Head’s Welcome

I fell in love with the Junior School the first morning I spent in School House. There is something remarkable about the atmosphere, ethos and energy within this part of our School and I am enormously grateful to have been given the opportunity to oversee our youngest cohorts.

What was so striking from the very start was how natural, comfortable and happy the boys were, and how this underpinned their willingness to roll up their sleeves and commit to the myriad of opportunities on offer here.

I firmly believe that any school should offer breadth and balance for their charges, and that this should be bolstered by a healthy sense of fun. We focus our efforts as much on developing core dispositions in the boys as we do our academic and co-curricular provision. We do this so that the boys establish key life skills that will serve them well, far beyond their time with us. Our aim is to instil core values such as kindness, teamwork, resilience and perseverance. This allows the boys to develop their self-awareness and the confidence to express their formidable potential. We are proud to be the main feeder for the Senior School, with all of our boys making the transition over the past three years amongst a highly competitive field.

We are nothing if not busy. Our boys are academically curious by nature and the camaraderie they share in this respect makes for vibrant and discursive lessons, often driven by the ideas they bring.

We run an extensive co-curricular programme and recently added to this by reorganising our curricular time to make room for an Activities Afternoon each Thursday.

We are in the enviable position of having the best of both worlds in our school setting. We are housed separately in the stunning surrounds of the Rose Garden on the banks of the Cherwell river, yet have access to the wonderful facilities the Senior School has to offer. Beyond this we also share specialist staff and also have a small army of willing Sixth Formers who come over to help run clubs and activities with the boys. We also have a tremendously cohesive and supportive parental body, all of which creates a genuine family feel to our Junior School.

We would be delighted to welcome you, show you round School House and tell you a little more about us at one of our Open Events. We think you will sense the magic and like what you find!

Tim Skipwith

Head of the Junior School