St Catherine's School, Twickenham
Encyclopedia
St Catherine's School in Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, London, England, is an independent
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
school for girls established in 1914 by the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
. Beginning in a large house near Twickenham Green, it then moved to Orford Lodge (now demolished) and in 1919 to its present location on the bank of the Thames, formerly the site of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
's Villa. By 1961 it was recognised by the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (United Kingdom)
The administration of education policy in the United Kingdom began in the 19th century. Official mandation of education began with the Elementary Education Act 1870 for England and Wales, and the Education Act 1872 for Scotland...
as a grammar school.
It became a charitable trust in 1992. It is the only independent Roman Catholic girls' school in the Richmond area. It remains a Roman Catholic foundation but takes students of all religious affiliations. It has a preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
(entry typically at age 3) and a senior school (entry at age 11). 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.
The school is next to the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and about one kilometre from both Strawberry Hill
Strawberry Hill, London
Strawberry Hill is an affluent area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Twickenham. It is a suburban development situated 10.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It consists of a number of residential roads centered around a small development of shops and serviced by Strawberry...
and Twickenham railway station
Twickenham railway station
Twickenham railway station is in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains.-History:...
s.
In 2005, the school had about 370 pupils. In 2011 the current number was 376. This includes the newly built sixth form building.
Famous ex-pupils include Bonnie Langford
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford is an English actress, dancer and entertainer. She came to prominence as a child star in the early 1970s then she subsequently became a companion of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's Doctor Who and has appeared on stage in various musicals such as Peter Pan:...
, Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
, Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
, Olivia Hallinan
Olivia Hallinan
Olivia Hallinan is an English actress best known for her role as Laura Timmins in the BBC TV series Lark Rise to Candleford and also as Kim in the critically acclaimed Sugar Rush. She also starred as Ellie in Girls in Love....
- who attended the prep school back in the days when boys were admitted.