The Oratory Prep School is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
day and boarding school for some 330 boys and girls aged from two to thirteen, founded in 1925.
The school is co-educational and is separate from the nearby
Oratory School, although they share a similar history.
History
The Oratory School was founded on 1 May 1859 in
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre.
In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
, a suburb in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, "for the education of
oman Catholic
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
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 Prep School was established with just four boys, at Rose Hill House, a Georgian-style
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
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.
[Our History]
at oratoryprep.co.uk, accessed 10 May 2020
By 1941, the school, based at Caversham Park, was taking boys only between the ages of six and thirteen.
In 1941 Caversham Park was sold, and the prep school merged temporarily with
Worth School
Worth may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
*Worth, Georgia
*Worth County, Georgia
*Worth, Illinois
*Worth Township, Cook County, Illinois
*Worth Township, Woodford County, Illinois
*Worth Township, Indiana
*Worth Township, Michigan
*Worth, ...
, which was at
Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...
for the duration of the war. 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.
[
In 1946, The Oratory Prep School re-opened at the Old Ryde, a fine house at Branksome Park, Poole, with 35 boys.][ The school moved to its current site in 1969, with sixty 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 a new headmaster, Michael Randell, who took over in 1981, the school developed further and became fully coeducational.][
In 2019, the school became part of ]Bellevue Education
Bellevue Education is an international private schools group founded in 2003 and based in London, UK. By 2019 it has grown to consist of 19 schools in the UK and 1 each in France and Switzerland. The Group also provides educational support to Bel ...
.
Present day
The school accepts children of all faiths, but still has close ties with the Roman Catholic church; Vincent Nichols
Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He previously served as Archbishop of Birm ...
, Archbishop of Westminster
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...
, sits on the Board of Governors, and Cardinal Baum was a member until his death in 2015. Children at the school are also expected to attend assemblies and weekly services.
The school is in South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...
, England, although it has a Reading postcode, and is within the area of the Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. It is an elected body responsible for some local government services in the county, includ ...
Local Education Authority
Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...
.
Curriculum
A majority of pupils sit the Common Entrance Examination
Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are se ...
and are accepted by nearby public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
s such as Abingdon, Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
* Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
* Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
, Harrow, Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
, St Edward's School, Oxford
St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'.
Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...
, and Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
.
Boarding
Most children are day pupils, but the school makes provisions for up to sixty boarders from Year 3
Year 3 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. It is usually the third year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between six to seven however some ...
upwards Each room caters for up to five children with full-time, weekly and flexi boarders living and mixing together.
Headmasters
*1925–1938: Father Sebastian Ritchie[
*1938–1941: Ronald Richings][
*The school merged with Worth during the Second World War][
*1946: Antony Patton][
*1952: Cyril Bull][
*1958: Christopher Maude][
*1969: P. J. G. Stow. M.A.][''Schools'', Volume 47 (1975), p. 608]
*1977: George André Robertson
*1981: Michael Randell[
*1991 - 2006: David Sexon][
*2006 - 2010: Richard Hillier, layer head of the ]Yehudi Menuhin School
The Yehudi Menuhin School is a Specialist school, specialist music school in Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, England, founded in 1963 by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. The current director of music is the British classical pianist Ashley Wass. ...
[
*2010 - 2017: Joseph Smith][
*2017 - 2022: Rob Stewart][
*2022: Andrew De Silva
]
Notable former pupils
*Tamara Taylor
Tamara Taylor (born September 27, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She appeared in the role of Dr. Camille Saroyan, head of the Forensic Division, in the forensic crime drama ''Bones (TV series), Bones''. She also appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ...
, woman rugby footballer
*Jamie Salmon
James Lionel Broome Salmon (born 16 October 1959) is an English rugby union centre who uniquely appeared in international matches for both New Zealand and England.
Career
He became a Wellington player in 1980 and first appeared for New Zealand ...
, rugby player who played for the New Zealand All Blacks and England
*Tim Atkins
Timothy Atkins is a British field hockey player. He plays for the Scotland men's national field hockey team and plays club hockey in the Men's England Hockey League
The Men's England Hockey League is a field hockey league organized by England ...
, hockey player
References
External links
School Website
Profile
on the ISC #REDIRECT ISC
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
website
* ISI Inspectio
Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oratory Preparatory School, The
Preparatory schools in Oxfordshire
Catholic boarding schools in England
Boarding schools in Oxfordshire
Roman Catholic private schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham