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Surrey Schools will offer more hybrid courses for Grade 10 to 12 students next school year, following board approval to expand the district’s hybrid learning pilot. More than 3,200 students are currently enrolled in hybrid courses, with recent student surveys highlighting benefits with flexibility, learning environment, pacing and independence. (Image via iStock)

Secondary schools across Surrey and White Rock will see more hybrid learning course offerings for Grade 10 to 12 students next school year, following board approval of an expansion to the district’s ongoing hybrid learning pilot.

At the December public board meeting, the Surrey Board of Education approved a motion to expand Surrey Schools’ hybrid learning pilot from 1% of senior secondary courses to up to 3% for the 2026-27 school year. With the exception of career education, hybrid learning will remain optional for students, allowing flexibility in course schedules while continuing to prepare students for mixed online and in-class learning models in post-secondary education and remote workplaces.

“As we look to next steps, we suggest that we continue to diversify the opportunities for students to access hybrid offerings in different course structures,” said Assistant Supt. Perry Smith in a progress update on the hybrid learning pilot. “That we continue to provide teachers with professional learning opportunities to deepen their work in digital software as well as work with blended learning strategy, and we explore digital tools and resources to enhance learning experiences both for teachers and for students.”

Last December, the board directed staff to trial select, optional hybrid learning courses for Grade 10 to 12 students in the 2025-26 school year, offering one to three hybrid courses at the district’s 21 secondary schools. The district currently has 3,207 students enrolled in 38 blocks of hybrid courses, encompassing career education, business education, information technology, science, social studies, modern languages, visual arts, performing arts, and physical and health education.

Following the pilot’s launch this past September, district staff gathered student, teacher and parent feedback through various surveys and an in-person student forum, asking them to share the benefits and challenges of hybrid learning, as well as suggestions to improve the hybrid experience for future semesters. According to student survey data, the most common benefits of hybrid learning included:

• flexibility (mentioned by 61% of students);
• learning environment (60%);
• pacing of schoolwork (55%); and
• independence (54%).

“Students commented on an improved sense of well-being, they felt it was more of a balance where they could do work around their own schedules,” said Kristi Blakeway, Director of Instruction with the Building Professional Capacity department. “Some students shared with us that they struggle with anxiety, and hybrid learning offers an alternative to a stimulating classroom environment.

“When we asked teachers what benefits they were seeing, they talked about the real-world skill building in students. They also mentioned the flexibility in working one-to-one with students on hybrid days and the sense of independence that they saw developing in their students.”

In terms of challenges, some students noted the ability to work on hybrid assignments on their own time sometimes led to procrastination, distraction from competing interests or difficulties staying motivated. They also noted it was hard to receive feedback from teachers if they worked on assignments outside of school hours.

Likewise, some teachers reported challenges with student engagement in a new delivery model and with students balancing online and classroom responsibilities, as well as learning curves with teaching and learning through technology. Their responses mentioned they would appreciate additional technical training and support, along with consistent scheduling with hybrid blocks to collaborate with other teachers.

“The parents matched the answers of our students and teachers,” said Blakeway. “The benefits they saw were the flexibility in scheduling, the convenience of working from home, the extra amount of balance between life and schoolwork, the building of workforce skills and a reduction in anxiety.”

For future considerations, students expressed a want for clear expectations of when to be in class or online, a preference for hybrid courses at the start or end of the day and a desire for additional check-in times with teachers.

Smith said the district will continue to measure the effectiveness of hybrid learning through work with outside agencies such as post-secondary institutions and monitor the achievements of students in hybrid classes. He also said the district will continue to invite feedback from students, parents and teachers, with district staff to present another progress report to the board in December 2026.

“We appreciate the way this has been approached very, very carefully and cautiously, and so far, it appears to be fairly successful,” said Trustee Bob Holmes. “It’s important for the public to know this is purely students’ choice if they want to do this. It is something we hope may help with our capacity issues but it’s also an opportunity for some students and we really want to approach it cautiously, and as years go on, we’ll be just as cautious with any further growth of it. I think this is a good step.”