Bucks &amp; Oxon

Hi Valerie, thanks very much for your honest response. I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s helpful to other parents considering the school x

As the mother of two girls who have been very happy at Wychwood, I&#8217;d say your review was very accurate apart from two things:
The drama provision is excellent with a very enthusiastic drama teacher &amp; the possibility of studying for LLAMDA (spelling?) exams. The school also takes part in Shakespeare for Schools productions each year. Wychwood&#8217;s size is an advantage when it comes to drama. One of my daughters had parts in plays that she definitely would not have had in a larger school. The girls are challenged each year to write, produce, and star in the &#8220;form play&#8221;, with each form producing a play from scratch in a few weeks.
The sports department teaches a valuable lesson &#8211; not everyone can win! Girls learn to be realistic about their chances against other schools who are fielding their A team when Wychwood only has one team &amp; individual achievements &amp; performances are celebrated. Again, both my daughters played in teams that they would not have been considered for in a larger school.
Wychwood really gets to know each girl and helps her to achieve academically, socially &amp; develop personally as a caring rounded human being. Having responsibility for a younger child brought out the best in my older daughter and gave my youngest child a sense of responsibility previously lacking in her life!
The ability to board on an occasional basis is a &#8220;God-send&#8221; for busy parents &amp; both girls really enjoyed the atmosphere in the boarding house. My eldest was a weekly boarder for a time with a long train journey at weekends and the pastoral care was excellent, both from teachers and very committed &#8220;Gap girls&#8221;. 
I am so glad that we did not listen to family pressure to send the children to the larger &#8220;exam factories&#8221;. Wychwood has played a large part in making my girls the wonderful people they are today (I might be slightly biased here!)
p.s. when considering published exam results one has to take into consideration that Wychwood are accepting girls who would be rejected by other schools in Oxford. Your daughter WILL achieve her full potential at Wychwood, whatever that potential may be.

Wychwood is an amazing school. You are right it is caring, positive and very much working with the individual. The staff work closely to bring the best out in every girl. If your after after a school that &#8220;genuinely cares for each child&#8221; and looks at them as an individual, challenging them and finding their true potential then you&#8217;ve found it. The Head works amazingly hard and the staff have a very open door policy. The boarding is great and they still have lots of opportunities with theatre trips, foreign trips and sports fixtures.

Pretty accurate&#8230; if you want an individual school with a quirky edge that gets results and a daughter who has her own mind then this is for you ! 
No sausages here , all wholly organic and different talented pupils who are happy and look out for each other like one big family.

My daughter is at Wychwood and she is so happy! We feel so pleased that she is not in an academic hot house and the school really knows and values each child as an individual. That is not to say academics are not important, the teaching is excellent and the expectations are high. I would question the comment made about the drama provision in the school; I think the drama is outstanding, and there is a culture of encouraging girls of all abilities to take part and to have a go, with many opportunities to act and perform. There are Performing Arts Evenings, and the school takes part in the Shakespeare for Schools Festival. 
I wouldn&#8217;t hesitate to recommend Wychwood to any parent. It is a very special school.

Wychwood School, central Oxford

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