Serra is an exceptional Catholic college preparatory high school for boys.
From the classroom to the athletic fields, on the stage and within our clubs, organizations and community, students learn to be responsible, resilient young men and honorable leaders who are prepared to successfully navigate a complex world.
Beyond the classroom, our students become responsible, resilient young men who are prepared to be honorable leaders in a complex world. This is accomplished through their engagement in a variety of activities, from the athletic fields to the stage and community organizations.
Serra is a dynamic community where boys thrive.
Our rich and rigorous academic curriculum, wide range of engaging extracurricular activities, and environment of compassion and mutual respect are hallmarks of Serra. Classmates become brothers and students find a community where they are known and belong. Teachers become role models in an environment that nurtures and challenges students to grow. Our Padres join an inclusive peer group that lasts a lifetime.
In partnership with parents and guided by our Catholic faith, Serra provides a transformational high school experience that offers boys a vision of faith, hope, love, mercy and justice. Our legacy spans 80 years of excellence in Catholic education and includes more than 14,000 alumni.
Located in San Mateo in the heart of the Peninsula between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Serra welcomes students of all faiths and backgrounds to bring their gifts and talents to our campus and enrich the diversity of our school community.
Serra is a supportive community and inclusive brotherhood.
At Serra High School, we are committed to providing a nurturing environment where students can grow academically, spiritually, and socially. Our dedicated faculty, staff and coaches are passionate about instilling Catholic values and academic rigor in every aspect of our students education. We seek to embrace the values of what it means to be a Padre—a man of respect, integrity, compassion and inclusion."
- President Mike Fadelli '88
Academic excellence is our focus, and spiritual formation is at the heart of all that we do.
Beyond academic instruction, faculty and staff across campus act as mentors, supporting students in both personal development and the mastery of their subjects and skills.
Positive relationships with adult mentors accelerate our students' engagement and learning. In turn, our boys build strong bonds with one another as they internalize the meaning of being a Padre brother.
Through formal training and practical experience, our teachers know how to engage boys in the learning process. Whether it’s an activity based on healthy competition, a small group project with hands-on tasks, or a teacher’s consistent practice of allowing students time to think before calling on an eager respondent, Serra teachers know how boys learn.
The Serra community fosters resilience and grit. As boys build confidence, they give themselves permission to try new things without fear of failure.
At Serra, they know their community will be there to support them. This environment allows boys to grow at their own pace, to be their authentic selves and to become confident self-advocates.
Serra's vibrant academic and extracurricular programs offer boys hundreds of formal and informal leadership opportunities that help them build critical skills for life beyond high school.
Our all-boys environment ensures every student has the opportunity to step into leadership roles. Whether serving as a student body officer, club president, or team captain, boys develop confidence and learn to take healthy risks by exercising leadership in all its forms.
At Serra, understanding students also means understanding boys.
A defined audience of teenage boys can influence an English teacher’s novel selection, the ice breakers planned for boys on retreat, the honesty of discussion in senior theology’s focus on relationships, or the messages presented by guest speakers in our Mission and Brotherhood program.
An all-boys school does not mean an absence of opportunities to study and socialize with girls. Our Padres meet up with Mercy and Notre Dame girls in Tri-School classes held on all three campuses, in clubs, performing arts, campus ministry activities and myriad social events planned throughout the school year.
The Tri-School environment truly provides the best of both worlds. These coed experiences strengthen healthy male-female relationships that are vital to a young man's grown and development.
Serra's specialized programs focus on character development that supports a healthy lifestyle for young men. The supportive, all-boys environment enables our Padres to learn holistically and grow in faith, which empowers them to discover their place in the world."
