30 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.comPHOTOGRAPH: TOBY PHILLIPS PHOTOGRAPHYschool rules: work hard (they
expect you to achieve a grade high-
er than predicted), be kind, have
fun, enjoy what you’re studying,
and, last but by no means least,
laugh at the Head’s jokes. There is
an array of A-level choices includ-
ing textiles, psychology and history
of art and the extracurricular
opportunities include polo, ice-
skating, circus skills and, for the
less adventurous, knitting. The
dazzling whole school production
of Legally Blonde, every aspect of
which involved students, was one
of last year’s particular highlights.D’OVERBROECK’S
Banbury Road, Oxford
OX2 7PL
Website doverbroecks.com
Head Jonathan Cuff, PhD, since
2019; previously Senior Deputy
Principal Pupils 598. Day: 193
boys, 173 girls; boarding: 104 boys,
128 girls Ages 11Ð19 Term Fees
Day: £8,100; boarding: £13,850
Oxbridge 4% Registration
Autumn term of year before entry;
£100 fee Admission School’s own
exam Alumni Will Young, Dia
Chakravarty, Lara Butler
Those who remember this as an
Oxford crammer need to think
again. D’Overbroeck’s offers a
modern, vibrant and thriving
education for 11 to 18 year olds.
The school is spread across two
campuses with Juniors residing in
trendy Jericho while the Seniors,
including day pupils and full and
weekly boarders, enjoy a modern
‘university-style’ campus near Sum-
mertown. Parents and pupils rave
about the school’s fresh take on
education. Pastoral care is a priority
with assigned tutors, attentive
teachers and very small class sizes.
The vibe is very relaxed: pupils are
on first-name terms with teachers
and the uniform is a polo shirt,
jumper and jeans. A prospective
parent was impressed by theHead Emma McKendrick who
is a ‘class act’ and ‘whose every
word is wise’, that she said
she would ‘work with her in a
flash’. There are three applicants
per place and McKendrick
personally interviews each
candidate: ‘We value a pragmatist
as much as a dreamer. No
stereotypes here please.’ Every
member of Year 8 spends a term
at the school’s farmhouse in
France and Year 11s have the
chance to study and live abroad as
part of the Global Schools’
Exchange Programme. The girls
continue to impress on the sports
pitch: the 1st lacrosse team won
18 out of 21 matches last season
and there are 200+ tennis lessons
every week. The £8 million
Murray Centre is a hub of
enrichment and social activity
and the redeveloped music and
maths facilities are due to open in- Results are fantastic: in
2018, 63 per cent of all GCSE
grades were A and 60 per cent of
A-level grades were A–A. Leavers
head to Bristol, Edinburgh and
Exeter, and the East Coast of the
US is becoming increasingly
popular – Columbia and Brown
are the favourites. One parent
describes ‘a resounding sense of
fun’, so it’s no surprise that 99.9
per cent of girls choose to stay on
for sixth form.
DUNOTTAR
High Trees Road, Reigate,
Surrey RH2 7EL
Website dunottarschool.com
Head Mark Tottman, MBA, since
2017; previously Deputy Head
Academic at Dean Close School
Pupils 361 day: 169 boys, 192
girls Ages 11Ð18 Term Fees
£5,685 Oxbridge Occasional
Registration By end of November
in year before entry; £100 fee
Admission School’s own exam,
interview and group assessment
Alumni Katharine Carpenter,
Katie Trethewey
Dunottar used to be an all-girls
school with only female Heads.
Now it is fully co-ed with the first
male Head, and is one of ]DOWNE HOUSE
Cold Ash, Thatcham,
Berkshire RG18 9JJ
Website downehouse.net
Head Emma McKendrick, FRSA,
since 1997; previously Head of
Royal High School Bath Pupils
580 boarding girls Faith C of E
Ages 11Ð18 Term Fees £13,050
Oxbridge 7% Registration By
end of June of year before entry;
£200 fee Admission CE or school’s
own exam, assessment day and
interview Alumnae Clare Balding,
Sophie Conran, Miranda Hart
One visitor was so impressed withCHRIST’S HOSPITALDUNOTTAR10-19-Schools-Guide-PublicSouthEast.indd 30 14/08/2019 22:15