Oundle School is a prestigious co-educational boarding and day school in the UK. The school’s educational philosophy revolves around fostering a genuine passion for learning and encouraging students to be ambitious in seizing opportunities. This is achieved through a carefully crafted balance between a comprehensive curriculum and a wide range of co-curricular activities.
Founded 450 years ago, Oundle School is located in a small town of Northamptonshire, about an hour’s drive from London.
Currently, Oundle School accommodates 847 boarding students and 268 day students. Since its establishment, the school has maintained a fully inclusive educational setting, with a consistent gender distribution of 60% male and 40% female students. The average class sizes are approximately eighteen students for GCSEs and twelve for A-Levels.
Oundle School attracts pupils from over 120 schools across the United Kingdom and welcomes students from more than 30 different countries, fostering a diverse and multicultural community. International students make up around twenty percent of the student population, while an additional eight percent consists of expatriates. This global perspective significantly enhances the school community, combining international influences with a quintessentially British boarding education.
The architectural heritage of Oundle School spans centuries, encompassing buildings ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. These buildings are thoughtfully dispersed throughout the vibrant market town of Northamptonshire, which lies at the heart of central England.
At Oundle School, all students undertake iGCSE and GCSE examinations during the Fifth Form, which is then followed by an A-Level and Pre-U curriculum in the Sixth Form. The school’s academic programs are organised into the following divisions:
Oundle School is renowned for its exceptional achievements in various boarding school league tables. In the year 2022, it secured a position among the top UK boarding schools.
In the A-Levels league tables, Oundle School is ranked an impressive 44th out of independent boarding schools in the UK.
According to our GCSE league table, Oundle School holds an admirable 23rd position among boarding schools in the UK for GCSE performance.
Oundle School has a strong track record of excellent performance in major examinations. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2023, the school achieved remarkable results. Among the students who took A Levels, an impressive 63% of all grades obtained were A*/A. Similarly, the GCSE students at Oundle School achieved outstanding outcomes, with 74% of them securing grades 9-7.
The fees at Oundle School encompass boarding fees, tuition fees, as well as year-round access to various facilities such as the Health Centre, Sports Centre, games and entertainment area, library, and lecture halls.
To enroll at Oundle School, fees are required to be paid in advance through Direct Debit prior to the start of each term: Michaelmas, Lent, and Summer. The fees for the upcoming academic year are determined in June of the preceding term.
To begin the admission process at Oundle School, prospective students must select their desired point of entry. Both boarding and day pupils are welcome to join various year groups, but the requirements differ depending on the chosen year group.
For this entry point, all applicants are required to take an online Cognitive Abilities Test in November of Year 6. Except for students from Oundle’s Laxton Junior School, the next stage involves entrance examinations in Mathematics, English, and Science, which take place in January of the year of entry. Additionally, all pupils taking entrance examinations at Oundle will undergo an interview, and prospective boarders may be invited to stay overnight.
Places at Oundle School are awarded based on performance in the exams and interview. Academic and Music Scholarships are also granted during this stage of the admission process.
If there is available space, Oundle School offers a limited number of boarding places at 12+ into The Berrystead. Similar to the entrance examinations for 11+ Entry applicants, these assessments are taken in January of the year of entry.
For students applying for entry at 13+, the assessment process takes place in Year 8, the year prior to joining Oundle School. Boarders join Oundle in the Third Form from various Prep Schools across the UK. They can either take the Common Entrance examinations in June or the Academic Scholarship examination, which is conducted in two stages: preliminary examinations in late January/early February and main examinations in May.
Applicants who are not from a prep school will undergo Oundle’s own entrance examinations (non-common entrance or NCE) in January. The assessment includes examinations in Mathematics, English, Science, and typically a Modern Foreign Language (French/Spanish/German). Additionally, applicants will participate in an informal interview.
Exceptional performers in these assessments may be invited to sit the main Academic Scholarship examination held at Oundle in May. At this level, various scholarships are available, including Academic, Music, Art, Drama, Design Engineering Technology, Sport, and General Scholarships.
A limited quota of day positions is available annually. Prospective students undergo either the Common Entrance, the Academic Scholarship examinations, or Oundle’s proprietary entrance tests, depending on their previous school background.
Oundle College offers a small number of boarding places each year for students entering at the age of 14. These applicants are assessed through Oundle’s own entry tests (NCE), which are administered either at Oundle or at a British Council Office overseas in January.
Oundle College welcomes strong applications for Sixth Form entry, both for boarding and day students. Approximately fifteen percent of Oundle’s Lower Sixth Form intake is comprised of students who join at this stage. The minimum entry requirement is the attainment of Grade 6 in three subjects and Grade 7 in three subjects, or equivalent qualifications at the GCSE level. It is highly advantageous to achieve a Grade 7, 8, or 9 in the subjects that will be pursued in the Sixth Form. In practice, most successful applicants will have attained an 8 or 9, or equivalent, in the majority of their subjects.
Prospective candidates are required to submit their anticipated GCSE grades and a curriculum vitae (CV) in advance. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an assessment weekend at Oundle in November, prior to joining the school in the following September. The assessment weekend provides an opportunity for applicants to fully engage in the boarding life at Oundle. It will include an interview and examinations in either three chosen subjects for Sixth Form study or a general examination and two subject-specific examinations.
Scholarships are available at this level in various disciplines, including academics, music, art, drama, design engineering technology, sport, and general subjects.
All applicants from overseas follow the same admission process and are required to take the same entrance examinations as applicants from the UK. Oundle requests that applicants who are not taking examinations at Oundle School do so at a British Council Office.
For overseas applicants, Oundle also requests the submission of a UKiset report at the earliest stage of the application process. UKiset is an adaptive cognitive test that assesses underlying abilities and language proficiency. For more information, please refer to our UKiset guide.