Bellarmine Preparatory School is the Tacoma anchor of the Pacific Northwest's three-school Jesuit network, operated by the USA West Province of the Society of Jesus on a 42-acre hilltop overlooking Tacoma. Founded in 1928 as an all-boys school, in 1974 Bellarmine became the first Jesuit secondary school in the nation to go coeducational, when St. Leo High School and Aquinas Academy girls' schools merged with Bellarmine. The school now enrolls around 900 students drawn from four counties, with some commuting more than 30 miles.
Among Pacific Northwest Jesuit secondaries, the peer set is Seattle Preparatory School on Capitol Hill (the smaller, more urban Seattle Jesuit) and Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane (the eastern WA coed Jesuit). Within Tacoma's broader independent landscape, Bellarmine sits adjacent to Charles Wright Academy and Annie Wright Schools, but the Jesuit framework, larger enrollment, and explicit Catholic mission give Bellarmine a different community shape than the Episcopal-tied independents. The 41 AP, Honors, and Dual Credit courses reflect a heavier college-prep apparatus than most Catholic peers, and the Marine Chemistry research program is unusual at the Catholic-secondary scale.
Bellarmine is the most decorated school in WIAA state-tournament history with 114 state titles since 1973, and ranks #27 in WA by PolarisList HPM placements. Standout co-curriculars include robotics, Model UN, theater, and the wind ensemble and jazz band program. The Lions athletic identity is load-bearing in the school's regional reputation.
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