Published 18 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
North York’s five strongest schools are York Mills Collegiate Institute (9.0, ranked 18th of 747), Earl Haig Secondary School and A.Y. Jackson Secondary School (both 8.9, tied 23rd), William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate (8.7, 33rd) and Summit Heights Public School (8.2, 287th of roughly 3,050 elementary schools).
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Get My Free Estimate →The one that genuinely depends on your address is York Mills CI, which states plainly that it is closed to out-of-area admissions. Earl Haig’s arts programme, Mackenzie’s MaCS and the gifted streams are all open beyond the catchment — so for those, buying the house does not buy the programme.
1York Mills Collegiate Institute (9-12)
York Mills CI sits between Leslie and Bayview and draws from St. Andrew-Windfields, Banbury-Don Mills and Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills. Its 2024-25 EQAO results show 81 per cent at or above standard in Grade 9 math and a 96 per cent OSSLT pass rate.
The only true address play in North York
The school states it is closed to out-of-area admissions and may not admit any out-of-area students. Where access is mechanically gated like this, the school genuinely capitalises into house price, and it is a defensible reason to pay more for an address.
Programmes
French Immersion and Core French, computer science, arts and technological education. The French Immersion offering is inferred from the school’s own site navigation rather than a dedicated programme page, so confirm it directly if it is central to your decision.
2Earl Haig Secondary School (9-12)
Earl Haig is one of the largest high schools in the Toronto board and anchors Willowdale East, the stretch of Yonge between Sheppard and Finch. EQAO 2024-25: 84 per cent at or above standard in Grade 9 math, 95 per cent OSSLT.
The arts programme does not need your address
Earl Haig hosts the Claude Watson Secondary Arts Program, which is audition-based and explicitly accepts students from outside the boundary. The marquee programme is not bought with a house.
The academic stream is audited
The regular school is boundary-based and the board warns it runs rigorous enrolment audits, with out-of-area students identified and removed. Families who move out mid-year may finish that year but must transfer the following September. Do not assume a rental address or a relative’s address will hold.
3A.Y. Jackson Secondary School (9-12)
A.Y. Jackson posts the strongest raw EQAO result of any school on this page: 86 per cent at or above standard in Grade 9 math, with a 92 per cent OSSLT pass rate. It sits near Leslie and McNicoll.
The gifted concentration
Twenty-one per cent of its students are gifted-identified, by far the highest share of any school here. That indicates a congregated gifted programme drawing from across the region, and it partly explains the academic profile.
What that means for buyers
Gifted placement requires a psychoeducational assessment, not an address. If your child is gifted-identified, you may reach this school without buying in Hillcrest Village. If they are not, the measured results reflect a cohort your child would not be part of.
Programmes
Advanced Placement, a Specialist High Skills Major, an Extended Interest STEM certificate, and dual credit and OYAP pathways.
4William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute (9-12)
Mackenzie sits near Sheppard Avenue West and Allen Road, by Sheppard West station, and has run the MaCS programme in mathematics, science and computer science since 1985. EQAO 2024-25: 73 per cent Grade 9 math, 96 per cent OSSLT. Seventeen per cent of students are gifted-identified.
MaCS is city-wide and competitive
Entry is by application and entrance assessment, drawing from across Toronto. Buying into Bathurst Manor does not get a child into MaCS. This is the clearest example in North York of a school’s reputation resting on a programme that has nothing to do with the catchment.
Also offered
A congregated gifted programme and Advanced Placement.
5Summit Heights Public School (JK-8)
Summit Heights posts strong EQAO results: Grade 3 at 88 per cent reading, 83 writing and 79 math; Grade 6 at 94, 92 and 75. Twenty per cent of its students are gifted-identified.
A quarter of the school is bussed in
The board’s own profile states that roughly 100 students come from neighbouring schools and are bussed in daily for the Gifted Intensive Support Program. On a school of 385, that is about a quarter of the roll arriving from outside the catchment — which means the results reflect a substantially wider intake than the local boundary.
What to take from that
If your child is gifted-identified, the programme may be reachable without moving. If not, the catchment buys you the regular stream at a school whose measured results are lifted by a programme your child would not join.
Side-by-side comparison
| School | Level | Type | Area | Access | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York Mills CI | Secondary | Public TDSB | York Mills | Address only, closed to out-of-area | 9.0 |
| Earl Haig SS | Secondary | Public TDSB | Willowdale East | Address; arts by audition | 8.9 |
| A.Y. Jackson SS | Secondary | Public TDSB | Hillcrest Village | Address; gifted by identification | 8.9 |
| W.L. Mackenzie CI | Secondary | Public TDSB | Bathurst Manor | MaCS city-wide by assessment | 8.7 |
| Summit Heights PS | Elementary | Public TDSB | Armour Heights | Address; gifted ISP bussed in | 8.2 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best school in North York?
York Mills Collegiate Institute at 9.0, ranked 18th of 747 Ontario secondary schools, and the only one where an in-catchment address is genuinely required. Earl Haig and A.Y. Jackson tie just behind at 8.9.
Is Avondale Alternative really the number one school in Ontario?
It is ranked 1st of roughly 3,050 elementary schools at 10.0, but it carries no catchment premium whatsoever. It is a Toronto board alternative school, application-based and open city-wide, with only about 135 students. Buying nearby gains you nothing.
Does Northview Heights have an IB programme?
No, and this is a common and expensive misconception. North York’s IB school is Victoria Park Collegiate, which has run the IB Diploma since 1987. Northview Heights offers Honours Math Science and Technology, CyberARTS, an Academic Program for Gifted Athletes and four Specialist High Skills Major tracks — but not IB.
Can I get into Claude Watson or MaCS by moving into the catchment?
No. Claude Watson is audition-based and accepts students from outside the boundary. MaCS at William Lyon Mackenzie is application and entrance-assessment based, drawing city-wide. In both cases the address is irrelevant to admission.
Why do some good North York schools not appear in the rankings?
Several well-regarded schools are simply absent from the 2025 dataset, including Hollywood, Owen, Harrison, Cliffwood, Bayview Middle, Windfields Middle, Denlow, Dunlace, Rippleton, Seneca Hill and Arbor Glen. For Claude Watson the reason is confirmed — it reports no Grade 3 EQAO. For the others the reason is not established. Absence from the list is not evidence a school performs poorly.
- Fraser Institute, Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools 2025
- Fraser Institute, Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools 2025
- Ontario Ministry of Education, School Information and Student Demographics, Final 2024-25
- Toronto DSB school profiles and boundary pages
- York Mills CI and Earl Haig SS admissions pages
- TDSB Gifted Program school finder
Ratings are from the Fraser Institute Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools 2025 (published November 2025) and Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools 2025 (published January 2026), both based on 2023/24 EQAO data. Rankings are published annually and are formally disputed by several Ontario school boards, which argue they ignore special education needs, English language learners and household income. Verify any individual figure at compareschoolrankings.org and confirm catchments with the board’s own address lookup before relying on them.