The Oratory School

History

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 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 since. According to a Freedom of Information Request the school withdrew from the Teachers Pension Scheme on 31 December 2020.

Real tennis

The Oratory is one of four schools in the United Kingdom with a real tennis court (others being Radley, Canford, and Wellington College), and plays the sport, hosting championships and international tournaments. The UK Professional Singles Tournament has been held at the court, and in April 2006 the World Championships were held there. In January 2020 the World Championship Eliminator match took place between Camden Riviere and Old Oratorian, Nicky Howell.. The Oratory School hosted the Ladies Real Tennis World Championship in 2023, in an event won by Claire Fahey.

Notable head masters

• 1862–1865 Tom Arnold
• 1910–1921 Edward Pereira
• 1933–1939 Illtyd Trethowan
• 2000–2014 Clive Dytor

Controversy

Sexual abuse

In February 2013, it was discovered that Jonathan O'Brien, a former teacher, had been involved in sexually abusing boys aged ten to sixteen while working at The Oratory in the 1980s. O'Brien was sentenced to thirteen years imprisonment.

Disciplinary

In February 2014, there were allegations that older pupils had been beating younger students and killing animals outside school - including the skinning of a cat. A teacher resigned and alleged that she had done so because her concerns over the pupils' behaviour had been repeatedly ignored. She filed a claim against the school for "forced dismissal" but the claim was thrown out by the Reading employment tribunal as she had voluntarily resigned and was not "forced to quit". The then-headmaster Clive Dytor stated that the incidents she mentioned had already been dealt with.

Notable Old Oratorians

Main article: List of Old Oratorians

• Gervase Elwes (1866–1921) – tenor
• Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) – orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist
• John Pius Boland (1870–1958) – Irish Nationalist politician, Member of Parliament (MP), gold medallist Olympic games for tennis (1896)
• George Henry Morris (1872–1914), Irish Guards officer
• Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart (1880–1963) – soldier and diplomat
• Simon Elwes (1902–1976) – war artist
• Christopher Tolkien (1924–2020) – academic editor
• Igor Judge (1941-2023) – judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
• Michael Tolkien (b. 1943) – teacher and poet
• Michael Berkeley (b. 1948) – Baron Berkeley of Knighton, composer, broadcaster
• Ayoola Erinle (b. 1980) – rugby union player
• Danny Cipriani (b. 1987) – rugby union player
• Benny Howell (b. 1988) – cricketer
• Jonathan Bailey (b. 1988) – actor
• Afonso, Prince of Beira (b. 1996) – Portuguese royal

Notable staff

• Walter Abel Heurtley, classical archaeologist, taught at the school in the early 20th century, and was its bursar during the Second World War.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins, poet, taught at the school in 1867-68.

References

References

1. Wells, John C.. (2008). "Longman Pronunciation Dictionary". Longman.
2. "HMC Independent Schools {{!}} Headmasters' & Headmistresses' Conference".
3. Shrimpton, Paul. (2005). "A Catholic Eton? Newman's Oratory School". Gracewing Publishing.
4. "The Oratory School, Nr Reading".
5. "Independent Schools Inspectorate report 2021".
6. ''Newman's Letters and Diaries'', Volume XIX, p.120.
7. "History of The Oratory School". The Oratory.
8. [https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/763181/response/1830358/attach/3/FOI%20Response%20Smail.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1] https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/763181/response/1830358/attach/3/FOI%20Response%20Smail.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1
9. "Website of the International Real Tennis Professionals Association".
10. [https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/the-oratory-school/5594/Head-decides-to-quit-after-walking.html Head decides to quit after walking old pilgrims’ trail] dated 3 November 2014 at henleystandard.co.uk, accessed 3 May 2019
11. Thorne, Lucy. (16 January 2015). "Jonathan O'Brien appeal: Former The Oratory School teacher loses bid to cut sentence".
12. Millward, David. (6 February 2014). "Industrial tribunal told of 'appalling behaviour' of pupils at Oratory School".
13. (5 February 2014). "Public schoolboys 'stoned birds and skinned cats'". [[The Times]].
14. (12 May 2014). "Housemother loses claim for constructive dismissal against Oratory School". Berkshire Live (getreading).
15. (1915). "The Bond of Sacrifice". The Anglo-African Publishing Contractors.
16. Hood, Rachel. (1998). "Faces of Archaeology in Greece: Caricatures by Piet de Jong". Leopard's Head.
17. Feeney, J.J.. (2016). "The Playfulness of Gerard Manley Hopkins". Taylor & Francis.