Red Deer Public Schools（红鹿公立学校）is the public school division of the City of Red Deer in Alberta, Canada — not a single campus but a district that enrolls students across its schools and runs a dedicated International Student Program for students coming from abroad. It serves almost 11,000 students within the city and belongs to the Alberta Education system, which means international students work toward the Alberta High School Diploma. This guide compiles what the division’s own website publishes about programs, entry requirements, fees and application support, as accessed on 5 August 2026. Where the official pages are silent — there is no published application deadline, for example — this guide says so rather than guessing.
Who Red Deer Public Schools is
Red Deer Public Schoolssits in central Alberta, roughly midway between Calgary and Edmonton, in a city the division’s own pages describe as safe, clean and medium-sized, with a population around 100,000 to 102,000 depending on which page you read. The district profile says it employs about 1,173 staff, including 650 teachers, on an annual budget of about 120 million Canadian dollars; around 10% of its students are registered in French Immersion and 8% self-identify as First Nations, Metis or Inuit. These are the division’s own figures for understanding its scale. International students are usually placed at one of two high schools — Hunting Hills High School or Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School — and occasionally at Gateway Christian School; the two main schools offer similar courses with subtle differences, so the division advises families to look at both.
Programs and the curriculum
Red Deer Public Schoolspromotes one of the widest course selections among Canadian public systems. Offerings include the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the Advanced Placement (AP) program, French Immersion, science-and-technology-focused schools, fine arts (band, choir, theatre studies, dance, drawing, ceramics), and career and technology studies such as mechanics, welding, robotics, visual communications, cosmetology and medical studies. The full-time academic program covers biology, chemistry, physics, English, mathematics, social studies, music, art, theatre, physical education and computer technology, and co-curricular options include tennis, badminton, football, basketball, soccer, golf, cheer, track and field, volleyball and cross country running.
For students still building their English, the division runs English as a Second Language (ESL) support in grades 9 through 12. Notably, Red Deer Public Schools does not require a TOEFL score for entry into the International Student Program; after acceptance, students sit an online ESL test that determines how much support they need, usually one or two 70-minute ESL periods per day. Students aiming at university in Canada need English 30 as part of their high school diploma. The division also lists partner schools in France, Germany, Japan and China, which explains the mix of nationalities in its ESL classrooms.
Entry requirements and the application process
Applications to Red Deer Public Schoolsrun through a secure online application account. The required documents are: a copy of the birth certificate or a passport photo page; transcripts of achievement for the past two consecutive years in English (French, Spanish, German and Portuguese transcripts do not need translation); one letter of reference; vaccination records; a photo of the student’s face; a letter of introduction written by the student in English; a photo album of the student with family and friends; a link to a short self-introduction video; and a signed copy of the Support Document (Legal Agreement), together with the application fee. The online form will not submit until every required document is uploaded.
Once the complete application and fee are received, the division issues an official Letter of Acceptance, which the student uses to apply for a Study Permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. There is no published application deadline and no fixed English minimum — the school’s own material simply states that TOEFL is not required — so families should work backwards from their target semester and leave room for study-permit processing. After acceptance, the division sends the online ESL test mentioned above to plan placement.
Costs for the 2026-2027 school year
Red Deer Public Schoolspublishes a single fee page for 2026-2027, in Canadian dollars. The application fee is 400 (non-refundable). Tuition is 12,460 for a full year (two semesters, ten months) or 6,230 for a half year (one semester, five months). Homestay runs 1,225 per month — 12,250 for the full year or 6,125 for a half year — with a homestay placement fee of 600 for new students and 300 for returning ones. Medical insurance costs 625 for the full year or 350 for a half year, and students in the homestay program must use the division’s designated insurance provider. A bus pass is 700 for ten months or 350 for five; the activity fee is 600 for the school year or 300 for one semester; and document revalidation/legalization costs 200. Airport pickup and departure transfers carry no additional charge, and custodianship is included in the homestay fees — both only on the designated arrival and departure dates.
School-based specialty course fees (welding, art, cosmetology and similar) and athletic fees are not included; the division notes that some competitive school sports teams with heavy travel run from about 50 to 700. All fees are subject to change, and payment is handled through the Flywire platform, with the division’s refund policy published alongside.
Key dates for 2026-2027
The Red Deer Public Schoolscalendar divides the year into two semesters: a full year equals two semesters or ten months, and a half year equals one semester or five months. The designated arrival and departure dates for 2026-2027 are: Semester 1 and full-year students arrive on 25 or 26 August 2026; Semester 1 students depart on 23 January 2027; Semester 2 students arrive on 24 January 2027; and Semester 2 and full-year students depart on 19-20 June 2027. Students graduating with an Alberta High School Diploma should plan to depart on 26 June 2027 so they can sit their diploma exams. Arriving or leaving outside the designated dates needs prior approval from the program and may incur extra fees.
Homestay, insurance and student life
The homestay program at Red Deer Public Schoolshas been running for more than 30 years and is open to international students aged 14 or older, or entering grade 8. Families are carefully screened, students get a private bedroom, and homes are chosen for easy access to public transport. Support comes from in-school counsellors and a Homestay Coordinator within the division’s International Services team; applying for homestay is simply a section of the online application form.
Beyond the classroom, the division runs a Diplomat Program — a buddy system that pairs each new international student with a Canadian student volunteer who meets them at the door on the first day, helps with lockers and textbooks, and answers everyday questions. The optional activities program gathers all international students once a month for trips such as Banff and Lake Louise, Johnston Canyon, Drumheller (a UNESCO World Heritage site), West Edmonton Mall, Calgary, a Halloween dance, skiing and a year-end gala.
Planning your application timeline
For Red Deer Public Schools, the practical sequence is: set up the online application account, prepare and upload documents, pay the application fee, receive the Letter of Acceptance, apply for the Study Permit, confirm homestay and insurance, and arrive on the designated dates. Because there is no published deadline, the two variables that drive the timeline are study-permit processing and homestay availability, so starting several months ahead of the semester is the safest approach. Budgeting is straightforward with the 2026-2027 page — add tuition, homestay, insurance, bus pass and activity fee line by line, and remember specialty course fees sit on top.
All facts in this guide come from the official Red Deer Public Schools website as of 5 August 2026. Fees, dates and requirements are reviewed regularly, so treat the current official pages as the reference. If you want to talk through how these requirements apply to your child’s year level, English level and budget, our advisers can walk you through the details.