St. Ignatius tops local high-school rankings

When it comes to local high schools, St. Ignatius reins supreme, according to the Fraser Institute’s annual secondary-school rankings.

However, six of the seven Thunder Bay schools saw their ranking take a dip in 2016, with only the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board's St. Patrick High School climbing.

St. Ignatius fell from 147th out of 627 schools a year ago to 233 out of 676 included in the survey, scoring 6.8 out of 10. It earned a 7.2 in 2015.

St. Patrick jumped to 6.2, up three-tenths of a point from last year, and climbed to 337th in the rankings. Sir Winston Churchill, whose future remains up in the air with school closures looming in Thunder Bay, dropped a notch locally to third, finishing with a 5.8 score, good for 400th in the province.

Hammarskjold, also on the chopping block, was fourth with a 5.5, while Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute was fifth locally and 473rd in Ontario with a 5.2.

Ecole de la Verendryre, not included in last year’s survey, came in sixth in Thunder Bay with a 5.0 score, 495th in the province, while the city’s newest high school, Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute finished dead last in the local rankings at 4.8, 524th in the province.

Toronto’s St. Michael’s Choir topped all schools with a 9.7 score, holding onto their No. 1 ranking. London Central, which tied for first last year, slipped slightly to second with a 9.3.

The annual report card is based on seven academic indicators drawn from annual provincewide tests of literarcy and math skills.