Learning at St Catherine's

We educate girls like yours who will shape our future world. 

Our teachers embrace the latest educational research balancing clear instruction with engagement. They help each girl to learn in the way that is right for her, giving her the academic rigour she needs and the tools she can use to flourish at school. When she leaves, we want her to be well educated, well rounded and well balanced – ready for further study, ready for life.

Academic Challenge

The foundation of learning at St Catherine’s is what we call Academic Challenge. We offer a broad, differentiated curriculum with a focus on meeting individual student needs, plus other forms of enrichment, extension and the opportunity for acceleration. 

Our teachers really get to know the students to gain a deep understanding of their talents and interests as well as areas that may need some work. We will help your daughter develop a resilient mindset and show her how to apply it to her learning. 

Academic Challenge is part of a learning philosophy that will help your daughter to become accomplished. She can then approach her final years at school with the confidence she will need to enter university and the career to which she aspires.

Academic Care

Our Academic Care program, founded on the principles of positive psychology, is designed to develop girls' wellbeing and help them flourish. The philosophy is based on evidence-based positive psychology, the VIA character strengths and the school values of integrity, resilience, respect, relationships, and service. 

We help develop girls' wellbeing by building

• Positive emotions
• A resilient mindset
• Academic tenacity
• Strong relationships 

To develop initiative, confidence and teamwork St Catherine's girls are encouraged to participate in activities beyond the school day.

The Beyond the Curriculum (BTC) program at St Catherine's is a truly extensive and engaging array of artistic, cultural and sports activities to nourish your daughter's physical, intellectual and social abilities.

The holistic approach we take helps each girl reach her true potential and prepare for post-school experiences. She'll know how to take the initiative and be more driven for success in all her endeavours. In short, we'll help her become more confident and creative.

We only have 60 places in our boarding house and that's just the way we like it. We're one big international family living here at school.

Our boarders are from Asia Pacific and regional Australia which is a real blending of country friendliness and cultural diversity.

The girls have the best of Sydney at their doorstep:

• Only 20 minutes from the airport by car
• Bondi Junction bus and train interchange 10 minutes' walk
• Buses right outside the school gates
• A short stroll to our village shops, Charing Cross
• Bronte or Bondi beaches one way, Centennial Parklands the other

At St Catherine's we use the Bible's guiding principles to help your daughter to grow in wisdom, character and knowledge regardless of her faith background. She does not have to be a Christian to feel she belongs here.

Listen to our headmistress Dr Julie Townsend

Open Mornings 2022 | BOOK HERE

(Thursday 18 November 2021 is not proceeding)

Thursday 10 February 2022

Thursday 26 May 2022

Thursday 18 August 2022

Wednesday 19 October 2022

We would love to welcome you and your daughter to our school at one of our Open Mornings to get a feel for the way we approach education.

Please visit our website to book.

Beyond the curriculum

Study is complemented by strong co-curricular programs in sport, music, performing arts, and service education. The range of experiences on offer at St Catherine’s provide many avenues for students to experience intellectual, emotional and social development.

Apart from specialised camp programs, students have opportunities to take up immersive cultural and language exchanges as well as music, history and service education trips to Europe, Asia and the South Pacific.

St Catherine’s has a whole-school approach to STEM literacy and enrichment with a robotics club and makerspace contributing to a culture of creativity, innovation and enquiry.

Have a look at what we like to call Beyond the Curriculum (BTC) at St Catherine's.

Senior School

Junior School

Gifted and talented

Some girls need extra challenges to get the most out of their education. Those identified as gifted will have an individual profile created which is shared with all her teachers. She will be provided with work that is tailored to challenge areas of strength, extension opportunities in specific subjects, or may be recommended for acceleration beyond her current year level. 

Girls have many opportunities to take part in enrichment activities including:

• The da Vinci Decathlon
• Future Problem Solving Program Australia
• ISDA and Archdale debating
• The Law Society of NSW Mock Trial Competition
• Tournament of Minds
• UN Youth Australia (The Evatt Competition and Voice NSW)
• Write a Book in a Day

Learning support

Students are closely monitored from Kindergarten to make sure they are on track academically.

Girls will get the help they need for:

• Literacy and numeracy
• Curriculum subjects
• Assessments
• Study skills
• Organisation
• Exam preparation

English as another language

The English as Another Language (EAL) program is for girls whose primary language is not English. She will receive help with English to support her learning and have access to other specialist teachers across the curriculum.

Getting to St Catherine's

St Catherine’s School is in Sydney’s eastern suburbs close to magnificent Centennial Park and the University of New South Wales. Some of Australia’s most famous beaches including Bondi and Bronte are a short walk or bus ride away.

We provide a subsidised private bus service for St Catherine’s students from Years 1 –  12 to our neighbouring suburbs and beyond.

For more information, please click here.

SCHOLARSHIPS Open 

St Catherine's offers a variety of scholarships reflecting the academic and inclusive nature of our learning philosophies.

ACADEMIC Open to girls entering year 7 only.

ALL-ROUNDER Open to external applicants entering years 7 to 10.

MUSIC Open to all girls entering years 7 to 11.

COUNTRY BOARDING Open to girls from regional Australia entering years 7 to 11.

INDIGENOUS Open to Indigenous boarding and day students in conjunction with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF), Go Foundation and the John Moriarty Scholarship.

FAITH PATTERSON SCHOLARSHIP Means-tested awarded every second year and covers half tuition fees for years 11 and 12.

JANE BARKER SCHOLARSHIP Open to daughters and grand-daughters of Old Girls, awarded every second year.

St Catherine’s had 214 mentions on the NESA Distinguished Achievers list for receiving a mark of 90 or above in one or more of their HSC subjects.
Almost 70% of our girls gained at least one Band 6 or E4 in a set of results that showed the strength of performance across the board. 54% of the cohort achieved an ATAR of 90 or above, placing them in the top 10% of the state. Our median ATAR was 90.65. We are delighted that so many students achieved results that reflect their unwavering commitment all year.

Great school, the kids will look back and remember it not just as a school but as a community and I am sure many will remain lifelong friends.
Geoff Randwick | 2021 | Google reviews

St Caths is such a great school. I was very scared to start high school but I look forwards to going to st Cath's every day. The activities are amazing, some of my best friends I met through rowing.
Maddie | March 2020 | Google reviews 

Promotes confident, resilient, independent girls that will grow into strong capable women.
Jackie Price | December 2019 | Facebook review 

One of my favourite things about St Cath's is their unwavering dedication to developing girls to be confident individuals who embrace new challenges and are not afraid to fail.
Karissa Fletcher | December 2019 | Facebook review 

After just two terms, we have seen remarkable changes in our daughters motivation, organisational skills and academic achievements. A fantastic start supported by lovely, highly engaged staff.
Sonja Mickoski | June 2019 | Facebook review 

I attended Catherine’s from first class to year 12 and matriculated in 1985. St Catherine’s gave me an education second to none and enabled me to pursue my dreams of becoming a health care practitioner. I have been a Chiropractor for 28 years now earning my Masters in Chiropractic from Macquarie University in 1992. I have delivered over 50,000 treatments to date and will probably deliver another 30,000 before my retirement. Thank you St Catherine’s for my beautiful start in life and career. My heart is filled with gratitude.
Diane Kennedy | April 2019 | Facebook visitor post 

As a sport coach, I found the school and the students outstanding. Highly committed to academics and sport, and of course people of great character. I would highly recommend the school.
Luke Simpkins | April 2019 | Facebook review 

Was an international boarder for 6 yrs. Caring, supportive environment.
Anna Tinalli | April 2019 | Google review

Read our latest blogs:

Turning trials into triumph. The verb 'pivoting' is now possibly an over-used term, but it does perfectly describe what took place at St Catherine's when the NSW government announced that trial HSC exams would need to be conducted online. 

Getting philosophical, a blog by our Director of Wellbeing about our focus on philosophical thinking in the senior school. 

Direct Instruction and the NSW Curriculum Review, a video blog from Dr Julie Townsend, St Catherine's Headmistress. 

Maths+Women=Choice, a video blog from Dr Julie Townsend, St Catherine's Headmistress about the importance of mathematics. 

Using augmented reality in the classroom is a blog written by our Director of STEM and Innovations about the science department who has been exploring different uses of augmented reality in the classroom.

Finding the words written by our Director of Positive Psychology focuses on how we need to broaden our language around our emotions. Social emotional literacy is the ability to recognise and express feelings – in yourself, and in others.

In It's a wonderful life our Headmistress Dr Julie Townsend ponders on what have we learned about our mental health and wellbeing during this crisis, and what do we want to take with us through the recovery?

Professor Tamara Davis AM (1993) 

Tamara received the Order of Australia in the Queens Honour in 2020 for significant service to astrophysical science, to education, and to young astronomers. 

Dani Young (2009) 

Country singer who was named a Golden Guitar finalist in 2017. The album of duets with Aboriginal singer Warren H Williams reached #2 on the ARIA Country Albums chart.

Gabi Simpson (2010)

Gabi received the Liz Ellis Diamond Award, one of the highest accolades an Australian netballer can receive. 

Tamina Pitt (2013)

Tamina left St Catherine’s in 2013 and has since been honoured for her contribution to indigenous culture.  A proud Meriam woman (Torres Strait) and Wuthathi women (Cape York), in 2018 she was awarded the NAIDOC Youth of the Year for her achievements in technology.

At school, Tamina was a self-confessed ‘tech geek’ and completed her HSC in 20xxx with an ATAR score of 95.75.  She has since gone on to study Computer Engineering at UNSW. Tamina has stated that her St Catherine’s teacher Dr Shantha Bose was a huge motivation for her to achieve such top results. 

“Ms Bose [still a St Cath’s teacher] is a Doctor [PhD of Mathematics]...and she just made me feel so inspired.”

Tamina has used her technology knowledge and expertise to help Indigenous people through a collaboration with non-profit organisation Indigitek.  She continues her advocacy work alongside her mother in social media, digital marketing and research and she has also completed two summer internships with Google and a cadetship with the ABC.

Amy Ridge (2014)

Amy has been selected in the Aussie Stinger squad for the next 12 months as the countdown to the Tokyo Olympics Games reaches one year to go. 

Mia Maric (2014) 

A recent graduate of UNSW, Mia was awarded the Pacific Aluminium prize for the best performance in AMTS3007 Materials Industry Management and the Australasian Corrosion Association Prize for the best performance in MATS4007 Engineered Surfaces to Resist Corrosion and Wear.

During 2017 Mia had the wonderful opportunity of participating in the North Carolina State University practicum exchange program, a 12-?week study program working in the field of computational simulations of materials. The program focused on the generation and analysis of simulations of amphiphilic DNA molecules furthering her learning about the fundamental principles of research.