Address: The Oratory School, Woodcote, South Oxfordshire RG8 0PJ
Website: oratory.co.uk
Founded: 1859
Pupils: 350, co-ed aged 11-18
Fees: £8,280-£17,760 per term
Head: Mr Matthew Fogg, BA (Dunelm), FTIOB
Religious Affiliation: Roman Catholic
Entrance Procedure: Selective via assessment/ISEB Common Entrance/predicted GCSE grades
School Visits: Open mornings take place in September, March and May. Personal tours, experience days and taster days also available
Contact: [email protected]
Curriculum
GCSE through to A levels for all mainstream subjects, including Latin, and an extensive cocurricular programme of over 50 activities.
Sports & The Arts
Outstanding sporting and arts facilities include an all-weather pitch; a 25m swimming pool; six lawn tennis courts; one real tennis court (one of only four schools in the country); three squash courts; a nine-hole golf course; an indoor cycling studio; an indoor sports hall; a gym; a theatre; and an art gallery. Padel courts are also coming soon.
Pastoral Care
There are four boarding houses with live-in housemasters and staff, residential tutors, school counsellor an school chaplain. The community is defined by very strong pastoral care; the nurturing of each individual pupil is at the very heart of school life. The school remains, quite deliberately, small enough that staff know every one of our students in the way that their parents know them. The atmosphere is challenging yet not intimidating, because education at The Oratory happens one student at a time.
Exit Destinations
The majority of students reach their first choice university, many of which are Russell Group. Leavers’ destinations in 2025 included Edinburgh, Exeter, Imperial College London, King’s College London, SOAS University of London and Warwick.
Head’s Philosophy
To lead with a clear learning culture – one of the key features that distinguishes a great school from a mediocre one. Our founder Saint John Henry Newman’s vision of education was of a holistic process of active engagement in learning that would develop not just the knowledge of facts, but a deeper understanding of reality, wiser judgement, and profound personal flourishing. The Ex Umbris learning culture aims to keep Newman’s educational vision alive in the 21st century.
