St Catherine's School is a Catholic

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for girls in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The school is next to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

and about from both Strawberry Hill and

Twickenham railway station Twickenham railway station is in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. By track it is from . Only one main street abuts the station – at its west end – London Road running between a ...

History

Founded in a large house near Twickenham Green, St Catherine's then moved to Orford Lodge (now demolished) and in 1919 to

Pope's Villa Pope's villa was the residence of the poet Alexander Pope at Twickenham, then a village west of London in Middlesex. He moved there in 1719 and created gardens and an underground grotto. When Baroness Howe of Langar (1762–1835) purchased the ho ...

, on the site of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

's original

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

. By 1961 it was recognised by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

as a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

. In 1948 the school bought a house on Cross Deep known as ''The Lawn'', where it is currently located. Up until 1991 the school was home to a number of Sisters who were also members of the staff. They moved out and the school became a charitable trust managed by lay persons in 1992. It is the only independent

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

girls' school in the Richmond area and is within the

Archdiocese of Westminster The Archdiocese of Westminster (Latin: ''Dioecesis Vestmonasteriensis'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Speltho ...

.Archdiocese of Westminster Inspection Report
It remains a Roman Catholic foundation but takes students of all religious affiliations. It has a preparatory school (entry typically at three-years-old) and a

senior school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

(entry at eleven-years-old). Nearly one-third of the pupils are of minority ethnic groups, but more than ninety per cent of the pupils have English as a first language.

Notable former pupils

* Annie Nightingale (1940-2024) - radio and television broadcaster *

Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series '' Just William''. In the 1980s, she played companio ...

(b. 1964) - actress *

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...

(b. 1968) - actress *

Olivia Hallinan Olivia Hallinan (born 20 January 1985) is a British actress best known for her role as Laura Timmins in the BBC TV series ''Lark Rise to Candleford'' and also as Kim in the Channel 4 drama '' Sugar Rush.'' She also starred as Ellie in '' Girls ...

(b. 1986) - actress

References

External links

School Website

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

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Scho ...

OFSTED entry for St Catherine's School
* 2011 ISI Inspectio
Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's School, Twickenham Educational institutions established in 1914 Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Private girls' schools in London Private schools in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Roman Catholic private schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster Sisters of Mercy schools Twickenham 1914 establishments in England

History

Notable former pupils

See also

References

External links