Founded in 1908 in Hardach Street, Germiston, by the Dominican Sisters the school moved to this much larger site in 1948. The architect for the new buildings was Bernard Clinch who used face-brick in different colours to create and embellish the buildings in the Collegiate style. The total rejection of racial segregation by the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference in 1976 led to St Catherine’s being open to all races since 1979.