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Oundle School is a public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school is maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London and has eight boys' houses and five girls' houses, housing over 1,000 pupils. The current headmaster is Charles Bush.
It was founded as a grammar school in 1556 by Sir William Laxton, Lord Mayor of London, who was born in Oundle, for the education of local children. The first school buildings were the old Almshouses opposite the parish church near the Marketplace. In 1876, the school was divided into a day school known as Laxton School, which continued to be run along grammar school lines, and a boarding school offering a classical education along the lines of the English public schools. In 2000 the decision was taken to merge the two schools. The school now the third largest public school in England, after Eton and Millfield, and includes 800 boarders (including international students) and 240 day pupils.
The school has close ties with the Laxton Junior School, for primary school pupils, many of whom continue their secondary education at the secondary 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.
Apart from being one of the largest co-educational independent schools in the country, Oundle features prominently in the school league tables, with pupils obtaining excellent results at GCSE and A Level. Oundle also boasts the largest Combined Cadet Force and currently excels in public school Rugby and Rowing. The school's greatest rivalry is with Uppingham School, and in recent years they have enjoyed considerable success.
In November 2005 the school was found to have taken part in a cartel of price fixing amongst public schools.
Houses
The school has 14 boarding houses in total. There are eight boys' boarding houses (Bramston, Crosby, Fisher (formerly Laxton House), Grafton, Laundimer, School, Sidney and St Anthony), five girls' boarding houses (Dryden, Kirkeby, New, Sanderson and Wyatt) and a junior house (The Berrystead). Laxton House (formerly Laxton School) caters solely for day pupils.
Boys' Houses
| House | Housemaster | Boys | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Anthony | Mr I. Clark | 1928 |
- Town Houses
| House | Housemaster | Boys | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bramston | Mr D. Robb | c. 60 | 1916 |
| Laundimer | Dr Bruce McDowell | c. 60 | 1916 |
| School House | Dr J. Hunt | c. 60 | 1887 |
The town houses, as their name implies, front onto Oundle's town streets, but most have grounds at the rear.
- Field Houses
| House | Housemaster | Boys | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosby | The Rev. D. Edwardson | c. 60 | 1907 |
| Fisher (formerly Laxton) | Mr N. Wood | c. 60 | 1869 |
| Sidney | Mr R. J. Page | 1882 | |
| Grafton | Mr A. B. Burrows | 1902 |
Girls' Houses
| House | Housemistress / Housemaster | Girls | Founded (Converted to girls' house) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkeby | Mrs D. Watt | c. 65 | 1990 |
| Wyatt | Mrs L. Kirk | c. 65 | 1990 |
| New House | Mrs M. Layden | 1907 (1997) | |
| Sanderson | Mr David Turner | c. 60 | 1938 (2000) |
| Dryden | Mrs V. Nunn | c. 60 | 1938 (1993) |
Kirkeby and Wyatt, the two original girls' houses were built in 1990 on the other side of the field to the Field Houses. The houses themselves are modern and spacious.
New House, despite its name, the original House building is one of the older houses that the School owns, although much extended and modernised over the years. The house boasts river frontage and a large paddock.
Junior House
| House | Housemaster | Boys & Girls | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Berrystead | Dr W.F. Holmstrom | c. 40 |
Famous Old Oundelians
Notable teachers
- William Sanderson (Headmaster b.1857 d.1922), described by H G Wells, who wrote a biography of him, as "the greatest man I have ever known with any degree of intimacy." Sanderson played a crucial role in establishing Oundle as a major public school. He believed in teaching students what they wanted to learn, and as a result introduced subjects such as science, modern languages, and engineering to the English public school system.
References
- "Top 50 independent schools found guilty of price-fixing to push up fees." The Guardian, Nov 10 2005.
External link
Boarding schools | Educational institutions established in the 1550s | Public schools in Northamptonshire | Schools with Combined Cadet Forces | 1556 establishments
"Oundle School"