“Our Houses are at the heart of life at Oundle, ensuring that our pupils have a supportive and nurturing environment in which to grow up. It is in a House community that most pupils find the confidence and sense of purpose that lead to fulfilment in the larger community of the School.”

Ann Meisner

Deputy Head Pastoral

Oundle crest

A HOME FROM HOME

We are a big School with a big heart and whilst our size may seem daunting initially, it is carefully mitigated by the secure, smaller havens of our Houses, both for boarding and day pupils. Every House is home to those who live and work there, staff and pupils alike. It is a place where everyone can relax, be themselves and feel confident. All boarding and day Houses have rules, which all pupils are asked to live and work by, and these rules enable each House to be a warm, welcoming and harmonious community.

House Dining

We know just how important food is to both our pupils and their families. All meals, for both boarders and day pupils, are taken together as a House community in a cosy, family style dining experience. Individual House menus are constructed in partnership with pupils, with the focus on a plentiful, balanced and seasonal diet that is both tasty and culturally diverse.

All our catering staff are trained in the management of allergens and we try to support all pupils with allergies to find food that they can eat and enjoy. We take our carbon footprint very seriously and we have not used single use plastic since 2021.

All of our disposable cups and take away vessels are manufactured by veg ware, enabling the product to compost naturally, our waste oil is collected and re-purposed into bio fuels and all waste cardboard is turned back into paper and other household products.

VIEW SAMPLE MENU

"Doing activities together fosters a sense of community and a pride in your House."

Fourth Form Boarder Quote mark

“In boarding you really learn not to sweat the small stuff, whether it be political cultural views or even which cereal you like. Everyone just learns to muck in together because we're all friends at the end of the day.”

Fifth Form Boarder Quote mark

CHOOSING A HOUSE

Every House is a vibrant community, with plenty of opportunity for social activities both within the House and the wider School. All of our Houses have their own quirks and features and all are run by committed individuals who foster a fiercely loyal community.

House preferences can be stated when registering for a place, with the Admissions team dedicated to working with prospective families both to help guide choice and to ensure breadth and diversity across each House.

Our Junior Houses

We have two Houses for our First and Second Formers (Years 7 and 8): The Berrystead for boarders and Scott House for day pupils. Both Houses share beautiful grounds and work in harmony to bring all younger pupils together as much as possible, while also nurturing individual House identity. Together, the two Houses form a comfortable base for pupils to work, relax and socialise before they move up to the senior Houses for Third Form onwards.

View the houses

Our Senior Boarding Houses

At 13+ and 16+, all boarders join one of our five girls’ Houses (Dryden, Kirkeby, New House, Sanderson and Wyatt), or one of our eight boys’ Houses (Bramston, Crosby, Fisher, Grafton, Laundimer, School House, Sidney, and St Anthony). Each of the senior boarding Houses has family accommodation for a Housemaster or Housemistress and each houses approximately sixty pupils, with around twelve in each year group. Each House has a live-in Matron who, in addition to managing the domestic affairs of the House, helps to look after the pupils’ health and welfare. Accommodation varies between Houses, with some pupils in bedsits in their first year, whereas others may share small dormitories and work in separate studies. All Sixth Form pupils are in bedsits, with Upper Sixth formers in single bedsits. Each boarding House has common recreation areas, including a library, TV room and kitchens for pupil use, as well as outdoor space.

View the houses

Our Senior Day Houses

We have two senior day Houses: Sadler and Laxton, each with its own pastoral structure and spaces while sharing the original Grammar School building at the heart of both the town and School. Each House accommodates around 100 pupils and is fully co-educational throughout. Day pupils also eat together as House communities and use the House as their home from home when in School.

View the houses

You may also be interested in...