Wychwood School

Girls' school in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

51°46′01″N 1°15′40″W / 51.766923°N 1.261058°W / 51.766923; -1.261058InformationTypePrivate day and boarding schoolReligious affiliation(s)Church of EnglandEstablished1897^[1]Local authorityOxfordshire County CouncilHead teacherJane Evans^[2]Age11 to 18Enrolment120^[2]Websitewychwoodschool.org

Wychwood School is a co-educational private day and boarding school for pupils aged 11–18, located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] The school is a member of the Girls' Schools Association^[7] and is owned by Albion Schools and Wychwood School Charity Ltd (No. 309684).^[8] The school is located on the southern corner of Bardwell Road and Banbury Road in North Oxford.

History

The school was established in 1897 at 41 Banbury Road in North Oxford with one pupil under Miss Batty and Miss Margaret Lucy Lee.^[1]^[9] It moved to 77 Banbury Road with seven pupils in 1898.

The first boarders were accepted in 1912. The school moved to 74 Banbury Road in 1918. Miss Snodgrass became the Headmistress in 1941 and introduced the Dalton System of learning. The school became an educational trust in 1952. Weekly boarding started in 1985.^[1]

A blue plaque was installed by the Society of Biology in 2015 on the wall outside the school on Banbury Road recording that the biologist Dame Honor Fell DBE, FRS (1900–1986) studied at the school.^[10]

In 2018, Wychwood School was listed among the most expensive schools in Oxfordshire, charging boarders £24,300 a year.^[11] In October 2020, the school secured investment from Simon Tyrell, head of a Hong Kong-based property company.^[12]

Wychwood became co-educational as of September 2023.

Alumnae

The following were or are alumnae of the school:

Joan Aiken MBE (1924–2004), writer.
Margaret Casson (Lady Casson) (1913–1999), architect, designer, photographer, and wife of architect Sir Hugh Casson.
Dame Honor Fell DBE, FRS (1900–1986), zoologist.
Angela Flowers (née Holland, 1932–2023), gallerist
Dame Henrietta Miriam Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS (born 1965), plant biologist
Carola Oman CBE (1897–1978), historical novelist, biographer, and children's writer.
Rozsika Parker (1945–2010), psychotherapist, art historian, writer, and feminist.
Florence Pugh (born 1996), actress.
Nancy Sandars FSA, FBA (1914–2015), archaeologist and prehistorian.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Our History". Wychwood School. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Wychwood School". The Good Schools Guide. UK. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Wychwood School". UK: Independent Schools Council. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Wychwood School". UK: Independent Schools Inspectorate. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Wychwood School". SchoolGuide.co.uk. UK. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Wychwood School". Gov.uk. UK: UK Government. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Wychwood School". UK: Girls' Schools Association. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Wychwood School For Girls". UK: Charity Commission. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ "Margaret Lucy Lee". National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^ "Oxford Inscriptions: Dame Honor Fell, Wychwood School". History on the streets of Oxford. UK. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
^ Hughes, Pete (17 January 2018). "Private school fees treble - so what are Oxfordshire's most expensive?". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
^ Rice, Liam (7 October 2020). "Wychwood School reveals name of mystery financial backer". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 August 2023.