

We open with congratulations to Dawn Pilkington and Fiona Haywood who have won the Award from School House Magazine for the best Alumnae Relations programme in an independent School, 2024. We were thrilled to see this aspect of school life - already recognised as a Significant Strength of the School by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2023 - acquiring further well-deserved public recognition. You can find more details on page 17 including ways you can benefit from the Association and get involved in this professional network for life for all our students, alumnae and parents.
In other news, as they say, we are delighted to report that our first class of Pre-School girls is full and taking the Prep School by storm. They showed resounding confidence in both the harvest festival service - they knew everyone’s hymns and songs by heart as well as their ownand the Nativity where their feature moment all but stole the show. We are delighted to have them with us, adding another tier to the St Cat’s experience for girls and young women.
Finally, in September Ms Emma Watson was announced as the new Head of St Catherine’s from September 2025. She has already spoken at prospective parents and pupils’ events and a detailed handover is underway. We are delighted that she has agreed to be guest speaker on Foundation Day on September 28th 2025, giving alumnae and parents a golden opportunity to hear more about her own career journey and her thoughts on girls’ education. For more information see stcatherines.info/welcome/leadership-team
Senior Registrar - Clare Woodgates 01483 899609 | admissions@stcatherines.info
Prep Registrar - Sarah Waller 01483 899665 | prepadmissions@stcatherines.info
15 th March 2025 | 7.30pm
Auditorium, St Catherine’s School, Bramley
Performed by the St Catherine’s Association Choir, Senior Choir, Middle Chamber Choir and Symphony Orchestra.
Conductors:
Matthew Greenfield, Donald Lloyd, Lucia Švecová
Vocal Soloists:
Soprano - Gabrielle Tang (U6)
Soprano - Ruby Skilbeck (2023)
Tenor - Samuel Mills
Bass - Finlay Bloore
TICKETS: £10 (£5 Child/Student)
To book your tickets: stcatsassociationchoir2025.brownpapertickets.com
9 th October 2025 | 7.30pm - 10.00pm
Auditorium, St Catherine’s School, Bramley
Fernando Tiberini, an internationally acclaimed multi-lingual presenter celebrates diversity and connection through linguistic knowledge. Fluent in eight languages, Fernando is a presenter, translator, sports commentator and consummate communicator. He will show us how, through language, audiences can be connected. Expect to hear Arabic, Japanese and even Zulu!
Booking details coming soon.
Creating career connections between alumnae and parents
All alumnae and parents are welcome to join us for an evening of networking, drinks and canapés.
Guest Speaker | Dr Andrea Kilpatrick | Kilpatrick Executive Coaching Tuesday 18 th March 2025 | 6.00pm - 8.00pm | Venue TBC
Please email association@stcatherines.info to register for this event.
Sunday 28 th September 2025, 2.00pm - 5.00pm
Join us for the annual celebration of our School’s Birthday.
A Chapel Service | Tours of School | Afternoon Tea
All generations of your families are welcome. There is no charge for the day. For more information or to book your place please email association@stcatherines.info
St Catherine’s Presents is a series of prestigious events: concerts, lectures and entertainment by notable performers, academics, broadcasters and artists. Our intention is to offer to the School community and the local community, evening events that are bold, stimulating and sensational.
On 7th November we were honoured to welcome the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), introduced to us by their Chair, Mrs Charlton-Edwards, a current parent. The OAE were formed in 1986 as a group of musicians playing instruments of the period from which the music originates, with the premise that the players themselves actively guide the artistic direction of the orchestra. Today, they are the resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre and associate orchestra at Glyndebourne.
The OAE started the day with a workshop run by the orchestra’s leader Leo Duarte, for the pupils of St Catherine’s Symphony Orchestra and the George Abbot School Orchestra, and in the evening, the audience were treated to a fantastic programme, the first half by the OAE alone and after the interval joined by the two schools’ orchestras. A really memorable performance was enjoyed by all.
For our next event in the St Catherine’s Presents series, on Thursday 9th October 2025, we welcome Fernando Tiberini, who is fluent in eight languages. Fernando is a presenter, translator, sports commentator and consummate communicator. He will show us how, through language, audiences can be connected. Expect to hear Arabic, Japanese and even Zulu!
You can find details of these events here: stcatherines.info/association/events-news
Alice (U6) - Association Prefect
In the Summer Term, we were delighted to welcome Anna Winterburn, aunt of one of our Head Girls, as our guest speaker. Anna took us through her school years - at a girls’ school - and training path, and it was exciting to hear about her career, one which many of us may not have previously considered. Anna is a hair designer, stylist and wig maker on major television productions such as Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice. She also does hair styling and makeup for celebrity photoshoots and is personal stylist to Fiona Bruce. We particularly enjoyed hearing about the creative hair designs that are asked of her on ‘Strictly’, for example, making a Medusa wig out of pieces of hose pipe for the Hallowe’en spectacular. We all really enjoyed listening to Anna’s engaging presentation and are very grateful that she took the time to come and speak to us.
Arabella (U6) - Association Prefect
At the end of the Autumn Term 2024, we were delighted to welcome alumna Petra Stafford-Smith (2013) as our guest speaker. Petra took us through her school years from joining the Prep School in 2002 with her two sisters, Bea (2012) and Rhea (2009), through, to her Senior School years, and her decisions around her A Level and Degree choices in her pursuit of her career in Film & TV. While completing her degree in Digital Film & Television Production at Royal Holloway, Petra spent a lot of time playing lax but also training for her Level 1 lax coaching and referee skills.
On graduating she worked as a production runner for a year for various studios on different TV productions, before landing a permanent position with a production company called Sunset + Vine, based in London, working predominantly on the BT Sport coverage of rugby. As a Production Co-ordinator she worked on Premiership, European and Premier Cup Rugby as well as on their magazine show Rugby Tonight In 2024, she had the wonderful opportunity to work with Eurosport on their coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Petra’s current role is as a Production Manager for Buzz 16 Productions working on all the rugby contracts for TNT Sports (Warner Brothers Discovery) which includes Premiership Rugby, Premiership Women's Rugby and the Autumn Nations Series.
It was great to hear all about Petra’s career journey, and how she has managed to combine her love of sport with her job in TV production.
Foundation Day, as the name suggests, is our annual celebration of the Foundation of St Catherine’s School in 1885 and is always held on the closest Sunday to 25th September.
We were delighted to have over 140 members of our school community presentpupils, alumnae, parents, staff and friends all recognising the School’s impact on our lives.
This year had a reunions theme and we especially welcomed back our Golden Girls,
alumnae who left St Cat’s between 19441969, alongside our Years of 1974, 1984, and 1994 alumnae, all celebrating decade reunions. Our oldest alumna to join us for the day was Wendy Bourne (Rowland) (95 years old) who was at School from 1940 to 1944.
We enjoyed a wonderful Chapel Service on the theme of Thanksgiving with some beautiful readings from alumnae. After some group photographs, we headed off on tours around the School.
The afternoon finished with a delicious cream tea in the Dining Hall, including an amazing birthday cake. Everyone had plenty of time to catch up, share memories and enjoy the impressive displays from the School Archive.
It was such a special afternoon and we really enjoyed hosting current St Cat’s families alongside our alumnae.
“A trip to nostalgia now and then is good for the spirit.”
On the first Monday after the Autumn Term had ended, we welcomed back nearly 100 alumnae, former staff and parents for our very special Carols by Candlelight service. The afternoon began with a lax match between the 1st team and the alumnae. It was a well fought match by both teams with the 1sts just coming out with the win at 8-7.
After a quick match tea and a shower, the girls joined all the guests in the Dining Hall for
mulled wine and mince pies. It is always a special evening with alumnae joining us from the years of 1963 - 2024. We particularly love welcoming the young alumnae returning home for Christmas after their first term at university, and seeing them reconnecting with all their school friends. We then moved to Chapel for a beautiful candlelit service conducted by Rev’d Dr Benji McNair Scott, with all the favourite carols - requested by
the alumnae via Google form - and some very strong descant input! Chapel is one place that never changes - it is the perfect place to celebrate the strength of the alumnae community. The reunion gave us a really festive start to the Christmas holidays.
We look forward to welcoming many alumnae back on Monday 15th December 2025! Save the date!
In November, members of the Association community enjoyed tuning in via zoom to our latest St Cat’s Chats Book Club with Jonathan Worthen (Former Head of English). This time our text was, by popular request, Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It was fascinating to hear the history behind the novel – that it was Jane’s first novel to be sold to a publisher (who never published it), but it was only published after Austen’s death by her brother. The novel was not always titled Northanger Abbey, having had various different titles along the way, including Susan
and Catherine. Jonathan introduced us to Austen’s context, characters, themes and writing style and it was fascinating to learn more about the gothic novels referred to, and how they connect to the main story, as well as to hear Jonathan’s readings of passages from the text – our favourite being his rendition of Isabella Thorpe!
Our next study will be on Tuesday 18th November. We will be in touch with the title in due course. Do let us know if you have any suggestions.
This year we were overwhelmed to receive so many pictures from you for the St Cat’s Day celebrations - from throwback photos from your time at School to recent photos, and so many from all around the world. We particularly love those of you meeting up with old School friends on the day; how wonderful to hear that those friendships have lasted decades! Thank you so much for bringing our global community a little closer on this special day.
Let Us Go On!
For many years it has been a School tradition to eat home-made cattern cakes on St Catherine’s Day. They were originally made by the English Nottingham lace-makers for the festivities of their patron saint’s feast day, 25th November. The Tudor recipe is for a lightly fruited bun spiced with cinnamon.
Lisa, our school pastry chef, bakes an amazing 1,500 buns overnight before St Catherine’s Day! Since 2018 the Association Office have been delivering cattern cakes the day before St Cats Day to some of our Association members close to Bramley. It’s a lovely opportunity to see some of our former staff and local alumnae!
In July, several members of the Drama Department and Association Team went to the Yvonne Arnaud to see a production of The 39 Steps
This was a hilarious comedy, based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, which, in its turn was loosely based on the 1915 John Buchan novel. While the film is a classic thriller, this play is a parody, taking shots at the outlandish plot of the film as well as the spy genre itself. The plot follows the life story of Richard Hannay, a Canadian gentleman who gets swept into a world of spies, lies, and romance. This play features a cast of only four actors who play the parts of all the characters.
It was great to see Maddie Rice (2007 Ashcombe) in one of these 4 lead parts. After leaving St Cat’s, Maddie went to Mountview Theatre School to study Drama, and is now an
award-winning writer/performer. Her debut one-woman play, Pickle Jar, won the Three Weeks Editors Award in Edinburgh, then transferred to, and had a hugely successful run at, the Soho Theatre. It is now being developed into a feature film. Her second play, Selfish, is being produced by New Frame Productions and will premiere in 2025.
As an actor, Maddie is best known for taking over from Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the stage show of Fleabag on tour and her own show, Pickle Jar. Recently, she won the Best Actress award at the Jane Austen Film Festival for her role in the short film Lady Brentley’s End
In December, Maddie came into St Catherine’s to judge the House Drama Competition, and also gave the drama girls many top tips for their forthcoming Senior School production at the beginning of February: The 39 Steps!
On 1st October 2024 our St Catherine’s Association Community brought together alumnae, parents, and current Sixth Form students for a fantastic evening in London. The event, focusing on ‘Starting a Business & Entrepreneurship,’ was a huge success with over 60 guests from our strong community attending.
The evening began with drinks and nibbles, followed by a lively panel discussion chaired by Angela Roshier (Current Parent and Chair of the London Network). The event was hosted by Tracy Meller (Current Parent) Partner at RSHP Architects in their offices in the impressive Leadenhall Building (known affectionately as The Cheesegrater), and the guest speakers were Vicki Moore (Montgomery) (1989) Founder & Owner of chocolate company It’s All About the Wrapper; Grace Osborne (2014), Analyst at Bloomberg, and also the Founder & Director of sustainable sportswear brand Natural Grace, and Alice Whiteley, Founder & MD of Yawn, a company specialising in luxury organic cotton nightwear.
A huge thank you to our speakers for sharing their expertise and insights to inspire the next generation of St Cat’s alumnae with entrepreneurial aspirations.
We had a fantastic line-up of speakers for the Careers Seminar in November – Careers in the World of Crime (Prevention!).
Portia Butterfield (Whiffin) (2007)
Intelligence Analyst at Thames Valley Police
Eleanor Hurley (2016)
Detective at Surrey Police
Paola Carr-Walker (Parent)
Chartered Clinical & Forensic Psychologist
Emma Hardaker (Parent)
Head of Financial Crime & Compliance at Lloyd’s | Former Criminal Barrister
Our guests shared their expertise with a lively audience of students age 13+, from St Catherine’s, St Peter’s and RGS. This was a fabulous opportunity for them to hear about the use of GPS and mobile technology in providing evidence to convict perpetrators of crime, to the process of becoming a detective and the training involved. Pupils were also offered insights into the highs and lows of being a criminal barrister and the vocation needed to do the job, as well as a ‘day in the life of’ a psychologist supporting clients in secure units and hospitals and aiding rehabilitation.
On Speech Day this year, Mrs Alice Phillips announced the award of one of our occasional Distinguished Wheel Awards to Miss Marjory Bayliss, alumna of St Catherine’s from 1939 to 1946: a Musgrave weekly boarder of the wartime generation with Miss Symes as her Headmistress. After School she trained at the Clapham & Streatham Hill Froebel College, gaining her Primary School Teaching Certificate, and worked locally until she returned to teach at St Catherine’s Prep in 1960 right up to her retirement in 1989.
Remembered here as an inspirational teacher of primary age children, she was also a Girl Guide Leader of national standing, interviewed by the Queen before her appointment to run the Buckingham Palace Guide Company from 1961-1963, which included the Princess Royal, then a young Princess Anne, and young girls from the surrounding area. In 2017 she talked to the girls in the Prep School about her memories of school during WWII. Marjory has been a great supporter of the School since she joined in 1939. Over the years she has attended numerous events and reunions and remained interested in everything we do. Thus she can claim a connection that extends over 85 years! A true St Cat’s girl whose contribution we are very pleased to recognise this year.
Marjory was unable to attend Speech Day, but in November she joined us for tea with Mrs Phillips to be given her Award. As she was leaving, she was delighted to see a group of Prep School girls passing by on their way to a swimming lesson. They happily stopped for a group shot with Marjory. When we told the girls why she was visiting the School and that she had joined as a pupil in 1939, one remarked that Miss Bayliss was ‘seriously impressive!’
In the Autumn Term the Association Team visited the university towns of Nottingham, Oxford and Durham to meet with alumnae.
At all the events it was lovely to catch up on all the girls’ news, to hear about the wide range of degrees they are taking, and to see them all reconnecting with their School friends.
Many of them told us how helpful it had been for them to email alumnae when they were still at School via the Uni Buddy Scheme that the Association has set up. This helped them get advice on making course and university selections when they were applying, and on different colleges and halls of residence. Now they are at uni themselves, they said they are very happy for current pupils to contact them for any advice on universities and courses.
A great turnout at The Landor Pub in Clapham in September, for the Year of 2019 to mark five years since leaving St Cats. Thank you to Sophie Hounsell for bringing the year group together again.
Fourteen of the Year of 2005 got together in October, marking 20 years since they left School. Thank you to Jo Waterhouse for bringing the alumnae together for this special event.
We have been touched by the warm welcomes we have received on our visits to our communities in Asia this year – in Bangkok, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. In each of the countries, we typically combine attending Schools Expo conferences and local school visits, with an opportunity to meet up with alumnae, current and former parents, and former staff. Guests at our reunions/receptions enjoy reflecting on the traditions that remain a cornerstone of the School;
the changes that have shaped its modern identity; and hearing the latest news from School and about any future plans.
Sharing updates and news from St Catherine’s with the overseas community is always a privilege, and the warm hospitality of our families in Asia has made all these visits truly memorable, particularly special this year, as they have marked Mrs Phillips’s final visit to Asia as Headmistress before her retirement in August 2025.
The CATalyst Community Lab is open and all girls from 11 to 18 who are studying Physics, Biology and Chemistry will enjoy this inspirational space for their lessons. Senior girls are also excited about the new location for Dissection Club, Astrophysics Club, Maths Challenge and the Sixth Form Medical Reading Club. Our Prep School girls will benefit from the Lab too as the CATalyst Community Lab will be used for Prep Science events, outreach and activities such as Summer Science Camps and Coding Workshops.
Thank you to all of those who joined us to ‘Play your Part’ in supporting Drama teaching. You are recognised on ‘The Backdrop’, an inspirational wall of plays and films, ranging from Wicked! to Othello and Prima Facie.
It is not too late to support the girls in developing their imagination, expression, empathy and creativity.
Contact: Jane Pink | Development Manager 01483 899787 | jane.pink@stcatherines.info
On 18th December Tansy Parkinson, Director and Producer in Residence, organised a Dram Fam Reunion at the Weyside Inn, Guildford – the first of many to come they hope! It was a wonderful gathering with staff and alumnae from the years of 2020 – 2024.
Laura Grizzelle-Lang, Director of Drama, wrote “What is lovely is that nearly all of them, whether studying drama now or in the past, are in some way still involved in theatre or performance. Those at uni are having a great time involved in a range of productions. For those who have graduated, they still use their drama skills to present, advertise, design and promote, and felt that drama had been key to their confidence and success in the workplace.”
It has been a very successful year for us, as the St Catherine’s Association was very proud to be recognised as a Significant Strength of the School by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, followed a few months later by us winning the 2024 School House Magazine Alumnae Relationships Award. In both cases, the scale and range of successful community engagement were highlighted as unique strengths of our School.
When you join St Cat’s, you automatically become a member of our Association Community and are:
• Lifelong members of a community of students, alumnae, parents, staff and friends.
• Part of a valued pool of experience, knowledge and wisdom.
• Role models to generations of girls to come.
• Empowering young women by giving back to their community.
Everyone is welcome to attend our events including Foundation Day, St Catherine’s Presents, London Network, Association Choir, Association Choir that Rocks, St Cat’s Chats and Reunions at school, around the UK and overseas.
As a community we have an incredible pool of experience, and we would be delighted if you would consider how, you could support us e.g. speaking as part of our U4/Sixth Form lecture sessions; offering a space for a London Network event or giving career advice at a seminar. We welcome any support, no matter how small: we are stronger when we work together.
This year we are introducing Coffee Connections for current pupils or recent alumnae to meet with parents or alumnae for a career chat over a cup of coffee. If you would be happy to be part of this, do let us know and we will add you to our list ready for action when we get requests.
For those in our community living abroad, we are also introducing Global Connections. We are looking for community members in different countries to be a contact point if we get a request for advice on visiting / moving to their part of the world. If you are able to help in this way, please let us know.
The St Cat’s Association is a two-way street. Together we excel at supporting pupils during their time at school, creating networking opportunities for all members, building supportive networks, facilitating social connections and establishing career connections. In turn, those girls help the generations that follow, recognising the help they received from the community.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”
In 1985 a tapestry was commissioned to commemorate the School’s centenary and the opening of the Centenary Building. With approximately 709,468 stitches this impressive tapestry is made up of panels showing key dates in the School’s history, various buildings and subjects taught.
The key driving forces in the making of this work were staff members Mrs Jan Kaudeur (Former Head of Art) and Mrs Sarah Beresford (Former Home Economics and Textiles Teacher), but multiple staff and pupils were involved.
It was initially hung in the entrance foyer to the Centenary Building, but when it became a largely Sixth Form only building in the 2000s,
the tapestry was moved to the front corridor of School outside the Library, to be enjoyed by all members of the School. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Centenary Building, the tapestry will be re-stretched, cleaned and returned to its original home in the Centenary Building.
We have only a brief record of its creation in the School Magazines of the day, and we would love to hear from anyone involved in the stitching of a panel for the tapestry? We don’t have details or photos of how the design was put together, or who made which panels. Do email us at: association@stcatherines.info to tell us your memories of the design and process.
In addition to the larger reunions and careers events, we have also welcomed back many alumnae or their relatives, over the past 6 months, as speakers, or for impromptu visits or tours of School. We have also met up with other alumnae at their homes or joined them for small lunch reunions.
1. Peggy Curran’s (Blair) (1931) daughters visiting school in August to see their late mother’s School for the first time, to give us her exercise books and to see some of the photos of her in our Archive.
2. Anson Wong and Denise Chan (2019) came back to give talks to the Sixth Form about careers in Medicine and in Animation respectively.
3. Elizabeth Parkman (Munro) (1957) welcomed us to her home in Abingdon.
4. Wendy Buer (Lyon) (1955) invited us to join her for lunch at The Withies with a group of alumnae friends, Ann Maughan (Hart) (1958), Wendy Faulkner (Henshaw) (1958), Deirdre Kirwan-Taylor (1955)
5. Sophie Edwards (Current Staff) visiting Bryony House (Braybrooke) (1950) at her home in Gloucestershire.
6. Former Staff Member Sophie Milton (Phillips) visiting former colleagues in June.
7. Tash Lewis (2018) came back to give a talk to the Sixth Form about her experience at Bristol Uni studying Geography and her work as an assistant Brand Manager at Nestlé.
8. Katie Creswell (2021) and Thea Roberts (2024) gave a talk to the Sixth Form about taking a gap year in between School and university.
Every year we send Christmas Cards to our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, featuring artwork from current pupils.
This year’s Prep Card is a beautiful painting by Zoryana (UII) and our Senior Card of a festive pomegranate was painted by Alisa Hoi Ching (U5).
Left: Zoryana (UII) Prep School
Right: Alisa Hoi Ching (U5) Senior School
We are always interested to hear your news, big or small! Have you graduated, changed jobs, got married, had children, set up a business, volunteered for a charity, retired or taken a gap year to travel the world?
Any weddings and deaths that we have been notified about, can be found under the Association section on the School website here: www.stcatherines.info/ association/events-news
Louisa Carruthers (2011)
Eva Wichtowski (2012)
Charlotte Warner (2012)
Georgina Disney-May (2012)
Romy Wilkin (2013)
Pippa Flood (2014)
Amy Owen (2014)
Hazel Barnby (Hancock) (1949)
Bryony House (Braybrooke) (1950)
Beryl Rawkins (Harrison) (1954)
Ann Groves (Young) (1958)
Patricia Ashworth (Moss) (1959)
Our back page features a 1921 picture of then Headmistress, Mrs Charlotte Russell Baker, with her staff of sixteen. The School then had 102 boarders and 32 day girls. The picture is taken in what is now the Rose Garden and the wisteria in the background continues to bloom in May each year.
It is a long-held tradition at St Catherine’s for the Housemistress and House Captains of Russell Baker House to lay flowers on the grave of Mrs Russell Baker in the Bramley Cemetery on St Catherine’s Day each year.
Back Row: Miss Francis, Miss Ancey, Miss Dalley, Miss Commins, Miss Pearce, Miss Routley
Middle Row: Miss Hardy, Miss Boulter, Miss Ireland, Mrs Russell Baker, Miss Davis, Miss Plint, Miss Bancroft
Front Row: Miss Mennig, Miss Miller, Miss Pinney, Miss Rainforth
Nan Brown (Former Staff)
Stuart Sexton (Governor 1988 - 2007 & Chair of Governors 2003 - 2007)
Housemistress Mrs Cook, House Captains
Ellie Crichton and Ugo Elumelu, and Headmistress Mrs Phillips
St Catherine’s Day Friday 22nd November 2024
BEING IN CONTROL OF YOUR DATA AND OUR FUNDRAISING PROMISE
We take your personal privacy seriously. We have a Confidentiality and Data Privacy Policy that is available on the St Catherine’s School website under ‘School Policies’. Communications we send might include publications, surveys, appeals and event marketing and may be sent by post, telephone or email. We will never release your details to any third parties for their use for marketing purposes. We are committed to high standards of fundraising, being open and honest, respectful of you and accountable for the support you give us. We adhere to the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Codes of Best Practice and as a charity are registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Our Fundraising Promise and Vulnerable Adults commitments are on the Development section of the website. If at any time you would like to change your preferences, please call Dawn Pilkington on 01483 899751 or email association@stcatherines.info Thank you.