THE BOARDING HOUSE

We are Australia’s oldest independent Anglican girls’ school, educating women for life. We believe this rich heritage, coupled with our vast boarding and educational offering is key to our success. Boarding at St Catherine’s offers students a strong supportive home in a vibrant and diverse environment. Your daughter will learn to live away from home and become independent, resourceful and confident in an exceptional environment. 

The Boarding House

The boarding house is your daughter’s home away from home. The boarding house accommodates 66 students from Australia and overseas. Our boarding house has been recently restored and has modern living areas with predominately single rooms, ensuring privacy for study and rest. All girls are encouraged to add a personal touch to their rooms.  

Delicious, varied and nutritionally balanced meals are prepared by our chef. Boarders have access to Netflix, Smart TVs, and there is WiFi in all areas of the boarding house. Boarders can utilise the school’s facilities including the swimming pool, sports centre, tennis and basketball courts, music practice rooms and gymnasium.

Why be a boarder?

Our boarders build strong, lifelong friendships with both Australian and overseas students.  Your daughter will learn to live away from home and become independent, resourceful, confident and well educated. We encourage our students to completely immerse themselves into life at St Catherine’s. Students flourish both socially and emotionally when they engage in the broad cocurricular activities available to them as boarders. 

GIVE IT TIME

We recognise that moving to a new school in another country is a significant challenge for our overseas students, and we assure the girls that life will get easier once they the settle into the daily routines and start to form new friendships. 

GET INVOLVED

The school offers many cocurricular activities such as drama, sport, music, debating and dance. 
All boarders in Years 7–10 must be involved in at least one (preferably two) cocurricular activities each term, which will support their integration into life at St Catherine’s.

SEEK ASSISTANCE WHEN YOU NEED

Apart from your daughter’s year mentor, there are five boarding staff in residence to support her should she need assistance – even if it’s just because she is homesick!

Our Boarding Staff

St Catherine’s School has one boarding house, which cares for  66 students from Year 7–12. There is a good mix of girls from Sydney, rural Australia and overseas. Five permanent boarding staff live onsite and are available to assist the girls.

Our boarding team is led by our Director of Boarding and Indigenous Coordinator Ms Chelsea Slade and Assistant Director of Boarding Ms Kate Cooper. The team works collaboratively to ensure each boarding student is well supported and nurtured during her time with us.

                                  Ms Chelsea Slade                                                                                                Ms Kate Cooper

Chelsea oversees the boarding house and is responsible for all boarders, their welfare and development. She is also our Indigenous Student Coordinator and serves to provide support and guidance to our Indigenous students during their time at St Catherine’s. Chelsea sees communication as the key to education. She strives to develop our boarding and Indigenous student communities, so that these girls leave St Catherine’s as confident and optimistic young adults with character and grit. She firmly believes that relationships, trust and belonging are essential for students to enjoy academic and personal success.

Kate assists Chelsea in the day-to-day running of the boarding house. She is a qualified primary school teacher and has been working in boarding schools for five years. Kate has been part of the St Catherine’s boarding team since 2019. She is passionate and loves the diversity of daily life in the boarding house, from going on Sunday outings to attending doctors’ appointments with boarders. She lives on-site in the boarding house and is the person the boarders tend to rely on when they need something overnight. Kate grew up in Mudgee and understands what it is like to be a boarder as she boarded from Year 9. This is where her passion for all things boarding stems from. 

Academic benefits 

The boarding house fosters a culture of hard work, academic rigour and an environment where effort is valued and encouraged. Our boarding students thrive on structure and routine. Close communication between class teachers and boarding house staff ensure the girls’ study program meets the expectations of girls, their parents and teaching staff. We have strong tracking processes in place and we know when things are going well or if there are areas requiring support and improvement. Boarders attend the prep centre from Monday to Thursday evening. 

A boarder's routine