Published 18 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
Vaughan’s five strongest schools are Thornhill Woods Public School at 8.8, ranked 149th of roughly 3,050 Ontario elementary schools, and on the secondary side Stephen Lewis (8.2, 65th of 747), Vaughan Secondary (8.1, 79th), Westmount Collegiate (7.9, 95th) and Maple High School (7.6, 130th).
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Get My Free Estimate →One piece of honesty first, because it changes what you should buy: the elite “Thornhill” schools that dominate York Region rankings are in Markham, not Vaughan. St. Robert Catholic High School, ranked 1st in Ontario at 10.0, is at 8101 Leslie Street, which is on the Markham side of Yonge. Vaughan’s own best verified secondary school sits at 65th.
1Thornhill Woods Public School (JK-8)
Thornhill Woods is Vaughan’s top verified elementary school and the anchor of Patterson, which covers Thornhill Woods and Upper Thornhill Estates. The trajectory is the notable part: it has climbed from rank 403 five years ago to 149 now, one of the larger sustained improvements in York Region.
Why Patterson trades the way it does
Patterson was the busiest detached market in Vaughan in the fourth quarter of 2025, with 72 sales at an average of roughly $1.85 million on TRREB community figures. Schools are part of that story, though lot size and housing age are in the number too.
A caution on EQAO figures
Third-party sites publish per-school EQAO percentages for Thornhill Woods. Those are not official EQAO publications and we could not verify them against the source. Treat any specific percentage you see quoted with care.
2Stephen Lewis Secondary School (9-12)
Stephen Lewis serves Vaughan Block 10 and is the strongest verified secondary school within Vaughan’s own boundaries.
The crowding issue buyers should know about
As of 2023-24 it was the most populated high school in the York Region DSB. That matters to a buyer for a specific reason: crowding drives boundary reviews, and boundary reviews are how families who bought for a school find themselves rezoned out of it. If you are buying for this catchment, ask the board directly whether a review is under way.
Programmes
No IB, gifted or regional arts programme was confirmed at this school either way.
3Vaughan Secondary School (9-12)
Vaughan Secondary sits west of Yonge Street, which places it genuinely in Vaughan rather than in the Markham half of Thornhill. At 8.1 with a five-year average of 8.0 it is a steady performer rather than a riser.
Why the west-of-Yonge point matters
The Fraser report prints the city as Thornhill for schools on both sides of Yonge. If you are comparing schools by municipality — and you should be, because it changes your tax bill and your catchment — check the street address rather than the city label.
Programmes
None verified.
4Westmount Collegiate Institute (9-12)
Westmount runs ArtsWest, a specialist stream in music, dance, visual arts, vocals and drama.
Admission
Whether ArtsWest requires an audition could not be confirmed. If the arts stream is the reason you are considering this catchment, confirm the entry route with the school before you make it part of a purchase decision — in York Region, specialist arts programmes are frequently audition-based and region-wide, which would mean no address is required at all.
The regional alternative
St. Elizabeth Catholic High School on New Westminster Drive hosts the Regional Arts Program for all of York Region, covering drama, dance, visual arts and music. It rates 7.2 and ranks 178th, and its entry appears to be audition-based rather than address-based.
5Maple High School (9-12)
Maple has been an IB World School since 2017, and its admission rules make it the most house-purchase-relevant school in Vaughan.
This IB genuinely is gated by your address
Maple states that applicants must live in York Region within Maple’s IB catchment area at the time of application, that it cannot make exceptions, and that addresses are verified through the board’s school locator. Admission also requires an online registration with a $40 fee, a personal portfolio submitted as slides, and an in-person written assessment of about 40 minutes.
Why this is worth knowing
It is the exact inverse of Oakville, where the IB programme at White Oaks is open board-wide with no address requirement. In Vaughan, if IB is the goal, the catchment is not optional. That is a rare case where paying for an address buys something specific and verifiable.
Side-by-side comparison
| School | Level | Type | Area | Access | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornhill Woods PS | Elementary | Public YRDSB | Patterson | Address | 8.8 |
| Stephen Lewis SS | Secondary | Public YRDSB | Thornhill (Block 10) | Address; watch boundary reviews | 8.2 |
| Vaughan SS | Secondary | Public YRDSB | Thornhill west of Yonge | Address | 8.1 |
| Westmount CI | Secondary | Public YRDSB | Thornhill | Address; ArtsWest entry unconfirmed | 7.9 |
| Maple HS | Secondary | Public YRDSB | Maple | IB requires in-catchment address | 7.6 |
Frequently asked questions
Is St. Robert Catholic High School in Vaughan?
No. St. Robert is at 8101 Leslie Street, which is Markham. It is regularly marketed as a Thornhill or Vaughan school because Thornhill straddles Yonge Street and the Fraser report prints the city as Thornhill for schools on both sides. West of Yonge is Vaughan; east is Markham.
Which is the best school in Vaughan?
Thornhill Woods Public School at 8.8 on the elementary side, and Stephen Lewis Secondary at 8.2, ranked 65th of 747, on the secondary side. Vaughan does not have a school in the provincial top 50 secondary tier.
Can I get into Maple High School’s IB programme from outside the catchment?
No. Maple states applicants must live within its IB catchment at the time of application and that it cannot make exceptions. Address is verified through the board school locator. There is also a $40 registration, a portfolio and a written assessment.
Which Vaughan neighbourhood is best for schools?
Patterson, covering Thornhill Woods and Upper Thornhill Estates, on the strength of Thornhill Woods PS and the depth of the local market. Maple matters if IB is your goal because of the catchment requirement. Kleinburg and Uplands are the highest-priced communities but the school case there is weaker.
Should I trust these rankings?
Use them as one input. They are built from EQAO and OSSLT results alone and take no account of special education needs, English language learners or household income. Several boards object to them formally on those grounds.
- Fraser Institute, Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools 2025
- Fraser Institute, Report Card on Ontario’s Elementary Schools 2025
- compareschoolrankings.org
- Maple High School IB application and admissions pages
- York Region DSB school locator
- TRREB Vaughan community report, Q4 2025
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.