St Catherine's School is an independent girls' school in the village of Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, England. The school is divided into a senior school, for ages 11–18, and a preparatory school for girls aged 4–11.

History

St Catherine's School opened in 1885 with seventeen pupils, most of whom were boarders. 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 established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and other Christian denominations were pushing for more freedom for women, especially in matters such as participating in services and in education. St Catherine's was among a handful of schools founded by Church of England bishops. Founder Harold Browne, Bishop of Winchester, was a supporter of the "deaconess movement". 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.

Academics

In the year 2011, 12% of the students were admitted to Oxford or Cambridge.

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

The girls take part in a wide range of sports, including netball, tennis, swimming, and lacrosse. The school has four lacrosse pitches and a number of courts for netball and tennis. In the Preparatory School, hockey is played. 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 houses. The houses compete in Inter-House competitions throughout the year. Boarders make up around a quarter of its pupils while day girls from Guildford and other towns in Surrey make up around three-quarters of the school. 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.

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 at Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett, ...

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 Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the a ...

, whose great-great grandfather

George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, (4 June 1828 – 26 February 1917) of Denbies, Denbies House, Dorking, Surrey, was a British politician and peer, a son of Thomas Cubitt, the leading London builder and property developer of his day. Education ...

, and his wife Laura, Lady Ashcombe were among the founders of the school.

Notable former pupils

* 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 an English 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 ...

– Political Journalist, Assistant Editor of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' *

Ann Hogarth Margaret Ann Gildart Jackson (19 July 1910 – 9 April 1993) better known as Ann Hogarth (married name Margaret Ann Gildart Bussell) was a leading British puppeteer. She, her husband and "Hogarth Puppets" toured the world. She is best known for her ...

– 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 was the presenter of the reality show '' Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's ''Streetmate'' (199 ...

– 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 Joan Alicia Shenton (born 16 March 1943) is a British broadcaster who has produced and presented programmes for radio and television. Shenton is known as an exponent of the ideas of AIDS denial. Early life Shenton was born in Antofagasta, Chil ...

– broadcaster *

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor 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 Leadi ...

– stage, film and television actress *

Francine Stock Francine Stock is a British radio and television presenter and novelist, of part-French origin. Early life Born in Devon, and with early years in Edinburgh and Australia, Stock later attended St Catherine's School, Guildford, where she was head ...

– journalist and radio presenter *

Philippa Stroud, Baroness Stroud Philippa Claire Stroud, Baroness Stroud (born 2 April 1965) is a British think tanker. She is the chief executive officer of the Legatum Institute, and a co-founder and former executive director of the think tank the Centre for Social Justice. S ...

– Conservative peer *

Barbara Euphan Todd Barbara Euphan Todd (9 January 1890 – 2 February 1976) was an English writer widely remembered for her ten books for children about a scarecrow called Worzel Gummidge. These were adapted for radio and television. The title story was chosen as ...

– 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 ...

– stage, film and television actress *

Lily Travers Lily Annabelle L. 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, Traver ...

– film actress * Poppy Drayton – film and television actress *

Lucy Watson Lucy Watson is an English journalist and newsreader, who was employed by ITN for ITV News as a general News Correspondent. Career Watson left ''Daybreak'' to join ITN in February 2014, under the title of China Correspondent for ITV News, b ...

– reality tv performer

References

External links

St Catherine's School

Profile
–

Girls' Schools Association The Girls' Schools Association (GSA) is a professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools. It is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council. History The GSA can trace its history back to the Association of Headm ...

Profile
on the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the bus ...

website
Profile
on ''

The Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

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