'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 fully co-educational — the vision of former Headmaster David McMurray.
“It is our intention to create an environment where boys and girls fulfil their talents and respect one another as equals. Only thus can Oundle justify its proud claim to prepare pupils for the world in which they will live.”
To honour his legacy, plans are underway for McMurray House, a new girls’ boarding house reflecting his vision.
Today, Oundle is the UK’s third largest co-educational boarding school, with a 60:40 ratio of boys to girls. For pupils, co-education is everyday life — but for the 120 girls who first arrived in 1990, it was the beginning of a bold new chapter.
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.”
