The independent schools here, what they cost, and what going private means for where you buy
Burlington has a small but varied independent school scene — a preschool-to-Grade 8 prep school, a Waldorf school running right through to Grade 12, and a small-class academy for the middle and senior years. Families here also draw on schools in Oakville, Hamilton and Mississauga, all within a reasonable drive.
We are REALTORS®, not education consultants, so this page does not rank schools or tell you which is right for your child. What we can tell you is where they are, roughly what families budget, and the part most people only think about after they have chosen a school: how it changes where you should buy.
If you want the public and Catholic side instead — EQAO results, French immersion, catchment areas — that is our guide to Burlington’s public schools.
Preschool through Grade 8, on a 30-acre site at 801 North Service Road. The Burlington campus opened in 1999 and sits just off the QEW, which makes it one of the easier drop-offs in the city from almost any Burlington neighbourhood. Fern Hill also runs an Oakville campus, so families sometimes choose between the two on commute alone.
Founded in 1984 and running preschool through Grade 12 across two campuses — the only Burlington independent school that takes a child all the way to graduation. Class sizes run roughly 15 to 22. Worth knowing if you want one school for the whole journey rather than a move at Grade 9.
Grades 5 to 12, built around very small classes and personalized timetables. Tends to suit families looking for a different pace in the middle and senior years, or students balancing school with competitive sport or the arts.
Enrolment, grade ranges and fees change year to year. Confirm current details with each school directly — and for the full regional directory, including Oakville and Hamilton, Our Kids lists more than we do here.
Across Hamilton and Burlington, private elementary tuition reported by Our Kids spans roughly $11,700 to $48,500 a year, averaging around $20,600. Waldorf and Montessori programs generally sit at the lower end of that range.
Treat those as orientation, not quotes. Fees move annually, and the published figure rarely includes bussing, uniforms, trips, technology or the application fee.
The number that matters when you are buying is the combined one. Tuition for two children at the area average is roughly $41,000 a year of after-tax income — money that is not available for a mortgage payment. Have that conversation with your lender before you are pre-approved, not after.
If your children are in the public system, the catchment map draws your search for you. Families routinely pay a premium to sit inside the boundary for a particular elementary school — and in Burlington that premium is real money.
Choose private and that constraint disappears. You are no longer buying a catchment; you are buying a commute. That opens up neighbourhoods most families with school-age children screen out, often at a better price for the same house.
What replaces the catchment map is a drive-time map. Fern Hill sits on the North Service Road with direct QEW access, so the practical question becomes how you reach the highway at 8am, not which side of a boundary street you are on. If you are considering Oakville or Hamilton schools as well, the calculation widens again.
One caution, because it cuts the other way on resale: a catchment premium you decline to pay is also a premium you will not collect when you sell. Most Burlington buyers are public-school families, and they price catchment in. Worth weighing if the home is a five-year hold rather than a twenty-year one.
Tell us which school you are looking at and we will map the neighbourhoods that actually work for the drive — and what they cost.
Book a Consultation