On the evening of Tuesday 11 September, Headmaster of Oundle School, Charles Bush was in attendance at a Reception hosted by Tatler magazine at the Dorchester Hotel to receive the Tatler Public School of the Year Award for 2012 on behalf of Oundle School.
The awards are voted for and decided by a team of meticulous researchers who are sent the length and breadth of the UK before making their decisions. A number of very good schools were placed as runners-up.
Headmaster Charles Bush commented, “It is a tremendous honour for Oundle School to be recognised as the Public School of the year. Such an award results from the hard work of every member of the community – academic staff, support staff, Governors, pupils and parents. Oundle is remarkable for the diverse and interesting range of activities and opportunities, and as one of England’s three largest boarding schools, Oundle’s credentials are very strong.”
The 9th Tatler Schools Guide for 2013 contains inside track on who’s who and what’s what in the world of private education. Full of indispensable insider knowledge on the best of the independent school scene and Tatler’s pick of the finest private schools in the country. Unlike some other guides, Tatler rewrites each review every year, providing a completely fresh take on who’s who and what’s what and bringing the most up to date picture. In this year’s Guide, Oundle is described as “running super-smoothly” with “hard work pupils” as well as “sports teams held in awe but other schools” and having “a jaw-droppingly cutting edge science building” and “cosy and friendly boarding houses.”
Oundle School is situated in the quintessentially English Market town from which it takes its name. The School's buildings, dating from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century, are dispersed throughout the town, which is, to a large extent, its campus.
With record breaking GCSE results in 2012, featuring 32nd in The Times league tables, Oundle maintains its reputation as one of the foremost academic co-educational schools in the country.
The School's history goes back to 1556 when Sir William Laxton, Master of the Worshipful Company of Grocers and Lord Mayor of London, endowed and re-founded the original Oundle Grammar School, of which he was a former pupil. In 1876, the Grocers' Company decided to divide the School into two parts: Laxton Grammar School, mainly for the inhabitants of the town, and Oundle School, mainly for pupils from further afield. However, to mark the new millennium, the Governing Body decided to reunite the two schools under the common name of Oundle School, with Laxton as a House for day-pupils.
The School is now able to offer a range of educational possibilities to meet contemporary needs: co-educational day or boarding education, with Laxton Junior as a 4-11 day school, and Oundle School as a boarding and day school, with entry at 11, 13 or into the Sixth Form.
Visitors are welcome to visit the School, ideally having made an appointment beforehand. Guided tours, including contact or lunch with pupils, are provided for prospective families.
Charles Bush added, “We take great pride in the School and are confident that visitors will see much that makes Oundle special.”
For more information about the awards please contact Melody Rayner in the Condé Nast Press Office on 020 7152 3388 or email melody.rayner@condenast.co.uk
For further information about Oundle visit www.oundleschool.org.uk or to arrange an appointment to look round the School contact the Admissions office by email: admissions@oundleschool.org.uk or phone: 01832 277125.