Waterloo Collegiate Institute
In 2024-25, Waterloo CI had 1,480 students for 1,203 permanent places (123% full). The board first raised a rebuild in 2016, and it hasn't been built. 4,072 homes were permitted in its high-school area between January 2019 and August 2026, and at least 3,522 more are proposed or approved.
Nothing is scheduled for Waterloo CI that we know of. to hear when it comes up.
How full is it?
Ward median 97%
One of 14 ward schools over 100% in 2024-25. Tied for #8 of 29 by how full it is.
Enrolment is the Ministry’s October 31 headcount; permanent places are the board’s on-the-ground capacity. Portables aren’t counted as permanent places.
Students and educators
1,480 students in October 2024[1]. The list also names 3 educational assistants.The Ministry publishes class sizes for elementary schools only, so we don’t show a ratio here.
A staff page is a directory of names, not full-time equivalents. Not every school lists its support staff. The board doesn’t publish staffing by school.
Last rebuild or addition
Ward median: built 1974
The board says smaller additions were built after 1962 but doesn't give their dates.[4]
- 1959Original building (opened 1960); most of it built 1959–1962
- 2021Renovations: corridors, windows, air conditioning, bus lane, front ramp (2021–2026)
- 1962Done
The board's 2018 partnership report says “Most of the building was constructed between 1959 and 1962, with smaller additions occurring in three separate occasions since that time.” It does not give the years of those additions.[4][5] - 2016Raised, not built
The board began looking at a WCI rebuild with the City of Waterloo and Laurier through the Northdale partnership; phase one of the feasibility study was completed in June 2016. It sent a rebuild to the Ministry once, in the 2019 Capital Priorities round, ranked #7 of 9. It was not funded. Every year from 2021-22 to 2024-25, staff screened it as “does not meet criteria; ineligible project”. The board still listed it as a potential partnership project in September 2026.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] - 2026Done
The board says WCI “has undergone extensive renovations over the last four years”: corridors, windows and air conditioning, a bus lane, and a barrier-free ramp to the front entrance.[15][16][16]
New homes in its attendance area
Another 3,522+ homes are proposed in 14 active applications; 9 of them give no unit count[17].
The board assigns its Beaver Creek Meadows Development Area to Waterloo CI for grades 9 to 12.[20][16]
The proposed homes include 446 Albert St (2,823 units), approved by council on June 8, 2026 and not yet permitted.[18][19]
By the board’s own pupil rates, the homes permitted could be home to about 154 high-school-age students[21].derived Some of these are student apartments near the universities, so this likely overstates.
City of Waterloo permits only. Gross counts: demolitions aren’t subtracted.
Building condition
Ward median 27%
In the board's “fair” band (40 to 64%).[22] The index is five years of needed repairs divided by what it would cost to replace the building. Higher is worse. The red mark is the board’s 65% “poor” line.
Accessibility
Ward median 97%
- Elevator
- Not Available
- Barrier-free washroom
- Not Available
Lead in drinking water
Highest reading 275 µg/L. 1 exceedance was in a flushed sample, after the tap had run.
We show these for each school so families can see them, but we don’t rank schools on test scores or family income, and they’re left off share images.
Who attends
Special education and first language: preliminary 2024-25. Low-income households: 2021 Census. The Ministry randomly rounds these percentages[27].
Provincial test results
Share of fully participating students at or above the provincial standard, 2024-25[28]. EQAO posted 2025-26 results in October 2026; this page will be updated.
Against the board’s forecast
- 2024-25 enrolment vs the board's 2020 forecast for 2024-25
- 15% above[2]
The 2020 Long-Term Accommodation Plan forecast each school’s enrolment to 2030. The board uses these forecasts to decide where to ask for new space.
Safety events posted
- Hold-and-secure, lockdown or police presence
- 3[26]
- Unplanned closures or evacuations
- 3
What the school chose to post on its website, counted once per event, September 2017 to September 3, 2026.
Tell us what you see at Waterloo CI
Portables, class sizes, repairs, or something this page gets wrong. Reports go to Brian and are checked before anything is published, and anything added from them is marked unverified.
Sources
- Ontario Ministry of Education, enrolment by school, 2024-25
October 31 headcount. The Ministry rounds to the nearest five from 2018-19 on; earlier years in the same series (back to 2011-12) are exact counts.
- WRDSB 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan
Review Area S05 (Waterloo). PDF page 102: permanent capacity (on-the-ground), year built and Facility Condition Index; enrolment forecast on page 103. Adopted June 21, 2021.
- Waterloo Collegiate Institute website, staff list
Read November 2, 2026. A directory of names, not full-time equivalents; part-time teachers count as one each.
- Northdale Neighbourhood Partnership Phase 2 Report (September 2018), Board meeting, February 24, 2020
“Most of the building was constructed between 1959 and 1962, with smaller additions since.” PDF page 37.
- Waterloo Collegiate Institute website, Excelsior – Celebrating 65 Years of Excellence, May 25, 2026
“Since its doors opened in 1960”.
- Northdale Neighbourhood Partnership report, Board meeting, February 24, 2020
Phase one of the WCI/Northdale feasibility study was completed in June 2016. PDF page 10.
- Draft 2017-2027 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Committee of the Whole, January 22, 2018
WCI considered as a rebuild candidate through partnership opportunities. PDF page 138.
- 2019 Capital Priorities Program Submission, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2019
Report on the 2019 submission. PDF page 6.
- 2019 Capital Priorities Program Submission, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2019
Appendix A: Waterloo CI Partnership Rebuild ranked 7 (table is an image). PDF page 10.
- 2021-22 Capital Priorities screening, Committee of the Whole, May 10, 2021
Screening row for the WCI rebuild. PDF page 31.
- 2022-23 Capital Priorities submission and screening, Board meeting, February 28, 2022
Screening row for the WCI rebuild. PDF page 21.
- 2023-24 Capital Priorities screening, Committee of the Whole, October 16, 2023
Screening row for the WCI rebuild. PDF page 19.
- 2024-25 Capital Priorities screening, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2024
Screening row for the WCI rebuild. PDF page 52.
- Potential partnership opportunities, Board meeting, September 28, 2026
WCI rebuild still listed. PDF page 76.
- WRDSB blog, Designed for Student Success: June Facility Highlight, June 9, 2026
Waterloo Collegiate Institute section.
- City of Waterloo, building permits open data
New residential units permitted January 2019 to August 21, 2026, placed in the school's 2026-27 boundary. Gross: demolitions aren't subtracted. City of Waterloo only.
- EngageWR, City of Waterloo development planning projects
Active development applications, read August 23, 2026.
- EngageWR, 446 Albert St (Z-23-13, OPA 49)
The revised proposal: 2,823 units.
- City of Waterloo, council summary, June 8, 2026
Council approved the 446 Albert St development (2,823 dwelling units).
- WRDSB school boundary and location maps, 2026-27
The board's ArcGIS boundary layers, read September 30, 2026.
- WRDSB and WCDSB 2021 Education Development Charges Background Study
Pupil yields per new home by type, PDF page 62: elementary rates for the Waterloo review areas (JK to Grade 8), secondary rates for North Central.
- WRDSB 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Figure 12
The plan's condition bands: over 65% poor, 40 to 64% fair, under 39% excellent. PDF page 30.
- WRDSB, Accessibility Status by School
Board web page, read October 25, 2026.
- Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, drinking water quality and enforcement data
Lead samples taken at the school under O. Reg. 243/07, 2016-17 to 2024-25.
- WRDSB ventilation report
Per-school ventilation type and standalone HEPA units; the board's chart was last updated November 28, 2024.
- Waterloo Collegiate Institute website, news posts since 2017-18
Closures, evacuations and hold-and-secure notices the school chose to post, read to September 3, 2026; counted once per event.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, school information and student demographics, preliminary 2024-25
Special education and first language not English: 2024-25, school data as of July 2026. Low-income households: from the 2021 Census. The Ministry randomly rounds these percentages.
- EQAO, school results, 2024-25
Share of fully participating students at or above the provincial standard; for the literacy test, fully participating first-time-eligible students who passed. EQAO posted 2025-26 results in October 2026.