The Langley Board of Education has approved new middle and secondary school catchment boundaries for Willoughby, with the changes set to take effect in September 2027.

The changes are tied to the opening of stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle School and Emery Dosdall Secondary in the Smith neighbourhood. The new school campus is expected to add 900 middle school spaces and 1,900 secondary school spaces.

The new boundaries will change where some Willoughby students attend middle and secondary school.

The change follows years of enrolment growth in Willoughby. School district materials presented during the catchment review showed Willoughby accounting for a majority of School District 35’s recent enrolment growth, including 86 per cent of the district’s growth in 2025.

Official materials also pointed to capacity pressures at Willoughby schools, including classroom space, elective space, portable placement, outdoor play areas, and pick-up and drop-off congestion.

The new schools are expected to provide significant relief, though district projections indicate continued pressure in the years ahead. By 2035, all three Willoughby middle schools are projected to be over their listed capacities. R.E. Mountain is also projected to remain over capacity, even after Emery Dosdall Secondary opens.

The school district is responsible for drawing school catchments. But the Township plays a role in where and how quickly growth occurs through land-use planning, housing approvals, and transportation planning.

We are seeing the impact of this in Willoughby, where school boundary changes are now being used to accommodate growth in the area.

The changes arrive as council continues planning work in Willoughby, including the Willoughby Community Plan update, the Willoughby Transit Corridor Plan, and development guidelines connected to growth along 200 Street. The Township says that work includes future transit-oriented development, neighbourhood plan consolidation, and a new development permit area for the corridor.

The school boundary changes also place Progress for Langley’s growth-planning approach into a practical setting: two major schools are being added, while the district’s own projections still show capacity pressure returning within the next decade.

For families, the new map provides more certainty before the 2027 school year. It also leaves a clear local planning question: as more growth is planned and approved, will schools, roads, parks, and other community infrastructure keep pace?