WHAT? WHERE?

One of the oldest day and boarding girls’ schools in the UK, founded in 1850 and now in its 175th anniversary year, Tudor Hall sits in elegant splendour in Wykham Park near Banbury, north Oxfordshire, in 46 acres of rural paradise, centred around an elegant honey stone 17th century manor house.

Despite its large grounds, Tudor Hall is a deliberately small school in terms of pupil numbers, with 255 girls from 11- 18 years including around 11% of international students, in classes of maximum 16. Proud of its reputation as a traditional British boarding school, 75% of girls board here in some capacity. Well-known locally for its nurturing approach and strong outward-facing community ethos, 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

Sport is an area where Tudor Hall is investing resource. A new Director of Sport was appointed in 2023 with a remit to make the school more competitive and with that in mind, specialist sports teachers are in situ, and facilities have improved with a revamped fitness room (the Sixth Formers can drop in as they like), and plans to further upgrade and extend facilities.

The school has plenty to get the heart rate pumping, including an 18m indoor heated swimming pool with all girls Year 7 – 11 taking regular lessons, a flood lit astroturf (which also becomes nine netball courts or tennis courts), five floodlit hard court tennis courts, a sports hall, two lacrosse pitches, a grass athletics track, and access to Banbury Harriers Athletics club, Banbury Hockey Club, and Wade Gymnastics Club. The girls can choose to do small group gym training in PE or take personal training in the Upper Sixth with the Tudor Hall PT.

Hockey, netball and tennis are the main sports here, though lacrosse is also popular, and the repertoire of sports extends to cricket, football, cross country, swimming, athletics, horse riding, clay-pigeon shooting and skiing.

THE ARTS

Tudor Hall, Banbury theatre space — One of Tudor Hall’s Music Practise and Performance Spaces

The theatre complex, complete with eye-catching neon signage and a super-active drama department, makes this school an attractive proposition for theatre lovers – even more now that Tudor Hall is one of the first schools to nab the performing rights to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. That said, music is also a big deal at Tudor (the headmistress is a former professional opera singer which helps), 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 a range of choirs, orchestras, chamber groups, bands and Open Mic nights for the girls . In 2025, a Tudor pupil was named Banbury Young Musician of the Year.

There are plenty of performance opportunities, with a whole-school production (often a musical) alternating with a senior school play, and an annual junior production, plus an annual Lower School Christmas show, House drama competition involving all the girls and LAMDA lessons, taken by an astonishing 75% of pupils.

SCHOOL

Tudor Hall, Banbury 175 year sign in hallway — An excellent professional-standard cookery suite

The big news is the huge capital project to update the School Hall in this 175th year, but there’s also much to already please -an excellent cookery suite that befits a school that offers Leith’s qualifications, a separate science block, fabulous light, airy studios for art, ceramics, textiles, a large, funky DT workshop and a lovely two-floor library. The school’s purpose-built, distinctive circular dining room is a bright and modern space where the whole school gathers for freshly prepared meals (“so good!” according to the girls who showed me around).

ACADEMICS

Impressive. Tudor Hall once had a reputation as not particularly academic but that’s long gone. High Performance Learning (HPL) has been brought in here – an evidence-based learning approach that challenges the idea of fixed ability and emphasizes a growth mindset, with the school working towards its accreditation in 2026. On the basis of 2025 results, it’s definitely working. With girls taking between 9-10 GSCEs, pupils in 2025 achieved 41% 9-7 grades, putting Tudor Hall in the top 3.5% of schools nationally for value-added (the measure of a student’s progress, showing how much a school has contributed to their learning beyond their starting point).

For A levels, 41% of all grades achieved were A*-A or equivalent, with 78% at A*-B, and in the top 15% nationally for Value Added. Leavers’ destinations for 2025 are pleasingly diverse Glasgow School of Art, the Royal Agricultural University and Cordwainers at London College of Fashion, Durham University, UCL, Theatre and Film at Bristol. For those applying to Oxbridge, there’s a dedicated mentor and scholars programme, with six girls gaining places over the last three years.

The breadth of subjects on offer is attractive – 21 at GCSE and 28 possibilities in the Sixth Form including some less traditional ones such as Digital Design & Media, Politics, Photography, Business, and Textiles. There are also strong vocational qualifications on offer too – the Leith’s Cookery qualification (which goes towards UCAS points), a CTech in Business, and BTECs in Sport and Countryside Management.

PASTORAL CARE

Tudor Hall School Banbury teacher helping pupil

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.

The boarding houses are horizontal – in other words, the year groups live together – but the house system is vertical, meaning that the different year groups are able to mingle and become friends.

For those who do need extra pastoral help, there is robust 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 a chaplain on site with a drop-in-and-chat approach, 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 bespoke ‘Roses’ programme, with a weekly focus on different aspects of wellbeing, from first aid, time out, taking responsibility and mental health.

SEND

Around 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 and the pupils I talked to felt strongly supported, with a lack of stigma or judgement. That said, those with more complex needs may be best supported elsewhere.

THE HEAD

Julie Lodrick head teacher Tudor Hall Banbury

Julie Lodrick took up the reins in 2022, after seven years as Head at girls through–day and boarding school Kent College Pembury. Friendly, quick to smile and popular with the pupils I spoke to, she quickly created a sense of calm and order on arrival with more clearly defined night–time routines, created a quiet space for the older girls with a small library in the Sixth Form boarding house, and tweaked the school day to include time in the schedule for moving between classes. Though Prep sessions are compulsory, she’s given the girls some independence on when they sit and do them. Lodrick teaches music A Level, and runs the Couch to 5k running group, so she’s very active around the school. Under her tenure the school has become more academically robust and broadly selective.

BOARDING

Around 75% of pupils take up boarding at Tudor Hall within six separate boarding houses, with day girls also integrated into the houses so they are part of the fun. The school has overhauled its boarding provision to make it completely flexible and modern – so girls can choose occasional, partial, weekly or full boarding, and girls in Year 9 and above can also come back on either Sunday night or Monday from exeats.

Girls in Years 7 and 8 have Todd House, a cosy cottage with its own garden in the grounds of the school, sharing dorms of four to six. The girls move to rooms of two by 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 houses have the best of it, with swish kitchens, a 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 weekend, and there are socials with boys’ schools, but the girls I spoke to like the rural surroundings and peace of the campus.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Day pupils are in the clear minority here but the school integrates day girls and boarders well, with day girls able to stay until 9pm along with the option to board for a fixed two consecutive nights each week between Monday and Thursday. Day girls (in Year 9 and above) are also required to stay for Saturday school until 12:30pm 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 Head Girls change termly which is pretty unusual, there’s a staff band (somehow not been outed on social media yet!) and the school café pays its barista-trained Sixth Formers in highly contested jobs where the girls go through a full interview process before getting anywhere near the coffee beans.

ISI REPORT

You can read the most recent Routine ISI report from March 2025, where all quality thresholds are met.

TRANSPORT

For day pupils there are four current minibus routes, serving Chipping Norton, Banbury, Brackley in Northants and surrounding villages. Two new routes as of Sept 2025 take in Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, as well as north Oxford. 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.

FEES

Fees were reduced for January 2025 and the school is not passing on the full 20% VAT. Termly fees from September 2025 (inclusive of VAT) in Lower School (Years 7 & 8) are: Full Boarding £16,800, Weekly Boarding £15,000, Occasional Boarding £12,360, Day £9,480. Termly fees for Year 9 to Sixth Form are: Full Boarding £19,032, Partial Boarding £13,680, Day £11,610.

A transformational bursary fund at Tudor Hall is being created with a view to supporting seven new fully-funded places for local girls, so if the will is there but the funds aren’t, this could be an option to explore.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Happy parents at Tudor Hall who like the school’s nurturing all-rounder ethos. The pupils I spoke to love the school and are very proud of it – no yearning for a co-ed life here either or a more buzzy social life. Being so rural, there’s an acceptance amongst parents and pupils of a slight Tudor House ‘bubble’ at times though the Head continues to develop 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 great fit for pupils who like getting stuck in to school life and thrive on a longer school day.

Want to see for yourself? Be my guest! The next Open Morning is Sat 16 May. Families are also welcome to attend one of the regular Open Fridays.

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

Tudor Hall, Banbury

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