St Catherine's School is an independent girls' boarding and

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

in the village of Bramley, near

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

, Surrey, England. The school is divided into a senior school, for ages 11–18, and a preparatory school for girls aged 3–11.

History

St Catherine's School opened in 1885 with seventeen pupils, 11 boarders and 9 day pupils. Miss Susan Burnett was the founding headmistress. The school was founded during a time when various movements within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and other Christian denominations were pushing for more freedom for women, especially in matters such as participating in services and in education. A group of local country gentry formed a committee to establish a school for ‘middle class’ girls – among them were Revd. Canon Musgrave, Revd. John Sapte, the Rt.Hon George Cubitt (later Lord Ashcombe), Joseph Merriman, Headmaster of Cranleigh and the MP for South Surrey William Brodrick. A notable feature of the campus is the chapel, which was completed in 1894 and is known for its Kempe stained glass windows and the 1899

Father Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

organ. In September 2011 the school celebrated 125 years of education for girls and young women and in July 2011 it marked the opening of the 125th Anniversary Halls, a new set of facilities for sports and the arts. In 2019 a new Prep science facility, the WonderLab was opened, in 2021 a new Sixth Form Centre was added 'The 6' and in 2022 a major extension to the creative arts was unveiled - a new Art & MakerSpace.

Academics

In the year 2023, 60.3% of the students scored A*/A at A Level and 88% Grade 9-7 at GCSE .

Scholarships

Academic scholarships are offered for entry at 11+ and for year 11 and/or Sixth Form, alongside additional awards for excellence in art, sport, and music.

Extracurricular activities

Over 100 clubs are on offer from Debating to Medical Reading Club, Astrophysics to Gardening, Construction to Eco-Club. The girls take part in a wide range of sports, including netball, tennis, cricket, swimming, and lacrosse. The school has four lacrosse pitches and a reputation as winner of the 'triple' in the Lacrosse National Schools Championships. The school hosts a variety of creative arts, with the students regularly taking part in art, textiles, design technology, home economics, drama and music lessons.

Pastoral care

Houses

All pupils, both day girls and boarders, are assigned to one of the six

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

s. The houses compete in Inter-House competitions throughout the year. Boarders of 26 different nationalities make up around a quarter of its pupils while day girls travel from villages and towns such as Woking, Haslemere, Dorking, Cobham and Cranleigh. The senior school houses are: *Ashcombe (red) *Merriman (purple) *Midleton (royal blue) *Musgrave (pink) *Russell Baker (light blue) *Stoner (green) And for the Prep School the houses are: *Pankhurst (red) *Teresa (green) *Curie (yellow) There are four boarding houses at the school which are Bronte, Symes, Keller and a separate house for the Sixth Form, called 'The 6'.

Spiritual

As a

school, pupils attend chapel weekly and actively participate in the service. Some pupils sing in the

Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral in Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow, Earl Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral ...

girls' choir. The school began offering organ scholarships in 2006 to encourage more girls to participate in church music.

Patron

The patron of the school since 2015 is

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

, whose great-great grandfather George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, and his wife Laura, Lady Ashcombe were among the founders of the school.

Notable former pupils

Sara Crowe Sara Crowe (born 22 March 1966) is a Scottish film and stage actress who mainly plays comedy roles. Biography Career After beginning her career on stage and in television, Crowe began to take film roles, including a part in '' Carry On Columbus ...

- actress * U. A. Fanthorpe – poet *

Joan Greenwood Joan Mary Waller Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 28 February 1987) was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'', and also app ...

- stage, film and television actress *

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman, Lady Walney (born 5 May 1986), is a British political journalist and the assistant editor of ''The Spectator''. In 2015, she was named Journalist of the Year at the Political Studies Association's annual awards. Early life Born i ...

– Political Journalist, Assistant Editor of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' * Ann Hogarth – puppeteer Jane Phillips, 'Hogarth, Ann (1910–1993)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, 200
accessed 10 Feb 2017
/ref> *

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She has presented various television shows for Channel 4, including ''Streetmate'' (1998–2001, 2016), ''Big Brother (British TV series), Big Brother'' (2 ...

– television presenter *

Dianna Melrose Dianna Melrose (born 24 June 1952 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)) is a British diplomat who has served as the British High Commissioner to Tanzania and as the British Ambassador to Cuba. Career Dianna Patricia Melrose was ed ...

– British Ambassador to Cuba (2008–2012) and High Commissioner to Tanzania (2013–) * Joan Shenton – broadcaster *

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actress of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Le ...

– stage, film and television actress * Francine Stock – journalist and radio presenter *

Philippa Stroud, Baroness Stroud Philippa Claire Stroud, Baroness Stroud (born 2 April 1965) is a Conservative Party Peer in the House of Lords and leader of several conservative think tanks. She is co-founder and, since November 2023, the chief executive officer of Allian ...

– Conservative peer * Barbara Euphan Todd – children's writer *

Dorothy Tutin Dame Dorothy Tutin (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and a ...

– stage, film and television actress *

Lily Travers Lily Annabelle Lindon Travers (born 1990) is an English actress. Her films include '' Late Shift'' (2016) and '' Viceroy's House'' (2017). She joined the main cast of the ITV historical drama '' Victoria'' (2019) for its third series. In 2017, ...

– film actress * Poppy Drayton – film and television actress * Lucy Watson – reality tv performer

References

External links

St Catherine's School

Profile
–

Girls' Schools Association The Girls' Schools Association (GSA) is a membership association for the heads of independent and state girls' schools in the United Kingdom. It is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), and works with the Association ...

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its ...

website
Profile
on ''

The Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and private. The guide's contributors are predominantly parents, but include researchers and former headteachers. It uses a conversational tone. Selection of schools is made ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's School, Bramley Educational institutions established in 1885 Private schools in Surrey Girls' schools in Surrey 1885 establishments in England Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Guildford Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Boarding schools in Surrey