Private schools in Clifton include Saint Philip Preparatory School, a K-8 elementary school that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. St. Andrew the Apostle School was closed after the 2017–18 school year due to financial challenges and a decline in the number of students registering for the new school year. St. Brendan Catholic School, which opened in 1946, was closed after the 2018–19 school year and merged with the Academy of St. James in Totowa, with the merged school to be called The Academy of St. James and St. Brendan.