Schools by city · Mission Viejo

The 3 Private Schools in Mission Viejo

Mission 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.

3
private schools: $11,515–$21,080
starting tuition range (2 published): 10.3–10.6
miles, straight-line to central Irvine: 1
school states it issues I-20s

Yellow dots are the 3 private schools in Mission Viejo; dashed rings are 5, 10 and 15 miles from central Irvine.

The 3 Private Schools in Mission Viejo: a good fit if

Your child is in elementary or middle school, you live in Mission Viejo, and you want a private school close to home
You value Christian education and want your child to continue nearby at the same school's secondary campus
You want a non-sectarian K-8 school built around STEAM and can accept higher tuition
You need F-1 support for the elementary years

The 3 Private Schools in Mission Viejo: look elsewhere if

You want to finish high school in Mission Viejo: the three private schools here end at grade 8 at the latest
Neither parent is Christian and you are considering Mission Viejo Christian School: it requires at least one parent to affirm a personal commitment to faith in Christ
You want your child to study Mandarin at school: the school library records no Mandarin course at any of the three

The 3 Private Schools in Mission Viejo: Grade Coverage and School List

Each row is a school and its bar shows the grades it offers. Hatched columns are grades no private school in Mission Viejo offers (9-12), so those years mean a school in another city.

Elementary and K-8
K-12
High school
No private school in the city

Elementary and K-8 (3)

Mission Viejo Christian School and Stratford School – Mission Viejo run through grade 8, after which families apply again for high school; Heritage Christian School's elementary campus ends at grade 6, and students move to its Lake Forest secondary campus for grade 7 with continuous enrollment.

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.

All three of Mission Viejo’s private schools end by grade 8

Mission Viejo has three private schools, with no high school and no K-12 school.

School	Grades	Affiliation	From Irvine
Heritage Christian School (Elementary Campus)	K-6	K-6 campus of a nondenominational independent Christian school whose grades 7-12 are in Lake Forest	10.3 miles
Stratford School – Mission Viejo	Preschool at age two and a half through grade 8	Part of the Stratford School network, no religious affiliation	10.4 miles
Mission Viejo Christian School	K-8	Founded by Mission Viejo Christian Church in 1993; 516 students, the largest of the three	10.6 miles

Distances are straight-line miles to central Irvine, and student numbers are California Department of Education filings. Stratford School – Mission Viejo and Mission Viejo Christian School are about 0.25 straight-line miles apart.

What is missing from Mission Viejo’s private schools

Mission Viejo’s private schools include no high school program and no Catholic or Lutheran school.

Entrance exams: No school requires the ISEE, SSAT or HSPT.
Mandarin: The school library records no Mandarin course at any of the three.
Spanish: Heritage Christian School’s elementary campus teaches Spanish in grades 4-6, and Mission Viejo Christian School teaches Spanish in middle school.
Curriculum pages: Stratford School – Mission Viejo’s K-8 curriculum pages also list Spanish, so call the school to confirm whether Mandarin is offered.
F-1: Only Heritage Christian School’s elementary campus issues the I-20.

Key point: Every Mission Viejo family that wants a private high school will need to widen the search to neighboring cities.

Private schools near Mission Viejo for families who live there

Eleven private schools in other cities lie within five straight-line miles; the closest are Lake Forest’s four.

Reference point: The average location of Mission Viejo’s three private schools, 10.4 straight-line miles from central Irvine.
Spread: Four in Lake Forest, three in Rancho Santa Margarita, two in Irvine, one in Laguna Hills and one in Laguna Woods.
Grade levels: Eight are elementary or K-8, two are 7-12 secondary schools and one is K-12.
Full list: See Lake Forest private schools.

The closest group is Lake Forest’s four schools, all within 2.4 miles:

School	Grades	Distance	Note
The Geneva School	JK-11	1.2 miles	Classical Christian school that requires at least one parent to be Christian
Abiding Savior Lutheran School	TK-8	1.7 miles	Lutheran, issues the I-20
Heritage Christian School (Junior High / High School Campus)	7-12	1.8 miles	Issues the I-20
Montessori on the Lake	Infant room through grade 8	2.4 miles	Montessori

Families who want a Catholic school can look at the first four schools below; the last two are other options:

School	Grades	Distance	Note
St. Junipero Serra Catholic School	K-8	3.1 miles	Catholic, Rancho Santa Margarita
The Camino School	K-8	3.2 miles	Catholic, Laguna Woods
Santa Margarita Catholic High School	High school	5.3 miles	Catholic high school, requires the HSPT
JSerra Catholic High School	High school	6.6 miles	Catholic high school, requires the HSPT
Ronald Reagan Secondary School	7-12	3.4 miles	Laguna Hills
St. Margaret’s Episcopal School	K-12	7.8 miles	San Juan Capistrano

Key point: Both Catholic high schools require the HSPT (the entrance exam used by Catholic high schools).

How Mission Viejo families should choose among the three private schools

Families in Mission Viejo should look at faith requirements first, then tuition and the transition to secondary school.

School	Faith and affiliation	Tuition	Note
Heritage Christian School’s elementary campus	Christian school	$11,515 for K-6 in 2026-27	Continues at the Lake Forest secondary campus from grade 7
Mission Viejo Christian School	Explicit parental faith requirement	Must be requested from the school
Stratford School – Mission Viejo	No religious affiliation	Highest of the three, $28,380 for grades 6-8	Computer science from grade 1 with a specialist teacher twice a week

Budget first: Families who value Christian education and put budget first can start with Heritage Christian School’s elementary campus.
F-1: Heritage Christian School’s elementary campus is the only school in the city that states it issues the I-20.
Drive the route: Once the direction is set, drive the route on a weekday at the actual arrival time, because every mileage on this page is a straight-line distance.
High school candidates: Families choosing a K-8 school should list grade 9 candidates when they apply.
HSPT preparation: If the goal is a Catholic high school, HSPT preparation also belongs in the plan early; see Orange County private schools that require the HSPT.
Planning support: EDUBUS is based in Irvine and works on school selection and application planning, and can help Mission Viejo families put the elementary, middle and high school stages on one timeline; more cities and filters are in the Orange County private school finder.

The 3 Private Schools in Mission Viejo: Frequently Asked Questions

For families in Mission Viejo near Irvine, where can a child attend private secondary school after elementary or middle school?

Mission Viejo has no private high school. Using the average location of Mission Viejo's three private schools as the reference point, the nearest are The Geneva School (JK-11, 1.2 miles) and Heritage Christian School's secondary campus (7-12, 1.8 miles), both in Lake Forest, followed by Ronald Reagan Secondary School in Laguna Hills (7-12, 3.4 miles). Farther out are Santa Margarita Catholic High School (Rancho Santa Margarita, 5.3 miles, requires the HSPT), JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano, 6.6 miles, requires the HSPT), Crean Lutheran High School (Irvine, 7.1 miles) and St. Margaret's Episcopal School (San Juan Capistrano, K-12, 7.8 miles, requires the ISEE). These are straight-line distances, not drive times.

For Irvine families considering Mission Viejo private schools, what does tuition look like?

Heritage Christian School's elementary campus charges $11,515 for K-6 in 2026-27, with 5% off if paid in full by August 1, plus a $300 registration fee and a $300 book and materials fee. Stratford School – Mission Viejo charges $21,080 for K, $23,940 for grades 1-5 and $28,380 for grades 6-8 in 2026-27, plus a $500 new-student fee, a $75 new-student assessment fee and a $400 technology fee for sixth graders. Mission Viejo Christian School posts its tuition schedule as an image with no figures in the page text, so the school library has no amount on record; request it from the school. Its application fee is $125.

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

Only Heritage Christian School's elementary campus states that it issues the I-20, the school document an international student needs to apply for an F-1 visa. International tuition for K-6 is $14,700, plus a $2,500 international registration fee and a $350 I-901 fee. The same school's Lake Forest secondary campus also issues the I-20, so a student can continue through grade 12. Mission Viejo Christian School has no international program and does not accept F-1 students; Stratford School – Mission Viejo's website says nothing about the I-20 or F-1.

For Irvine families applying to Mission Viejo private schools, is there a faith requirement?

The three differ. Mission Viejo Christian School requires at least one parent to affirm a personal commitment to faith in Christ and to the purposes of Christian education, and one reference must come from a church leader or a current school parent, not a relative. Heritage Christian School does not make parental faith an admission condition, but it holds a weekly chapel and its statement of faith is explicit, so read it before applying. Stratford School – Mission Viejo has no religious affiliation and no religion classes or worship.

For Irvine families applying to Mission Viejo private schools, is the ISEE or SSAT required?

No. All three use an on-campus assessment. At Stratford School – Mission Viejo, teachers in the relevant grade interview and assess applicants from K upward; admission is rolling throughout the year, with a waitlist by application date when seats are full. At Mission Viejo Christian School, applicants for grades 1-8 may be asked to take an on-campus academic assessment and families may be asked to meet the principal; applications for 2026-27 opened on December 1, 2025, followed by year-round rolling admission. Heritage Christian School decides on the basis of the application, assessment results and available space.

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.4schoolsLake Forest, 4 schoolsLake 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 2028.9schoolsSanta 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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