The Cherwell School is a secondary school with academy status on the

Marston Ferry Road Marston Ferry Road is a link road in north Oxford, England. It is named after the ferry that used to cross the River Cherwell at the village of Marston from at least 1279. The road links the Banbury Road in North Oxford just south of Summ ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The current school site was built in 1963 as a

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usuall ...

, later becoming the main comprehensive school for

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The le ...

, with a catchment area extending down to the city centre,

Grandpont Grandpont is a mainly residential area in south Oxford. It is west of Abingdon Road, and consists mainly of narrow streets that run at right angles to the main road, with terraced late- Victorian and Edwardian houses. It also contains the Grandp ...

, and

New Hinksey New Hinksey is a suburb in the south of the city of Oxford. Geography The suburb is west of the Abingdon Road ( A4144). To the north is Grandpont and to the east, over Donnington Bridge, which crosses the River Thames, is Cowley. To the west i ...

. Along with later expansions, in 2003, and as part of a citywide reorganisation, it merged with the Frideswide Middle School, and is now a split site school of 1,700 pupils aged between 11 and 19.

Recent changes

The North site has recently undergone construction work, with the extension of the Sixth form common room. The original design, to accommodate only 100 pupils in years 12 and 13, became inadequate in recent years for the 300 or more pupils currently in the sixth form. The main building work was construction of a new building alongside the existing block, and then removing the internal wall to create a much larger space. On the second floor of the structure, the school library has been extended to include quiet study areas, each with computer and desk facilities.

Notable alumni

Cherwell School alumni are called Cherwellians: * Tom Bateman, actor. *

Joey Beauchamp Joseph Daniel Beauchamp ( , 13 March 1971 – 19 February 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. He played for most of his career at Oxford United but also had spells with West Ham United and Swindon Town ...

, footballer. * Sholto Carnegie, rower * Canice Carroll, footballer * Mark Crozer, musician. * Hannah England, middle-distance runner and

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1500m silver medallist. *

Rupert Friend Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 9 October 1981) is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Libertine'' (2004) and '' Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' (2005), both of which won him awards for best newcomer. He port ...

, actor. *

Tim Goldsworthy Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist. Career Originally a musician/producer for Unkle with James Lavelle, he later worked with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and was formerly joint owner of DFA Records. G ...

, Record Producer, DJ and co-founder of Mo'Wax record label. * Ramin Gray, playwright. *Orlando Higginbottom, also known as

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom (born 7 March 1986), known professionally as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or TEED), is a British electronic music producer, DJ and singer-songwriter based in the United States. Early life Orlando is ...

, Electro Producer and DJ. * Benjamin Hope, painter. *Adam Hunt, chess International Master. *

James Lavelle James Lavelle (born 22 February 1974) is an English electronic musician, record label owner and curator. He founded the Mo'Wax record label in 1992, and has been the only constant member of UNKLE. He directed the 2014 edition of the Meltdow ...

, member of music group UNKLE, founder of Mo'Wax record label. *

Yasmin Le Bon Yasmin Le Bon (née Parvaneh; born 29 October 1964) is an English model. She was one of the highest-earning models during the 1980s and is also known for being the wife of pop star Simon Le Bon. Early life Yasmin Parvaneh was born in Oxford, ...

née Yasmin Parvaneh, model and wife of

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

, singer in band Duran Duran. * Jack Letts, jihadist. * Michael Morris, cricketer *

Tom Penny Tom Penny (born 13 April 1977) is a professional skateboarder from Dorchester, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK). As of January 2013, Penny is sponsored by the Flip skateboard deck brand and his Cheech & Chong signature deck is one of the ...

, skateboarder. * Omid Scobie, journalist and writer. *

Rachel Seiffert Rachel Seiffert (born 1971) is a British novelist and short story writer. Biography She was born in 1971 in Oxford to German and Australian parents, and was brought up bilingually. She lives in London. Publications and awards Seiffert has p ...

, novelst *

Sophie Sumner Sophie Sumner (born 15 January 1990) is an English fashion model. Their modelling career became notable after they were runner-up of ''Britain's Next Top Model, Cycle 5'' and later won '' America's Next Top Model, Cycle 18''. Early life Sumne ...

, model. * Miles Welch-Hayes, footballer - Oxford United

References

External links

Cherwell School websiteCherwell School Parent Teacher Association websiteExam league table results for Cherwell School, 2006
an
results from 2005

Ofsted inspection report (carried out in 2005)Ofsted inspection report (carried out in 2008)
{{authority control Secondary schools in Oxfordshire Educational institutions established in 1963 Schools in Oxford 1963 establishments in England Academies in Oxfordshire