provides the first level of compulsory education in Canada for children aged 6/7 to 12/13. In most Canadian states, the education provided in elementary schools also includes some pre-compulsory kindergarten education for children aged 4/5.

is the general term used for schools providing lower and upper secondary education in Canada. There are usually two forms: junior high school and senior high school. Junior high school provides compulsory secondary education and usually includes Grades 7 (age 12/13) to 9 (14/15) (except in British Columbia, where it covers Grades 8 to 10). Post-compulsory senior high school includes Grades 10 to 12 in most jurisdictions (age 15/16 - 17/18). Exceptions are Quebec, where it ends at Grade 11 (followed by two or three years at a 'collège d'enseignement general et professionnel' (CEGEP), and British Columbia, where it includes only Grades 11 and 12.

elementary schools and high schools established and funded under the authority of provincial education acts and operated by local education authorities (school boards) under delegated authority for the province.

senior high school  (plural senior high schools)

established by religious groups (usually Roman Catholic) and offer a complete parochial curriculum from kindergarten to the secondary/high school level in some provinces. They are generally state-funded.