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08 January 2025
by Ferdinand Steinbeis
by Ferdinand Steinbeis
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English Boarding Schools in Profile: The Oratory, A Big-Family School With Fabulous Extracurriculars
Greetings from Richmond and a very happy new year!
Our first school visit of 2025 took us to The Oratory in Oxfordshire on a chilly but beautifully sunny January day. It’s been quite a while since we last worked with The Oratory, so we were especially excited to visit again and see what’s new. This time, five of us from the von Bülow team made the trip from Richmond—eager to really dive in and get a feel for what the school has to offer.
The Oratory ticks a lot of boxes for the families we work with. It’s small and welcoming, gives kids the space to grow both academically and personally, and is packed with fantastic extracurricular activities to keep everyone nicely busy. Moreover, the school is located perfectly with easy access to Oxford, London and London airports.
As always, we made sure to get an outside perspective too, catching up with Mrs. Berger, a German parent whose third child is currently at The Oratory, to hear her thoughts. It was great to see the school through her eyes as well as our own.
Want to know more about what we found? Keep reading to hear all about it!
The Oratory's lovely mansion house
The Setting
The Oratory sits a little elevated, overlooking the stunning Chiltern countryside. We were instantly won over by the school’s 100 acres of rural charm—really, the perfect backdrop to our visit. Right at the heart of the campus is a beautiful 18th-century red-brick mansion. These things can feel rather stuffy and cold. Not The Oratory’s: as we signed in at reception, a roaring log fire greeted us. This place is homely.
Stunning views over the Chilterns
One of the first things we noticed immediately was just how well-maintained everything is—whether it’s the beautiful mansion or the modern sports hall with a fully equipped gym and a 25m swimming pool. Even the boarding houses, though more functional in design, are cozy, with décor that makes them feel welcoming and warm. Every corner felt lived-in and loved.
The school's great sports center
Despite the rural location, getting to and from the school couldn’t be easier. Just five minutes down the road, you’ll find a bus station with buses to Oxford and Reading. Reading train station is about 10mins by car away and it takes about 25mins by train from Reading to London Paddington Station. By car, Heathrow Airport is around half an hour away, and the bright lights of Central London are about a 45-minute drive, making The Oratory very well connected.
Really cozy: log fire in the school's reception
What (we think!) The Oratory is about
A stand-out feature of this school is its much-feted “big family” community atmosphere. And this atmosphere is palpable! As we are shown around by the affable Abi and Sally (The Oratory’s admissions team), we bump into lots of apple-cheeked, smiling pupils and observe interactions between children and teachers. Trust us, this is a happy place. Two major contributing factors for this are the school’s relatively small size—The Oratory has just under 350 pupils—as well as its Catholic values. But it’s Catholic with a small “c,” so while the values are there, it’s not overbearing. Rather, it leads to everyone looking out for everyone here. Mrs. Berger put it thus: “They are really great at bringing all children into the group. My three boys are all very different. One is rather shy! Even he felt part of it and made friends very easily here.” Moreover—and this does not happen everywhere—friendships between boarders and local day pupils are perfectly normal here. We suspect that this has something to do with the fact that the day pupils come from friendly, down-to-earth families in the school’s neighborhood—farmers, businesspeople, local professionals.
Oars - Oratory has great rowing on offer
Moreover, The Oratory is all about offering a broad education that helps children thrive in whatever they’re passionate about—whether that’s academics, sports, the arts, drama, or building great relationships. “We’re a greenhouse, not a hothouse,” as the lovely Abi told us, and it couldn’t feel more true. As we toured the school, we saw this in action. Students were deeply engaged in all sorts of activities: a lively biology session on genetics, two actors rehearsing The Crucible with real intensity, a boy playing a beautiful (possibly Bach?) piece on the chapel organ, and two girls experimenting with pottery kilns in the stunning art department. Don’t get us wrong, all UK boarding schools offer this breadth. And yet, some only pay lip service to actually affording kids the time and space to explore it sufficiently. At Oratory this commitment to a broad education felt real. Our “Oratory-mum” Mrs. Berger summed it up perfectly: “Our boys love it here because they get the time and space to try so many things. There’s schoolwork, of course, but plenty of room for everything else, too.”
The school's attractive school uniform
The Academics
The Oratory is on the rise academically, with impressive results in 2024 that highlight its progress. For GCSEs, 35% of grades were 7–9, and at A level, 27% were A-grades, with 57% A–B. While not top-tier results, these are remarkable achievements for a school that we’d describe as fairly non-selective. The curriculum offers a solid mix of traditional subjects alongside less conventional options like Politics, and Psychology.
The school does not offer the IB.
Art is the standout A-level subject, with Photography and 3D Design also popular choices.
Where most of the teaching happens: the Moray Building
Languages on offer here include Latin, Mandarin, French, and Spanish, providing plenty of variety.
And the best part? No lessons on Saturdays! Students have the day free for sports fixtures, hobbies, or social time, striking a great balance between work and play.
One of only four schools with Real Tennis
The Extracurriculars
As mentioned already, this is one of the aspects in which the school really shines. But this is not only due to the breadth and quality of what’s on offer, but also the generous bandwidth that pupils are given to pursue them!
The school's pool
Sports are one standout—remarkably strong for a school of this size. Boys flourish in rugby and cricket, while hockey is a strength for the girls. Rowing is another big focus here, offered year-round thanks to the school’s own boathouse on the beautiful Hardwick Estate along the River Thames. On our tour, we met pupil Tom, a committed rower, who told us about his intense five-times-a-week training schedule. Chapeau!
And the school has the facilities to match: 11 rugby and football pitches, six cricket pitches, an indoor rifle range, three squash courts, and 11 tennis courts—including grass ones, a rarity among British boarding schools. But it’s the Real Tennis court that is a true gem. Only four UK schools have one! We saw a few teachers enjoying a game during our visit. It looks a little like a combination of tennis and squash. Great fun!
Fabulous art seen at the fabulous department!
The modern sports center adds even more, with a 25m pool, weight-training facilities, a spinning studio, and a 9-hole golf course. Horse-riding is also an option at the nearby Checkendon Equestrian Centre.
Music is another highlight, offering something for everyone. Choirs are big here (the Scolar Cantorum and Consort), as is the school's jazz band - or Big Band, as it's called here. Pupils can learn any instrument and perform in regular recitals every two weeks, open to all who want to play.
The grass tennis courts
Theatre is equally impressive, with three major productions a year. During our visit, pupils were rehearsing for The Crucible in the school’s dedicated theatre space, and the setup looked incredibly professional. The energy and talent on display made it clear why drama is so popular at The Oratory.
Pottery as part of the amazing art here
But we especially liked the art department, which is in a league of its own. The charismatic and inspiring Head of Art Phil Chaundry gave us a tour of the facilities, which include 12 studios, two galleries, kilns, a darkroom, and workshops for everything from sculpture to digital design. The breadth of offerings is staggering: photography, 3D design, fine art, and even architecture and product design, with a strong entrepreneurial focus.
Fabulous music here!
And if none of this strikes a chord, there are over 50 other activities to explore, from bee-keeping to the ever-popular CCF (Combined Cadet Force). Whatever a pupil’s interest, The Oratory ensures there’s something to inspire, engage, and challenge them.
Cozy communal space at Norris House
The Boarding
The Oratory has around 120 boarders, with 50 being full-time. This is just about what we at von Bülow Education consider critical mass and sufficient for our international families. What reassures us greatly is that at The Oratory boarding and day houses are combined to ensure much better integration between the two groups. Again, we consulted Mrs. Berger on this: “My boys never felt separate because they were boarders. They made friends with day pupils early on thanks to the integrated house system.”
Single room at Norris House
Though The Oratory was an all-boys school until four years ago, girls now make up 33% of the student body, with numbers steadily growing. There are three boys’ houses and one for girls. We visited boys abode Norris House, where we were warmly welcomed by Cheryl, the friendly housemistress. The house is functional but cozy, with bright, spacious rooms and inviting communal areas. By Sixth Form, all pupils have solo rooms, and even day pupils are assigned a room within their boarding house for added connection and access to shared spaces.
Weekends are full of opportunities for fun and adventure. Boarders can take buses to Oxford or Reading for shopping and entertainment or join school-organized trips to places like Bristol for surfing or - wait for it - Tamworth for skiing.
The Oratory is a catholic school, but with a small 'c'
Being a Catholic school, The Oratory holds Saturday evening Mass and Friday Vespers, blending tradition with modern student life.
Mobile phone use is managed pragmatically. Younger students (Years 7–11) hand in their phones at bedtime and are not allowed to use them during lessons or activities. They can access them after evening activities, Saturday matches, and Sunday Mass. Sixth Formers enjoy more freedom, managing their own phone use, though low quarterly effort grades can mean losing privileges. It’s a balanced policy that encourages responsibility while still allowing pupils to stay connected.
One thing we can’t forget is the food—it was some of the best we’ve had at a boarding school! Gammon, fried potatoes, and red cabbage, followed by treacle pudding, left us thoroughly impressed!
The school has no compulsory exeat week-ends.
Beautiful school, stunning surroundings
Who, we think, could be suited to The Oratory
The Oratory is a truly wonderful school with a big-family feel and ample opportunity, space and bandwidth for children to flourish. It is probably not for the urban overachiever singularly set on academic greatness, but rather for kids looking to explore lots of opportunities inside as well as outside the classroom. Thanks to the school’s close-knit community, we see The Oratory as especially suitable for children wanting to try out boarding for a term before they commit. What a lovely school!
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Holbrooke House
34 - 38 Hill Rise
Richmond
TW10 6UA
Tel: +44 (0) 203 9534063
Email: info@buloweducation.com
Holbrooke House
34 - 38 Hill Rise
Richmond
TW10 6UA
Tel: +44 (0) 203 9534063
Email: info@buloweducation.com