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St Catherine's School is an independent, co-educational school in
Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...
,
Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
named after Saint Catherine of Siena. A combined school, St Catherine's consists of a pre-school, a preparatory school and a senior school and is the oldest school in Germiston.


History

St Catherine's School was founded in 1908 by the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, Natal in order to meet the increasing demand for education in the then 22-year-old mining town of
Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...
(a product of the
Witwatersrand Gold Rush The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush that began in 1886 and led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a part of the Mineral Revolution. Origins In the modern-day province of Mpumalanga, gold miners in the alluvial ...
of 1886). The original school building was located on Hardach Street in central Germiston, and was built on land bought from the
Simmer and Jack Simmer and Jack Mines Ltd (until 1924 known as The Simmer & Jack Gold Mining Co. Ltd.) is a South African company which was founded in 1887 by the German August Simmer and Scotsman John Jack2, John Jack, shortly thereafter selling the majority sh ...
gold mining company. It was the first convent on the
East Rand The East Rand is a major urban area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the urban eastern part of Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. The region extends from Alberton in the west to ...
and the first high school in Germiston. By the 1940s, the school's environs in the Germiston CBD were undergoing rapid
industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...
, concurrent with a general shift from north to south of much of Germiston's population, and in 1948 St Catherine's School relocated to the then newly developed suburb of Parkhill Gardens. Here there was also more space for sporting facilities. The new school buildings were designed in a toned-down
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
style, influenced by the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century
Arts and Crafts Movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...
, by the Irish Catholic architect Brendan Joseph Clinch, an associate of
Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...
. Toward the end of 1968 the school decided, in conjunction with its sister school St Dominic's in
Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, Willem Eduard Bok, W. Eduard Bok. The R29 (South A ...
, to cater for primary school pupils only: girls up to standard 5 (grade 7) and boys up to standard 1 (grade 3). Additionally, in 1970 the Transvaal Education Department recognised and registered the St Catherine's pre-primary school. The first reported
ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
sighting at St Catherine's occurred on 17 August 1972, when a janitor cleaning the school hall after hours claimed to have been chased into the quad by an amorphous grey apparition or "spook" with "glowing red eyes". From the beginning of 1977, a wave of sightings followed of a "grey, hooded figure swaddled in flowing robes", often accompanied by a "'wailing' sound". The ghost, said to haunt the school hall, the chapel, the basement and a number of classrooms in the eastern wing, was soon dubbed Patrick, after one of the school's
houses 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 condi ...
, St Patrick's. After 1977, ghost sightings at St Catherine's mostly ceased, although stories of
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
happenings at the school persist to the present. In 1985, the school extended its education of boys to standard 5 again. This was followed in 1991 by the Sisters of St Catherine's moving into a private house, opening up more room in the school for classrooms. In 2001 the
Board of Governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...
approved the re-opening of the high school, and that year saw the first intake of grade 8 pupils since 1968. At the same time the school buildings were expanded, with the construction of a new wing that was completed and fully occupied by 2007. Mrs J. Crosby, formerly of Boksburg High School, stepped in as high school principal in June 2007. In 2008 the school celebrated its centenary with a centennial mass, held under a marquee on the main soccer field which was attended by more than 800 pupils, parents, staff, past pupils and past teachers. In December 2015, Mrs V. Johnson became head of school. The new preparatory school principal, Mrs S. Rodrigues, began her term in January 2016. With the retirement of the pre-school principal, Mrs T. Henry, the new pre-school principal, Mrs C. Stewart, began her term in January 2016. In May 2016, the head of school, Mrs Johnson, announced that she would be retiring in December of the same year. She was succeeded by Dennis Maritz, formerly of
Cornwall Hill College Cornwall Hill College is a private, boarding English medium co-educational preparatory and college in the suburb in Irene in Centurion in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Controversies In June 2021, the school was accused of racism ...
in
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
in 2017. The primary school is now known as the preparatory school and the high school is now known as the senior school. The Aelred O'Donovan wing was completed at the end of 2018. The wing consists of six classrooms which were built to accommodate pupils in Grades one and two. The wing bears the name of Sister Aelred O'Donovan who was the last Newcastle Dominican Sister to hold the post of head of school. In 2022 the school opened and dedicated a STEAM Centre. The facility was blessed by the Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlhagale, and unveiled by Sister Stephany Thiel, the regional prioress. The STEAM Centre consists of an art studio and exhibition area, two laboratories, a computer centre and a robotics and coding venue. The Rose Niland Bell Tower, which forms an integral part of the centre, was erected to honour the school's founder, Mother Rose Niland.


Heritage status

The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation has recognised the historical and architectural significance of the St Catherine's School buildings, conferring a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
on the school in 2021.


Academics

St Catherine's matriculants and grade 9 pupils write exams set by the
Independent Examinations Board The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various client schools, mostly Private school#South Africa, private schools. It is most prominent in setting examinations for ...
(IEB). The IEB is an organisation whose examinations are written by independent schools throughout South Africa. These examinations conform to the requirements of the National Senior Certificate and are recognised both internationally and by all South African universities. The subjects taken from grades 1 to 3 (junior phase) are: * English *
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
* Zulu *
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
*
Religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...
* Life orientation *
Physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
*
Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
*
Computer studies Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to applied disciplines (including the design and ...
* Coding and Robotics The compulsory subjects for Grade 4 to 6 (intermediate phase) and Grade 7 (senior phase) are: * English *
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
(first additional language) *
isiZulu Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciatio ...
(second additional language) *
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
*
Natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
s *
Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
*
History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
*
Technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
* Life orientation *
Religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...
*
Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
*
Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
*
Art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
*
Computer studies Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to applied disciplines (including the design and ...
* Economic and management science (Grade 7 Only) *
Physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
* Coding and Robotics The subjects offered from grade 8 to Matric at St Catherine's are: *
Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
*
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
(second language) *
Business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...
*
CAT The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
(Grade 10 – 12) * English (compulsory) *
Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
*
History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
*
Creative arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...
(grades 8–9) and
Visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...
(grades 10–12) *
isiZulu Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciatio ...
(second language) * Life orientation (compulsory) *
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
or Mathematical literacy *
Life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...
*
Physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...
*
Religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...
(compulsory) * Coding and Robotics (Gr.8 &9)


Sport

St Catherine's pupils also participate in a wide variety of sports. Sports at the school include
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
,
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
,
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
, athletics and swimming. There are both male and female soccer teams representing the school with the girls' soccer team being a new addition, nicknamed the 'Saint's Soccer Team'. St Catherine's has also, since 2007, been competing in the Germiston inter-high swimming gala, where it has been somewhat successful.


References


External links


St. Catherine's official siteIndependent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA)Catholic Schools Office (CSO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's School, Germiston 1908 establishments in South Africa Educational institutions established in 1908 Private schools in Gauteng Schools in Germiston Heritage buildings in the East Rand Reportedly haunted locations in South Africa