Wychwood School
{{short description|Girls' school in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Wychwood School
| image = Wychwood School, 74 Banbury Road, Oxford (24772651155).jpg
| alt = Wychwood School at 74 Banbury Road, Oxford, location of the school since 1918
| image_size = 240px
| caption = View of the school from Banbury Road
| coordinates = {{Coord|51.766923|-1.261058|type:edu_region:GB_dim:100|format=dec|display=inline,title}}
| motto =
| established = 1897{{cite web| url=https://wychwoodschool.org/our-history/ | title=Our History | publisher=Wychwood School | access-date=5 April 2020 }}
| type = Private day and boarding school
| religion = Church of England
| president =
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| address = 74 Banbury Road
| city = Oxford
| county = Oxfordshire
| country = England
| postcode = OX2 6JR
| local_authority = Oxfordshire County Council
| dfeno =
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| ofsted =
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| lower_age = 11
| upper_age = 18
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| website = [https://wychwoodschool.org/ wychwoodschool.org]
}}
Wychwood School is a co-educational private day and boarding school for pupils aged 11–18, located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.{{cite web| url=https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/schools/wychwood-school-oxford | title=Wychwood School | work=The Good Schools Guide | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }}{{cite web| url=https://www.isc.co.uk/schools/england/oxfordshire/oxford/wychwood-school/ | title=Wychwood School | publisher=Independent Schools Council | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }}{{cite web| url=https://www.isi.net/school/wychwood-school-7271 | title=Wychwood School | publisher=Independent Schools Inspectorate | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }}{{cite web| url=https://www.schoolguide.co.uk/schools/wychwood-school-oxford | title=Wychwood School | website=SchoolGuide.co.uk | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }}{{cite web| url=https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/123294/wychwood-school/primary | title=Wychwood School | website=Gov.uk | publisher=UK Government | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }} The school is a member of the Girls' Schools Association{{cite web| url=https://gsa.uk.com/school/wychwood-school/ | title=Wychwood School | publisher=Girls' Schools Association | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }} and is owned by Albion Schools and Wychwood School Charity Ltd (No. 309684).{{cite web |title=Wychwood School For Girls |url=https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?subid=0®id=309684 |access-date=5 April 2020 |publisher=Charity Commission |location=UK}} The school is located on the southern corner of Bardwell Road and Banbury Road in North Oxford.
History
File:77,_Banbury_Road.jpg-styled 77 Banbury Road from 1898-1918]]
The school was established in 1897 at 41 Banbury Road in North Oxford with one pupil under Miss Batty and Miss Margaret Lucy Lee.{{cite web |title=Margaret Lucy Lee |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp101069/margaret-lucy-lee |website=National Portrait Gallery, London |access-date=4 May 2021}} 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.
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.{{cite web| url=http://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/streets/inscriptions/north/fell_wychwood.html| title=Oxford Inscriptions: Dame Honor Fell, Wychwood School | work=History on the streets of Oxford | location=UK | access-date=5 April 2020 }}
In 2018, Wychwood School was listed among the most expensive schools in Oxfordshire, charging boarders £24,300 a year.{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Pete |title=Private school fees treble - so what are Oxfordshire's most expensive? |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/15847071.private-school-fees-treble---oxfordshires-expensive/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |work=Oxford Mail |date=17 January 2018}} In October 2020, the school secured investment from Simon Tyrell, head of a Hong Kong–based property company.{{cite news |last1=Rice |first1=Liam |title=Wychwood School reveals name of mystery financial backer |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18776143.wychwood-school-reveals-name-mystery-financial-backer/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |work=Oxford Mail |date=7 October 2020}}
Wychwood became co-educational as of September 2023.
Alumnae
{{main|Category:People educated at Wychwood School}}
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.
- Iszi Lawrence (born 1985) broadcaster, comedian and author.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://wychwoodschool.org/ Wychwood School website]
{{Schools in Oxfordshire}}
{{authority control}}
Category:1897 establishments in England
Category:Educational institutions established in 1897
Category:Private schools in Oxfordshire
Category:Girls' schools in Oxfordshire
Category:Boarding schools in Oxfordshire
Category:Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association
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