Headington Rye Oxford

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Unforseen circumstances might be taking DH to Oxford Area for work. Just doing some pre-lim research to get ahead of the game. DS in pre prep and DD will be in year 7.

This school seems to fit (at least for DS for a few years whilst we settle) for both kids.

Any feedback on the school from current parents and past. Normal stuff - pastoral care, is it a happy place to be, teachers/head good, whats the prep like as well.

Sorry it so broad! TIA.

The traffic going into Headington is absolutely dreadful so unless you are planning on living in central Oxford I’d avoid. Oxfordshire has a wide variety of schools outside of the city. Depends where you are going to be living

I would suggest St. Helen & St. Katherine for your daughter and The Manor Prep for your son. Both on the same road in Abingdon, and excellent schools.

Thanks for the info, we're going to be in oxford, so commute not an issue. Just wondering what the schools is actually like. Apreciate the options, but abingdon might not work with our daily logistics.

I know a girl in senior and she is happy at school. Academically, Headington had always been strong, but Rye was not so much and I think it was bumpy when the two merged a few years ago. You will want to live on that side of town if you choose that school as with the LTNs and congestion charge, getting around Oxford is a nightmare.

We know people with daughters at Headington - feel free to PM me. Feedback has been very positive.

Is the head leaving?

The head at MCS is leaving. Not heard anything about the head at HR.

Heard it on the grapevine, found this. I guess she has been there a while?

https://www.tes.com/jobs/vacancy/head-oxford-2307657

Off topic a little - didn’t the Head of Prep leave last year?
Edited: yes, Jane did.

Interesting.

My daughters are both at Headington. One joined in Yr 6 at the prep, but it was all girls at the time. She really enjoyed her time at the prep. It was definitely a very happy place. They have a new head teacher now, but I don’t know very much about him since both of mine are at the senior school now. I know of one family friend who currently has a daughter in the senior school and a son at the prep. She seems happy, but she has mentioned that there is only one other boy in her son’s class. She said her son doesn’t really mind and that the kids are encouraged to play with each other at the prep.

The senior school is pretty good, and my daughters are happy there. The school has good arts, drama, music and sports. They offer a lot of extracurricular activities and clubs both after school and during lunchtime. I think of it as a good all-rounder school. The academics are strong too. My eldest scored 8’s and 9’s on her GCSEs last year. She is a hard worker but I don’t know if she would have done as well if the teaching and support wasn’t there. She has been recently diagnosed with ADHD and the SEN support from the school has been fantastic. We are overall very happy with the school.

Awful awful school. Proper mismanagement and bullying. Stay far away

Why, what's the issues in your mind? Mismanagement and bullying is quite generic, would you be able to elaborate?

Wasn't Rye prep school all boys though? Did headington also have a prep and did they merge with Rye into a new co-ed prep, or are there still two separate ones? Sorry im confused about what happened and what the state of play is now? We've got a younger DS. Prep age

Rye St Anthony took boys up to age 11 and Headington took boys in prep. So it's status quo. The two schooks literally merged.

Ahhhh I was misunderstood - makes sense now! So why so little boys? Im sure ita not an issue but it would be nice to find somewhere a little more balanced in term of numbers.

I guess because if they take boys until only 11 you are stuck until they go to a senior at 13. Unless you choose a co ed senior. If you definitely want Oxford I would look at The Dragon, Summerfields and D'overbroeks.

D’overbroecks is 11-18, no junior school.

MCS starts for boys at 7+ so I think a lot
of boys who went to Headington or Rye would leave at 7. Otherwise Dragon, Summerfields, New College or Christchurch cathedral school within Oxford all finish at 13.

Abingdon and MCS have secondary school intakes at 11 so it isn’t difficult to find somewhere at 11 for a boy, it’s more that if most boys are leaving at 7, they won’t be able to do boys sports etc.

I have wondered why Headington just doesnt go co-ed. Looks like everyone else is!

No, Headington Prep always used to be girls. Rye Prep was mixed. When the two schools merged, Headington shifted to having a mixed prep and a single sex senior school. But the number of boys in the prep is small. And Rye was a tiny school compared to Headington.

I know a couple of girls who moved there in Year 6. One in particular has really thrived from being very shy. The other one seems happy enough!

My daughter started life at Rye and loved it. She was in her GCSE year during the merger which was a shitshow. The two schools are like chalk and cheese culture wise. Their pastoral care during this time was terrible and bullying is a big problem. They have a male teaching there that larps as a women which I find gaslighting for the girls. I moved my DD as soon as I could after her GCSE year. There SEN department is awful, they only care about getting extra time for maintenance of their high exam results.

I would imagine because lots of parents of girls have chosen a single sex school after some thought and would not be happy about it going mixed. They would risk losing their core market.

The schools that are going co-ed tend to be boys' schools admitting girls, not the other way around.

My DD’s go to HR. A large majority of the teachers are very good, and if the one for your daughter’s class isn’t, there is most likely another class going on at the same time, which she can switch to. Both daughters feel most teachers work hard and are enthusiastic about what they teach, which makes many typically boring subjects enjoyable. The students are almost all very, very nice and kind; even those who are considered ‘bad’ are still generally nice to other girls. There is a huge range of clubs and activities. One of my DDs went to the prep before the merger; she found it to be a lovely, happy environment for her, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. I have heard of some students having a hard time, but I think that depends on the girl. Overall, I think the school has good values, and my DD says it feels like a family.

Makes one sense! That how I viewed it. OK cool. So the older kids all moved to the senior school buildings and the prep schools all remained on the rye campus next door?

What happened to the headington junior school, did they sell it off?

On boarding, which id forgotten about, is it mostly day or split quite well? Are there.lots of local friends for kids or are they all international al boarders?

Is pastoral care still not a selling point? Its one of my keen aspects.

Weve just looked at oxford high online too this afternoon. How do they compare, what makes you choose one over the other?