Saints Simon & Jude Catholic School

Overview

Saints Simon & Jude Catholic School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Huntington Beach, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1967, with about 252 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $9,900 to $10,700, which puts it in the middle range among Orange County private schools at this level. Religion classes are required, so confirm your family is comfortable with that before applying.

Admissions

Entrance exam requirements are not published; contact admissions.

The school publishes the following application details. The home page of the school website states that admission for the 2026-2027 school year is open and that families may start by filling out the Inquire form and scheduling a tour. As of verification, the /admissions/ directory page on the school website returned a 404 and the Apply Today and Request Info links would not open, so the application deadline and whether entrance assessment and an interview are required cannot be verified from the school website; families need to contact the school office directly.

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

Annual fees per student for the 2026-2027 school year: $9,900 for Catholic families and $10,700 for non-Catholic families, with a 10% discount from the third child on. There is also a mandatory Annual School Giving of $950 per family, posted to the FACTS account in July 2026 and payable by May 1, 2027 (school website, Tuition & Fees page).

Application fee $55 per new student; registration fee $400 per student for new students or before 3/15, rising to $600 from 3/16, nonrefundable; technology fee $30 for grades 1-2 and $60 for grades 3-8; grade 8 graduation fee $300; athletics $150 per student per season. After-school StayCare is billed separately: mornings 6:30-7:30 cost $16 an hour or $80 a week for one child and $120 a week for the whole family; afternoons from 3 to 6 p.m. carry a $35 registration fee and cost $16 an hour or $165 a week per student. All fees run through the FACTS account (school website, Tuition & Fees page). The school website does not publish the price difference for installment plans or rates for international students.

Financial aid: The school sets aside about $75,000 in financial aid each year, with awards ranging from 5% to 50% of tuition, assessed according to family need and applied for through FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment with supporting documentation (school website, Tuition Assistance page).

Academics and programs

• Spanish: taught with the IES (International Education System) six-step method, with 95% of the class conducted in Spanish (school website, Curriculum page)
• Tiered middle school math: qualifying students may take compacted math and algebra along with geometry, and grade 8 also has High School Placement Test preparation (school website, Curriculum page)
• A structured music curriculum: Feierabend’s First Steps in Music in K-2, conversational solfege in grades 3-5, recorder and Orff percussion in grade 3, and ukulele in grades 4 and 5 (school website, Curriculum page)
• Middle school electives: Yearbook & Media, Choir and Chimes, classical guitar and Lego Robotics, which uses LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 to teach programming (school website, Curriculum page)
• Innovation Lab: an engineering exploration course in which students build, compare, innovate and make (school website, Curriculum page)
• Grade-level trips: grade 6 Science Camp in the Big Bear area, grade 7 Catalina, and the grade 8 Washington, DC Mission Trip; costs are billed separately by trip (school website, Curriculum page and Tuition & Fees 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
Saints Simon & Jude Catholic School	Huntington Beach	K-8	$9,900	—	—	—
Huntington Christian School	Huntington Beach	K-8	$11,616	On-campus assessment	—	0.8 mi
Christ Lutheran School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$8,652	On-campus assessment	—	2.5 mi
Saint Joachim Catholic School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$9,195	On-campus assessment	—	3.8 mi
St. John the Baptist Catholic School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$9,742	On-campus assessment	—	4.1 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $9,900, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $89,100 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $105,000. 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	13.3 miles
Northwood	11.0 miles
Turtle Rock	9.3 miles
Portola Springs	15.8 miles

The website does not describe bus service; confirm this during your visit.

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• entranceExam = null, and admissionsNote has no deadline — the /admissions/ directory page on the school website returns a 404, and the Apply Today and Request Info links likewise will not open, with repeated attempts returning 403 or 404; neither page appea…
• enrollment uses the CDE 2025-26 filing figure of 252 — the About, Choosing Our School and Accreditation pages on the school website do not publish an enrollment count
• avgClassSize = null — the school website does not publish class sizes or a student-teacher ratio
• acceptsF1 = null — the school website has no information on international students or I-20s
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Saints Simon & Jude Catholic School’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.