The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) has seen a significant increase in the number of students this year.

Principal Mike Little said they have 861 students, which is 46 more than the 815 that they had budgeted for.

"This is up quite a bit, but things do change in September," said Little. "We had approximately 40 students leave us last September, so it's still early."

The influx of students does cause more work for teachers, he said, and it creates some problems in terms of classroom sizes. Little said he has 35 in his class. They usually try to limit the number of students to 30; now it's capped at 32 or 33 pupils.

"We're a growing community," said Little.

The average number of students in recent years has been around 840.

Activities have been taking place around the school to usher in the start of the school year. Several sports teams have been holding tryouts and getting ready for the start of the fall sports season. Clubs are also getting organized.

"We have a new club, Wired, and it's an a cappella group, and Stomp is a new musical group," said Little. "They formed briefly last year, but this will be their first full year of running."

The Challenge Day, which happened for the first time at ECS last year, will be returning in the fall. The event encourages respect and empathy among students, and it urges them to take a stand against bullying.

Repairs are scheduled for the school's roof during the school year, and Little said that is good news for the school.