WHAT? WHERE?

One of the oldest day and boarding girls’ schools in the UK, founded in 1850, you’ll find Tudor Hall in Wykham Park, near Banbury, north Oxfordshire, looking out over rolling fields and sitting pretty in 46 acres of its own rural paradise, with an elegant honey stone 17th century manor house at its heart. Despite its large grounds, Tudor Hall is a deliberately small school in terms of pupil numbers, with 315 girls from 11- 18 years, in classes of maximum 16; 75% of girls are boarders. Well-known locally as a nurturing school with a strong community ethos (many coming from the Tudor-owned prep school, Carrdus, nearby), Tudor Hall is gently selective rather than sharp-elbowed in its approach to pupil intake. Based on Christian principles, it nevertheless welcomes all faiths and none.

FACILITIES

SPORTS

Although Tudor Hall isn’t a school known particularly for its sport (yet – there are plans), there’s plenty to get the heart rate pumping, including an 18m indoor heated swimming pool, flood lit astroturf (which also becomes 9 netball courts or tennis courts), 5 floodlit hard court tennis courts, a sports hall, 2 lacrosse pitches, a grass athletics track, and access to Banbury Harriers Athletics club, Banbury Hockey Club, and Wade Gymnastics Club. Sport is an area where Tudor Hall is investing resource with a new Director of Sport having just started, who works across both Tudor and Carrdus Schools, a natty, more modern and aspirational sports kit for the girls, a revamped fitness room (the Sixth Formers can drop in as they like), and plans to further upgrade and extend facilities – the kids I spoke to, for example, are baying for a second astroturf. Importantly if you have a daughter who loves sport, Tudor Hall is developing its offering to support talented competitors, as well as those who just want to join in. Hockey, netball and tennis are the main sports here, though lacrosse is also popular, and the repertoire of sports extends to cross country, swimming, athletics, cricket, horse riding, clay-pigeon shooting and skiing.

THE ARTS

The theatre complex, complete with eye-catching neon signage and a super-active drama department, makes this school an attractive proposition for theatre lovers, but music is also a big deal at Tudor, with its own purpose-built music building open from 8am to 9pm and housing 11 practice rooms, a music technology suite and classrooms, with around 50% of the pupils taking individual music lessons, and the usual range of orchestras and ensembles for students. The headmistress Julie Lodrick happens to be a former professional musician herself – handy! – so this is an area that is bound to thrive further. She is already putting a greater focus on quality of performance, and there’s now a new Head of Drama at the school in addition to the Head of Academic Music.

SCHOOL

Other facilities worth noting? The Teaching Centre will seriously please; there’s an excellent cookery suite that befits a school that offers Leith’s qualifications, a separate science block, fabulous light, airy studio for art and a DT workshop.

ACADEMICS

You may have heard of Tudor Hall’s past reputation for those not particularly academic. I’d suggest you bin those preconceptions, because based on 2023’s results, the school is doing just dandy. With girls taking between 9-10 GSCEs, the results saw 37.2% gaining 9-8, 57.2% awarded 9-7 and all 100% attaining 9-4. A level grades are even more impressive, with nearly a quarter of girls (22%) getting A*, 50% gaining A*-A, and 79.2% with A*-B. Leaver’s destinations for 2022 included Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Imperial, Liverpool, Queen’s Royal Holloway and Warwick across both arts and sciences. There’s an Oxbridge mentor (five applied for 2023) and a new programme for scholars so watch this space.

The breadth of subjects on offer is interesting here – 27 possibles for Sixth Form including some less traditional ones like History, Government and Politics, Photography, Business and Textiles. There are also strong vocational qualifications on offer too which I like to see – the Leith’s Cookery qualification (which goes towards UCAS points), a CTech in Business and a BTEC in Sport.

PASTORAL CARE

Tudor Hall is well-known for its warm pastoral approach and there’s no doubt that the small numbers at the school foster kindness across the year groups. I’ve reviewed Tudor Hall several times in the past and I’m always struck by how well-balanced and unpretentious the girls seem to be. For those who do need extra help, there is the usual provision in place, led by the Deputy Head Pastoral and Head of Wellbeing, including two school counsellors, 24 hour–nurses and a school GP on site and a Wellbeing hub where kids can access help or just head for time out. There’s also the female chaplain on site (with added dog for walking and talking opportunities) and also a life coach. The school uses CPOMS software to help safeguard the pupils, but it’s also developed its own Wellbeing Tracker with data from the girls analysed every 2-3 weeks. There’s also a new Roses programme which focuses on mental health, with sport, life skills and outdoor education at its heart.

SEND

According to the ISI report in Jan 2022, roughly a third of pupils here take up some SEND provision at the school – most extra help is delivered within the classroom setting though there’s also a separate suite of rooms for Learning Support. Dyslexia and dyscalculia are the most common issues; those with more complex needs are possibly best supported elsewhere.

THE HEAD

Julie Lodrick took up the reins in 2022, after seven years as Head at through–day and boarding school Kent College Pembury, and has wasted no time in making her mark. Friendly, quick to smile and popular with the pupils I spoke to, she’s quickly created a sense of calm and order with more clearly defined night–time routines (she’s big on the importance of sleep), created a quiet space for the older girls with a small library in the Sixth Form boarding house, she’s tweaked the school day to include time in the schedule for moving between classes, and though prep sessions are compulsory – no surprises there – she’s given the girls some independence on when they sit and do them. She’s instigated a new uniform in consultation with the pupils and is currently working through the jewellery rules. When I asked two pupils showing me around what they thought of her tenure, they said they liked her, she’d given the older kids more focus and that “you can’t get away with stuff!”

BOARDING

75% of children take up full–boarding at Tudor Hall within seven separate boarding houses, with the pupils in ‘horizontal’ houses made up of their own year group (as opposed to ‘vertical’ boarding where the houses are made up of all the year groups together). Lower down the school the girls share dorms of 4-6, moving to rooms of two in the Lower Sixth and singles in the Upper Sixth. Rooms are pretty typical of the boarding schools I see – neat, beech-style beds, desks for the older girls, basic but homely living areas. The purpose-built Sixth Form boarding house has the best of it, with a swish kitchen, lovely conservatory for dinner and hanging out, outside seating that looks over rolling fields and a more stylish sitting area than afforded the younger years. The Sixth Formers are allowed to cook their own food at certain times, and are expected to do their own laundry in preparation for life beyond school. There are socials for the younger girls with the likes of Cothill and Summerfield, while the older girls might do pizza making or bowling with the boys at Harrow, Eton or Radley. The Sixth Formers can head into Banbury or Oxford on the weekends though they’d like a bit more freedom – but as said as they joked, looking at the fields around them, “What would we do with it?!”

WRAP AROUND CARE

Day pupils are in the clear minority at 25% but the school seems very aware of the need to integrate day girls and boarders and so day girls can stay until 9pm, have their own day rooms and can sleep over with very little notice. Day girls are required to stay for Saturday school until 12:30pm, (unless they have other commitments) so they are well-integrated with the boarders. With an emphasis on joining in, and with 100 co-curricular clubs to choose from, an ‘us and them’ mentality between day pupils and boarders doesn’t seem to be an issue here.

QUIRKS

The school has its own café, once the preserve of Sixth Formers, “Café 6” is now open to all – the Sixth Formers do get the chance to work in the café and train as baristas though, which is useful. And I don’t know many schools who have a direct route across the fields to a farm! Wykham Park Farm is well-respected locally as a producer but also has its own café and farm shop.

ISI REPORT

January 2022 saw the ISI inspectors arrive and the resulting Compliance and Educational Quality report is happy reading, with the school meeting the criteria and judged Excellent in all areas. Read the report here.

TRANSPORT

For day pupils there are three bus routes, one starting from Chipping Norton, a second from Kings Sutton on the Oxon/Northants border and a third from Helmdon in Northants. There’s also a minibus service for Exeat weekends and half terms to London, dropping off at midday on Friday and leaving London at 5pm on Sunday. (There are also plans for new northern and southern bus routes, so if you are in Oxford or South Warwickshire, do ask!)

FEES

Ouchy. The day fee is on the more expensive side locally at £9,250 per term, with full boarding in line with competitors at £15,300 per term. Campaign 2025 is a bursary fund at Tudor with a view to supporting seven new fully-funded places for local girls by 2025, so if the will is there but the funds aren’t, this could be an option to explore.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Very happy parents at Tudor Hall who like the school’s nurturing all-rounder ethos. Good feedback too on the new headmistress, Julie Lodrick, who they see as giving the school a new energy and consistency. The pupils I spoke to love the school and are very proud of it – no yearning for a co-ed life here either, which is proof in itself of how well the girls get on. Being so rural, there’s an acceptance amongst parents and pupils of a slight Tudor House ‘bubble’ at times though the new headmistress is instigating a more outward-looking approach.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Good for: Those looking for an unpretentious, friendly school in a gorgeous rural setting. The vocational qualifications offer an extra string to the bow for girls who prefer a more practical education. The co-curricular offering is huge and will appeal to those who want to give their daughters a wide range of experiences.

Not for: Those inclined to stay on the sidelines. Tudor Hall is a haven for active pupils who thrive on a longer school day filled with opportunities. If sports are your absolute everything, you may prefer a more specialised environment.

Want to see for yourself? Be my guest! There is a Senior School Open Morning at Tudor Hall on Saturday 28 September 2024 at 9.30a.m.

Tudor Hall, Wykham Park, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 9UR. Tel: 01295 756259.

Tudor Hall, Banbury

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