Academic

St Catherine’s places great importance on academic excellence and preparing the girls in our care for life after school and higher education. Through our inclusive and engaging curriculum, we aim to support our girls to become ambitious, resilient and intellectually curious learners.

Heads of Department lead the design of interesting and challenging Schemes of Work and assessment and direct their teaching staff in the planning of stimulating lessons, that enable pupils to acquire new knowledge, build on solid foundations and develop the skills necessary to succeed in each subject area. At St Catherine’s, girls excel in all subjects, from the Arts to Sciences, and are free to explore a number of academic pathways.

The curriculum in each subject area is under constant review and changes are made in line with the latest educational research which is delivered through regular INSET and a culture of sharing best practice, as well as subject-specific professional development during departmental meetings.

The role of homework in each pupil’s academic progress is essential. It develops within the girls the important skills of independence, resilience and curiosity. It also allows pupils to consolidate their learning away from the classroom and to increase their expertise. Homework Club offers support for girls in the Senior School to enable pupils to develop good systems for the management of homework and our after-school librarian is on hand to support individual pupils after school until 5.00pm.

Our philosophy at St Catherine’s is to inspire our girls to a love of learning. We do this through our small class sizes, passionately committed staff and a broad curriculum that offers a strong core of academic subjects alongside creative and other options. This desire to learn carries our girls through to successful results in public exams and on to the universities and careers of their choice.