Tudor Hall school advice

[LuckForMe]

Hi, really considering Tudor Hall school for my soon-to-be in Y5 DD, and would really value some insider knowledge/advice on it as a school in general, as well as on admissions there etc. DD is in a good Oxford co-ed prep school. She would be a day girl. We live in West Oxfordshire.

I have studied the Tudor Hall website, and we’ve been to an open day, but can’t really gauge how likely DD would be to get a place. I realise of course that it’s about the school fitting the child, and both DD and I really like the school. I am cautious of getting too attached to it as a possible school if I have missed something. I feel that I know far more about admissions to Headington, OH and SHSK (not a lot though). I was the product of the highly competitive, and cut throat, London day girls’ school system and this is likely to be clouding my perspective on this (or maybe not).

I know that Tudor Hall isn’t as academic as some other more local schools, but the results seem good, and it has an excellent reputation generally. We like the feel of it. DD is academically able- she enjoys maths, science, Art, drama, and is quite sporty. Not massively self driven.

many thanks in advance

The prep my kids used to go to sent lots of girls onto Tudor. Many had places at the more competitive ones you mentioned but they opted for TH because it has a down to earth friendly feel and exceptional pastoral care. It’s a much broader entry so am sure your DD would be fine. They ran events for local schools and my kids were blown away by the lunch & studio theatre. Good Luck.

Thanks so much for your reply, and reassurance! We got such a good ‘feel’ from spending time there.

Hi there. Just seen your post. My daughter attended Tudor Hall from Todd (age 11) through to sixth form. She is now 24 and working in London. She loved her time there and has a really great circle of firm friends from school - all in London now and all such lovely, well rounded girls. I would say that the size of the school means they get to know each girl really well and the pastoral care was great. She was not the most confident 11 yr old, being one of the youngest in her year but this really grew in her time at Tudor and she did very well academically too. She went to Bristol Uni afterwards. So although not current, we had a very positive experience and she feels that the school really helped her fulfil her potential. I should add that the extra curricular offer was wonderful too - DofE, trips abroad including one where she helped at a school for children affected by aids in South Africa, a World Challenge trip, lots of social outings as well as the usual curriculum-related visits. She started as a day pupil but boarded in sixth form - she wanted to and we agreed to it as she was older and would soon be off to uni. Hope this is of some help although you’ll want to hear from others with more recent experiences. Would agree with the comments of Beachcomber too. Best of luck.

@SoRuff63 Thank you for taking the time to respond. It’s so good to hear of your daughter’s (very positive) experience there, and how well (and happy) she is now. We’re still very keen. Thank you again!

Two girls in my daughters class went on to Tudor Hall and both complained of the bullying.

That's pretty strong stuff @Suzyleth

OP all I know is that DD's school needed a new head mistress and managed to poach one of the senior staff (think she was a deputy head) from TH and she's superb. It took the girls a while to warm to her at first as she introduced a few new ideas but DD found her to be exceptionally caring and really interested in the girls on an individual level

@LuckForMe am a little late in responding to this post but my tuppenceworth is that it's a great school and my daughter is extremely happy there right now. Any specific questions feel free to ask...

@boogliewoogliepiggywiththeoink Thank you for your response- which is very much appreciated. I’m so pleased that your daughter has had such a positive experience. I will send you a PM at some point soon if that is ok?

Also, @listsandbudgets - sorry I haven’t responded before to your comments, which were also very helpful and insightful. Thank you.

@LuckForMe absolutely - feel free to PM me at any time!

Our DD has also felt safe and totally supported at Tudor Hall, with a great friendship group and in line to go to a Top Uni - we couldn't be happier and don't recognise the comments posted above by suzyleth and wonder what has prompted them.

@Suzyleth
I’m not sure what your problem is with Tudor you may have some valid points but overall I think that the teachers are amazing at Tudor and really care about their pupils .And my daughter was there from year 7 to the final year and she loved it so much she made such good friends that she will have for the rest of her life. She only had 1 house mistresses that she didn’t like and I have hear that she has left know. Also at all these other schools you always see the girls wearing so much make a make up and everything else but I Tudor you don’t. The food is also amazing.and my daughter said she always felt safe at Tudor .In my opinion it is an amazing school with such nice girls and they all have amazing manors. And are all brought up in a lovely environment.

@Lifeisalearningcurve
do you regret sending your daughters to Tudor?