Introduction
The Oratory aims to enable each boy to realise his full potential and this is, of course, as true of the academic arena as it is of every other part of a boy’s development. Almost all boys, in fact, proceed to university and, in order to achieve this goal, the school provides a challenging, broad and flexible curriculum.
Throughout his time at The Oratory, a boy’s academic progress is regularly monitored. We operate a system in which a boy’s effort and achievement in each subject is assessed and recorded every two weeks, with the boy and the parents being informed of the grades. These fortnightly marks can be emailed to parents for their perusal. In this way we can swiftly detect if and where a boy is experiencing difficulties, is under-performing or is not being stretched.
The school’s tutorial system is a great strength. Each boy has an academic tutor who is attached to his House, and tutor groups of between six and twelve boys meet weekly in a dedicated period. This is when fortnightly grades are given out and discussed individually and strategies for improvement are agreed. The tutor period is also an opportunity for discussion and for developing critical thinking.
At the end of every term a full report explaining the boy’s progress in each subject is prepared and sent to parents. We very much welcome contact with parents and, in addition, to the organised Parents’ Mornings, parents are urged to keep in touch with their son’s Housemaster. There is also a merit system in place for the First to Fourth Forms based on Academic and Non-academic achievements and is popular with the boys.