Oratory School

The Oratory School is a coeducational independent Roman Catholic day and boarding school for pupils aged 11–18 located in Woodcote, 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Reading. Founded in 1859 by Saint John Henry Newman, The Oratory has historical ties to the Birmingham Oratory and is the only school founded by Newman. Although a separate entity from the nearby Oratory Preparatory School, it shares a common history. Saint John Henry Newman founded the school with the intention of providing boys with a Roman Catholic alternative to Eton College. According to the Good Schools Guide, the school “enjoys inspirational leadership, has achieved GSG ‘overall best in UK’ for three years running and is consistently at the top of the tree”, with “state-of-the-art” boarding facilities and an ongoing refurbishment programme under way.

The Oratory School was founded in 1859. The first boys arrived before work began on 1 May that year. The objective was to provide a Roman Catholic alternative to other schools, particularly for the sons of converts from Anglicanism who considered existing Catholic schools culturally and socially inferior.

The school was originally located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, attached to the Birmingham Oratory Fathers’ House and the Oratory Church. In 1923, under pressure for additional space, it moved to Caversham Park, a Victorian stately home near Reading. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, that property was requisitioned by the government, initially with the intention of being used as a hospital, but in the event being purchased in 1941 by the BBC as a base for its Monitoring Service. The school acquired a new site not far away in Woodcote, where it has remained ever since.

Address : Reading RG8 0PJ, United Kingdom