Education
Wake Forest’s excellent public schools are in the acclaimed Wake County school district. Wake County Public Schools is ranked the #1 school district in the country for certified teachers and has standard proficiency test scores that exceed national averages. SAT scores surpass state and national levels, and 75 percent of students take the test versus a national average participation rate of only 45 percent. There are also exceptional private school options in the area, as well as charter and innovative magnet schools.
An aspiring student does not have to travel far to pursue world-class higher education. Duke University, The University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University are all within the Triangle area as are eleven more highly regarded public and private schools.
Public Education K-12
Wake County Public School System
The majority of Wake Forest is served by The Wake County Public School System.
There are also areas of Wake Forest that are served by the Franklin County Public School System.
The Wake County Public School System is the largest in the state and 19th largest in the nation.
Enrollment: 137,706 on the 20th day of the 2008-09 school year
156 Total Area Schools (by type)
| Elementary | Middle | High School | Special/Optional |
| 99 | 30 | 23 | 4 |
Student Racial Composition
| Caucasian | African-American | Hispanic | Asian | Multi-Racial | American Indian |
| 53.8% | 26.8% | 10.2% | 5.0% | 3.9% | 0.3% |
Teacher/Student Ratio
| Grades K-1 | Grades 1-3 | Grades 4-5 | Grades 6-8 | Grades 9-12 |
| 1:21.5 | 1:23 | 1:25.5 (only classroom teachers) | 1:22.5 (based on average daily membership allotments) | 1:24 (based on average daily membership allotments) |
Other Statistics
| Total # of Teachers | Total # of Employees | Budget | Graduates |
| 9,703 (October 2007) | 16,755 ( October 2007) | $1,143,948,933 | 7,684 (2008) |
Source:Source: Wake County Public School System website www.wcpss.net
Graduates Pursuing Higher Education: 91% of Year 2007 graduates planned to pursue some form of higher education - 65% to four-year colleges or universities and 26% to two-year colleges
Avg. SAT Score for Wake County: 1562 -- 79% of population took the SAT
Local Area Schools
| Name | Calendar |
| Heritage Elementary | Multi-track Year-Round | Wake Forest Elementary | Traditional | Wakefield Elementary | Multi-track Year-Round | Jones Dairy Elementary | Multi-track Year-Round | Forest Pines Elementary | Multi-track Year-Round | Sanford Creek Elementary | Multi-track Year-Round | Heritage Middle | Multi-track Year-Round | Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle | Traditional | Wakefield Middle | Traditional | Wake Forest-Rolesville High | Traditional | Wakefield High | Traditional | The Franklin Academy (K-12) | Charter |
Non-Public Schools
There are 61 non-public schools in Wake County as of the 2007-2008 school year. Two of the schools are located in Wake Forest: Rising Star Christian Academy St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School For more information on non-public schools and complete school listings by county, please visit NC Department of Non-Public Education
Area Colleges & Universities
| Name | County | Distance from Wake Forest |
| NC State University | Wake | 20 miles | Meredith College | Wake | 21 miles | Peace College | Wake | 16 miles | Shaw University | Wake | 18 miles | St. Augustine’s | Wake | 16 miles | Wake Tech Community College | Wake | 9 miles (Northern Wake Campus) | Wake Tech Community College | Wake | 27 miles (Main Campus) | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | Wake | Within town limits | The College at Southeastern | Wake | Within town limits | Louisburg College | Franklin | 18 miles | Vance-Granville Community College | Franklin | 18 miles (Franklin County Campus) | Vance-Granville Community College | Vance | 34 miles (Main Campus) | Duke University | Durham | 30 miles | NC Central University | Durham | 35 miles | Durham Technical College | Durham | 33 miles | UNC Chapel Hill | Orange | 36 miles |