Schools in Uxbridge: A Guide for Families Moving from the GTA
Everything you need to know about schools in Uxbridge — from French Immersion to Catholic to the high school — before you make the move.
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One of the first questions I get from buyers with kids is about schools. It makes sense — for a lot of families, the school question is the whole decision. Where will my kids end up? Will the transition hurt them? Is Uxbridge actually a good place to raise children, or is that just what people say?
I've had this conversation enough times that I can give you a real answer, not a marketing one. The short version: Uxbridge has schools that families genuinely choose on purpose, not just because they're the only option. The longer version is below.
HOW THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORKS HERE
Uxbridge is served by two publicly-funded school boards — the Durham District School Board (DDSB) for English-public schools, and the Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) for Catholic schools — plus French-language schools under their own provincial boards. There's also one private option in town.
Families from the GTA are sometimes surprised that the system works the same way here: publicly-funded Catholic and French schools are available alongside the English-public stream, and you don't pay tuition for any of them. What changes is the scale — these are smaller schools, with smaller classes, in a smaller community.
PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (DDSB)
Joseph Gould Public School
Grades: JK to 8 | 144 Planks Lane, Uxbridge
Website: josephgould.ddsb.ca
The largest elementary school in town, with approximately 574 students. Joseph Gould offers a broad academic program alongside sports, music, drama, and art — plus a range of special interest clubs and an active Student Council. The school is certified as an Eco School, which connects well with Uxbridge's broader outdoor culture. They have dedicated special education classes for qualifying students.
For families coming from larger GTA schools, Joseph Gould tends to feel noticeably more personal. The school community is tightly connected, and kids move through the system with the same group of peers for years.
YMCA Joseph Gould Child Care Centre
On-site licensed child care for families at Joseph Gould.
Hours: Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Before school care (ages 4–12): 7:00–9:15 AM
After school care (ages 4–12): 3:45–6:00 PM
Full-day toddler & preschool program (ages 1.5–4)
Extended-day kindergarten (ages 4–5)
School break programs available
Phone: 905-862-2750 | [email protected]
Website: ymcagta.org/find-a-y/uxbridge-joseph-gould-ymca-child-care-centre
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Quaker Village Public School
Grades: JK to 8 | Uxbridge town core
Website: quakervillage.ddsb.ca
A smaller neighbourhood school serving the Quaker Village area. It feeds into Uxbridge Secondary School along with the other elementary schools in the township.
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Uxbridge Public School
Grades: 1 to 8 | Program: French Immersion only
Website: uxbridgeps.ddsb.ca
This is the French Immersion option in town. It's a single-track school — meaning every student enrolled is in the French Immersion program — with approximately 250 students. If you're a GTA family with a child already in French Immersion and you're worried about the move disrupting that, Uxbridge has a full Grade 1 to 8 stream waiting. The school's motto is "Rêver, Persévérer, Réussir" — Dream, Persevere, Succeed.
FRENCH-LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
For families whose first language is French, or who want a French-first environment rather than an immersion program, Uxbridge also has:
École élémentaire Ronald-Marion — French-language public elementary school
École secondaire Ronald-Marion — French-language public secondary school
Website: csviamonde.ca
These schools operate under the provincial French-language public board (Conseil scolaire Viamonde) and serve francophone students from Uxbridge and the surrounding area.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS (DCDSB)
St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School
Grades: JK to 8 | 25 Quaker Village Drive, Uxbridge
Website: stjoseph-uxbridge.dcdsb.ca
The Catholic elementary school in town, serving families who want faith integrated into their children's education alongside the standard Ontario curriculum. St. Joseph operates under the Durham Catholic District School Board and feeds into St. Mary Catholic Secondary School.
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École catholique Pape-François
Grades: Elementary | Program: French Catholic
Website: cscmonavenir.ca
The French Catholic elementary option for families in the DCDSB stream who prefer French-language instruction.
THE HIGH SCHOOL: UXBRIDGE SECONDARY SCHOOL
Grades: 9 to 12 | Board: Durham District School Board | Enrollment: ~1,020 students
Website: uxbridgess.ddsb.ca
Uxbridge Secondary School is the town's public high school and, for most families moving here, it's the one that gets the most scrutiny. Here's what I actually know about it.
The building and facilities: The school has 81 classrooms, two gymnasiums, a cafeteria, and a library. It's a real high school — not a satellite campus or a one-gym setup — with the full range of departments you'd expect: English, Mathematics, Science, The Arts, Modern Languages, Technological Education, Business Studies, and more.
Athletics: USS has a serious athletics culture. Teams compete across volleyball, basketball, hockey, rugby, badminton, curling, cross-country running, mountain biking, tennis, wrestling, track and field, and golf. The school has won OFSAA provincial championships in rugby and cross-country, and the mountain biking team reflects something true about Uxbridge: when your trails are world-class, your mountain biking program actually means something.
Arts and music: The arts program includes a Senior Concert Band, Junior Mass Band, the Third Ave Jazz Ensemble, a Singer/Songwriter Collective, a Dance Company, and an Improv Club. For arts-oriented kids, this is not a school where culture gets squeezed out by athletics.
Clubs and community: Student Council, Robotics, Chess Club, Climate Action Club, Best Buddies, and others. The school also runs "Honour Them Well," a veterans outreach program.
The culinary program has gotten specific recognition from DDSB. Skilled trades and culinary pathways are taken seriously at USS.
The size factor: ~1,020 students is small by GTA standards. Some kids thrive in that environment — they can join multiple teams, get real stage time in productions, actually know their teachers. Some kids who want the anonymity and breadth of a 2,000-student school find it limiting. It's worth thinking about which kind of kid yours is.
ST. MARY CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL (DCDSB)
Website: stmary.dcdsb.ca
The Catholic secondary school option for the Township. St. Mary serves Grades 9 to 12 under the Durham Catholic District School Board and is the natural continuation for students coming out of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary.
PRIVATE OPTIONS
Uxbridge Montessori School is the one private option in town, serving younger children in the Montessori educational approach. For families coming from Montessori programs in the GTA who want continuity, it exists and it's local.
WHAT'S ACTUALLY DIFFERENT ABOUT UXBRIDGE SCHOOLS
The thing I notice consistently when families who've made the move talk about their kids' school experience is not the curriculum or the rankings — it's the texture of daily life.
In Uxbridge, kids can walk or bike to school. They know their teachers by name after one week. The trails that make this town unusual are sometimes part of the school day — USS's mountain biking team isn't driving an hour to ride. The town's outdoor character, the fact that this is a community where kids can have real independence from an early age, makes a difference that doesn't show up in any ranking system.
That said, GTA families do ask about EQAO scores and Fraser Institute ratings, and I'd rather be honest with you: Uxbridge schools perform solidly, but they don't top provincial ranking lists the way some competitive GTA schools do. If your priority is producing an application to a hyper-competitive university program and you're managing every variable, that's worth knowing. If your priority is your child growing up well — confident, capable, with real friendships and real independence — the Uxbridge school environment is genuinely hard to beat.
PRACTICAL NOTES FOR FAMILIES CONSIDERING THE MOVE
Feeder schools matter. The main feeder schools for Uxbridge Secondary School are Joseph Gould, Quaker Village, Uxbridge Public School (French Immersion), Scott Central, and schools in Claremont and Goodwood. If you're buying in the rural township, confirm which school your address maps to — some concession road addresses may fall outside the town school catchments.
French Immersion continuity. If your child is in an FI program in the GTA and you want to continue, enrol at Uxbridge Public School. It runs the full Grade 1–8 FI stream with no interruption.
Catholic school registration. The Catholic system is fully publicly funded in Ontario. You don't need to pay tuition, but registration and eligibility require Catholic affiliation. Contact the DCDSB for the current process.
Childcare and JK/SK. The Township has a small number of licensed childcare operators alongside the school-based programs. This is an area where supply is tighter than in the GTA, so if you have young children and need licensed childcare, start that research early.
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If you're a family seriously considering Uxbridge, I'm happy to talk through the school question specifically — including which neighbourhoods put you in which catchment area, and how the school landscape looks for the age your kids are right now.
Dana Hrynyk — REALTOR®, RE/MAX All-Stars Realty Inc.
TheUxbridgeAgent.com | [email protected]
Sources: Durham District School Board (ddsb.ca) · Durham Catholic District School Board (dcdsb.ca) · Township of Uxbridge (uxbridge.ca) · YMCA GTA (ymcagta.org) · Wikipedia — Uxbridge Secondary School