Kitchener High School (WRDSB)

Homes for Sale Near Forest Heights Collegiate Institute

Forest Heights Collegiate Institute is a public high school (Grades 9 to 12) in west Kitchener, run by the Waterloo Region District School Board. It sits on Fischer-Hallman Road beside the Forest Heights library and pool, and it is known for its ESL magnet program, Extended French and a close-knit community. Below are current listings near the school, plus the neighbourhoods zoned for it.

By George Dmitrovic, Realtor with Keller Williams Innovation Realty. Updated October 2026. Jump to the Forest Heights CI guide

Forest Heights CI at a Glance

School board

Waterloo Region District School Board (public)

Grades

9 to 12

Location

Fischer-Hallman Rd and Queen’s Blvd, west Kitchener, beside the Forest Heights library and pool

Programs

ESL magnet program, Extended French, Specialist High Skills Majors

Zoned neighbourhoods

Forest Heights, Forest Hill, Highland West, parts of Victoria Hills and Cherry Hill, and parts of southwest Kitchener

School facts

Opened 1964; the Trojans; roughly 1,200 students when this guide was first written

Forest Heights Collegiate Institute is a Grade 9 to 12 public high school run by the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB). It sits at 255 Fischer-Hallman Road in west Kitchener, right next to the Forest Heights library and pool. Families look at homes near it for its Extended French program, its large ESL program, eight Specialist High Skills Majors and house prices that are usually lower than in nearby Waterloo. Here is what to know before you buy.

About Forest Heights CI

Forest Heights opened in 1964. Its teams are the Trojans, and its motto translates as “to hold the torch high.” The school describes its home area as northwest Kitchener.

Extended French: a magnet program for students who finished Grade 8 French Immersion. Students take seven credits taught in French over four years, earn an Extended French certificate and can also try for the DELF, an international French diploma.
ESL and ELD: a congregated program for students learning English, with ESL English courses from level A to level E and electives taught with extra language support.
Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM): eight, in Arts and Culture, Business, Environment, Information and Communications Technology, Manufacturing, Non-Profit, Sports and Transportation, for students in Grades 11 and 12.
Other options: co-op placements, e-learning and the Alternative Continuum of Education (ACE) program.
Not offered: French Immersion. In the WRDSB, secondary Immersion runs only at KCI and Galt CI.

How Forest Heights CI Rates

In the Fraser Institute’s latest Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools (the 2025 report, using 2023-2024 results), Forest Heights is rated 4.9 out of 10. That is the lowest of the Kitchener-Waterloo high schools in the report. For comparison, KCI scored 7.4, Cameron Heights 7.5 and Huron Heights 6.3.

The rating is based mainly on provincial test results. Forest Heights runs a large ESL program, so many of its students are still learning English when they write those tests. The number says little about the Extended French program, the SHSMs or how one student will do, so treat it as one measure among many and visit the school if you can.

Which Neighbourhoods Feed Into Forest Heights CI?

The school lists seven WRDSB schools whose students come to it: Westheights PS, Queensmount Senior PS (Grades 7 and 8), Hillside PS (the former A.R. Kaufman PS, whose Grade 8s mostly go to KCI), Laurentian Senior PS, Oak Creek PS and Janet Metcalfe PS in southwest Kitchener, and MacGregor Senior PS in Waterloo.

Its zone is usually described as covering much of Forest Heights, Forest Hill and Highland West, with parts of Victoria Hills and Cherry Hill. Parts of southwest Kitchener were added after a WRDSB boundary study approved in November 2019 to ease crowding at Huron Heights. It moved some areas from Huron Heights to Cameron Heights and others from Cameron Heights to Forest Heights, starting in September 2020.

To check an address, use the WRDSB’s School Eligibility tool or its 2026/2027 school lookup map. Living outside the zone means filing an out-of-boundary request, which is approved only if there is space and the request meets board criteria. The Extended French and ESL programs are magnet programs with their own entry rules. The board’s current boundary reviews (West Waterloo and a new Breslau school) do not involve Forest Heights, but boundaries do change, so confirm with the board before you make an offer.

Homes Near Forest Heights CI

In the MLS district that includes Forest Heights (337 Forest Heights), the median sale price for a detached home was $750,000 over the 12 months to September 2026, based on George’s analysis of ITSO MLS sales. Semi-detached homes had a median of $594,000 and townhouses $434,000.

Nearby, the district that includes Forest Hill (325 Forest Hill) had a detached median of $640,000 and a townhouse median of $528,000, while the district that includes Highland West (338 Beechwood Forest/Highland W.) had a detached median of $830,000. For comparison, the Waterloo-wide detached median was $858,500. Most sales in these districts are detached homes. See the full neighbourhood price table or browse homes by school district.

Is Forest Heights CI a Good Fit for Your Family?

Forest Heights suits families with a child coming out of French Immersion who wants to keep studying in French, students who would benefit from a strong ESL program, and teens drawn to one of its SHSMs. A public library and an indoor pool sit next door, and the iXpress 201 bus stops at Queen’s Boulevard, with links to Block Line ION station and the University of Waterloo. Homes around it usually cost less than similar homes in Waterloo.

The trade-offs are worth knowing. Its Fraser rating is the lowest among Kitchener-Waterloo high schools. It does not offer French Immersion, so Immersion students who want that pathway need KCI. And its zone is split across several neighbourhoods and has changed before, so the school a street is assigned to is not always obvious.

For more French options, see my guide to the best French schools in Kitchener-Waterloo, or compare the Catholic option, Resurrection CSS. If you’d like help finding a home in the Forest Heights zone, book a free call and we’ll talk it through.

Originally written by Will Kummer for WRX Property Group and fully updated by George Dmitrovic in October 2026.

Neighbourhoods Zoned for Forest Heights CI

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Forest Heights CI FAQs

Answers to the questions families ask most about Forest Heights CI and buying a home nearby.

Where is Forest Heights Collegiate Institute?

Forest Heights CI is at 255 Fischer-Hallman Road in west Kitchener, near Queen’s Boulevard. The Forest Heights branch of the Kitchener Public Library is next door at 251 Fischer-Hallman and the City’s Forest Heights Pool is at 253. The iXpress 201 Fischer-Hallman bus stops at Queen’s Boulevard, linking the school to Block Line ION station to the south and the University of Waterloo to the north.

Which neighbourhoods are zoned for Forest Heights CI?

The zone usually covers much of Forest Heights, Forest Hill and Highland West, plus parts of Victoria Hills and Cherry Hill. Since 2020 it has also taken in parts of southwest Kitchener served by Oak Creek PS and Janet Metcalfe PS. Feeder schools include Westheights, Queensmount Senior, Hillside and Laurentian Senior. Check each address, because one street can be in a different zone from the next.

Does buying a home near Forest Heights CI guarantee my child can attend?

No. Assignment depends on the exact address, not distance, so a house a few blocks away can be zoned for KCI, Cameron Heights or another school. Look up the address with the WRDSB School Eligibility tool before you make an offer. Boundaries also change, as the 2019 southwest Kitchener study showed, and out-of-boundary requests are approved only where there is space.

What programs does Forest Heights CI offer?

Forest Heights runs an Extended French magnet program, a congregated ESL and ELD program for students learning English, and eight Specialist High Skills Majors: Arts and Culture, Business, Environment, ICT, Manufacturing, Non-Profit, Sports and Transportation. Students can also take co-op, e-learning and the Alternative Continuum of Education program. It does not offer French Immersion, which the WRDSB runs at KCI and Galt CI.

What is the difference between Extended French and French Immersion?

Both are for students who studied in French Immersion in elementary school. Extended French at Forest Heights asks for seven credits taught in French across Grades 9 to 12 and leads to an Extended French certificate, with a chance to try the DELF diploma. Secondary French Immersion is a separate pathway that the WRDSB offers only at KCI and Galt CI, so ask KCI about its course requirements.

How big is Forest Heights CI?

The school’s website describes Forest Heights as having about 1,200 students and about 100 staff, but it gives no year for those figures, so ask the school for this year’s numbers. Its ESL program and Extended French magnet also bring in students from beyond the regular zone, so the student body is wider than the neighbourhoods around it.

What is near Forest Heights CI for students?

Students have the Forest Heights library next door, open into the evening Monday to Thursday, and the City’s Forest Heights Pool, with a 25-metre lap pool, a warm pool and a diving board. The iXpress 201 stop at Queen’s Boulevard gives quick bus access north and south, and the Forest Heights, Henry Sturm and Sandrock trails link the area to the Iron Horse Trail.

Which Catholic high school serves the same area?

Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, on University Avenue West, is the WCDSB high school for much of west Kitchener. Its feeders include St. Mark in the Forest Heights area, St. Paul in Forest Hill and St. Dominic Savio in Monarch Woods. Resurrection is rated 6.9 in the latest Fraser report. Addresses in southwest Kitchener may be zoned differently, so check with the Catholic board too.