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St. Catherine's School
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| Location: | 6001 Grove Ave., Richmond, Virginia |
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| Area: | 14.9 acres (6.0 ha) |
| Built: | 1917 |
| Architect: | Upjohn, Hobart; et.al. |
| Architectural style: | Colonial Revival |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 07000400[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | May 04, 2007 |
St. Catherine's School is an independent Episcopal diocesan school for girls in grades junior kindergarten through 12th grade. It is the oldest private, all-girls school in Richmond, Va. and the only independent all-girls school in Virginia for junior kindergarten - 12th grade. St. Catherine's is the sister school to St. Christopher's. The two schools boast a Coordinate Program which includes joint events for the Lower and Middle Schools and shared classes in the Upper School. St. Catherine's competes in 15 different sports as a member of the Virginia League of Independent Schools. The school holds a fund raising event on campus each spring called "Daisy Days." The event is open to the Richmond community. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2008.
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The school was founded in 1890 by Virginia Randolph Ellett, known as Miss Jennie, during the middle of Richmond's New South movement. The school is contemporary with the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue.[2]
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. Virginia Randolph Ellett, who had relinquished her headship some years before, continued to teach and live at the school until her death on April 9, 1939 in her home built on campus. She was buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery and her grave marker was created by sculptor Rene Decartes.
Scenes from Disney's First Kid were shot here.
St. Catherine's is a college preparatory school with more than 920 students currently enrolled from junior-kindergarten through twelfth grade, with a tuition of approximately $21,000 for Upper School day students. For almost 90 years a boarding program existed at St. Catherine's but was phased out in 2008. The school's official colors are gold and white. A long-standing rivalry exists between St. Catherine's and The Collegiate School Richmond, VA.
Ampersand, the joint theatre organization of St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's, organizes a variety of theatre-related activity, including three annual mainstage plays, which have ranged recently from one-acts to classic plays such as The Glass Menagerie, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antigone, and The Importance of Being Earnest, to more contemporary full-length plays, such as Tom Dudzick's Over the Tavern and David Auburn's Proof, to musicals such as Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors. Plays have been held in McVey Theatre for more than 50 years.
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