Middle · Burquitlam · West Coquitlam · Regan Avenue · SD43 Coquitlam School District
Updated September 2026 · Craig Johnston, REALTOR® V99960
A Coquitlam REALTOR®'s read on Hillcrest Middle — what the school offers, which neighbourhoods feed in, and what to know about the catchment housing in Burquitlam · West Coquitlam · Regan Avenue.
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What should you know about Hillcrest Middle?
Hillcrest Middle School — Hillcrest Middle School is a middle school in Coquitlam, serving grades 6–8 in the Burquitlam · West Coquitlam · Regan Avenue area. One of three SD43 MACC gifted cluster middle schools. Address: 2161 Regan Avenue, V3J 3C5. Phone 604-936-4237.
Verify your exact address
Check whether your address is actually inside the Hillcrest Middle catchment.
SD43 catchments are set by address, not by neighbourhood name. Enter your street in the district’s official School Locator to see the schools that serve your home. This is the authoritative source.
Verified school facts · SD43
School type
Middle
Grades
6–8
District
SD43 (Coquitlam School District)
Address
2161 Regan Avenue, Coquitlam, BC V3J 3C5
Phone
Website
Administration (2025–26)
Ross Jacobsen (Principal)
VP: Jeff Hart (VP).
Enrolment
516 students, School Year 2025–2026, grades 6–8. Confirm current-year totals with the school office.
School hours
Confirm the current year's bell schedule directly with the school at 604-936-4237.
Local representation
School Trustee: SD43 Board of Education contact → · MLA: Coquitlam-Maillardville
In-catchment registration
Cross-catchment / school of choice
Catchment locator
School details verified against the SD43 school page (June 2026). Bell schedules, administrators, and program details can change year to year — confirm the current year directly with the school office before relying on any specific number.
Enrolment snapshot
Reported enrolment figures for Hillcrest, shown exactly as published. The school office has the official current-year count.
Current enrolment
516 students
2025–2026 school year
Grades served
6–8
One of three SD43 MACC gifted cluster sites
Enrolment by grade
School Year 2025–2026
The per-grade figures above (170 + 163 + 200 = 533) total higher than Hillcrest’s reported current enrolment of 516 in the same source — that discrepancy is not resolved in the data reviewed and is disclosed here rather than adjusted. Cross-check with the school office before relying on any specific number for planning purposes.
Enrolment cross-referenced against publicly reported BC K–12 school enrolment data for SD43, retrieved September 2026 (School Year 2025–2026).
What this school is best known for
Hillcrest hosts one of three SD43 MACC (Middle Age Cluster Class) gifted programs — alongside Citadel Middle and Kwayhquitlum Middle. MACC is a cluster-class model where identified gifted grade 6–8 students learn together across Math, Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts. Hillcrest's Grade 6 information lists Explorations in Home Ec, Tech Ed, Art, Music and Digital Literacy, with band and choir running before school.
Quick Answer
What should you know about Hillcrest Middle?
Hillcrest Middle is an SD43 grades 6–8 school at 2161 Regan Avenue in west-central Coquitlam. It is one of three SD43 sites for MACC (Middle Age Cluster Class), the district's program for formally identified gifted students, alongside Citadel and Kwayhquitlum, and runs a regular grade 6–8 program for its neighbourhood catchment. Confirm any address in the SD43 School Locator.
Programs & academic profile
District gifted program for grades 6–7–8. Cluster-class model across core academics.
Standard BC middle-school curriculum.
Tech Ed and Digital Literacy are part of the Explorations rotation.
Music in Explorations, plus band and choir before school.
Volleyball, basketball, cross-country, track.
SD43 inclusive-education model.
District-wide, under SD43’s Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement. Indigenous Support Teachers and Child & Youth Care Workers, scholarships, land-based learning, and the All Nations Canoe Event, serving grades K–12 across SD43.
District-wide, grades K–12. Full-year (10-month) and summer options, with ESL and Culture Programming and a Teacher Training Program; qualifying secondary students can access AP and IB coursework.
| Neighbourhood (GVR sub-area) | Detached benchmark | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Chineside | $1,555,500 | −7.5% |
| Harbour Chines | $1,779,700 | −6.6% |
| Harbour Place | $1,656,100 | −4.8% |
| Coquitlam West | $1,744,300 | −4.4% |
| Central Coquitlam | $1,613,600 | −7.3% |
| Coquitlam (all areas) | $1,599,100 | −5.9% |
Source: Greater Vancouver REALTORS® MLS® Home Price Index, August 2026. GVR sub-areas do not follow SD43 catchment lines — confirm any address with the SD43 School Locator.
Catchment, feeders & cross-catchment
West-central Coquitlam around Regan Avenue, including Chineside. Boundaries are set by address — confirm any home in the SD43 School Locator.
Parkland Elementary, Harbour View Elementary, Roy Stibbs Elementary, Miller Park Elementary.
Centennial Secondary, École Dr. Charles Best Secondary.
Cross-catchment seats at Hillcrest are filled by SD43's annual random draw where space remains, with siblings and SD43 residents considered first. MACC is a separate application, and a Hillcrest approval does not carry over to a secondary school. SD43 cross-catchment policy →
Hillcrest's boundary, the boundaries of its elementary feeders and the boundary of the secondary school a home is assigned to are each drawn separately, street by street. Check all three for the exact address in the SD43 School Locator.
Extracurriculars · sports · clubs
Programs change year to year. Confirm the current season's club and sport list on the school's Programs / Clubs page.
Inside the catchment · housing read
Hillcrest sits on Regan Avenue in west-central Coquitlam, close to Chineside, and the streets around it are largely established single-family neighbourhoods. Detached benchmarks vary between the nearby sub-areas — see the table on this page — so I price the specific pocket, not the school name.
Feeder elementary schools
Parkland Elementary is one of the elementary schools that feed Hillcrest Middle. Each entry below carries the school's provincial record — principal, address, office line, grades and official school code — taken from the B.C. Ministry of Education's Student Success database rather than a directory copy. Catchment boundaries for elementary and middle are drawn separately, so confirm any boundary-edge address through SD43's locator before relying on it.
Grades K-5, public, School District 43. 1563 Regan Ave, Coquitlam V3J 3B7. Office 604 939-1151. Principal Sharon McKay. Provincial school code 04343049.
It offers the English program, with no French Immersion stream on site.
Catchment: West Coquitlam — Regan Avenue, Marmont area.
For the housing in that footprint, read burquitlam coquitlam guide and burquitlam station homes for sale.
MACC — Middle Age Cluster Class — is SD43's three-year program for students formally identified as gifted. Hillcrest is one of three MACC sites, with Citadel and Kwayhquitlum, and each runs a grade 6, 7 and 8 class. MACC students are clustered together for the four core subjects: Language Arts, Science, Math and Social Studies. SD43 accepts 28 grade 6 students at each site, 84 in total, with grade 7 and 8 places depending on space.
Through SD43's application process, not by living near Hillcrest. SD43 says applicants must be a Ministry-identified gifted student (Category P) with a current IEP, attend an SD43 public school in grade 5 and live within SD43's boundaries. Applications are distributed in the fall through the student's home school. Selection considers fit with the program criteria and the make-up of district classrooms, so admission is never guaranteed. Grade 6 and 7 students are told in May how to apply for the waitlist for later grades.
SD43's MACC FAQ lists the elementary catchments considered for the Hillcrest site: Alderson, Baker Drive, Cape Horn, Eagle Ridge, Glen, Glenayre, Harbour View, Lord Baden-Powell, Meadowbrook, Moody, Mountain Meadows, Mountain View, Mundy Road, Parkland, Porter Street, Ranch Park, RC MacDonald, Riverview Park, Rochester, Roy Stibbs and Seaview. That zone is much wider than Hillcrest's neighbourhood catchment, and parents are responsible for getting MACC students to and from school — worth weighing if you're buying across the Tri-Cities.
No. Hillcrest isn't on SD43's list of French Immersion middle schools. Early French Immersion continues at Banting, Kwayhquitlum, Maillard, Maple Creek and Pitt River, and Late French Immersion starts in grade 6 at Citadel, Montgomery and Moody. Hillcrest's own Grade 6 information lists French among its core classes, so students still take French as a subject. If immersion matters, choose a home with the FI pathway in mind rather than the Hillcrest catchment.
Explorations are Hillcrest's rotating non-core courses. The school's Welcome to Grade 6 information lists Home Ec, Tech Ed, Art, Music and Digital Literacy, with band and choir running before school. Core classes are Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, French and HACE (Health and Career Education), taught through interdisciplinary teams named by colour. The same document lists a six-block day with dismissal at 3:00 p.m. Course lists and bell times can change each year, so confirm the current version with the school.
It depends on the home address. Students are assigned a catchment secondary by address, and this page lists Centennial and École Dr. Charles Best as the secondaries serving the area — confirm a specific home in the SD43 School Locator. SD43's MACC guidance notes that grade 8 students register at their catchment secondary automatically and must apply separately for any secondary program of choice, so finishing MACC at Hillcrest doesn't decide the high school.
Possibly, through SD43's annual cross-catchment process, but a seat isn't guaranteed. Remaining space is filled by random draw, with siblings of students who will be attending and then SD43 residents considered first. The window for 2027–28 is February 5–10, 2027. An approval applies only to Hillcrest, so it won't carry into a secondary school. MACC is a separate route: students in the Hillcrest zone are considered for the program through the district's gifted application, not cross-catchment.
Prices differ by sub-area. In August 2026, the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® detached benchmark was $1,555,500 in Chineside (−7.5% year over year), $1,779,700 in Harbour Chines and $1,744,300 in Coquitlam West, compared with $1,599,100 for Coquitlam overall. A benchmark describes a typical home, not a particular one, and GVR sub-areas don't follow SD43 boundaries — so check the address first, then compare recent sales on that street.
First, run the address through the SD43 School Locator for all three levels — elementary, Hillcrest and the secondary — since each boundary is drawn separately. If your child may apply for MACC, check which MACC site your elementary catchment is zoned to and plan for transportation, which SD43 leaves to parents. Then compare the sub-area's benchmark with recent sales nearby. If you'd like a second set of eyes on specific streets, book a strategy call with me.
Continue your Coquitlam school research
Main hub
The full SD43 schools guide for the Tri-Cities.
Hub
How to compare SD43 schools by program, grades and catchment.
Programs
Every SD43 French Immersion entry point.
Private
Independent schools serving Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam.
Sources & methodology
School facts verified against the SD43 Hillcrest Middle school page, the SD43 Board of Education / Trustees page, and the SD43 school locator. Catchment, registration, and cross-catchment information from SD43's cross-catchment policy page. Enrolment (516 students reported total; 170 / 163 / 200 by grade 6 / 7 / 8, School Year 2025–2026) and the Indigenous Education Support and SD43 International Student Program listings were cross-referenced against publicly reported BC school enrolment and SD43 district program information, retrieved September 2026; note the per-grade figures sum to 533, which does not match the reported total of 516 — confirm current-year enrolment directly with the school office. SD43 relaunched its website in 2026; the school, locator, registration and cross-catchment links on this page were checked against the new site in September 2026. Real estate commentary is the professional opinion of Craig Johnston, REALTOR® license V99960, working under Royal LePage Elite West and serving the SD43 Tri-Cities market.
Page reviewed and dated June 2026; enrolment and program details refreshed September 2026. License V99960 · BCFSA-regulated. Confirm school program details with the school office before relying on them for an enrolment decision.
A long-time Tri-Cities resident and licensed REALTOR®, Craig knows the catchment streets and the boundary risks, and can set up a search so you hear about homes inside the Hillcrest Middle catchment as soon as they're listed.
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Hillcrest serves two kinds of families — neighbourhood students and MACC students from a much wider zone — and the home search looks different for each.
I start by running each address through the SD43 School Locator for elementary, middle and secondary, because each boundary is drawn on its own. A home that maps to Hillcrest may still map to a secondary school you weren't expecting, and I want you to see the full path first.
If your child is identified gifted or being assessed, I check which MACC site your elementary catchment is zoned to using SD43's list. Hillcrest's MACC zone stretches well beyond Regan Avenue, so we may have more neighbourhoods to consider than the school's own catchment suggests.
SD43 leaves MACC transportation to parents, so I look at the morning drive or transit route to Regan Avenue from each home we consider. For neighbourhood students I check the walking route instead. It's a practical test that keeps a good house from becoming a hard daily routine.
Chineside, Harbour Chines, Coquitlam West and Central Coquitlam all carry different detached benchmarks. I compare recent sales on the streets we're considering with the right sub-area benchmark, so you can judge an asking price on its location rather than on the school name alone.
To see how I've handled school-driven moves elsewhere in the Tri-Cities, read my case studies — see my Tri-Cities case studies. Read the Tri-Cities case studies →
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“Craig was patient throughout the entire process. He never pushed us to buy something we weren't sure about, and when we decided to wait six months and save more, he just said ‘good call’ and stayed in touch. When we did finally buy, the math was so much cleaner.”Susie & Hans
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Thinking about the move, not just the school?
If you're weighing a move into this catchment, the hard part usually isn't the school — it's the timing and the tax math: when to sell your current home, how the property-transfer-tax works on the next one, and how to buy into the right catchment without overpaying. That's the work I focus on across the Tri-Cities. Start with the move-up guide, then get a no-obligation read on what your current home could sell for today.