St. Catherine's British School Athens
Reviews & Information

As a former student at St. Catherines, I must admit that my 2 year experience at the school was very unpleasant. To start off, the poor recruitment of teaching staff has been a major factor contributing to the downfall of this school. The education at st catherines was just unaccepatable. A whole lesson could go by and the students would have learned absolutely nothing while the teachers moved on to the next topic. Students were far from prepared for their exams by the very strict teachers. My classmate once accidentally released a tiny fart during an assessment and they were disqualified for "disrupting the class" and suspended for three days! The constant yelling and pressure added to students was extreme. I vividly recall one teacher in particular screaming and throwing her food in anger at me because I couldn't complete my homework. The mental scars left in my head from the abusive staff behaviour and the continuous shouting, will forever haunt me. In addition to the bullying from the teachers, there was also a lot of bullying being committed by the students that the teachers pretended not to notice. A bleeding child had once passed out on the floor after being strangled by another student, and the teacher on duty was sitting with their phone! Everyday I was afraid for my life entering that gang-infiltrated building, as I was sure that if anything were to happen to me, the teachers simply would not care. And don't even get me started on the hygiene of this school. I kid you not, children would catch diseases left and right. When I had my first PE lesson i was shocked by the quality of the changing rooms. We were forced to dress in an abandoned, filthy warehouse filled with cockroaches, scorpions, and other vicious creatures. A girl once fainted in the bathroom due to the horrendous smell and had to be taken to the hospital! Also, the bathrooms were hotspots where students were often seen sniffing sugar. If you are a parent who cares for your child please do not send them to this hell hole as they will literally be traumatised for life.

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I was a former pupil at St Catherines for two years. To start off with, I feel that the the school's poor choice of staff is the major issue! While i understand that there are few excellent teachers such as the head of science in the upper school and some english teachers, a large number of them are frankly incapable of controlling a class, let alone teaching pupils! There is a stark difference between knowing a subject well and being able to pass on the information to students effectively. During my time at St Catherines, i had to cover various syllabi on my own, specifically in Biology, as the teacher was absolutely horrendous. She couldn't teach to save someone's life. Generally speaking, i am of the impression (based on many of my past school-mates' opinions) that the school is seriously lacking in their biology department, as the good teachers left (probably due to not being happy). Why were my parents obliged to pay out this much money for what is known as one of the best schools in Greece, when I barely learnt anything? Also a major problem is the hiring of teachers from Greek descent, as many frankly cannot communicate in English and hence, can't answer any questions or teach!! My maths teacher was absolutely horrendous! She would randomly have mood swings and I was never sure as to whether she would make fun of me in front of the class or be reasonable. Her level of english was catastrophic, as was her pronunciation. If someone dared laugh at her accent (and try to conceal it) she would scream at them. She enjoyed humiliating people in front of everyone. I barely learnt any maths from her, as i couldn't understand her half the time and felt she rushed the syllabus as well as not explaining the content enough. Furthermore, the computer science department was seriously lacking in organisation, as the lazy teachers never marked homework or classwork, so i was constantly unsure about my academic standard for that subject. They never bothered explaining anything properly, as they left everyone off to do their own independent work, after a vague introduction of a topic. I must say that the only strong department is that of music, as i was very pleased with its head! Moving on, my Spanish teacher was horrendous. Despite being of Spanish decent (or a hispanic country) she could not teach. Overall, if you're a good student, aiming high and willing to work hard, i seriously don't recommend going through what i experienced. I had to spend thousands of extra hours covering syllabi. Apart from hard work, a good student requires a good teacher. It is good to bear in mind that I'm a top star-student, despite the many poor excuses for a teacher, as i taught myself a lot of the syllabi and had to do tutoring at home. I achieved high standards thanks to my efforts at home and the excellent resources the internet provided.

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Once a prestigious and high-performing School, St Catherine’s is now trading on it’s past reputation. The Senior Leaders are ineffective and lack vision or strategy, staff retention is poor and staff are demoralised. Facilities in the new Upper School are excellent but expansion since Covid means that they are now already at capacity. The Lower School occupies a tired, run-down and cramped site which is desperate for regeneration. The school is dominated by a privileged Greek elite whose children are effectively above the school rules, who speak Greek to the exclusion of non-native-speakers throughout the day despite the school’s learning language being English, and of whom the school are terrified because of their social and financial muscle. This is a school to avoid until the current SLT are retired.

(16) Embed

School does not initiate community atmosphere and proper socialization. Up to 24 + kids per class (most of the students are from Greek families who don't understand British culture and/ or can't speak English which affects the classes needs). Teachers and principals are not trained to effectively manage and discipline students, as a result there is often yelling. There is a lot of bullying among peer groups and school does not use school therapist to resolve conflict or deal with emotional issues. Athletics--school hires local Greeks who do not know how to encourage good sportsmanship. Academics-well organized and thought out. But encourages competition among students.

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I’m not sure about the past but current IB system at the school is horrendous. Teaching is barely a 2 star and could be a lot better. Currently am self teaching myself most of the syllabus

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この世の中で一番酷い学校。虐めが多く、先生方も何もやらない。勉強を覆いけど、何も習ってない。行政 の中でも虐めが酷い。絶対ここの学校に行かない方がいい。

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Run by bullies and supported by people who live corrupt life styles. Children are not cared for. They teach children how to be competitive amongst each other. Bullying is an issue.. Teachers scream, yell and leave their own classrooms to pick up a private phone call, leaving the children stressed and anxious. I have so many unresolved and disgusting stories about the characters who work at this school. These people do not know how to be diplomatic, run a school, let alone take care and educate children. It's a poor excuse for a school. And to those families who are Greek and can't speak English or have no British background, why are you putting your kid through this hell? Go across the street to the Greek public school where they actually have a playground and a nice faculty. ps- this school doesn't have a playground for kids because there was an "accident" in the playground few years back.

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Fantastic School, Incredible Facilities, Great teachers. All in all, a wonderful place to receive your education!

(4) (21) Embed

As a former pupil of St Catherine’s British school I would actually rate it very highly, I have read a lot of the comments and find some of them ridiculous. One has said that there is constant violence in the school and that girls have contracted STIs from being in the bathrooms! This is simply not true. My experience was completely different and found the school a very positive place to be. I started on year 2 and went all the way through to the upper school. The teachers were always very patient and positive, the lessons informative and the all round feel of the place was very relaxed and nice. I would recommend this place to anyone. Don’t listen to the bad reviews they are simply people with nothing better to do than hate on a perfectly good school.

(4) (30) Embed

Teachers are of low quality and support is needed. Hygiene standards are below par for this level of school and the very high fees. In the nursery the cost was exorbitant with all this study from home for 4 year olds.

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