St. Catherine's School is an independent Episcopal diocesan school in Richmond, Virginia, USA. It is the oldest private, all-girls school in Richmond and the only independent all-girls school in Virginia for age 3 to grade 12. St. Catherine's is the sister school to St. Christopher's. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2008.
History
St. Catherine's was founded in 1890 by Virginia Randolph Ellett during the middle of Richmond's New South movement.
In 1917, the school was incorporated and moved to its present site in the Westhampton area of Richmond. It was sold to the Episcopal Church in 1920 and renamed for St. Catherine, the patron saint of young women, especially those undergoing education.
Since 1957, members of the graduated classes of St. Catherine's are invited to make their debut at the Bal du Bois, held annually at the Country Club of Virginia.[4]
The school has produced at least three newspapers: The Scrap Basket, Odds 'n' Ends and Arcadian. The longest running being The Arcadian, which was published from 1940 to 2007.[5]
Notable alumnae
- Adele Goodman Clark (1901), suffragette
- Nancy Astor (1898), first female member of Parliament
- Anna Hill Johnstone (1930), costume designer
- Penny Williams (1955), Oklahoma State Senator
- Molly Haskell (1957), film critic, author
- Lee Smith (1963), author
- Charlotte Fox (1975), mountaineer
- Dagen McDowell (1987), news anchor and analyst
- Catharine F. Easterly (1988), judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
- Tinsley Mortimer (1994), American socialite
- Darley Newman (1997), producer, TV host, writer [6]
- Anne H. Charity Hudley, linguist
References
- ^ "Mission and Core Values". St. Catherine's.
- "St. Catherines School". National Centre for Education Statistics. US Department of Education. Retrieved 11 October 2016. - ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 13 March 2009.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ "Debutante Society". WFAE.
- "Times-Dispatch: Bal du Bois this year features three co-leaders". St. Catherine's School. 31 May 2009. - ^ Rogers, Kyle (2019). "St. Catherine's School Newspapers On Virginia Chronicle". The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Durden, Douglas (6 July 2007). "Horses+Travel='Equitrekking'". Richmond.com. Retrieved 10 September 2011.(Class of 1997)
