Schools by city · Lake Forest

The 4 Private Schools in Lake Forest

Lake Forest's four private schools sit 7.9 to 9.4 straight-line miles from central Irvine. Two Christian schools run into the secondary grades, but one high school has 80 students and the other will graduate its first high school class only in 2028.

4
private schools: $10,500–$20,000
starting tuition range (4 published): 7.9–9.4
miles, straight-line to central Irvine: 2
schools state they issue I-20s

Yellow dots are the 4 private schools in Lake Forest; dashed rings are 5, 10 and 15 miles from central Irvine.

The 4 Private Schools in Lake Forest: a good fit if

You value Christian education and want one school from elementary through high school
You need middle and high school grades and want tuition under $14,000 a year for one child
You need F-1 support for middle or high school and are comfortable with a small school
You want a Montessori mixed-age program from the infant room through grade 8

The 4 Private Schools in Lake Forest: look elsewhere if

You want a high school with many AP courses: Heritage Christian School's secondary campus offers six AP courses and none in science
Neither parent is Christian and you are considering The Geneva School: it requires at least one parent to be a confessing Christian
You want your child to study Mandarin at school: the school library records no Mandarin course at any of the four

The 4 Private Schools in Lake Forest: Grade Coverage and School List

Each row is a school and its bar shows the grades it offers. Together, private schools in Lake Forest cover kindergarten through grade 12.

Elementary and K-8
K-12
High school

High school (1)

Heritage Christian School's junior high and high school campus, grades 7-12, issues the I-20; the same school's K-6 campus is in neighboring Mission Viejo.

Heritage Christian School (Junior High / High School Campus)7-12$12,215School assessmentI-208.6 mi from Irvine

K-12 (1)

The Geneva School currently runs through grade 11, with its first high school graduating class in 2028, and requires at least one parent to be Christian. The $12,000 shown in the list is the half-day rate for four-year-old Junior Kindergarten.

The Geneva SchoolK-11$12,000School assessment9.4 mi from Irvine

Elementary and K-8 (2)

Both run through grade 8: a Lutheran school that issues the I-20, and a Montessori school that starts with an infant room at three months.

Filtered from each school’s official pages, verified 2026-09. Tuition is the published starting price; open a school for its full timeline, fees and counselor notes.

Each of Lake Forest’s four private schools has a distinct direction

Lake Forest has four private schools: one 7-12, one K-12 and two K-8, and all four are small.

School	Grades	Affiliation	Students	From Irvine
Montessori on the Lake	Three-month infant room through grade 8	Non-sectarian, mixed-age classrooms	93 (K-8 only)	7.9 miles
Heritage Christian School (Junior High / High School Campus)	7-12	Secondary campus of a nondenominational independent Christian school	80	8.6 miles
Abiding Savior Lutheran School	TK-8	Lutheran	244	8.7 miles
The Geneva School	From JK	Classical Christian	135	9.4 miles

Student numbers are California Department of Education filings, and distances are straight-line miles to central Irvine. The Geneva School starts at Junior Kindergarten (JK), with a 2026-27 tuition schedule that runs through grade 11.

What is missing from Lake Forest’s private schools

The two Lake Forest schools that reach the secondary grades are both small, with limited course choice.

Heritage Christian School’s secondary campus: Grades 7-12 have 80 students; it graduated 8 last year and offers six AP courses, none in science.
The Geneva School’s high school: Still being built; WASC accreditation currently covers K-8, the website does not mention AP courses, and the high school offers dual enrollment (college-credit courses taken during high school).
Entrance exams: No school requires the ISEE, SSAT or HSPT.
Mandarin: The school library records no Mandarin course at any of them.
Catholic schools: None in the city; the nearest are The Camino School (K-8) in Laguna Woods and Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, which requires the HSPT (the entrance exam used by Catholic high schools).

Key point: Families who want a Catholic school need to leave the city.

Private schools near Lake Forest for families who live there

Nine private schools in other cities lie within five straight-line miles, while most private high schools are farther than five miles.

Reference point: The average location of Lake Forest’s four private schools, 8.6 straight-line miles from central Irvine.
Spread: Three in Mission Viejo, two in Irvine, two in Rancho Santa Margarita, one in Laguna Hills and one in Laguna Woods.
Grade levels: Eight are elementary or K-8 and one is a 7-12 secondary school.
Full lists: For neighboring cities, see Mission Viejo private schools and private schools inside Irvine.

These are worth a first look:

School	City	Grades	Distance	Note
Ronald Reagan Secondary School	Laguna Hills	7-12	1.8 miles	Mainly boarding and international students, 2025-26 tuition $35,000
Stratford School – Mission Viejo	Mission Viejo	K-8	1.9 miles	Non-sectarian
The Camino School	Laguna Woods	K-8	2.0 miles	Catholic classical liberal arts school
Mission Viejo Christian School	Mission Viejo	K-8	2.1 miles
Heritage Christian School (Elementary Campus)	Mission Viejo	K-6	2.3 miles	Part of the same school as the Lake Forest secondary campus
St. Junipero Serra Catholic School	Rancho Santa Margarita	K-8	4.7 miles

For high school, apart from Ronald Reagan Secondary School at 1.8 miles, every private high school is more than five miles away:

Private high school	Distance
Crean Lutheran High School	5.7 miles
Santa Margarita Catholic High School	6.6 miles
Pacific Academy (Irvine Campus)	6.8 miles
JSerra Catholic High School	7.5 miles
Sage Hill School	7.7 miles

How Lake Forest families should choose among the four private schools

Families in Lake Forest should look at faith requirements first, then grade span and budget.

School	Faith requirement
The Geneva School	At least one parent must be a confessing Christian, with a pastor reference
Heritage Christian School	Parental faith is not an admission condition, though its statement of faith is explicit
Abiding Savior Lutheran School	Website says non-Lutheran families are welcome
Montessori on the Lake	No religious affiliation

Lower tuition: Abiding Savior Lutheran School and Heritage Christian School charge between $10,500 and $13,390 a year for one child.
Higher tuition: The Geneva School from K upward and Montessori on the Lake are above $17,200, apart from The Geneva School’s current discounted rates for grades 9-11.
F-1: Families who need F-1 support should start with Heritage Christian School’s secondary campus and Abiding Savior Lutheran School.
Drive the route: Once the direction is set, drive the route on a weekday at the actual arrival time.
High school candidates: Families choosing a K-8 school should also list grade 9 candidates at the same time.
Planning support: EDUBUS is based in Irvine and works on school selection and application planning, and can help Lake Forest families put the elementary, middle and high school stages on one timeline; more cities and filters are in the Orange County private school finder.

Key point: On a visit, ask how many students are in each grade, especially grades 7 and 8 at Montessori on the Lake, for which the California Department of Education reports only a K-8 total of 93.

The 4 Private Schools in Lake Forest: Frequently Asked Questions

For families in Lake Forest near Irvine, can a child stay in the city from elementary through high school?

Yes, but it means either crossing between two campuses or accepting a school whose high school is still being built. Heritage Christian School operates on two sites: its K-6 campus is in Mission Viejo and its 7-12 campus is in Lake Forest, 2.6 straight-line miles apart, with continuous enrollment. The Geneva School starts at Junior Kindergarten, its 2026-27 tuition schedule runs through grade 11, and its first high school class graduates in 2028. Both are Christian schools.

For Irvine families considering Lake Forest private schools, what does tuition look like?

All four publish 2026-27 tuition. Abiding Savior Lutheran School charges $10,500 for full-day K and $11,100 for grades 1-8. Heritage Christian School's secondary campus charges $12,215 for grades 7-8 and $13,390 for grades 9-12. The Geneva School charges $17,200 for K-6, $18,050 for grades 7-8 and a standard $22,000 for grades 9-11, with current discounted rates of $13,200, $15,400 and $17,600 for grades 9, 10 and 11. Montessori on the Lake charges $20,000 for K-8 if paid in full by May 1, 2026, or $20,735.

For international families in Lake Forest near Irvine, can a child attend a private school in the city?

Yes. Heritage Christian School's secondary campus and Abiding Savior Lutheran School state that they issue the I-20, the school document an international student needs to apply for an F-1 visa. Heritage's international tuition is $18,060 for grades 7-8 and $21,420 for grades 9-12, plus a $2,500 international registration fee. Abiding Savior Lutheran School provides ESL classes but does not arrange homestays, and F-1 students cannot receive financial aid. The Geneva School's website does not mention international students; Montessori on the Lake lists a $2,750-a-month rate for international and visiting students but does not say whether it issues the I-20.

For Irvine families applying to Lake Forest private schools, is the ISEE or SSAT required?

No. All four use an on-campus assessment. Abiding Savior Lutheran School places every new K-8 student through an assessment ($89 for K, $50 for grades 1-8) and holds a family interview with the principal. The Geneva School has no entrance exam: kindergarten applicants take an entrance screening, transfer students may take placement tests, and applications require a pastor reference, a teacher reference and a family interview. Montessori on the Lake has each child visit a Montessori classroom once. Heritage Christian School decides on the basis of the application, assessment results and available space.

For families in Lake Forest near Irvine, which private high schools are nearby?

Using the average location of Lake Forest's four private schools as the reference point, the nearest is Ronald Reagan Secondary School in Laguna Hills (7-12, 1.8 miles). Farther out are Crean Lutheran High School (Irvine, 5.7 miles), Santa Margarita Catholic High School (Rancho Santa Margarita, 6.6 miles, requires the HSPT), Pacific Academy (Irvine Campus) (Irvine, 6.8 miles), JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano, 7.5 miles, requires the HSPT) and Sage Hill School (Newport Beach, 7.7 miles). Abiding Savior Lutheran School's website says about half of its graduates go on to local public high schools and the other half to Orange Lutheran High School or Crean Lutheran High School.

Private Schools in Other Cities Near Irvine

7schoolsInside IrvineSeven schools, each covering part of the grade span and only one running K through 12, which is why most families who want private schooling commute out of the city.6schoolsNewport Beach, 6 schoolsNewport Beach's six private schools cover kindergarten through grade 12 and sit 3.9 to 7.4 miles in a straight line from central Irvine. Four of them require the ISEE or SSAT, and annual tuition for one child ranges from $9,912 to $58,100.4schoolsTustin, 4 schoolsAll four of Tustin's private schools end at grade 8 and sit 3.0 to 5.1 straight-line miles from central Irvine. Families living in Tustin will leave the city for high school, and the nearest options are in Orange, Santa Ana and Irvine.7schoolsCosta Mesa, 7 schoolsSix of Costa Mesa's seven private schools end at grade 8, and the only one running through grade 12 is a Waldorf school. All sit 3.0 to 6.8 miles in a straight line from central Irvine, which makes them a close-in option for the elementary and middle school years.3schoolsMission Viejo, 3 schoolsMission Viejo's three private schools sit 10.3 to 10.6 straight-line miles from central Irvine; one ends at grade 6 and two at grade 8. After that, the nearest private secondary schools are in Lake Forest, within two straight-line miles.9schoolsSanta Ana, 9 schoolsSanta Ana's nine private schools sit 3.9 to 7.4 miles from central Irvine in a straight line, and its four Catholic schools run from K-8 through high school inside one city, which suits Irvine families who want a Catholic path with a short commute.11schoolsCity of Orange, 11 schoolsNine of the 11 private schools in the City of Orange are K-8, and Orange Lutheran High School is the only high school. Lutheran families can go from K-8 through high school inside the city; Catholic K-8 graduates must leave the city for a Catholic high school.29citiesEvery Orange County cityEvery Orange County private school by city, with grades, tuition, entrance exams and distance from Irvine.

Filter Orange County Private Schools Another Way

ISEE / SSAT8 HSPT5 No entrance exam70 International / I-2044 Mandarin & AP Chinese20 Inside Irvine7 Near Irvine91

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