'I look back on those formative years at Oundle with such fondness and it is thrilling for me that I am still in touch with many of the dear friends I made there.'Rebecca Downey (LS 91)
2025 marks 35 years since Oundle became a fully co-educational boarding school – the vision of pioneering former Headmaster, David McMurray.
He set out a clear vision for the School which continues to resonate today:
“It is our intention to create at Oundle an environment in which boys and girls can fulfil their individual talents and respect one another as equals. We believe that only thus can we now in the late twentieth century continue to justify Oundle’s proud claim always to have prepared its pupils in a manner appropriate to the world in which they will live their adult lives.”
To honour his legacy, plans are underway for McMurray House, a new girls’ boarding house that will continue to reflect his vision for co-education at Oundle.
Today, Oundle is the third largest co-educational boarding school in the UK, with a pupil ratio of 60:40 boys to girls. For current pupils, co-education is simply part of everyday life — but for the pioneering 120 girls who first arrived on 6 September 1990, it marked the beginning of a bold new chapter in the School’s history.
To mark this anniversary, we are reflecting on what it means to be a co-educational school and sharing the memories of those who helped shape this important moment 35 years ago.
Share your memories here
“Oundle prides itself on being a forward-looking, open-minded School, a School which takes note of the nature of life outside its walls and not only responds to it but anticipates its further development so that the School can provide for its pupils sound and good preparation for later life.”
