Why St Cath's?

We offer a broad and high-quality education to girls from Kindergarten to Year 12, founded on our values of integrity, courage, relationships and service.

We nurture the individual spirit of each girl, guiding her academic journey and supporting her personal development through strong values.

We aim for our students to leave us as young women of character and intellect, dedicated to making a meaningful contribution to the world. 

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:

  • Respect for every girl just as they are, no matter their culture, faith or capabilities.
  • Meaningful learning in a community of caring relationships.
  • Support and encouragement in a community of care and service.
  • Inspiration to explore the world and forge one’s place in it.

Integrity

Integrity is acting honestly on sound ethical principles without the expectation of recognition. Acting with integrity makes us accountable for our actions and their impact on those around us. We respect others and learn from them with humility while upholding our own beliefs with conviction.

Courage

Courage enables us to make difficult decisions, embrace challenge and persevere in demanding circumstances. It gives us the strength to stand up for our beliefs in the face of opposition. With courage, we rebound from adversity and lead others with hope for the future.

Relationships

Relationships bond us to others – our families, our friends, our peers, our neighbours and our Lord. They are at the heart of an inclusive and fulfilled life in a diverse society. We are both the creators and recipients of meaningful and valuable connections with those around us.

Service

Service is love in action, as shown to us in the person of Jesus Christ. We are called to consider the needs of others, with an attitude of compassion and generosity. True service enriches those we serve, develops character and strengthens communities.

Strong academic success

Our broad curriculum offering 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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Our students are supported through every stage of their academic, social and emotional journeys by dedicated staff. 

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.

Our 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.

K-12 Sports Program is our sports program is designed to accommodate a wide range of interests and ambitions. With numerous sports to choose from, students have the opportunity to participate and compete at any level.

Discover new passions and develop skills.

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.

K-2 Sport a team for everyone

Our sporting program is designed to supplement school studies and foster positive physical and mental wellbeing to offer each girl a well–rounded student experience. We encourage all students to participate in sport – regardless of their experience or ability.

Sport is part of the fabric of St Catherine’s life, promoting the school’s ethos while developing constructive connections and habits for our students.

While we keep fun at the forefront of St Catherine’s sport, we also provide resources for our students striving for sporting success through our Elite Athlete
Program. We have helped many of our students use their school sport experiences as a major pathway towards state, national and international representation

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.

Please note, applications for senior school are currently closed for 2024, 2025 and 2026 – except for boarding and 2026 scholarships.

2024 Open Mornings :

  • Wednesday 13 November

2025 Open Mornings :

  • Wednesday 26 February
  • Monday 12 May
  • Thursday 21 August

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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