‘The motto Newman chose translates as heart speaking to heart. To apply for membership and use this special offer, call 020 7730 9131 or email Membership Secretary, Tara Sephton on tsephton@sloaneclub.co.uk quoting ‘The Oratory School’. "The Oratory provides an all-round education in a nurturing environment." ‘From here,’ muses the long-serving ancient history master, Ronnie Womersley, ‘you could imagine you were in the middle of the Black Forest.’ You aren’t; the pimple on the horizon is Reading.
The Oratory is a vibrant boarding and day school. It is an icy, end-of-term day when I visit The Oratory School on the Berkshire/Oxfordshire border. Good train services make it easy for London parents. These fees are non-refundable and are deducted from your total tuition fees. London SW6 1RX 02073850102. www.london-oratory.org.
Level: Secondary Age range: 7 to 18 years Gender: Boys Number of pupils: 1,345 pupils Type: Academy converter Religious character: Roman Catholic Fee paying: No Boarding facilities: No boarders Ofsted grade:-LEA Hammersmith and Fulham. Acceptance Deposit (£600) The acceptance deposit is payable to secure a place and will be repaid without interest by means of a credit against the final account from the School after the pupil leaves. With its arcane rules and strangely configured court, it can be a mind sport, like chess’. It’s what we’re about.’ London Oratory was a grammar school until the 1970s and only ended selection interviews in 2006. Above the door from the sports centre, with its 80ft heated pool, hangs a shield celebrating the gold medals won by Oratorians at the Athens Olympics the Athens Olympics, 1896, as it happens, although old boys have recently gone on to play rugby for England and cricket for county sides.
If you are offered a place on the full-time MBA programme, you will pay a commitment fee of £3,000 within approximately one month of your offer and then a reservation fee of £6,000. It acquired Woodcote House, its present building, in 1942. Yet selection doesn’t stop there. Among the sports at the school is real tennis, a game that, according to pro-fessional Mark Eadle, ‘appeals to everyone, not only to the top sports players. There are three cheers for each team. These days, schools such as The Oratory don’t seek to exclude boys of other faiths, but to soft-pedal on their own teaching, which, in Mr Dytor’s view, can cause them to lose focus.
Real tennis courts being a rarity (when it went up in 1989, it was the first to have been built in the UK for 80 years), The Oratory hosted the world championships in 2006. Both were originally fee paying, although the London Oratory, famous for having been chosen by the Blairs, became a selective school in the State system, and also now takes girls in the sixth form. The result, based on an intake of well-adjusted boys, is a happy school. For one thing, it is a proudly Roman Catholic institution, although only half the pupils are Catholic.
'Spending time in church … Both were originally fee paying, although the London Oratory, famous for having been chosen by the Blairs, became a selective school in the State system, and also now takes girls in the sixth form. A tug-of-war match boys on one side, masters on the other, the long stop being the substantial figure of the chef is taking place, punishing the grass of the games pitch. ‘It is almost a Classical country-house Catholic chapel, with early-morning services in English and Latin,’ says Mr Dytor. The Lib Dem leader had previously not ruled out educating his children at fee-paying … We became a coeducational school in September 2020, welcoming girls and boys from the age of 11 to 18. The Oratory Preparatory School is an Independent Catholic day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 2 to 13.
This year will be a doubly important one, as the school will not only celebrate its 150th anniversary, but also the beatification of its founder, Cardinal John Henry Newman. A case of trophies in the hall demonstrates the school’s target-shooting success.The tug-of-war match has finished. Parents made to feel fee-paying schools are morally wrong and that private schools 'create social lepers', warns leading headteacher. The Oratory, still a public school, continues to be restricted to boys. Crossbreed dogs: 15 of the best non-pedigree chums, from schnoodle to whoodleRosie and Jim: The seven rules of cycling that no cyclist will ever tell youCurious Questions: How, and why, do people eat stinging nettles? One claims Father Martin met at least six pupils in his rooms at the London Oratory Church, to which the school is affiliated. 'Catholic independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 2 to 13' Includes lunch, tea, occasional supper, travel to away matches, and most extra curricular activities.