In The Community

    Oswestry School occupies a central place in the local community, linking with local schools and acting as a cultural centre for the area through events such as our highly popular music recital series and the annual schools’ literature festival, ‘BOOKED UP!’, which bring renowned musicians, authors, poets and storytellers to Oswestry. We are a centre for and sponsors of the annual Borderland Visual Arts ‘Open Studios’ weekends, when our sexcentenary commemorative wall hanging, designed and created by parents and local artists, is on display.

    Our musicians participate in the Oswestry Schools’ Music Festival and our choir performs in joint concerts with the Oswestry Choral Society. We take part in regular sporting fixtures with local schools in both the independent and the state sector. During the Easter and summer holidays we host soccer schools which are extremely popular with local children. Oswestry Otters, the local (very successful) swimming club, train in our pool, which is also used by a local primary school. We also host a round of the Oswestry and District Primary Schools Cross Country Competition on our Maes y llan playing field, which is the cross country home of Oswestry Olympians Athletics Club.

    We have strong links with the Rotary Club of Oswestry and many of our pupils in Years 11 to 13 are part of the Interact Club, each year planning and completing at least two community service projects, which enable them to
    • develop leadership skills and personal integrity
    • demonstrate helpfulness and respect for others
    • understand the value of individual responsibility and hard work
    • advance international understanding and goodwill

    Our partnership with local and international Rotary Clubs has raised funds to provide a new computer lab for the LEAP School, which is based in a township in Cape Town, South Africa.

    Some of our staff and senior students help with the recording of the Oswestry Talking Newspaper, a fortnightly service which provides recorded readings from local news media for anyone registered blind or partially sighted. The recordings take place in a specially designed studio based in our school grounds.

    Several of our overseas students assist with the International Languages days at a local primary school and our headmaster visits a number of primary schools on a regular basis to help with assemblies.

    Students are encouraged to play an active part in initiating and supporting fundraising activities for local, national and international charities. Recent events have included musical concerts, sponsored events and themed own clothes days; we run an annual fundraising Christmas fair and on alternate years the entire school takes part in a 15-mile charity walk across the beautiful hills which surround Oswestry. Students also participate in the locally important fetes at the Derwen College and the Orthopaedic Hospital.