Our calendars are filling up fast with school visits, and last Thursday we once again boarded a train out of London. Just over an hour north-east of Cambridge lies the small market town of Oundle, home to the school of the same name.
Until now, Oundle had rarely featured on our shortlist, mainly because the minimum stay was two years — simply too long for many of our families. But times are changing, and the school has recently started accepting students for one-year stays as well.
Why is that so appealing, you may ask? Because Oundle School unquestionably belongs in the top tier alongside Wellington, Sevenoaks and Brighton when it comes to academics, sport, drama, co-curricular life and, above all, Technology & Design.
It is also one of the few remaining British boarding schools where pupils still dine within their boarding houses. In short: Oundle is a true full-boarding school with high standards and an extraordinary range of activities and opportunities beyond the classroom.
After a brief conversation with Senior Registrar Jonny Hammond-Chambers about the school, the town and languages, we set off across campus with Elizabeth Clark, who runs the school stationery shop. What followed was a fast-paced and impressively professional one-hour tour.
We usually love being shown around by pupils, but Oundle conducts around 640 tours a year for agencies like ours and, of course, for prospective families. That would simply mean too many missed lessons for the students. Fortunately, Elizabeth provided us with a wealth of fascinating insights as we briskly crossed the extensive campus, taking in the modern sports centre, the remarkable Patrick Engineering Centre and the library along the way.
Part of the reason for our speedy pace was the fact that around 60 boys were waiting for us for lunch in their boarding house. Despite being hungry, nobody seemed remotely impatient, and we were still able to gain the final pupil perspectives we were looking for. We also had the chance to speak with House Matron Debbie, Housemaster Scott Jessop and his deputy and tutor, Tim Hipperson.
By the end of the visit, one thing had become very clear: Oundle School is one of those rare gems that may not suit every child — but if you are fortunate enough to be offered a place here, it is certainly not one to turn down.
Setting
To quote Jonny: “The school has a big footprint on the town” — if anything, that is an understatement. For more than 450 years, the picture-postcard town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, with its population of just over 6,000, honey-coloured stone facades and the River Nene running through it, has been inseparable from the 40-acre school at its heart.
Boarding houses, the theatre and several sports facilities are scattered throughout the town, meaning that Oundle’s 750 staff members and 1,100 pupils — easily recognisable in their elegant uniforms, especially the girls in their navy-striped culottes — are constantly part of the town’s daily life.
Alongside historic buildings such as the Main School, Yarrow Gallery, several boarding houses and the language, music and art departments, the ultra-modern sports centre and the extensive Design, Engineering & Technology department stand out immediately. These striking architectural contrasts perfectly reflect both the school’s traditions and its progressive mindset. While all pupils are still expected to attend chapel twice a week, the chapel itself is also occasionally transformed into a venue for student fashion shows.
Oundle places a strong emphasis on movement and physical activity, and the facilities reflect this. The 50-metre swimming pool features a movable floor that can be adjusted for sports such as water polo, while the fitness suites and sports halls are entirely state-of-the-art. Athletics facilities and more than a dozen outdoor pitches support the school’s 20-plus sports and around 250 teams. Even shooting and sailing are offered — Elizabeth’s son, for example, travels by minibus to a nearby lake three times a week for sailing practice.
One of the true highlights of Oundle School is undoubtedly its science provision, which Elizabeth introduces to us with obvious pride. The SCITEC building houses the classrooms for the sciences. Behind glass walls, small groups of pupils work with such concentration that they barely seem to notice us walking past. Evidently, lessons here are engaging enough on their own. The facilities may well explain why: in one room stands a wind tunnel, in another an electron microscope. It is genuinely impressive.
Adjoining this is the Patrick Engineering Centre, which since its opening in 2016 has been regarded as one of the most advanced facilities of its kind at any British school. Very little here resembles a traditional school workshop. Instead, the building opens into an almost university-style learning environment, with design studios, open workshop spaces, modern manufacturing suites and project areas where even cars are being restored.
At the moment, pupils and staff are working on a small aircraft which one teacher apparently intends to fly once it is completed. “I think he is mad!” laughs Registrar Jonny when telling us about the project. Yet it perfectly illustrates just how seriously engineering is taken here — alongside robotics, programming, product development and computer-aided design. What impressed us especially was the fact that pupils are able to continue working on their own projects after lessons under supervision.
Alongside teachers and technical instructors, pupils are also supported by academic fellows from Imperial College London , one of the world’s leading universities for science, technology and engineering. In short: both the facilities and the opportunities on offer genuinely blew us away.
The theoretical side of all this can be found in the Cripps Library, home to around 22,000 books. Bright, welcoming and surprisingly calm when we visited, it only appeared empty because most pupils were already making their way back to their houses to get ready for lunch.
What Makes It Special
Oundle is a true full-boarding school and therefore offers everything an international boarder could wish for: an enormous range of activities and a large, highly social community. Adding to this are the in-house dining arrangements and the pastoral care within each boarding house. Together, these create a particularly traditional and close-knit boarding experience — something increasingly rare today, as many schools have moved towards central dining halls for financial reasons. At Oundle, the sense of house community remains exceptionally strong.
The setting also gives Sixth Form pupils a level of independence that schools in larger cities often cannot offer. Oundle itself feels safe and manageable, allowing houseparents to be far more relaxed when pupils are out and about in town.
Academically, the school is outstanding, particularly in the sciences, where the facilities are genuinely phenomenal. For pupils who enjoy designing, inventing and building things, Oundle offers almost endless opportunities.
And last but not least: at the moment, there is not a single German pupil at the school.
Academics
Academically, Oundle ranks among the stronger schools in the country. In 2025, 78 per cent of pupils achieved grades 9–7 at GCSE, while 61 per cent of all A-Level grades were awarded A* or A, with 88 per cent falling within the A*–B range. What surprised us most during our visit, however, was how relaxed and grounded the pupils seemed despite these impressive results.
Given the school’s outstanding SCITEC building and the remarkable Patrick Engineering Centre, one might assume that Oundle focuses primarily on STEM subjects. Not at all. Pupils can choose from 29 A-Level subjects, ranging from Art and Chemistry to Psychology, and even have the opportunity to complete a music diploma.
“We are not only strong in the sciences — we also have an excellent languages department,” Jonny points out. Alongside Ancient Greek, Latin, Spanish, German, Italian and French, pupils can also study Russian and Chinese. Complementing this academic breadth is a weekly lecture programme featuring former Oundelians as well as distinguished guest speakers. Recently, for example, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Konstantin Novoselov visited the school to speak with physics pupils about graphene — and even brought his Nobel Prize medal with him.
A-Level classes consist, on average, of just twelve pupils, creating an atmosphere that feels both highly personal and academically ambitious.
What stands out particularly is how naturally academic rigour and practical application are combined. Many projects are interdisciplinary in nature, with pupils developing their own ideas, building prototypes or conducting research projects that extend far beyond the traditional classroom curriculum.
From Fifth Form onwards (roughly equivalent to Year 10), pupils receive university and careers guidance. This year’s results speak for themselves: twelve pupils received offers from Oxford and Cambridge, while a further five secured places at leading universities in the United States.
Co-Curricular Life
Given the school’s academic achievements, one cannot help but wonder whether there is any room left for life beyond the classroom. “Of course! We have six pages of afternoon activities. You can make miniature books or blow up a pumpkin in the chemistry lab,” laughs Elizabeth.
In reality, the co-curricular offering extends far beyond that. Pupils can choose from an enormous range of creative, cultural, intellectual, sporting and spiritual activities, clubs and societies. Whether it is restoring vintage cars, birdwatching, debating, immersing oneself in British culture through the Bridge Society, practising yoga poses or helping backstage at the Stahl Theatre with technical production, costumes or set design — there truly seems to be something for everyone.
“Give them space to lead their own projects,” explains Director Naomi Jones when describing the theatre’s philosophy. She speaks warmly of the “Stahl Family” — the close-knit sense of community behind the scenes, supported by lessons, workshops, masterclasses and professionals from the theatre world.
Sport takes place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and with more than 1,000 pupils on site, it is hardly surprising that the facilities are extensive: a large fitness centre, several floodlit Astro pitches, numerous netball and tennis courts, athletics facilities and a dedicated Swimming Performance Programme linked to the school’s modern pool. In addition, the school has two boathouses and two shooting ranges.
In school sport, Oundle remains highly competitive up to middle school level. The U16 boys, for example, had recently reached the hockey final against Claremont School, which they narrowly lost. At Sixth Form level, some of the country’s traditional sports powerhouses tend to pull ahead, but that does not diminish the quality of sport here, which continues at a very high standard. Among the boys, rugby, cricket, hockey and tennis are especially popular, while girls tend to favour hockey, cricket, netball and tennis.
We should also mention the school’s music provision. A motto such as “Music for All” becomes something very tangible at a school like Oundle. There are — astonishingly — 45 ensembles, ranging from the symphony orchestra to a ukulele group. And one of the reasons music at boarding schools in general — not just at Oundle — is so special is that all these bands and ensembles are regularly given opportunities to perform in front of their peers. Stage fright, of course, comes free of charge.
And for those who are less comfortable performing in front of a live audience, there is always the option of becoming a DJ at Radio OSCAR, one of England’s oldest school radio stations, which has been broadcasting since 1997. During each broadcasting season, up to 200 pupils are involved as presenters, technicians, news editors, producers, managers or members of the marketing team.
Projects like this make it clear that co-curricular life at Oundle is about far more than simply filling free time. Pupils are responsible for running the day-to-day life of the station and for maintaining the quality of the content themselves. Exciting — and, having listened in ourselves, often genuinely funny too.
Before the end of the tour, Elizabeth briefly shows us “The Old Fives Courts”, a social space where pupils can stop by after lessons, meet friends on the way back to their houses and enjoy a free milkshake. Unsurprisingly, it seems to be a very popular spot. Sixth Formers are even allowed a glass of beer or wine there at certain times.
Finally, a quick look at the school’s mobile phone policy: currently, pupils up to Year 10 are only allowed basic phones without internet access. In the near future, this rule is expected to extend to Year 11 as well. During the final two years of Sixth Form, smartphones are permitted under an “out of sight” policy.
Boarding
With around 840 boarding pupils, Oundle belongs firmly to the group of England’s large, traditional boarding schools. Pupils live across 13 senior boarding houses — five for girls and eight for boys — each accommodating around 60 boarders. Every house has its own common rooms, small libraries, TV rooms, kitchens and outdoor spaces.
In the boys’ house “School House”, which we visited, red leather sofas, bookshelves and a chessboard create a warm and lived-in atmosphere in the common room. “During study periods, some boys are still sitting here late into the evening working through their books,” says Housemaster Scott Jessop. “But when there’s a Premier League match on, it feels like the entire house gathers in the TV room.”
Around 40 nationalities are represented at the school, although currently there are no German-speaking pupils. Hopefully, that may change soon, as the school is very open to it. At the same time, Registrar Jonny emphasises how important it is to maintain a healthy balance within the houses — meaning that German is likely to remain something heard in language lessons rather than in daily boarding house life.
Weekends follow a clear structure. Saturdays begin with lessons, followed by sporting fixtures, while Sundays start with chapel before shifting into a slower pace centred around relaxing and spending time with friends. Throughout the week, the houses themselves organise a wide range of activities, from outings and competitions to sports events and theatre trips. One thing is always evident: older pupils naturally look after the younger ones.
When we arrive for lunch at School House, the boys aged 13 to 18 are already waiting. Before the meal begins, Scott Jessop briefly talks through the rest of the day and publicly praises one pupil for his efforts that morning. The applause clearly makes the boy blush slightly, but also visibly proud. It is one of those unmistakable moments that quietly strengthens both confidence and community within the house.
One possible downside of in-house dining is that the choice of food is naturally more limited. Whereas a large dining hall might offer several different meals and salad options, here everyone eats what is served at the table — quite literally, as two boys at each table are responsible for serving the plates. “We once had an Asian pupil who covered every meal in soy sauce during his first few weeks here. But eventually he stopped — and ended up liking the food,” laughs Debbie, the house matron.
For some teenagers, in-house dining may well feel unfamiliar at first. Yet at the same time, one immediately notices the atmosphere created by the clatter of cutlery, the constant conversation and the laughter filling the room. We spent lunch sitting with several Fifth Form pupils who were remarkably friendly, open and chatty throughout. And when the bell rang for second helpings, everyone immediately jumped up and joined the queue again.
Throughout the meal, the house matron remains quietly present as well. Debbie spoke to us about those first difficult moments when new pupils begin to feel homesick. “At first, the boys miss their families, and at the same time they have to adjust to sharing rooms with others.” But a hot chocolate, a listening ear and close communication with parents often help pupils through that initial phase. Over time, as friendships deepen and house life becomes familiar, homesickness gradually fades into the background.
“Just recently, one boy returned home to Chile,” Debbie tells us, “but plans are already being made for him to spend the summer holidays with his friends from Oundle.” If pupils want them to, friendships formed at boarding school can last far beyond their school years.
Who Would Thrive Here?
Oundle is a relatively large school, and pupils coming here benefit from bringing with them a certain level of independence and self-confidence. Strong English skills are also an advantage, allowing new pupils to immerse themselves fully in boarding school life from the very beginning.
For those considering Oundle for a one-year stay, curiosity and enthusiasm for an intensive boarding school experience are equally important. Pupils who are eager to try new things and who enjoy sport, technology and the sheer energy of boarding life will find endless opportunities to spread their wings here.
Oundle is very much a school for high-achievers — but equally for children who simply dream of flying.