Oxford High School, England

Oxford High School is a private day school for girls in Oxford, England. It was founded by the Girls' Day School Trust in 1875, making it the city's oldest girls' school.

Oxford High School GDST
Address
Belbroughton Road

Oxford
,
Oxfordshire
,
OX2 6XA

England
Information
TypePrivate day school
MottoLatin: Ad Lucem
(Toward the light)
Established1875
Local authorityOxfordshire
Department for Education URN123310 Tables
Chairman of governorsKatherine Haynes
HeadmistressMarina Gardiner Legge
Staff120
GenderGirls
Age4 to 18
Enrolment952
Websitehttp://www.oxfordhigh.gdst.net/
View of the old main entrance at the top of Charlbury Road.

History
View on Banbury Road with No. 21 on the right, next to the current Oxford University Computing Services.

Oxford High School was opened on 3 November 1875, with twenty-nine girls and three teachers under headmistress Ada Benson, at the Judge's Lodgings (St Giles' House) at 16 St Giles', central Oxford.[1] It was the 9th school opened by the Girls' Public Day School Company. Pupils were given a holiday when the Assize Judge visited. The school moved to 38 St Giles' in 1879 and then to 21 Banbury Road at the start of 1881, in a building designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, just south of the location of another Jackson building, the Acland Nursing Home.[2] By this time, the headmistress was Matilda Ellen Bishop.

Rapid expansion led to the ultimate removal of the school to Belbroughton Road in 1957. It became a direct grant grammar school in 1945 under the Education Act 1944 and chose to become independent in 1976 after the scheme was abolished. The junior section was opened in 1989 and further expanded in the 1990s to meet the growing demand. It absorbed two preparatory schools, Greycotes and The Squirrel, which meant girls could now be educated at Oxford High School from age 3 to Sixth Form.[3]

Academics

Oxford High School regularly ranks as one of the country's highest achieving independent schools in terms of examination results.[4][5] The school was ranked first in the South East in a Sunday Times survey based on exam results and "value for money".[6] In the 2011 examinations it was ranked amongst the top 20 independent schools nationwide for GCSE results and the best performing girls' school in the A Levels.[7][8]

In 2006, the school became the first in Oxfordshire to make Mandarin a compulsory subject. Pupils will study it for at least a year accompanying French and can choose to either continue Mandarin or continue French.[9]

Houses

The girls in the senior school are divided into four houses, each named after an Ancient Greek deity:

Headteachers

Notable former pupils
Lucy Gordon

References
  1. St Giles' House (Judge's Lodgings), 16 St Giles' Street, Oxford Archived 15 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine (where OHS was founded).
  2. Sherwood, Jennifer, and Pevsner, Nikolaus, The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, Penguin Books, 1974. ISBN 0-14-071045-0. Page 317.
  3. "School History". Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  4. "Private schools make top grade". Oxford Mail. 28 August 2001.
  5. "Oxford High School's A-Level results – 2008 – another stunning year". Oxford Mail. 22 September 2008.
  6. "Oxford High named top of class in south east". Oxford Mail. 22 October 2001.
  7. "New GCSE results show the difference in how youngsters improve at secondary school". Oxford Mail. 26 January 2012.
  8. "Oxford schools top the league tables". Cherwell. 2 September 2011.
  9. "School pupils to learn Mandarin". Oxford Mail. 28 February 2008.
  10. "Bishop, Matilda Ellen (1842–1913), college head". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48431. Retrieved 20 September 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  11. "Soulsby, Lucy Helen Muriel (1856–1927), headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48573. Retrieved 20 September 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  12. "Brown, William Haig (1823–1907), headmaster headmistress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33634. Retrieved 26 July 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  13. "No job for the boys as Abingdon School picks woman head". The Times. 25 November 2009.
  14. "New Head for Oxford High School". oxfordhigh.gdst.net. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  15. "Introducing the New Head for Oxford High School". oxfordhigh.gdst.net. 7 September 2017.
  16. "Male headteacher is historic first for city girls' school". Oxford Times. 14 September 2017. p. 15.
  17. "Famous Faces". Oxford Mail. 24 August 2010.
  18. Anon (2018). "Lea, Prof. Susan Mary". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U290639. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  19. "Star attends Oxford High School 50-year reunion". Oxford Mail. 5 October 2009.
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