We are delighted you are considering St Catherine’s School for your daughter. For more information and details on how to apply, please choose our Prep School if you are seeking a place from Reception/4+ to Year 6/10+, and our Senior School if you are seeking a place from Year 7/11+ to Sixth Form.
Overseas Applicants
We are happy to arrange a ‘virtual visit’ to meet us and learn more about our school. Alternatively, individual visits can be arranged while you are in the UK. Girls can be assessed while they are overseas. Please contact our Registrar for more information. Please note that we do not issue Child Student Visa numbers to girls in the Prep School.
Accessibility
Applicants with a disability will be assessed on their academic performance as outlined above. Parents of applicants with a disability should make this clear on the application form so that the School can make every reasonable effort to adapt its admissions procedures to accommodate the applicant on the Assessment Day. Any parent of an applicant who has a disability is also asked to let the School know so that proper access can be arranged for pre-admission school visits/information mailings, and subsequently for school events, should the applicant be successful in the entrance tests.
Admission is by assessment during the Autumn Term for entry the following September. This includes entry into the Senior School by members of the Prep School. Most girls enter the Senior School at 11+, although some places may be available at later stages particularly for 13+ boarders and places for the Sixth Form. Means-tested bursaries, up to full fee awards, are available at 11+ or Sixth Form entry.
An 11+ Taster Morning is provided in the Autumn term prior to entry and is a valuable opportunity for girls to see whether St Catherine’s is the right school for them.
Girls sit 11+ Entrance Assessments in Mathematics, English, Science and Verbal Reasoning, and these are devised by St Catherine’s, based on the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum content. At 13+, tests are taken in Verbal Reasoning, English and Mathematics at the appropriate level.
Sixth Form
We welcome a number of new girls - day and boarding - into the Sixth Form each year. Assessment is by examination and interview. At registration girls nominate their likely choice of subjects for Sixth Form study and on the Assessment Day will sit three subject specific tests, each of approximately 30 minutes duration, plus an online general paper lasting 90 minutes which gives an indication of IQ and academic potential. Successful candidates are interviewed in person or by Zoom by subject teachers and senior staff. Girls should have a minimum of six GCSEs at Grade 6 and above, including Maths and English. Grade 7 is preferable in subjects chosen for A Level study.
A confidential report from the girl’s previous Headteacher will always be requested and used as part of the selection procedure. The report requests information about each girl’s academic performance and potential, any specific learning difficulties, how best to manage any disability, and curricular and extra-curricular interests.
Applicants with a disability will be assessed on their academic performance as outlined above. Parents of applicants with a disability should make this clear on the application form so that the School can make every reasonable effort to adapt its admissions procedures to accommodate the applicant on the Assessment Day. Any parent of an applicant who has a disability is also asked to let the School know so that proper access can be arranged for pre-admission school visits/information mailings, and subsequently for school events, should the applicant be successful in the entrance tests.
Each year the St Catherine's community is enriched by the arrival of a number of international students.
Parents and girls choose St Catherine's for many different reasons, but all agree that it offers a warm, friendly, exciting environment where students quickly become part of a community which has a proud history of successfully educating girls since 1885.
International boarding students and their parents tell us they appreciate the full immersion in a traditional English school which also welcomes day pupils. As a result, St Catherine’s boarders do not live in an 'international boarding bubble'- every day they mix with girls from the UK. Boarders may be invited home by their UK friends which adds an extra and welcome cultural element to their boarding experience. If an international girls’ English language is not already fluent when she arrives at St Catherine's, it certainly is by the time she leaves at the end of the Sixth Form!
For entry at all levels, a Confidential Report will be requested from the candidate’s current school.
EAL provision
A high proficiency in written and spoken English is required before a girl joins St Catherine's, especially at Sixth Form level. Girls admitted to the School need to have a level of fluency in written and spoken English that will enable them to access the curriculum for their age group. We assess each girl’s English during the entrance examination and interview process. During their time at St Catherine's our international boarders develop into extremely fluent users of the English language.
Before she joins the School, a member of the English Department will be in contact with each new overseas boarder to suggest some wider reading. Girls find this beneficial and they have a friendly staff face to turn to on arrival for ongoing encouragement with wider reading.
Very occasionally, if a girl is finding her confidence in English is holding her back, a member of staff who is a qualified EAL teacher may be asked to assess her needs. Should there be a need for a short course of support lessons, these can be arranged, with parents’ permission, and will be billed as an extra.
Girls joining us from overseas may also take public examinations in their native languages if these are provided by the UK examination boards. We have a member of staff who coordinates such exam entries and any top up coaching required in those languages.
Child Student Visa
UK Visa and Immigration
Many students from non-EU countries will require a visa to study at St Catherine’s. If you are a national of a country which is not in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you will need to have permission to study in the UK.
St Catherine’s is a Highly Trusted Sponsor under the UK Visas & Immigration’s student visa system. This means that we are able to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) numbers to girls who are offered and accept a place at St Catherine’s. Please note that our CAS are primarily reserved for our overseas boarders, we do not sponsor Day pupils under the student visa system.
In order to provide your daughter/client with a CAS number, we will need a copy of her passport and details of her UK-based guardian. Please note – girls aged 16 or 17 years old may be required to have an interview with a member of UKVI staff as part of their visa application process and may be required to register with the local police station on arrival.
Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)
When you apply for your visa you will also be asked to apply for a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) as part of the application.
The BRP is an extremely important item and must be kept safely at all times with your daughter’s passport which will be handed in to her boarding housemistress immediately on her arrival at School for safekeeping under lock and key.
Guardians
St Catherine's regards the role of guardian as essential in providing support for those girls at the school whose parents live overseas or some distance away from home in the UK and requires parents of full boarders to appoint a guardian as a priority. It is hoped that the guardian and his or her family will establish a close personal relationship with his/her ward, who should feel secure that the guardian will provide sympathetic support and interest whenever it is needed, a presence at school in the case of an emergency of any kind, and a ‘home from home’ in the UK when that might be needed.
Whilst a boarder is at St Catherine’s, her boarding housemistress and also her school housemistress and/or tutor as well as the Medical Centre staff will take responsibility for her academic progress and welfare, but there are times during the academic year when the school must be able to hand over these responsibilities to a properly appointed guardian who can represent the parents and work closely with the School.
The School welcomes guardians to School functions - new girls' induction events, plays, matches, parents' meetings, concerts etc. Guardians will be sent information about dates and other communications as appropriate via the school Clarion Call email system and parents should note that Guardians will be given No 1 priority along with them on that system so that they are fully informed about school activities and can represent parents appropriately.
Agents
St Catherine’s School is happy to engage with Agents should you wish to appoint one to represent and support you and your child through the admissions process. The Agent’s details must be advised by you to the Registrar, Clare Woodgates at admissions@stcatherines.info at the point of Registration as this will grant us permission to include them on all correspondence. If you do decide to appoint an Agent, please note that St Catherine’s School will not enter into a formal relationship with the Agent, issue contracts or pay commission. Any charges incurred by appointing an Agent are not the responsibility of St Catherine’s School.
St Catherine’s School have partnership agreements with a small number of Educational Agents in different geographical territories.
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