Mission Statement
At Dr. Charles Best Secondary we shall provide a positive, caring environment for learning where students strive to achieve their potential for excellence.
Guiding Principles
We strive:
- To develop autonomous learners by teaching the skills of critical thinking, inquiry, analysis, communication and problem solving’
- To provide an environment for effective emotional and social development
- To develop the appreciation of the need to maintain a healthy, physically active lifestyle
- To encourage and develop self-expression
- To model kindness and respect towards every member of the school community
- To give students opportunities to be responsible and considerate citizens in their immediate and global community
About Us
Dr. Charles Best Secondary School embraces a proud tradition of caring, excellence and achievement as its moves forward to fulfill its mission of inclusivity, education and inspiration.
One of nine secondary schools in School District 43, Dr. Charles Best Secondary School is located in the heart of the fast-growing suburban city of Coquitlam, just a short drive or convenient transit ride from both the vibrant heart of downtown Vancouver and the majestic, forested beauty of the Coast Mountains.
Dr. Charles Best Secondary School is honoured to be named after legendary Canadian physician Dr. Charles Best, a co-discoverer of insulin, and strives to live up to his legacy of academic excellence and humanitarianism.
Like the community it serves, Dr. Charles Best Secondary School has grown and changed with the times. Officially opening on March 22, 1971 as a school serving students in Grades 8-10, Dr. Charles Best Junior High played a vital role in the School District 43’s emergence as an educational leader in the province of British Columbia. Its graduates proceeded proudly to Centennial Senior Secondary School.
As part of a district-wide reorganization, Best became a full secondary school in the fall of 2000, serving students from Grades 9-12. Starting with an enrolment of just over 800, Dr. Charles Best Secondary now boasts more than 1,300 students, and is also home to more than 100 teaching and support staff.
Our core academic and extracurricular programs include an impressive array of offerings, from physics and law to drama and volleyball. In the classroom, our students are among the best-performing in the district; outside the class, students perform at top levels in music, the visual, practical and performing arts, and athletics.
Known for its strong sense of community and inclusive school philosophy, Charles Best welcomes all students and offers a variety of programs, from French Immersion, a District Marathon (behavioural-support) class and two ACE-IT (career-education) programs, to a strong Skill Development program and a large International Student cohort.
With its tradition of excellence, its commitment to inclusivity, its broad curricular and extracurricular offerings, its dedicated staff, its personalized attention to individual students, and its record of success and community service, it’s no wonder that we can say Dr. Charles Best Secondary School will allow you to “Discover Your Best.”