Langley’s Willoughby neighbourhood will get its next new elementary school with the doors opening in 2025 in the community’s north-west corner.
Premier David Eby and Education Minister Rachna Singh came to Willoughby Elementary to announce the opening.
The new school, which will be located around 84th to 82nd Avenues and 201st to 202nd Streets, will be partly built with mass-timber construction to reduce its carbon footprint. It will also have accessible washrooms that can be used by all students, regardless of gender.
Construction is expected to start next spring with an opening date of fall 2025.
“Langley is one of the fastest growing communities in British Columbia,” Eby said. “It’s been a challenge here, and in other parts of B.C., for schools to grow and keep up with community growth.”
He noted that Willoughby Elementary itself is surrounded by new homes. Willoughby Elementary was once the only neighbourhood school for the whole area, now there are half a dozen elementary schools, two middle schools, and a newly-built high school.
However, it has been a few years since the last new school opened in the area, Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary, which welcomed students in the fall of 2021.
Langley School Board Chair Candy Ashdown noted that in each of the last two years, the student population of the district has increased by 1,000 students.
She said that trend is expected to continue.
“The board has been working hard, advocating for this project for some time,” said Ashdown.
She hopes this school relieves some of the pressure on growth.
The new 555-seat elementary, which has not yet been named, will be built with $51.8 million in provincial funds.
Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward noted that the project will be in partnership with the Township, which will be providing land and amenities for a mixed community park/sports field for the school.
The Township and district have been using similar partnerships for years in the fast-growing area, which helps the district get more space for its students to play outside, while the Township has a place to create community parks.
The Township portion of the cost will be $30 million or more, Woodward said.
Last spring, the province announced funding of $42.1 million in funding, plus Langley School District funding of $4.5 million, to purchase the land for a new high school and middle school site in Willoughby, near 76th Avenue and 210th Street.
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