Address: Station Road, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey GU5 0DF
Website: stcatherines.info
Founded: 1885
Number of Pupils: 840
Ages: 3-18
Termly Fees: Day: £7,915; Boarding: £13,410
Head Teacher: Mrs Alice Phillips M.A. Cantab
Religious Affiliation: Church of England
Entrance Procedure: By St Catherine’s own entrance examination at 11+
Contact: Clare Woodgates; [email protected]
School Visits: Visit school website for details
The Curriculum
In the first three years of the senior school, girls follow a broad academic programme that allows them to experience a variety of subjects from which they then select options to study at IGCSE/GCSE. St Catherine’s offers 28 A level subjects, providing girls with a perfect platform for higher education. Thinking skills, a PPPE programme, a vibrant and relevant careers programme and regular lecture slots complement the curriculum. All pupils have iPads.
Games & The Arts
Exceptional facilities include a sports hall, fully equipped fitness suite, dance studio and indoor pool. In addition, there is a large assembly/performance hall with superb acoustics for music and drama productions. The school promote an ethos of ‘sport for all’, encouraging every girl, whether she is an elite player or playing for the sheer fun of it. St Catherine’s also has an art and makerspace facility, which brings all of the creative arts under one roof.
Pastoral Care
Girls are welcome to join the school as day pupils, or as full or weekly boarders. Six school houses underpin the pastoral provision where girls feel valued and supported. House spirit is strong, as is a huge sense of fun and loyalty to the school and each other. A new award-winning sixth-form boarding house, The 6, opened recently.
University Places
85 percent of pupils secure their first-choice university place, with around six percent securing places at Oxbridge, 64 percent attending a Russell Group university and a further eight percent attending overseas institutions, including the Ivy League.
Head Teacher’s Philosophy
I believe that girls thrive best, both academically and pastorally, in a single-sex environment where happiness is the key to successful learning. St Catherine’s girls go out into the world confident that there is nothing that a woman cannot do.
Outstanding Characteristics
St Catherine’s pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary and they enjoy a strong rapport with their teachers and peers. Staff create an ambience of encouragement where learning thrives. By the time girls leave St Catherine’s, they are able to think critically, have high aspirations and the self-belief that there are few things they cannot achieve. The ISI recently awarded the accolade of not one, but two significant strengths: firstly, for the school’s extra-curricular programme and its positive impact on the girls, and secondly, for the breadth of the careers education and powerful association community, supporting girls’ career ambitions.
