The original school building was located on Hardach Street in central Germiston, and was built on land bought from the Simmer and Jack gold mining company.

[2] The new school buildings were designed in a toned-down Romanesque Revival style, influenced by the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Arts and Crafts Movement, by the Irish Catholic architect Brendan Joseph Clinch, an associate of Herbert Baker.

The first reported ghost sighting at St Catherine's occurred on 17 August 1972, when a janitor cleaning the school hall after hours claimed to have been chased into the quad by an amorphous grey apparition or "spook" with "glowing red eyes".

[5] From the beginning of 1977, a wave of sightings followed of a "grey, hooded figure swaddled in flowing robes", often accompanied by a "'wailing' sound".

[5] After 1977, ghost sightings at St Catherine's mostly ceased, although stories of paranormal happenings at the school persist to the present.

The facility was blessed by the Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlhagale, and unveiled by Sister Stephany Thiel, the regional prioress.

[3] St Catherine's matriculants and grade 9 pupils write exams set by the Independent Examinations Board (IEB).

These examinations conform to the requirements of the National Senior Certificate and are recognised both internationally and by all South African universities.