St. John's School

Location · River Oaks, Houston

Sources: SJS At A Glance; Tuition & Fees; Financial Aid; Admission FAQ; SJS College Profile 2026-27 (school document). Figures as published by the school, October 2026.

St. John's describes itself as an independent, co-educational day school offering a 13 year sequence of college preparatory training, founded in 1946 to give Houston a school of "exacting standards" in individual, spiritual, ethical, intellectual, social and physical growth. Its mission centers on developing the whole person, on preparing future leaders for Houston and the country, and on giving talented, motivated and energetic students a genuine academic challenge along with a sense of self-worth and personal responsibility. Read the full mission.

What to know first. St. John's receives about 1,300 applications for Kindergarten through Class 11 and fills nearly all of its new seats at four natural entry points: 42 in Kindergarten, 22 in Class 1, about 50 to 55 in Class 6 and about 60 to 65 in Class 9. Every other grade opens only through attrition, usually zero to two seats (one to three in Classes 10 and 11), with a small wait pool. The school says it turns away many highly qualified candidates each year and asks families to apply elsewhere too. Last season it offered places to students from 66 schools, so there is no single feeder path. Qualified children of alumni, siblings and children of faculty and staff receive consideration for available space, which matters most in Kindergarten: the testing list is capped at about 175 candidates, filled first by St. John's community children and then by the date of the Future Kindergarten Inquiry.

Key dates, 2026-27 cycle. Kindergarten applications closed August 28, 2026, and Classes 1-4 closed October 23, 2026. For Classes 5-11, the priority deadline is Friday, November 13, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (later applicants may not be guaranteed a parent meeting), and the application closes December 4, 2026. On campus ISEE dates are November 14 (Grades 7-11) and December 5 (Grades 5-6). Upper School previews: Fine Arts (November 11), Athletics (November 18) and affinity groups on Zoom (December 1). Class 1 group evaluations run December 3 and 9, Kindergarten and Class 1 parent meetings finish by December 17, the Class 1 ATS assessment is January 9, 2027, and Kindergarten group testing is January 9, 14 and 20, 2027. All test results are due January 8, 2027. Decisions are typically released on the Friday before spring break, and financial aid awards arrive with them.

How to prepare. The school states that it has no cutoff score and admits a broad range of scores, and it weighs readiness, social and behavioral maturity, motivation, character, talent in the arts or athletics, and the match between family and school. For the youngest applicants, calm is the preparation: CATS evaluators report any sign of coaching, test prepping can disqualify an application, and exposure to the group testing material disqualifies a child. For ISEE applicants, prepare well, then choose carefully which single report to send. Recommendations must come from current teachers, and reapplicants repeat the entire process.

Sources: Admission FAQ; Kindergarten; Class 1; Classes 2-4; Middle School; Upper School; Admission Calendar; Open Houses & Tours. Accessed October 28, 2026.

The Upper School runs a traditional semester system with five core academic classes as the standard load and six as the maximum, a cap the school ties to the demands of its curriculum. Freshman and sophomore years share a common foundation; juniors and seniors personalize from 17 AP courses, honors electives and independent study. Students very rarely take AP courses before junior year, yet every member of the Class of 2027 sat for at least one AP exam, averaging four AP courses, and Upper School students took 841 AP exams in 2025-26. Every junior takes AP English Language and writes a 7 to 10 page synthesis essay on a topic of their choice, and seniors choose from semester long honors English seminars.

Signature and post-AP courses. After AP Calculus BC, students can take semester electives in Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra I and II, Differential Equations and Complex Analysis I and II, along with Artificial Intelligence and Programming Data Structures. An engineering sequence runs through two Engineering Capstone courses, and honors science includes Organic Chemistry, Neuroscience, Marine Science and Anatomy & Physiology. Languages include Ancient Greek, Latin, Chinese, French and Spanish, with honors seminars beyond AP. Independent Study Projects (Classes 10-12) end in a public presentation, and Jan Plan, launched in January 2026, is a required week of experiential, interdisciplinary, pass/fail courses. A student-run Honor Code governs academic life.

Grading and graduation. St. John's does not rank students, caps any course grade at 99 and describes itself as known for resisting grade inflation. Transcripts show raw grades, and weighting (+0.6 for Honors and AP, +0.4 for Advanced) appears only in the yearly average. The Upper School web page lists 21.5 credits to graduate, including four Jan Plan credits; the 2026-27 college profile lists 19.5, including two. Both require four years of English, three each of math, science and history, world language through Level III, a fine arts credit and physical education. Ask which total applies to your child's class.

Source: SJS College Profile 2026-27 (school document); Upper School; SJS At A Glance; College Counseling; full list at College Matriculation.

Participation and traditions. The school reports that 86% of students take part in the fine arts and 77% in athletics, and Upper School students completed 29,963 community service hours in 2025-26. Grade level trips build class identity, from T Bar M Ranch in Class 5 and a ranch trip in Class 6 to the Texas Tour in Class 7, Southern Utah camping in Class 8 and a Freshman Retreat in Class 9. Some 54% of students self-identify as students of color and families come from more than 63 zip codes; the Upper School has twelve affinity groups and a Unity Council, guided by a Statement on Community and Inclusion that begins, "Every member of the St. John's community will be known and loved."

Arts. The Upper School offers three choirs (Les Chanteuses, Chorale, Kantorei), six instrumental ensembles from Concert Band to Jazz Rhythm and Symphony Strings, a four level dance program (Caprice I-III and Terpsichore), acting through Performance for Film, technical theater, and visual and digital media from animation and architecture to graphic arts and game design, photography, video and studio art, plus AP Music Theory and private lessons. In October 2026, "Romeo and Juliet" played two nights to a packed house in Lowe Theater.

Athletics. The Mavericks compete in the SPC across 15 sports (baseball, basketball, cheer, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling), with middle school, JV and varsity teams. Sixteen members of the Class of 2026 were recruited athletes. The newly constructed Skip Lee Field and Frank McMurrey Memorial Track were rededicated in August 2026; the boys cross country team has won the SPC 4A title the past two years, and varsity field hockey opened this season with a preseason national ranking of 12th.

Facilities and construction. The campus is building a new two story Lower School with an underground parking garage between the track and West Alabama Street, along with a new carpool circle and playground. A state filing reported by Community Impact puts the project at $69 million, with construction starting in February 2026 and finishing in December 2027 (details subject to change). If your child would enter Classes K-5, ask how construction affects daily life and when the move is planned.

The school day and wellness. Lower School runs 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Middle School 8:20 to 3:45 and Upper School 8:30 to 3:35, with later days depending on arts and athletics; on-site iKids after school care runs until 6 p.m. for Lower School. Four school counselors (one each in Lower and Middle, two in Upper) work with a Counselor & Wellness Coordinator and a Medical Director, alongside a social and emotional learning program, advisory discussions and monthly parent wellness events. A formal learning-differences program is not published.

Sources: SJS At A Glance; sjs.org news; Open Houses & Tours; Mavericks Teams and Athletics news; Wellness; Counseling; Community Impact (Oct. 23, 2025).