The Oratory Preparatory School

The Oratory Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic day and boarding school for some 400 boys and girls aged from three to thirteen, founded in 1925.

The Oratory Preparatory School
Address
Goring Heath

Oxfordshire
,
RG8 7SF

England
Coordinates51.51507°N 1.07944°W / 51.51507; -1.07944
Information
TypeIndependent preparatory
Day and boarding
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic (Oratorian)
Established1925 (prep school)
1977 (pre-prep school)
FounderThe Oratory School
Local authorityOxfordshire
PresidentLord Judge
Chair of GovernorsMatthew Stilwell
HeadmasterRob Stewart
GenderCo-educational
Age3 to 13
Enrollment400~
Websitehttp://www.oratoryprep.co.uk/

The school is co-educational, unlike its parent school, the Oratory School, which takes boys only, and the two remain separate, with their own sites and staff. However, both are part of the Oratory Schools Association and share a Chairman of Governors.

History

The Oratory Preparatory School is an offshoot of the Oratory School, located nearby, which was founded on 1 May 1859 in Edgbaston, a suburb in Birmingham, "for the education of [Roman Catholic] boys not destined to ecclesiastical estate", meaning not aiming to become priests. In 1922, the original school moved to Caversham Park near Reading, which offered better accommodation.

In 1925, The Oratory Preparatory School was established with just four boys, at Rose Hill House, a Georgian-style country house in Emmer Green, less than a mile away from the main school. Its first Headmaster was Father Sebastian Ritchie, and by 1930 its numbers were up to thirty boys.[1]

By 1941, the school, based at Caversham Park, was taking boys only between the ages of six and thirteen.[2]

In 1941 Caversham Park was sold, and the prep school merged temporarily with Worth School at Downside. Two terms later, the Oratory School re-established itself for senior boys at Woodcote House, and three cottages in Exlade Street were used for classes for a few boys aged about 10 to 13, pending the re-establishment of a Prep School.[1]

In 1946 the Oratory Preparatory School re-opened at the Old Ryde, a fine house at Branksome Park, Poole, with 35 boys.[1]

The school moved to its current site in 1969, with 60 acres of grounds, amid open countryside and woodland overlooking the Thames Valley, close to Reading. In 1977, a new Pre-Preparatory Department opened, with 21 children, who included girls for the first time. Under headmaster Michael Randell, who took over in 1981, the school developed further and became fully coeducational.[1]

The school accepts children of all faiths, but still has close ties with the Roman Catholic church; Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, sits on the Board of Governors, and Cardinal Baum was a member until his death in 2015.[3] Pupils are also expected to attend assemblies and weekly services.[4]

The prep school is in South Oxfordshire, England, although it has a Reading postcode, and is within the area of the Oxfordshire County Council Local Education Authority.

Curriculum

A majority of pupils sit for the Common Entrance Examination and have been accepted to nearby public schools such as Abingdon School, Eton College, Harrow School, Marlborough College, St Edward's School and Wellington College.[5]

The 2010 ISI Inspection noted the school's broad curriculum and described the pupils' achievement and quality of teaching as "good".

Boarding

Most children are day pupils but the school makes provisions for up to 60 boarders from Year 4 upwards. Boarders have the option to board full-time or part-time.[6] There are seven boys’ dormitories and four girls’ dormitories. The current maximum number of beds in any one dorm is ten although most of the dorms sleep six children.

Headmasters
  • 1925–1938: Father Sebastian Ritchie[1]
  • 1938–1941: Ronald Richings[1]
  • (school merged with Worth during Second World War)[1]
  • 1946: Antony Patton[1]
  • 1952: Cyril Bull[1]
  • 1958: Christopher Maude[1]
  • 1969: P. J. G. Stow. M.A.[7]
  • 1977: George André Robertson
  • 1981: Michael Randell[1]
  • 1991–2006: David Sexon[1]
  • 2006–2010: Richard Hillier, layer head of the Yehudi Menuhin School[1]
  • 2010–2017: Joseph Smith[1]
  • 2017: Rob Stewart[1]

Notable former pupils

References
  1. Our History at oratoryprep.co.uk, accessed 10 May 2020
  2. The Catholic Who's Who & Yearbook, Vol. 34 (1941), p. 3: “ There is a separate Preparatory Department where boys are received between the ages of 6 and 13. For particulars apply to:—THE HEADMASTER, The Oratory Preparatory School, Caversham Park, Reading.”
  3. Staff & Governing Body at oratoryprep.co.uk
  4. Spiritual Life at oratoryprep.co.uk
  5. Leavers' Destinations
  6. Boarding
  7. Schools, Volume 47 (1975), p. 608
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