Port Moody · school reference
Every Port Moody school — grades, addresses and programs.
Every public school serving Port Moody, with grades, address and the programs that genuinely differ between them. Port Moody’s two distinguishing programs within SD43 are the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Port Moody Secondary and the district’s only School of the Arts at École Moody Middle.
Port Moody Secondary and the IB Diploma
Port Moody Secondary has been School District 43’s International Baccalaureate hub since 1986 — not a recently added programme, but a forty-year institutional commitment. For families who specifically want the IB Diploma, this is the district’s destination school, and it draws students from well beyond the immediate catchment.
The honest caveat: IB is a demanding programme that suits a particular kind of student, and buying into a catchment for it only makes sense if your child is likely to pursue it. District programmes also frequently accept out-of-catchment applicants, so paying a premium for the address is not always necessary. Ask the school about current out-of-catchment intake before you assume the house is the only route in.
École Moody Middle — SD43’s only School of the Arts
École Moody Middle School of the Arts is unique in the district, running Music Explorations, band, choir, drama and visual arts as a core identity rather than as electives bolted onto a standard timetable. For an arts-inclined child in Grades 6 to 8, there is no equivalent elsewhere in SD43. It is a genuine reason to look at central Port Moody specifically, and one of the few school-driven arguments in the Tri-Cities that does not point toward Burke Mountain or Westwood Plateau.
The Heritage Woods corridor — a clean, predictable pathway
The most structurally straightforward school pathway in Port Moody runs up the hill. Aspenwood Elementary and Heritage Mountain Elementary both feed Eagle Mountain Middle — a LEED, purpose-built 2014–15 facility sitting adjacent to Heritage Woods Secondary. Aspenwood is the closest elementary to Heritage Woods Secondary; Heritage Mountain Elementary is the anchor school for the Heritage Mountain neighbourhood.
That continuity is the real product families are buying on Heritage Mountain and Heritage Woods: a K–12 route with modern buildings and short, predictable distances. It is also why those catchments hold their pricing. Note that Eagle Mountain Middle’s address is in Anmore, which surprises some buyers — Anmore Elementary, the only public school in Anmore, feeds the same Eagle Mountain to Heritage Woods pathway.
French Immersion in Port Moody
Port Moody’s Early French Immersion entry is concentrated at École Glenayre Elementary, the city’s dual-track K-entry host. That single point of entry is a meaningful difference from Port Coquitlam, which spreads Early FI across four elementaries. If French Immersion is a firm requirement and you are set on Port Moody, the Glenayre catchment carries more weight in your search than it would in a city with several entry points.
What this means when you’re buying in Port Moody
Port Moody splits fairly cleanly into two school stories. Up the hill — Heritage Mountain, Heritage Woods, Anmore — you are buying a modern, predictable K–12 corridor, and paying for it. Down in Moody Centre and the older flats, you are closer to the IB programme at Port Moody Secondary and the School of the Arts at Moody Middle, usually at a lower entry price, with older housing stock and a more urban feel.
Neither is better in the abstract. The question worth answering before you shortlist houses is whether your child’s likely path is programme-driven — IB, arts, French Immersion — or proximity-driven. Programme-driven families should look at the specific school first and treat the address as secondary, since district programmes often take out-of-catchment students. Proximity-driven families are better served buying the corridor.
Independent options for Port Moody families
Port Moody itself has limited independent-school capacity; most Tri-Cities independent schools sit in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, within a reasonable commute. Because independent schools admit by application rather than by catchment, choosing one generally widens your housing options instead of narrowing them. If you are weighing an independent school against a public catchment premium, price both paths before assuming the address is the deciding factor.
How Port Moody school catchments interact with price
The Heritage Mountain and Heritage Woods catchments carry a measurable premium over Moody Centre and the older Port Moody flats, and the school corridor is a substantial part of the reason. That premium is real, but it is not uniform — it compresses noticeably in the townhome and condo segments, where the same catchment is available at a materially lower entry price than the detached market.
Families who need the corridor but cannot reach detached pricing on the hill are frequently better served by a townhome inside the catchment than a detached home outside it. That trade is one of the more common move-up conversations in Port Moody, and it usually comes down to how many years of schooling remain versus how much space the household actually needs.
Questions families actually ask
Which Port Moody school offers the IB Diploma?
Port Moody Secondary has been School District 43’s International Baccalaureate Diploma hub since 1986. It draws students from across the district, and out-of-catchment intake is often available — so buying into the catchment is not always necessary to access the programme. Ask the school about current intake before assuming the address is the only route in.
What makes École Moody Middle different from other SD43 middle schools?
École Moody Middle is the district’s only School of the Arts, running Music Explorations, band, choir, drama and visual arts as its core identity rather than as electives. For an arts-focused student in Grades 6–8 there is no equivalent elsewhere in SD43.
Where do Heritage Mountain and Aspenwood Elementary feed?
Both feed Eagle Mountain Middle, a LEED purpose-built 2014–15 facility, which sits adjacent to Heritage Woods Secondary. Aspenwood is the closest elementary to Heritage Woods Secondary. Anmore Elementary feeds the same pathway. Eagle Mountain Middle’s address is in Anmore, which surprises some Port Moody buyers.
Does Port Moody have French Immersion?
Yes, but through a single entry point: École Glenayre Elementary is Port Moody’s dual-track Early French Immersion K-entry host. That is a meaningful contrast with Port Coquitlam, which spreads Early FI across four elementaries, so the Glenayre catchment carries more weight in a Port Moody search.
School data compiled from School District 43 records as of May 2026. Catchment boundaries and programme placements are set by SD43 and do change — Mountain Meadows saw a catchment redraw as recently as 2023. Confirm current catchment, programme availability and out-of-catchment intake directly with the district or the school before making a purchase decision. This page is general information, not enrolment advice.