What it offers

St. Michael Catholic School is the TCDSB elementary school at 50 George Street South. Its history page says it officially opened on 9 June 1982 with 103 students, after the first 15 children admitted in 1979 were bussed to another Catholic school, and that it was “built in conjunction with the public school board in an apartment building that is part of the St. Lawrence Development.”

What it means for buyers and renters

For a Catholic family, this is the neighbourhood school, a short walk from the market and the condo towers along Front Street and The Esplanade. The TCDSB pages do not state its grade range, so ask the school (416-393-5387).

Practical notes

Use the TCDSB locator and check eligibility with the TCDSB admissions office at 416-397-6900.

3. Downtown Alternative School

What it offers

The Downtown Alternative School (DAS) is a TDSB school at 85 Lower Jarvis Street for JK to Grade 6. The TDSB says it was established in 1980 by parents who wanted to be actively involved in their children’s education, and that it pioneered peaceful conflict resolution, or peacebuilding, with a focus on equity, social justice and environmental responsibility. It shares a playground with St. Michael School and on-site child care, and through its administrative twinning with Market Lane its students use the St. Lawrence Community Centre pool.

How admission works

DAS is an alternative school, so entry is by application, not address. For September 2027, the TDSB’s central online application for elementary alternative schools opens 4 January 2027 and closes at 4 p.m. on 22 January 2027. Where there are more applicants than spaces, a random selection is used; siblings get priority if the school is the first choice; and the TDSB does not provide transportation.

4. Jarvis Collegiate Institute

What it offers

Jarvis Collegiate Institute, at 495 Jarvis Street near Wellesley, is a TDSB secondary school for Grades 9 to 12. Its school profile traces its history to 1807 and calls it “the first public high school in Toronto.” It lists French, Spanish, Latin and Mandarin; business studies; music, drama and visual arts; enriched English and mathematics; co-op; ESL; and free after-school tutoring.

What it means for buyers and renters

Jarvis is an established TDSB collegiate north of St. Lawrence, which the school says is easily reached by bus and subway. I could not confirm from a board source whether it is the designated secondary school for a given St. Lawrence or Distillery address, so check the TDSB locator. If you are looking further afield, the five TDSB Secondary Schools Without a Boundary accept applications citywide by random selection; for September 2027 the window is 4 to 22 January 2027.

5. St. Michael’s Choir School (specialty)

What it offers

St. Michael’s Choir School, at 67 Bond Street, is a TCDSB school that offers a “complete curriculum of academic studies from Grade 3 to 12” alongside daily music theory, choral rehearsals and private piano and organ lessons. It was “established in 1937” to provide choral music at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, and it also lists an Extended French programme.

How admission works

The school admits boys only, through a vocal audition and an academic placement interview, and says “only 32 boys will be offered a place at the Elementary Choir level (Grades 3 and 4) each year.”

What it means for buyers and renters

This is my one specialty pick. For a musical boy it can shape where a family lives downtown, but it is a competitive entry, not a neighbourhood school.

The five schools side by side

Sources: the TDSB and TCDSB school pages linked below, as listed in October 2026.

The West Don Lands question

Buyers in the Canary District and West Don Lands, east of the Distillery, should read the TDSB’s 2021-22 capital priorities business case. It proposed a 455-pupil-place JK to 8 school on Block 9 of the West Don Lands, at Bayview Avenue and Mill Street, with a target opening of September 2027, and it said West Don Lands students were being held at Dundas Jr. PS and Queen Alexandra MS, about 3.2 km away. I could not confirm the project’s current funding or schedule from a board source, so ask the TDSB before you rely on it.

What this means if you are buying or selling here

TRREB counts St. Lawrence inside district C08, which also covers the Church-Yonge corridor, Moss Park, Cabbagetown and Regent Park. These are district-wide figures, not for any one building: in August 2026 C08 recorded 128 condo apartment sales at a median of $565,000 and an average of $673,397, at 97 percent of list price after an average of 37 days. There were 756 active listings and 350 new listings, about 5.9 months of supply and a sales-to-new-listings ratio of about 37 percent by my arithmetic.

For families, the strength of St. Lawrence is that the schools, the pool, the library and the market are all walkable. That makes larger units in the older St. Lawrence buildings a different proposition from a compact suite in a new tower, and it is worth saying so when you sell one. I name the designated schools in a listing only after checking the locators for that address.

If you are renting first, see the top five condos to rent near St. Lawrence Market and in the Distillery and Canary District. For green space, read the best parks near St. Lawrence and the Distillery; for the waterfront to the south, the best schools near Harbourfront and Queens Quay. Owners should read what condos are worth in downtown Toronto and, if fees are high in an older building, whether high maintenance fees lower your value.

Two tools help here: the AI condo value estimator below gives you a range in about a minute, and the net proceeds calculator turns any price into what actually lands in your account.

If you are planning a move around a school, book a call or phone 833-330-1925.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• TDSB — Find your school by home address — designated school for a residential address
• TCDSB — Elementary school locator — Catholic school for an address
• Government of Ontario — Find an elementary or secondary school — grades, EQAO results and demographics for each public school
• TDSB — Market Lane Junior and Senior Public School — JK to 8, opened 1992
• TDSB — Market Lane school profile — weekly swim instruction
• TCDSB — St. Michael Catholic School, About us — opened 1982 in the St. Lawrence development
• TDSB — Downtown Alternative School — JK to 6, founded 1980
• TDSB — Elementary alternative schools application and admissions — 4 to 22 January 2027, random selection
• TDSB — Jarvis Collegiate Institute school profile — Grades 9 to 12
• TCDSB — St. Michael’s Choir School, Academics — boys, Grades 3 to 12, audition
• TDSB — 2021-22 Capital Priorities business case, West Don Lands — proposed 455-place school, holding schools
• TRREB — Market Watch, August 2026 — condominium apartment tables by region and municipality

Related reading

• The 5 best parks near St. Lawrence and the Distillery
• Top 5 condos to rent near St. Lawrence Market
• Top 5 condos to rent in the Distillery and Canary District
• L Tower, 8 The Esplanade: building guide
• Market Wharf Condos, 18 Yonge Street: building guide
• Cabbagetown and Moss Park home values
• The 5 best schools near Harbourfront and Queens Quay