Surrey schools use most portables in B.C.

Hundreds of students in Surrey will be learning in portables this year as B.C.'s second-largest city bucks the province-wide trend of declining enrolment.

Many students are not happy with the situation.

"It's just hell," said Fraser Heights Secondary School student Hala Yousuf. "It sucks so much."

The high school has 16 portables, the highest among all Surrey schools.

"It's really hot in there or it's really cold," Yousuf said. "It's like muggy and it's like cramped. Some people have to sit in the corner because there isn't enough seats and stuff."

The number of portables across the school district has risen to 232 from 217 in the 2009-2010 school year, the highest number in any district in the province.

About 1,000 more students are expected to enroll in Surrey schools this year, adding to last year's total of more than 67,000 pupils.

The provincial government has not been able to keep up with the pace of growth in the Surrey school population, according to B.C. education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid.

"We've actually invested $219 million in new school space in Surrey over the last 10 years, but we have gotten behind," MacDiarmid said.