Our approach

We nurture the individual spirit of each girl, guiding her academic journey and supporting her personal development through strong values, as she grows into a young woman of character and intellect ready to make her unique contribution to the world.

Integrity

Demonstrated through honesty, fair-mindedness and acting in accordance with sound ethical principles.

It is a foundation of strong relationships, enabling us to treat each other with respect and dignity. Personal integrity enriches us and strengthens our community.

Courage

Enables us to make hard decisions, embrace challenge and persevere in difficult circumstances.

It gives us the strength of character to stand up for our beliefs in the face of opposition and rebound from adversity with hope for the future.

Relationships

Lie at the heart of all interactions. Strong relationships are good for our health and wellbeing, enabling us to feel valued and value the contributions of others.

They enrich and support us through the joys and hardships of life. Strong relationships contribute to a fulfilled life and inclusive participation in society.

Service

Service is love in action, as shown to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Considering the needs of others, with an attitude of compassion and generosity, enables us to develop our own sense of belonging while building connections with others.

Service develops character, enhances life for ourselves and others, and strengthens communities.

Education with spirit

We use our guiding principles to help students mature in their wisdom, character and knowledge, regardless of their faith or background.

Our school motto, In Christo thesauri sapientiae et scientiae – ‘In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’, embodies our approach to a Christian education which provides:

Academic Care program

We strive to build girls’ overall wellbeing through our wide-ranging Academic Care program that helps develop positive emotions, a resilient mindset, academic tenacity and strong relationships.

Academic Care in junior school

We build each young girl’s character strengths so she can know who she is at her very best, and begin to understand her unique capabilities and how to use them.

We guide her to develop resilience and perseverance, bravery, creativity and curiosity, while learning how to be fair, kind, and hopeful.

Academic Care in senior school

Senior girls meet greater challenges and need to be able to cope with both academic and personal development in a time of great change.

Our Academic Care program hones individual strengths and helps develop strong connections to others, building a capacity for resilience in adversity, perseverance through challenge and optimism for the future.

The BTC Program

Life at St Catherine’s is all about balance, so although every student tackles a strong and challenging academic program, it’s important they also have time to develop personally, to find new interests, follow passions and widen their friendships.

Beyond the Curriculum is our extra-curricular program offering a whole world of opportunity full of sport, arts and adventure — a wide range of activities that foster teamwork, motivation, learning and leadership.

BTC — participation, fun and friendship

Beyond the Curriculum—or BTC as we call it at St Catherine’s—focuses on encouraging a student, whether that’s participation and ‘having a go’, finding a new interest, having fun in a different setting or forming new friendships.

BTC is available to every student from Kindergarten to Year 12 and through a wide range of activities they can discover a new passion and develop lifelong skills to support them through their academic career and beyond.

BTC activities help develop new capabilities across leadership, decision making, commitment, motivation, teamwork and responsibility, and cover an extensive range of courses and subject areas.

Discover new passions and develop skills.

Service education

Service is one of our key values and by making a difference to the lives of others, our students receive a powerful education about the world, the voice they have in it and importantly, the influence they have to shape it.

As one part of a connected world, we think globally and act locally, helping others in many different ways that make a lifelong, positive difference to students’ perspectives and behaviours.

Socially centred

The idea of service is instilled as early as Kindergarten and through understanding and responding to the needs of others, girls can discover so much more about themselves, the world around them and their place in it.

St Catherine’s has provided support to a number of charities and foundations over many years of service education. Service education builds understanding about the importance of global citizenship and what it means to be a contributing part of a community. 

For a life of service

St Catherine’s students undertake many fundraising and volunteer activities, and promote awareness of different causes and issues that affect our lives and those of others such as conservation, Indigenous rights, poverty, animal welfare, famine and refugee crises.

The aim is to broaden their understanding and gradually shift their mindset to a service-centred global citizen, which can lead to fulfilling careers in areas such as medicine, law and international relations, education, social justice and government.

Strong academic success

A broad curriculum coupled with a challenging academic program provide the ideal foundation for a girl to develop learning, hone skills and build confidence. Armed with this skillset she can achieve the results that show her at her best, prepared for further success in her academic and professional capacities.

A senior school student undertaking science experiments - why choose St Catherine's

A convenient location.

Our single, centrally-located campus is in Waverley, in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney.

Getting to and from St Catherine’s is easy, be it one of the many regular buses, a train at nearby Bondi Junction, or even a plane – we’re only a 20-minute drive from Sydney airport.

26 Albion Street
Waverley NSW 2024
Australia

Open Mornings

Our Open Mornings allow you to experience the magic of life at St Catherine’s for yourself and discover why we’re the right school for your family.

Open Mornings :

  • Wednesday 6 March 2024
  • Thursday 22 August 2024
Applications for senior school are currently closed for 2024, 2025 and 2026 – except for boarding and scholarships.

All at St Catherine’s School acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal people, the traditional custodians of the lands on which the school sits, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

We extend this respect to the continuation of the cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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