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St. Helen and St. Katharine is a private girls' day school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

History

St. Helen's School, Abingdon was founded in 1903 by the Community of St Mary the Virgin to provide a Christian education for girls. St. Katharine's School, in Wantage, was founded in 1894. The schools merged in 1938 to create St. Helen & St. Katharine.

The present school

St. Helen and St. Katharine is an independent day school for girls and young women located on the outskirts of Abingdon. 720 pupils, aged 9 to 18, study in a campus of Edwardian and modern buildings, set in 22 acres.

Bursaries of up to 100% of the fees are available to pupils from Year 7 and are based on means-tested assessments of financial circumstances.

Close links with Abingdon School add a co-educational dimension, with some joint sixth form teaching and collaboration in other activities, including a school bus service and joint Critical Thinking course taken by all Lower Sixth pupils. The close relationship between the two schools enables music, drama and debating, as well as many social events to take place together.

Buildings

The original school building dates from 1906. In recent years an extensive building programme has been undertaken. Most recent developments include a Performing Arts Centre; Sports Centre with fitness suite; a library facility which includes ICT Suites, lecture theatre and careers library which opened in 2010; and a Science Centre (2014) with 12 laboratories and a three-storey glass atrium event space was added. A sports centre with rowing suite, indoor cycle studio and fitness gym were added in 2016.

In 2023, the school opened its new Sixth Form Centre, the Benedict Building, featuring 9 classrooms, a Higher Education Library, independent and group study spaces, lecture hall and cafe.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes the following subjects: Art and design, Biology, Ceramics, Chemistry, Classics, Computer science, Design Technology, Drama and theatre, Economics, English Language and Literature, Food and nutrition, French, Geography, German, Politics, Greek, History, Latin, Mandarin, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Music, Personal Development, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology, Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (RPE), and Spanish. The school has its own Chapel in which a weekly Eucharist is offered to staff and girls.

Sport

Major sports include lacrosse, netball, athletics, tennis, football and cricket, as well as basketball, cross country, hockey, trampolining, badminton, rugby, gymnastics, swimming, fencing and dance.

St Kate's Day celebrations

The school celebrates St. Katharine's Day, which it describes as ’St. Kate's Day’, in November each year. In the morning there is a Eucharist, followed by events to raise money for the school's chosen charities. A highlight of the day is the lunchtime lacrosse fixture between St. Helen's Senior lacrosse team and the boys of Abingdon School's Rugby First XV.

Alumnae

This article's list of alumni may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (July 2024)

• Mary Allen, former Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House
• Hatti Archer (née Hatti Dean), athlete
• Veronica Ashworth, RAF officer and nurse
• Samantha Cameron, businesswoman and wife of former British Prime Minister David Cameron
• Justice Johannah Cutts, Justice of the High Court
• Jennie Formby, senior official in the Unite trade union and General Secretary of the Labour Party
• Elspeth Hanson, violinist with "Bond"
• Jessica Harrison, Olympic triathlete (2008 and 2012)
• Phyllis Hartnoll, poet, author and editor
• Claire Lawrence, former British Ambassador to Lithuania
• Anne Mueller, civil servant and academic
• Lindsey Russell, TV and radio presenter
• Emily Sheffield, former editor of the Evening Standard
• Alice Thomson, Leader Writer, The Times
• Jane Tranter, TV producer and former Head, BBC Worldwide Productions

References

1. "Our history". St Helen & St Katharine School. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
2. SHSK. "How we can help – bursaries at St Helen and St Katharine". shsk.org.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
3. "New sixth form centre opens at St Helen and St Katharine school". Oxford Mail. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
4. SHSK. "Chapel - St Helen and St Katharine". shsk.org.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

External links

• St Helen and St Katharine Website
• Profile on the Independent Schools Council website
• 2013 independent schools Inspectorate Inspection report 2013
• The SHSK Society (Alumnae)

51°40′35″N 1°17′49″W / 51.67639°N 1.29694°W / 51.67639; -1.29694

• Schools in Abingdon-on-Thames
• Girls' schools in Oxfordshire
• Private schools in Oxfordshire
• People educated at the School of St Helen and St Katharine
• Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association
• Educational institutions established in 1938
• 1938 establishments in England
• Church of England private schools in the Diocese of Oxford