Principal

About us

St. Catherine’s British School is a leading international school in Athens, founded in 1956 on the grounds of the British Embassy. As a non-profit school rooted in British educational excellence, St. Catherine’s combines academic ambition with a strong emphasis on character, personal growth and global citizenship, welcoming students from Nursery at age three through the IB programme in Year 13. The school is sustained by an engaged network of parents and alumni whose long-standing connection to St. Catherine’s enriches school life and strengthens the sense of belonging across generations, from age three to 103.

Serving a diverse community with students from more than 60 nationalities, the school offers a broad and balanced education grounded in the British National Curriculum, IGCSE and the IB Diploma Programme. St. Catherine’s is recognised among the top IB schools in Europe and is the highest-ranked IB school in Greece in 2025, with graduates progressing to world-leading universities including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, UCL, Yale, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, McGill, Bocconi, IE, École Polytechnique and many more.

Beyond academic excellence, St. Catherine’s provides an environment where students discover their interests, develop leadership and pursue meaningful experiences in and beyond the classroom. Through co-curricular activities such as the performing arts, competitive sport, Model United Nations, inspiring educational residential trips that span the globe, as well as community service and social impact initiatives, students broaden their horizons and contribute positively to the world around them. Whether advocating for important causes, launching student-led projects, participating in international conferences, or supporting communities across Greece, St. Catherine’s students are encouraged to use their talents with curiosity, integrity, care and dedication.

With a modern campus, specialist facilities and a staff community that includes highly qualified teachers and experienced IB examiners, St. Catherine’s is committed to delivering an education that prepares young people not only for university, but for life. Guided by the school’s mission to empower students to understand, care and create a better future, every child is given the opportunity to thrive academically, socially, and personally within a vibrant and deeply connected community.

ISI Inspection in March 2023

St. Catherine’s was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in March 2023 and received the highest rating of “excellent” in all categories:

• The quality of the pupil’s achievements and their learning, attitudes, and skills
• The contribution of curricular and extra-curricular provision (including community links of benefit to pupils)
• The contribution of teaching
• The spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development of the pupils
• The contribution of arrangements for welfare, health, and safety
• The quality of governance
• The quality of leadership and management
• The quality of links with parents, carers, and guardians

Academic Programme and Accreditation

The school is divided into six stages, in line with legal requirements for England and Wales. These departments are:

• Foundation Stage - Nursery and Reception (ages 3 – 5 years)
• Key Stage One - Years 1 and 2 (ages 5 – 7 years)
• Key Stage Two - Years 3 – 6 (ages 7 – 11 years)
• Key Stage Three - Years 7 – 9 (ages 11 – 14 years)
• Key Stage Four - Years 10 and 11 (ages 14 – 16 years) culminating in (I)GCSE examinations.
• International Baccalaureate - Years 12 and 13 (ages 16 – 18 years) culminating in the IB Diploma qualification.

The school follows a curriculum that is closely based on the National Curriculum of England and Wales between the ages of 5 and 16 years, with all students being taught English, Mathematics, Science, ICT, Physical Education and one of four Modern Languages. In addition, there are a range of creative and humanities subjects delivered within the different Key Stages. For the final two years all students can study for the full IB Diploma, and a range of subjects are available in the six Diploma subject groups.

The school is an HMC school as well as an Executive Member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and is IBO World School 1370. It submits itself for the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection on a three-year cycle.

Community

St. Catherine’s is situated within its own grounds in northern Athens, near the elegant suburb of Kifisia. In 2020, we expanded into our new Upper School building adjacent to the Lower School. The school currently has excellent teaching, sporting, and recreational facilities, including a large open-air swimming pool and two libraries. We are currently a Microsoft ‘Incubator School’ sporting the most up-to-date technology.

The school has a good balance of long term local (Greek) pupils and expatriate pupils from all over the world. Due to its academic excellence, St. Catherine’s is the first-choice school for most local and expatriate families, who want their children to gain a British education within an international context. The parents of St. Catherine’s come from a variety of professional backgrounds and are intricately linked to the school through the PTSA (Parents and Teachers Support Association), as well as many other parent – student links. We also launched our Community Digital Space "StCatsConnect", with all our community staying connected at the heart of our thinking and vision.

St. Catherine’s takes every opportunity to benefit from the rich heritage of Greece and every class looks at a different aspect of Greek history or culture, usually supported by educational visits.

Extracurricular Activities

St. Catherine's students are encouraged to take part in the extensive range of clubs and societies that the school has to offer, which take place within the lunch hour and after school. Arts, sciences, and sports flourish at the school. The school participates in sports matches with other schools in Greece and abroad. Debating, oration and drama competitions at both national and international level, take place throughout the year.

Drama, dance, and music opportunities are on offer to all. Pupils can learn virtually any musical instrument of their choosing and can study for graded music examinations.

The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts’ examinations in speech and drama are also open to pupils of the school. A strong feature of the school is its International Award / Duke of Edinburgh scheme. This links most appropriately to the CAS element of the IB diploma.

Overseas trips are a regular part of school life, as is the exploration and discovery of the history and geography of Greece. Inter-house activities and the elected School Council ensure pupil involvement in the commitment and delivery of school improvement at all levels.

Service Opportunities

Service opportunities are hand in hand with our social responsibility programme, giving students a chance to give back at every opportunity. Senior students have numerous opportunities to involve themselves in service projects both within Greece and further afield. especially within the IB CAS Programme. Beach clean-up, language teaching in local refugee centres, and a Sea Turtle rescue scheme are examples of local projects. Additionally, several students have embarked on international programmes in developing countries.

University Support

St. Catherine’s provides extensive college counselling and careers advice by specialists with considerable experience in US and UK admissions. In addition to the IGCSE and IB programmes, the school provides SAT preparation running from September to January every academic year.

Several events take place every year, including university visits, guest speakers and a careers and universities fair which encourages our alumni to come in and give back to our senior students, always a momentous day for teachers and alumni alike.

St. Catherine’s has been ranked 4th in Europe and 54th globally in the 2025 Top IB Schools published by Education Advisers on IB-schools.com. This confirms our position as the highest-ranked IB school in Greece and places our school among the top-performing IB schools internationally.

(I)GCSE Results 2025

• 94% of subject grades passed with A*- C & 9-4
• 59% of subject grades passed with A*/A & 9-7

IB Results 2025

• 99% of candidates passed the IB Diploma. (IBO World 2025: 81.26%)
• The average Diploma score was 37 points. (IBO World 2025: 30.58)
• 37% of the cohort achieved more than 40 points. (IBO World 2025: 4.68%)