Number of pupils: 350
Percentage of boarders: 30%
Percentage of international pupils: 30%
Av. class size: senior school - 14 / 6th Form - 8
Closest international airport: London Heathrow, 30mins by car
Fees per term for 2024/2025: £17,380
The school offers GCSEs and A-Levels as qualifications.
The Oratory is an academically solid school. In 2024 the school achieved 35% of 7–9 grades in GCSE examinations, and at A-Levels, 27% of students earned A grades. For a non-selective school, this is remarkable. Small class sizes, extensive support, and highly dedicated teachers are key contributors to these results.
The curriculum is fairly traditional, offering conventional subjects alongside Politics and Psychology. Art is particularly popular at the school.
Languages offered include Latin, Mandarin, French, and Spanish.
The Oratory has 120 boarding students, 50 of whom live at the school full-time.
There are three boarding houses, two for boys and one for girls. A unique aspect of The Oratory is the full integration of day and boarding houses, ensuring day and boarding students spend the entire day together. This maximizes interaction and fosters friendships between British and international students.
The boarding houses, while somewhat functional in design, are cozy and spacious. From the sixth form onwards, students have their own rooms. Before that, rooms are shared with up to two other students.
On weekends, the school offers optional activities, including trips for surfing in Bristol or even skiing in Tamworth. Proximity to cities like Reading, Oxford, and London also provides ample opportunities for students to explore British culture or simply go shopping.
The school does not enforce mandatory exeat weekends.
Thanks to its small size and Catholic values, The Oratory is an especially inclusive and friendly school, much like a big family. This welcoming atmosphere helps international students feel at home very quickly.
For a relatively small school, The Oratory boasts an impressively broad and high-quality extracurricular offering. Its sports program is excellent, featuring everything from rowing to the unique Real Tennis. The creative offerings are outstanding, with thriving art and design departments. Music is strong, particularly with the school’s two choirs.
The school’s location is ideal for international students: 30 minutes from London Heathrow Airport, 10 minutes from the town of Reading, 20 minutes from Oxford, and 45 minutes from London. What more could one ask for?
Currently, there is a slight imbalance between the number of boys and girls, with girls making up 35% of the student body. However, this is changing rapidly year by year.