Fairmont Historic Anaheim (Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus)

Overview

Fairmont Historic Anaheim (Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus) is an independent, non-sectarian K-8 private school in Anaheim, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1955, with about 454 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $26,093 to $30,264, which puts it in the upper range among Orange County private schools at this level. Mandarin is offered. The school accepts F-1 international students and issues the I-20 needed for a student visa. Bus service is available, covering Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Santa Ana, Diamond Bar, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach.

Admissions

No standardized entrance exam; admission uses an on-campus assessment or visit day.

The school publishes the following application details. The school website’s How to apply page gives seven steps: (1) submit an inquiry form and the director of admissions makes contact; (2) schedule a campus or online visit; (3) the director of admissions sends the application form; (4) the student takes an on-campus assessment and submits transcripts, with recommendation letters required for some grades and an English proficiency test required of all international students; (5) review; (6) after an offer, sign and return the enrollment contract, and the school website states that a student can start within one to two days of the contract being signed; (7) on the first day, the admissions team walks the student to class. The head of admissions is Claire Takeda, Senior Director of Admissions. International families follow a separate process on the International admissions page.

The main entry points at a K-8 school are kindergarten and grade 6. Younger applicants are usually evaluated through an on-campus visit, while most applicants above grade 5 need an ISEE score. Start in the fall of the year before entry: visit first to confirm the school is a fit, then decide whether to register for testing.

Tuition and fees

2026-27 school year, paid-in-full rates (school website, Historic Anaheim Tuition fees page): $26,093 for JK through grade 5 and $30,264 for grades 6 through 8; preschool five full days is $19,400 and Pre-Kindergarten five full days is $20,467. There are three payment options: paid in full before July 1, 2026 (the lowest rate); 70 percent on July 1 and 30 percent on December 1 ($26,775 for JK-5 and $31,075 for grades 6-8); or 10 automatic bank withdrawals from August 2026 through May 2027 ($26,900 for JK-5 and $31,200 for grades 6-8). This campus charges the same K-8 rates as the Anaheim Hills campus, but rates differ from North Tustin and San Juan Capistrano, so quotes must be checked by campus.

The enrollment deposit is $1,750; the new student application and assessment fee is $150; the new student registration fee is $500; and each additional child receives a $500 reduction (school website, Historic Anaheim Tuition fees page). International students have their own schedule: $37,500 for JK through grade 5 and $46,500 for grades 6 through 8, plus a $500 registration fee, a $1,650 new student orientation fee and $3,600 for student health insurance, with uniforms billed separately (school website, Historic Anaheim International admissions page). Uniforms (Land’s End), extended care, bus service and language support classes are all billed separately.

Financial aid: Need is assessed through FAST (Financial Aid for School Tuition); applications open March 1 and awards are made on a rolling basis, with a non-refundable $53 application fee. The school website states that aid is limited and does not publish the share of students receiving it or award amounts (school website, Historic Anaheim Tuition fees page).

Academics and programs

• The elementary school follows the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the middle school the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), with formal IB authorization in 2020 (school website, the timeline on the Historic Anaheim Why choose us page and the Elementary and Middle School pages); of the four Fairmont K-8 campuses, this is the only one that is an IB World School - a comparison made by the editors by checking the Why choose us page for each of the four campuses, since no page on the school website makes it
• A three-language path: the elementary school offers Spanish; grade 6 students take one semester each of Chinese and Spanish; and from grade 7 students may choose Chinese or Spanish as their main foreign language for two consecutive years, then go directly into Mandarin 2 or Spanish 2 in high school (school website, Historic Anaheim Multilingualism page)
• International students receive differentiated English support through the International Foundation Center, and the community describes itself as speaking more than 15 home languages (school website, Multilingualism page and International admissions page)
• Campus facilities include art studios, a music room, a theater, science and robotics labs, a gymnasium and outdoor courts; academic activities include a spelling bee, a California history project and the IB PYP Project Exhibition (school website, Elementary School page)
• Middle school electives include piñata making, public speaking, choir, cooking and Python programming, plus a Model United Nations elective run jointly across ISP global schools (school website, Middle School page)
• The ISP Life Competencies framework is used alongside the IB Learner Profile (school website, How we learn page)

How this school compares

These are the nearest schools at the same level and a comparable price. Select a name to open that school’s admissions guide:

School	City	Grades	Tuition	Entrance test	Class size	Distance
Fairmont Historic Anaheim (Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus)	Anaheim	K-8	$26,093	On-campus assessment	—	—
St. Catherine’s Academy	Anaheim	K-8	$20,080	On-campus assessment	—	0.8 mi
Prince of Peace Lutheran School	Anaheim	K-8	$7,650	—	15	0.8 mi
The Islamic Education School (TIES)	Anaheim	K-8	$7,000	—	—	1.9 mi
International School of Orange County (iSchoolOC)	Orange	K-8	$18,220	—	—	5.0 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $26,093, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $234,837 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $276,000. Neither number includes registration fees, deposits, uniforms or activity fees. A California 529 plan can cover up to $10,000 per child per year of K-12 tuition.

Getting there from Irvine

These are straight-line distances from neighborhoods where many Irvine families live. Actual drive times will be longer, and a morning rush-hour trip typically takes 1.5 to 2 times as long as an off-peak one:

Neighborhood	Straight-line distance
Woodbury	14.2 miles
Northwood	11.3 miles
Turtle Rock	15.1 miles
Portola Springs	15.7 miles

The school runs bus service, covering Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Santa Ana, Diamond Bar, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach.

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Average class size — the school website does not publish class sizes or a student-teacher ratio
• Enrollment — the school website does not publish an enrollment figure, so the California Department of Education 2025-26 filing of 454 is used (37 full-time teachers and 1 part-time)
• Phone — the main number on file with the CDE is (714) 563-4050, while the structured data on the school website’s pages gives +714 234-2741 (the admissions line); this page uses the CDE main number
• Bus fees — the school website’s Transport page lists routes and a sign-up form but does not publish prices by route
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Fairmont Historic Anaheim (Fairmont Schools, Historic Anaheim Campus)’s admissions calendar, prepare students for the campus visit and interview, and review application materials before they are submitted. Book a school-selection consultation or read the Chinese version of this page.