On her terms
We have one focus: girls. Their needs, their ambitions, their voices. No distractions, for us or them. A school tailored for success on their terms.
St Helen and St Katharine is a school where bright girls with enquiring minds thrive, as they grow into intellectually curious and erudite young women. Academic life is full, vibrant and spirited: the best within and beyond the classroom combine to stimulate intellectual endeavour and inquisitive independence which embody the ethos of our school.
A sense of
purposeful fun
We take having fun very seriously and ensure students have the opportunity to take a break. Dressing up days or simply a hot chocolate around the campfire give students the chance to go off-curriculum and take part in activities which are different from their academic studies. This is just as much a part of a fully-rounded education as what happens in the classroom.
What's on
Pride in our alumnae
We are enormously proud of our alumnae, whose remarkable achievements and sphere of influence, nationally and globally, from science, medicine and engineering to business, law and the arts. Explore some of their extraordinary career highlight stories below.
Explore all our alumnae journeys
Katie Blackwell
Opera director and theatre maker
My time at St Helen’s instilled a lifelong love of classical music and opera; I will never forget Miss Grant taking me to my first ever opera in Year 8! The wonderful music department inspired me to pursue my dream career, and to remain resilient through tough times – you never know what opportunities are waiting around the corner.
Katie Blackwell
Opera director and theatre maker
Phoebe Topping
Civil Servant - Head of Europe and Humanitarian Response
The community values I was taught at St Helen’s orientated me towards a career in the public sector, which I find enormously fulfilling.
Phoebe Topping
Civil Servant - Head of Europe and Humanitarian Response Department of Health and Social Care
Dr Catherine Armstrong
Reader in Modern History and School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Loughborough University
My time at St Helen’s gave me a love of learning and this underpins the way that I see myself in the world, as an historian, as an academic and as a woman. I was taught my some inspirational teachers during my years at St Helen’s, which modelled for me a way of quiet, authoritative leadership in the classroom. I also think that a St Helen’s education gives confidence without arrogance in one’s own intellectual abilities, allowing me to first of all aim for my own academic career, and then more recently to mentor and coach others towards that goal.
Dr Catherine Armstrong
Reader in Modern History and School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Loughborough University
Mel Spencer
Classical Music Writer and Content Strategist
Mel Spencer
Classical Music Writer and Content Strategist
Lydia Akinola
Resident Doctor, obstetrics and gynaecology (Oxford Deanery)
I originally wanted to become an astronaut, however, because I am ‘nosy’, I soon realised that life as an astronaut would not give me the human interactions I craved. I’m naturally very inquisitive and find people fascinating. The doctors in my family always had the best work stories! And I was really into science, so that’s how I ended up choosing medicine as a career.
Lydia Akinola
Resident Doctor, obstetrics and gynaecology (Oxford Deanery)
Rebecca Ley
Content Writer at Earnest and self-employed novelist
I look back at my time at St Helen’s very fondly. It was an environment that allowed me to pursue the subjects I really enjoyed, such as History of Art and Literature, with incredibly inspiring and encouraging teachers who always told us we could achieve whatever we wanted. The confidence in our abilities and encouragement we received I’m sure helped me when it came to finding a job I enjoyed and when staring at a blank page trying to write a novel. I made friends for life at school that are endlessly supportive, and that coupled with an environment that supported us every step of the way, helped to give me the confidence I needed to pursue what I really wanted to do.
Rebecca Ley
Content Writer at Earnest and self-employed novelist
Katie Blackwell
Opera director and theatre maker
My time at St Helen’s instilled a lifelong love of classical music and opera; I will never forget Miss Grant taking me to my first ever opera in Year 8! The wonderful music department inspired me to pursue my dream career, and to remain resilient through tough times – you never know what opportunities are waiting around the corner.
Katie Blackwell
Opera director and theatre maker
Phoebe Topping
Civil Servant - Head of Europe and Humanitarian Response
The community values I was taught at St Helen’s orientated me towards a career in the public sector, which I find enormously fulfilling.
Phoebe Topping
Civil Servant - Head of Europe and Humanitarian Response Department of Health and Social Care
Dr Catherine Armstrong
Reader in Modern History and School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Loughborough University
My time at St Helen’s gave me a love of learning and this underpins the way that I see myself in the world, as an historian, as an academic and as a woman. I was taught my some inspirational teachers during my years at St Helen’s, which modelled for me a way of quiet, authoritative leadership in the classroom. I also think that a St Helen’s education gives confidence without arrogance in one’s own intellectual abilities, allowing me to first of all aim for my own academic career, and then more recently to mentor and coach others towards that goal.
Dr Catherine Armstrong
Reader in Modern History and School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Loughborough University
Mel Spencer
Classical Music Writer and Content Strategist
Mel Spencer
Classical Music Writer and Content Strategist
Lydia Akinola
Resident Doctor, obstetrics and gynaecology (Oxford Deanery)
I originally wanted to become an astronaut, however, because I am ‘nosy’, I soon realised that life as an astronaut would not give me the human interactions I craved. I’m naturally very inquisitive and find people fascinating. The doctors in my family always had the best work stories! And I was really into science, so that’s how I ended up choosing medicine as a career.
Lydia Akinola
Resident Doctor, obstetrics and gynaecology (Oxford Deanery)
Rebecca Ley
Content Writer at Earnest and self-employed novelist
I look back at my time at St Helen’s very fondly. It was an environment that allowed me to pursue the subjects I really enjoyed, such as History of Art and Literature, with incredibly inspiring and encouraging teachers who always told us we could achieve whatever we wanted. The confidence in our abilities and encouragement we received I’m sure helped me when it came to finding a job I enjoyed and when staring at a blank page trying to write a novel. I made friends for life at school that are endlessly supportive, and that coupled with an environment that supported us every step of the way, helped to give me the confidence I needed to pursue what I really wanted to do.
Rebecca Ley
Content Writer at Earnest and self-employed novelist
