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    From the Headmaster's Desk

    Thank you for your interest in Oswestry School.  Within our website I trust that you will find the information that will answer some of your questions and allow you to discover something of the heart and soul of the School, its warmth and purpose.

    As befits our status as one of the oldest, non-denominational, schools in the country, we cherish our distinctive ethos, developed and evolved over the centuries, which allows us to give much individual care and attention to our pupils and to monitor and motivate them as they make academic and personal progress.  

    Our new Sixth Form boys’ boarding house, Holbache House, has recently been completed.  Those who have had the opportunity to see it, or the good fortune to be shown around, need no further persuasion to be convinced that it is a fitting addition to our facilities, providing as it does, wonderful accommodation for our senior boy boarders.  Its completion brings to fruition the first of the three phases of major development announced by the governors in July 2003.  Plans for a new teaching block have now been granted planning approval, whilst those for a sports hall are near to completion.  The new teaching block will house physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, art rooms with an exhibition area, an IT suite and teaching rooms for maths.  Work on the building will commence in the near future.   

    To realise ambitious plans requires a mixture of vision, faith and boldness, tempered by business and commercial nous, pragmatism and a good dose of common sense.  That our plans are being fulfilled in a prudent manner indicates that the governors of the school are striking the right balance and we look forward as the next stage of development unfolds.

    Important though facilities are, at the heart of any school should be the quality of education it offers.  If our results in public examinations are a measure of the same then I think we can safely say we are in good heart.  In the last three years we have had eight top five marks in the country at GCSE and A level, in four different subjects.  The receipt of such accolades is an extremely rare event in the life of any school and we have basked in the reflected glory of our students’ prowess.  I wonder if any other school can match such a record.

    Laudable though such achievements are in the life of Oswestry School they are just one aspect of what this school is about.  Our pupils are involved in a huge breadth of activity.  It is involvement in these activities which does much to shape the character and nurture the personalities of those youngsters privileged to be here.  As you look through the web site I hope you will be impressed by their enthusiasm and energy, commitment and drive and marvel at their apparently never-ending willingness to uphold the name of Oswestry School.

    I extend a very warm invitation to you to visit our School and experience, at first hand, the supportive, co-operative, caring and friendly atmosphere here.  You will be made most welcome and I look forward to meeting you.

    P D Stockdale
    Headmaster