From the Head Master
.JPG)
Welcome to The Oratory School website. I hope that you will enjoy exploring the school and if you wish to take your interest further I would welcome an opportunity to meet with you in person. The Oratory is a friendly, purposeful community dedicated to the growth of the individual within society. We believe that each boy should develop in his own individuality within the context of a corporate environment, fulfilling his own potential as a confident and integrated young man.
The school motto of “Cor ad cor loquitur” (heart speaking to heart) underlines this. I could add my own motto of ‘a busy boy is a happy boy’! Boys need a particular approach to help them achieve their academic potential within their overall personal growth. Girls outperform boys on many levels and a school dedicated to boys-only can concentrate on boys’ strengths – and weaknesses!
Over the last ten years an extensive regeneration programme has been underway. This includes the completion of two new state-of-the-art Boarding/Day houses and the construction of new Art & Design, English, Maths, History and Theology Faculties. All academic departments have been upgraded and refurbished.
Through national research the School has been voted Best Art & Design at A-Level and Best Results for Art & Design at GCSE in an English School (Good Schools Guide 2010); Top 20 Independent Boarding Schools in the UK (Best Schools 2009); Top 30 Boys' Independent Senior Schools in the UK (The Times 2008); Top Independent School in the UK for Sport (Daily Telegraph 2007).
We are situated in acres of beautiful English countryside with easy access to both motorways and airports including Heathrow and Gatwick. Most academic staff live on the main site or in school houses in the adjoining village.
As a school of 420 boys we provide small classes and close supervision. The Oratory has an international reputation for a first-class-all-round education and at its heart is the Christian vision of its founder, John Henry Newman. The school attracts boys from the UK and across the world, from the Catholic community and from other traditions. This year Cardinal Newman is to be beatified by Pope Benedict XVl.
The Oratory is the only All-Boys' Catholic Senior School in the UK, and is a member of HMC (Headmasters’ Conference), CISC (Catholic Independent Schools Conference) and IBSC (International Boys’ Schools Coalition).
Clive Dytor MC, MA(Cantab), MA(Oxon).