Established 1875 Headmistress Judith Carlisle DfE number 931/6093 Founded 1875 | Type Independent day school Chairman of Governors Louise Ansdell Phone +44 1865 559888 Number of students 952 Staff 120 | |
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Location Belbroughton Road
Oxford
Oxfordshire
OX2 6XA
England Address Belbroughton Rd, Oxford OX2 6XA, UK Motto Ad Lucem; (Toward the light) | ||
Oxford High School is an independent day school for girls in Oxford, England. It was founded by the Girls' Day School Trust in 1875, making it the city's oldest girls' school.
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History
Oxford High School was opened on 3 November 1875, with twenty-nine girls and three teachers under headmistress Ada Benson, at the Judge's Lodgings (St Giles' House) at 16 St Giles', central Oxford. It was the 9th school opened by the Girls' Public Day School Company. Pupils were given a holiday when the Assize Judge visited. The school moved to 38 St Giles' in 1879 and then to 21 Banbury Road at the start of 1881, in a building designed by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, just south of the location of another Jackson building, the Acland Nursing Home. By this time the headmistress was Matilda Ellen Bishop.
Rapid expansion led to the ultimate removal of the school to Belbroughton Road in 1957. It became a direct grant grammar school in 1945 under the Education Act 1944 and chose to become independent in 1976 after the scheme was abolished. The junior section was opened in 1989 and further expanded in the 1990s to meet the growing demand. It absorbed two preparatory schools, Greycotes and The Squirrel, which meant girls could now be educated at Oxford High School from age 3 to Sixth Form.
Academics
Oxford High School regularly ranks as one of the country's highest achieving independent schools in terms of examination results. The school was ranked first in the South East in a Sunday Times survey based on exam results and "value for money". In the 2011 examinations it was ranked amongst the top 20 independent schools nationwide for GCSE results and the best performing girls' school in the A Levels.
In 2006, the school became the first in Oxfordshire to make Mandarin a compulsory subject. Pupils will study it for at least a year accompanying French and can choose to either continue Mandarin or continue French.
Houses
The girls in the senior school are divided into four houses, each named after an Ancient Greek deity: