Shiplake or Oratory

[OneWiseHiker]

Looking for pastoral friendly secondary school rather than ultra competitive other locals like Abingdon Boys and Reading Blue Coat. Anyone have any recent feedback on Shiplake or the Oratory Reading?
Many thanks,

I have 2 kids at the Oratory and am v pleased with it. Both were in Oxford hothouse prep schools and we opted for less competitive and more pastoral environment for senior school. We looked at shiplake but preferred the atmosphere at the oratory. I also don't love the behaviour of some shiplake boys locally/on the sports field but I think this may be a small minority. I have a few friends who are pleased with it. Either way I don't regret taking them out of the Oxford bubble for a second (and although it's further - it takes less time and there are good buses!)

Would be interested to hear more about the Oratory School, as our boy in now in year 5 and we actively considering several options. Would anyone with direct experience be willing to have a chat? We are looking for a well balanced school rather than a top ranked well branded school :-)

Have you also considered Pangbourne. I think all three now provide a similar 'rounded', co-ed, flexible boarding or day offering with strong pastoral care. The Oratory struggled with a poor reputation and not dealing with bullying/behavioural issues some years ago but has changed a lot recently so definitely worth a look. Pangbourne has been fully coed for longest so perhaps avoids some of the issues cited at Shiplake but I have no recent experience of the latter.