History
St Catherine’s has been providing quality education for girls and young women in Wellington for 95 years.
Nestled in the hills above Kilbirnie, this Catholic school was originally founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1919. In 1950, St Catherine’s College was established. It was a private school until it integrated under the Private Schools Conditioned Integration Act in 1975.
Our school is named after St Catherine of Siena who was born in northern Italy in 1390. She became a Dominican nun when she was 16. Her letters, and a treatise called “The Dialogue of Divine Providence” are considered among the most brilliant writings in the history of the Catholic Church. As a result, after her death, Catherine was awarded the rare honour of becoming a Doctor of the Church for her spiritual and academic work.
Our College motto is Mercy and Wisdom (Misericordia et Sapientia in Latin), reflecting the values of the Sisters of Mercy.
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Our school colours are blue and black.
The school was originally a co-educational (boys and girls) primary school. For 65 years, St Catherine’s College has been a single sex girls’ school. With brother school St Patrick’s College, also in Kilbirnie, the senior students have been able to share classes since the late 1980's. Seniors at St Catherine’s get the benefits of having wider classes and timetabling options on either school campus, while belonging to an independent single sex school.
