Learning

Elementary students: virtual only 

The number of elementary students enrolled in the Remote Day School (virtual-only learning) was 11,896 out of 47,531, a rate of 25%.  This was much higher than the rate for secondary students, where the rate of virtual-only learning was below 1%.1

Kindergarten enrollment 

The number of students enrolled in senior kindergarten dropped by 3.2%, to 5,253 in 2020-21 from 5,429 in 2019-20. The number of students enrolled in junior kindergarten declined by 15% over the same time period to 4,569 students in 2020 – 2021 from 5,537 the prior year.2

School yearJunior Kindergarten enrollmentsSenior Kindergarten enrollments
2018-201951595368
2019-202053575429
2020-202145695253
% decrease past two years-15%-3.2%
Post-secondary enrollment

The number of full-time students enrolled at McMaster University increased by 7% in fall 2020 to 30,171, from 28,209 in fall 2019.3 Redeemer University also reported a 13.5% increase in total enrollment to 896 students in 2020, up from 789 in 2019.4 The number of full-time students enrolled at Mohawk College in fall 2020 decreased to 11,643 from 13,033, a drop of 10.7%.5

Secondary students in co-ops  

For the 2020-2021 school year, the number of secondary students enrolled in co-op placements (many of which rely on in-person attendance) fell 19% to 2,092 from 2,571 in 2019 – 2020 and 2,605 in 2018-9.6

Insert table:  

School yearNumber course enrollmentsUnique number of students
2018-20193,4182,605
2019-20203,4562,571
2020-20212,7272,092
% decrease past two years-21%-19%

* Measured in October of each school year


[1] Special data request, March 2021.  Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. 
[2] Ibid.
[3] Special data request, March 2021.  McMaster University Registrar. 
[4] Redeemer University, September 2020.  Welcoming the largest incoming class in Redeemer’s history
[5] Enrollment down at Mohawk College, Hamilton News, Oct 2020.  Also, personal communication, Mohawk College Registrar.
[6] Special data request, March 2021.  Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board.