Oundle School - The School Today

The School Today

Oundle has 835 boarders and 235 day pupils. It is the third largest independent boarding school in England, after Eton and Millfield. The various school buildings which date from the 15th century are scattered around the market town, with the Cloisters acting as the nucleus of the school community.

The Good Schools Guide described the school as a "Popular, well oiled, well heeled co-educational boarding school which is riding high." Pupils obtain strong results at GCSE and A Level. In 2007 91.1% of grades awarded to students at A Level were A or B grade and 83.9% of grades awarded to students at GCSE were A* or A grade. Sixty pupils went on to Oxbridge in the last two years; the overwhelming majority of pupils go on to study at Russell Group universities.

The school still promotes the practice of Christian values and maintains strong links with the Church of England by celebrating the major events of the Christian calendar. All pupils are required to attend services in the school chapel three times a week, one midweek lunch time service, Friday hymn practice, and the Sunday service. Pupils of other faiths are free to worship according to their own beliefs but must still attend chapel with the rest of the school.

The school places a strong emphasis on extra-curricular activities which encourage pupils to develop interests outside the classroom. One of the ways in which the school fosters extra-curricular interests is through its extensive programme of voluntary clubs and societies (approaching 50 in number), which range from poetry and debating to croquet and wine tasting. Each academic subject also has its own society which organises evening lectures from guest speakers throughout the year; these can be either directly related to the syllabus or simply to broaden interest in the subject. Outside of term time pupils are given the opportunity to participate in the countless regular school trips which explore all corners of the globe. These include history trips to major European cities, language exchanges in Europe and Asia, charity work in Africa, AAAS conventions and politics trips in America, natural history expeditions to Antarctica, and many more.

Sport is considered to be an essential part of school life and while there exists a multitude of sports to choose from, the emphasis remains on traditional team sports such as rugby, hockey, cricket, rowing and soccer for boys, and hockey, netball and tennis for girls. Oundle performs particularly strongly in independent school rugby, cricket and girls' hockey. A large proportion of the school gathers to support the 1st XV rugby team on the Two Acre during the Michaelmas and Christmas quarters. The school's greatest sporting rivalry is with Uppingham School, while other rivalries include Harrow School, Radley College and Rugby School. The school sends regular rugby, cricket and hockey tours to countries all around the world, while the social 'Ramblers' cricket team is known in the school for its tours of the U.K. and the Caribbean.

Like sport, music plays a vital role within school life for many pupils, and over 60% of pupils regularly practice a musical instrument while at Oundle. The school offers an extensive range of groups, bands, orchestras and choirs which cater for many musical tastes. Such is the success of music at Oundle that in recent years many pupils have gone on to receive musical or choral scholarships from Oxbridge, while school bands and choirs have gone on to perform concerts across the U.K., Europe and even Asia. Musical and non-musical pupils are encouraged to get involved in the house shout and part song competitions in the Lent term which are independently judged and contested fiercely. Possibly the greatest success in the practice of music at the school is its rock society, which can count the likes of Bruce Dickinson among its earliest members. 'Roc-Soc' has been running since the 1970s and promotes the independent formation of popular music bands which have their own dedicated concerts towards the end of every term.

Oundle School has the largest Combined Cadet Force of any school in the country which plays an important role in both the development of pupils as well as in the community, for example in the annual Remembrance Day service. The CCF offers pupils the opportunity to practice their leadership skills whether on parade at school, on the termly field weekends, or on the annual camps. The school has a strong tradition of serving the community with many pupils opting to provide assistance in the local area, or Community Action as an alternative to CCF. There are a broad range of Community Action options available in the Oundle area which cater not only for the needs of the local community but also for the extra-curricular interests of the pupils. Many pupils choose to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme which provides an ideal combination of the skills they acquire during CCF and Community Action. Every summer since 1982 sixth formers and former pupils have run the Oundle School Mencap holiday, a residential holiday for children with a range of learning disabilities and now a highly respected charity in its own right.

The school has ties with the Laxton Junior School, for primary school pupils, some of whom continue their secondary education as pupils at the senior school. A modern building for Laxton Junior was completed in 2003, to cater for increased demand and to grow out of the labyrinthine building used beforehand, now the Oundle School English department.

In November 2005 the school was found to have taken part in a cartel of price fixing amongst public schools.