(File photo/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Enrolment stable

Horizon School Division reports stable enrolment in 2025-26

Nov 19, 2025 | 4:47 PM

Enrolment at Horizon School Division has dropped slightly after four years of growth.

The division said in a news release that they had 6,669 students as of Sept. 30, including 188 home-school students.

That’s just slightly lower than the 6,701 students registered in 2024, while there were 6,301 students registered in 2020.

Director of Education Kevin Garinger told northeastNOW the division is pleased its enrolment is stable.

“Really good numbers across the board and so we’re pretty fortunate to support the needs of our…students in Horizon [School Division],” Garinger said.

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He added the overall numbers aligned almost perfectly with expectations prior to the Sept. 30 enrolment report, with a variance of just three students.

While registration at most schools remained relatively stable, there was a drop of over 10 per cent in Annaheim, Drake, Foam Lake Elementary, Punnichy Elementary Community, and Watson schools.

Despite those decreases, Garinger is pleased with the relative stability in smaller communities.

“Generally speaking, some really stable numbers and seeing some really good growth in our elementary numbers, which is a good thing,” explained Garinger. “That means the future is going to be positive for continued stability, and even growth for that matter, for subsequent years.”

No schools reported an enrolment increase of over 10 per cent.

Humboldt Collegiate Institute is the school with the highest enrolment in the division, with 431 students, followed by the new pre-K to 12 Lanigan School at 401 and Humboldt Public School at 363.

Garinger said the division is happy that the rural numbers remain relatively stable, and projects that they may get even better. Housing is more affordable in smaller communities, and Garinger said that could be a factor in rural stability, and perhaps even growth in the future. Life in more rural communities is also attractive for some as it may be more laid back, according to Garinger.

He added that potential growth in the mining and manufacturing industries within the division are also reasons for optimism that student enrolment could see an uptick in the future.

The decrease in enrolment in Horizon roughly matches a similar drop reported in the North East School Division.

The division operates 42 schools in communities across east-central areas of the province.

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com