Last updated October 2026
St Catherines College is a state-integrated, girls’ secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 14 Upper Bourke Street, Kilbirnie, Wellington. It opened in 1950 and had 206 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site describes a Catholic girls’ college founded by the Sisters of Mercy, where every student takes part in religious education and the religious life of the school, with Mass at St Patrick’s church each term and a sacramental programme for students who want it.
Co-curricular options include sport, music lessons and the Duke of Edinburgh award, and international students can come for anything from a short stay or a term to long-term study towards university entrance.
At a glance
- Principal
- Amelie Kelder
- Address
- 14 Upper Bourke Street, Kilbirnie, Wellington
- Phone
- 04 939 8988
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
NCEA results
School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with all New Zealand school leavers.
This school New Zealand
School leavers are students who left school that year, whatever year level they left from.
Who goes here
Share of the 206 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
9 international students
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from May 2023. This kind of report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together, here how well culturally responsive teaching and school practices support the wellbeing and learning of every student, including better NCEA Level 2 and 3 results for Māori and Pacific students.
ERO pointed to an understanding of cultural responsiveness being built with students and families, a curriculum with more chances to learn through students’ own cultures and languages, strong partnerships with the cultural communities in the school, and Mercy values that students know well and that support their wellbeing.
Next, the school plans to keep developing a culturally responsive curriculum that brings mātauranga Māori into every learning area, embed its wellbeing framework across the school, and keep building relational, culturally responsive teaching using its own competency framework.
Read the ERO reports for St Catherines College (Kilbirnie)
Enrolling
As a state-integrated Catholic school, the college’s enrolment page includes an Archdiocese preference of enrolment certificate for Catholic families, and attendance dues are compulsory, collected by the college on behalf of the Board of Proprietors.
Students can enrol at any time of the year. Families apply online, and the school then contacts them to arrange an interview with the principal. Hardship and scholarship applications are also available on the enrolment page.
Schools nearby
In Kilbirnie Wellington
St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) is in Kilbirnie Wellington. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Kilbirnie Wellington guide →Questions parents ask
Is St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
206 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
No. It is in the donation scheme, so it only asks for donations for school camps.
What is its Equity Index?
435. The Ministry of Education’s Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, from 344 (fewest) to 569 (most). It is used to share out funding, not as a measure of quality.
Is it a single-sex school?
Yes. It takes girls only.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 100% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Sources and data notes 1
- School facts: School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 28 Oct 2026 (CC BY 4.0). NCEA results, roll history and stand-downs: Education Counts, school leavers 2023 to 2025, stand-downs 2025, rolls 2021 to 2025 (CC BY 4.0).