Bellarmine College Preparatory

Bellarmine College Preparatory
Location
960 West Hedding Street

San Jose
,
California
95126

United States

37°20′32″N 121°55′07″W / 37.342172°N 121.918542°W / 37.342172; -121.918542
Information
TypePrivate
MottoMen For and With Others
Religious affiliation
Catholic (Jesuit)
Patron saint
Saint Robert Bellarmine
Established1851; 175 years ago (1851)
FounderFr. John Nobili, SJ
Notre Dame High School, Presentation High School
CEEB code053080
PresidentChris Meyercord
DeanKevin Miller
Principal
Rod Jemison
Faculty145 lay, 20 Jesuits
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,655 (2021)
Campus size
27 acres (110,000 m2)
Colors    Blue, light blue, white
Athletics conference
WCAL (13 sports)
MascotBellarman the Bell
NewspaperThe Bell Online
bellonline.org
YearbookThe Carillon
carillon.bcp.org
EndowmentUS$119 million (2021)
TuitionUS$29,045 (2023–2024)
Websitewww.bcp.org

Southern Entrance of Bellarmine College Preparatory

Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-boys, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded on May 8, 1851, as part of Santa Clara College, it is the oldest Jesuit secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River.

Overview

Interior of Leontyne Chapel

A Catholic school in the tradition of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Bellarmine is a member of the West Catholic Athletic League, the Jesuit Schools Network, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

As of 2021, Bellarmine led the CIF Central Coast Section with 140 Division 1 titles. Bellarmine's Speech and Debate Team was ranked in the top 10 programs in the country with its policy debate team ranked #1 after winning the triple crown (NDCA Championship, Tournament of Champions, and NDSA Nationals) in 2021. In 2025, Bellarmine Speech and Debate was ranked #1 in the US according to the NSDA. In addition, the school's FIRST Robotics Competition team, Team 254: The Cheesy Poofs, has been the World Champion 5 times (2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022) . The school's publications include its student newspaper, The Bell Online, and its yearbook, The Carillon - named for the instrument consisting of multiple bells.

The school is reputed for its graduates’ contributions and powerful influence in the Bay Area. Bellarmine's list of notable alumni includes 4 Olympians (six Gold Medals combined), 5 living Billionaires, 3 Mayors of San Jose, the former team owners of the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics, 3 World Series Champions, 5 Super Bowl Champions, 1 Academy-Award Winner, 1 Pulitzer Prize Winner, 28 Professional MLB athletes, numerous award-winning authors and several state politicians. Bellarmine alumni have won prestigious postgraduate scholarships including the Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, Schwarzman Scholarship, MacArthur Fellowship, and the Fulbright Awards.

History

Bellarmine students in the Class of 1958
Tom McEnery '63 (61st Mayor of San Jose)

Bellarmine was founded in 1851 by Fr. John Nobili, S.J., and his companions, as Santa Clara College, a school for secondary and college-age students. In 1912, the college was separated into 2 schools - Santa Clara University and Santa Clara Prep. After sharing the same campus for thirteen years, the secondary school moved to its current College Park Campus after purchasing the land from the University of the Pacific (then known as the College of the Pacific) for $77,500. In 1926, the renovated school opened its doors to a student body of 200 registered students.[citation needed] In 1928, it was named Bellarmine College Preparatory in honor of St. Robert Bellarmine, a Jesuit scholar and Doctor of the Church.

In 2011, the Lorry I. Lokey Academic Center was completed after a $15 million gift from the family of the philanthropist and founder of Business Wire. This was the single largest gift in the school's history. The new center houses over 27 classrooms, a faculty lounge and the Craft-Malcolm Family Academic Resource Center.

The College Park Caltrain station is adjacent to the campus since its inception and has been a historic presence for Bellarmine's metropolitan community. Over 140 students take the train to school every day from San Mateo County to Gilroy. The station is served by only 2 northbound trains and 2 southbound trains a day, timed to correspond with the school's hours. In recent years, amidst discussion of the station shutting down, the school has lobbied Caltrain to avoid cutting service to the station.

General Information

As of 2020, Bellarmine's current enrollment size is approximately 1,655 students. The average class size is 22.5 and the student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1. For the Class of 2019, 99.2% of students went on to attend college. 94.7% of graduating seniors were attending a four-year institution.

Academics

Bellarmine requires 6 semesters of Mathematics, 8 semesters of English, 6 semesters of Religious Studies, 4 semesters of Foreign Language, 6 semesters of Science (1 year Physics, 1 year Chemistry, 1 year Biology), 6 semesters of Social Science (1 semester Ethnic Studies, 1 year World History, 1 year U.S. History, minimum 1 semester Sr. year), and 3 Visual/Performing Arts (VPA) Courses. Though that is the minimum, students are recommended to take 8+ semesters of Mathematics, 6+ semesters of Foreign Language, and 7+ semesters of Social Sciences.

Honors and AP Program

Bellarmine offers 26 AP Classes: AP 2D Art and Design, AP Art History, AP Computer Science A, AP Cybersecurity, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Precalculus, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP European History, AP Psychology, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP United States History, AP World History: Modern, AP Chinese Language and Culture, AP French Language and Culture, AP Latin, AP Spanish Language and Culture, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture.

In addition to AP Classes, Bellarmine offers 11 Honors Courses: Algebra 2 Honors, Biology Honors, Chemistry Honors, Economics Honors, English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, French 3 Honors, Geometry Honors, Latin 3 Honors, Mandarin Chinese 3 Honors, and Spanish 3 Honors.

SAT and ACT Statistics

Bellarmine has an average SAT score of 1340 and an average ACT score of 33.

Athletics

Football

The Bells Football team represents Bellarmine College Preparatory in the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) of the CIF Central Coast Section. The team has 8 CCS Championships in program history.[citation needed] The Bell's Football team is currently headed by former San Diego Chargers coach and 2-time Super Bowl Champion with the Denver Broncos David Diaz-Infante. In 1965, the John Hanna-coached Bells outscored opponents 310–6 during a 31-game winning streak to earn the first of two state titles (the other was in 1981).

Soccer

The Bellarmine's 2002 varsity soccer team had a perfect 25-0-0 season. As of 2021, the soccer team has won 3 of the past 5 CCS Open Division titles, a NorCal CIF Division 1 Title, and finished the 2021 season ranked #4 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer and CBS Sports.

Co-curricular programs

Robotics

The Bellarmine Robotics Team, named Team 254: The Cheesy Poofs (also simply known as Team 254).[citation needed] The high school competes in two different divisions: FTC and FRC. The team has won the World Chairman's Award (the highest award in FIRST) in 2004, and have 5 individual World Championships, in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2022. The team also holds the record for most regional events won, having 44 regional wins to their name. In 2008, Bellarmine first entered VEX Robotics and in 2009–2010 won 16 regional competitions, 7 of them in international competition. In the 2010–2011 season, Bellarmine's VEX team 254A won the VEX World Excellence Award, the highest it confers. In 2014, the team won three regionals, the Curie Division, and World Championships. The school shares a partnership with NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.[citation needed] In 2022, Bellarmine's Team 254F won the VEX World Championships in Dallas Texas.

Speech & debate

Bellarmine Speech and Debate has won numerous awards, including 4 consecutive state titles (2021–2025), and 5 consecutive national titles (2020–2025). It also had a run of 9 years of consecutive state championship wins from 2005 to 2014. In 2021, Bellarmine won the Unger Cup, an award given for their consistent placement in Policy Debate at the 5 great debate tournaments: the National Speech and Debate Tournament, the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (UKTOC), the NCFL Grand Debate Tournament, the NAUDL Urban Debate National Championships, and the NDCA National Tournament. In 2021, Bellarmine also won the Bruno E. Jacob Trophy for winning the most rounds at the National Speech and Debate Tournament. In 2022, Bellarmine won the Senator Karl E. Mundt Sweepstake trophy, for earning the most amount of cumulative points in Congressional Debate during the National Speech and Debate Tournament. In 2024, Bellarmine became the 2nd school in history to earn both the 1st and 2nd place national winners in the Policy Debate section of the NSDA US National Tournament. In addition, during the 2024 year, Bellarmine won the Unger Cup for the second time. In 2025, it was ranked as #1 in Speech and Debate by the NSDA after they obtained a national champion in both Lincoln-Douglas (LD) Debate and Original Oratory (OO).

Student media & publications

In 2008, Bellarmine began its own radio station, KBCP The Bell, as a legal, unlicensed station at 1650 AM which reaches a 1-mile radius of the school. Programs include 30-minute newscasts, sports shows, daily music shows, and political talk radio. Its yearbook service is The Carillon.

Notable alumni

References

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  2. ↑ "School administration". About Us. Bellarmine College Preparatory. Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Tuition | Bellarmine College Preparatory".
  4. ↑ "Catholic Schools List | Diocese of San Jose". Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "A Jesuit Education Since 1851". Archived from the original on January 7, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Team 254 | The Cheesy Poofs". www.team254.com. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Old School Ties". Metro Active Publishing. Boulevard Media Group. April 22, 1999. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  8. ↑ Joy, Darrin; Nuccio, Nick (December 7, 2020). "2 Trojans receive prestigious Schwarzman Scholarship to study in Beijing". Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. ↑ Bowdish, Erin (September 16, 2018). "Spotlight on: Sean Reilly ('08), Rhodes Scholar". Hillbrook Quarterly. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ "1991 Outstanding Senior Award". University of California-Los Angeles. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ Gottschalk, Mary (October 13, 2011). "Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose dedicates Lorry I. Lokey Academic Center". 13 October 2011. San Jose Mercury news.
  12. ↑ Gottshalk, Mary (March 24, 2011). "Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose campaigns to keep Caltrain station open". The Mercury News. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Class of 2020 Senior Profile" (PDF). 2020 Academic Profile Report. Bellarmine College Prep.
  14. 1 2 "BCP Course Requirements" (PDF). October 15, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. 1 2 "Course Offerings by Department - Bellarmine College Preparatory". www.bcp.org. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
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  31. ↑ Dunn, Geoffrey (January 16, 2013). "The Call of the Valley". Metro Silicon Valley. San Jose, California. p. 17. Retrieved March 15, 2014. When Buck was stolen from the 'Miller' ranch, London referenced 'the little flag railway station known as College Park,' a small train stop that, to this day, is located in the College Park neighborhood, just off the Alameda near Bellarmine Preparatory School.
  32. ↑ London, Jack (1903). "Chapter I. Into the Primitive" . The Call of the Wild. No one saw him and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck imagined was merely a stroll. And with the exception of a solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag station known as College Park.
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