Oxford High or Headington?

[Oxfordshiremumof3]

Would love some advice about Oxford girls’ schools for my DD. We have visited both Headington and Oxford High open days as well as various others. Gut response at the moment is definitely in favour of OHS - largely because it seemed much friendlier than Headington. The girls spoke more warmly about their school than at Headington and enthused about quality of relationships with teaching staff, whilst at Headington the focus was much more on shiny facilities (which, admittedly, are brilliant). I’d love to hear from parents about whether these impressions are borne out by your experiences at the two schools? Quality of relationships is definitely the key priority/concern for us!

My daughter is at OHS - currently Year 8. All of my experience has been of a genuinely warm and nurturing environment with great teachers and fantastic pastoral care. So happy with the school. A friend of mine moved her dd to OHS from Headington last year and she is much happier now. Hope that helps!

Both great schools, but some girls will thrive at one more than the other. OHS undeniably a more academic cohort, focus on languages (includes mandarin), more homework, faster pace, more academic expectations of choices at GCSE. Smaller, less ‘pretty’ site. Better SEN support. Headington still high achieving but slightly broader in terms of academic intake and non-academic achievements equally celebrated. Unrivalled co-curricular opportunities, greater ability to select creative choices for GCSE (fewer ‘must-do’s’). Beautiful site and benefits from all the added stuff that having boarders brings (health centre support, catering etc). Headington more expensive, opportunities for flexi or occasional boarding. Both schools have some brilliant teachers, and some less so.

@Deb2011 @DaffyTaffy please can I ask for your views on homework at OHS, particularly since many of the girls bus in from some distance - how do they balance getting homework done with long days due to commuting?

I would love more information about girls’ experiences at OHS. As above, I’m not interested in facilities - I’m far more concerned about quality of relationships, with peers, teachers etc. The impression I got at the open day was real warmth and I would like to know if that’s your experience….