Headington Rye Oxford is a highly successful day and boarding school in Oxford for 800 girls aged 11–18, with a Prep School for girls and boys girls aged 3–11 occupying its own site, separated from the senior school by a pedestrianised footpath. (See Headington Rye Oxford Preparatory School entry in IAPS section.) The school was formed from the merger of Headington School and neighbouring Rye St Antony. The School offers pupils from Nursery to Sixth Form an unrivalled opportunity to pursue academic, sporting and artistic excellence in a caring and nurturing environment.
Set in 23 acres of playing fields and gardens, our superb facilities provide the perfect backdrop for teaching and learning that extends way beyond the classroom and curriculum. We encourage participation in all aspects of sport and culture, teamwork and leadership, challenging girls to discover and explore their own potential and achieve more than they thought possible.
Consistently in the premier league of academic schools in the UK, life at Headington Rye is about much more than exam results. Through the sheer breadth of subjects and activities at Headington, we aim to educate the complete individual, giving girls the confidence and self-awareness to compete, contribute and succeed at school, university and in their adult lives.
Facilities. Headington Rye offers a superb range of facilities to day girls and boarders to support and enhance their learning. Our Music School has fantastic acoustics, along with teaching rooms, a recording studio and electronics studio. The 240-seat Theatre, run by a professional team who provide expertise in set design, lighting and sound design, is home to the School’s Drama Department. Our Dance and Fitness Centre benefits from a fully equipped gym, training rooms and a large dance studio. Other sports facilities include a floodlit all-weather pitch, sports hall and 25 m indoor swimming pool. In 2016, the School opened its award-winning Library, and an extended and refurbished Sixth Form Centre opened in early 2019. A new Creativity and Innovation Centre, the Hive, opened in 2021 and features light and airy art studios, a lens suite, 3D workshop and 3D printers, photographic studio, lecture theatre and gallery space. State-of-the-art teaching kitchens, including a demonstration kitchen, were officially opened by chef Prue Leith in 2022, while a new boathouse on the Thames for the championship-winning boat club was completed in 2023.
Curriculum. In Years 7 and 8, girls are taught in four classes of around 20 each, which increases to six slightly smaller classes in U4 after 13+ entry. They study Art, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Creative Engineering & Design, Dance, Drama, English, Fashion and Textile Design, Food and Nutrition, French, Spanish or Italian (girls choose an additional language to study in Year 8), Games, Geography, History, Latin, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Religious Studies. Most girls study nine or ten GCSE subjects, from a choice of around 30 subjects supplemented by one-year courses (the Higher Project Qualification, School Certificate in Philosophy, Certificate in Digital Communication, Award in Creative Writing, Award in Global Perspectives and Award in Financial Education). The majority of students move into the Sixth Form where they can choose from 30 A Level subjects along with the EPQ and BTEC National Diplomas in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship or Sport. Many new girls, both day and boarders, also join us at this stage.
Physical Education. From Olympic rowers to recreational dancers, Headington Rye Oxford offers a genuinely inclusive approach to PE and extracurricular sport and encourages each girl to enjoy sport at the level that suits her. PE is taught throughout the school and many girls choose to study PE to GCSE. They can choose from more than 30 different sporting activities, from Dance and Fencing to Hockey and Trampolining. Sports such as Hockey, Netball and Athletics are played competitively against other schools and girls have the chance to represent the School across a range of abilities. Around 70 girls currently compete at county level and beyond and the School enjoys national success in a wide range of sports. Rowers compete at the very highest level, with the School consistently triumphing at the National Schools’ Regatta. In 2024, the 1st VIII won the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy at Henley Royal Regatta. More than 150 girls row and regularly go on to represent Great Britain at international competitions.
Music. Every girl has the opportunity to enjoy music both within the curriculum and beyond. More than 430 individual music lessons take place each week and visiting teachers offer girls the opportunity to learn a wide range of instruments. The Senior School has numerous orchestras, choirs and ensembles, from junior orchestras to choose from.
Drama. There is a busy programme of productions each year and girls of all ages become involved in all aspects of theatre, from writing and producing their own plays, to lighting, costume and make-up. Drama is an option at GCSE and A Level. Many girls also elect to take Trinity Speech and Drama exams in school.
Dance. State-of-the-art Dance facilities provide a multitude of opportunities for every girl. Dance is part of the curriculum in the Lower School and girls may select it at GCSE and A Level. Outside the classroom there is a huge range of dance options, from Ballet to Street Dance and Contemporary. As well as annual Dance Shows, the Headington Dance Company competes in local and national competitions.
Extracurricular activities. More than 120 extracurricular activities take place every week during lunchtime, before and after school. A wide choice of subjects, sports, interests and hobbies ranges from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Drama to Astronomy and Young Enterprise. Headington Rye Oxford also has a popular Combined Cadet Force.
Higher Education and careers. Each year, girls head off to leading universities in the UK and abroad or to competitive school leaver programmes. A significant number of girls choose Oxbridge each year; some head for medical or veterinary college and others take up Art Foundation courses. Girls graduate from a wide range of arts and science degrees in subjects as diverse as civil engineering, architecture, classics and natural sciences. Detailed assistance on choice of universities is given in the Sixth Form along with special programmes for Medicine, Veterinary Science, Oxbridge, Law and Architecture. A careers programme is in place throughout the School.
Boarding. Just over a quarter of the School – around 200 girls – are boarders. The boarding houses provide girls with a ‘home from home’ where, supported by a team of highly experienced staff, they learn to develop into mature and independent young people. Many boarders come from the UK and the School is also very proud of its international boarding community, made up of more than 30 nationalities from all over the world. There is a choice of flexible boarding options for girls aged eleven and upwards with full, weekly and half-weekly boarding all on offer.
Entrance. The main entry points to the Senior School are at 11+, 13+ or, for the Sixth Form, 16+. Girls are occasionally able to join at other ages if places become available. Girls enter the School at 11+ via Headington's own examination day and interview in late November. Girls at UK prep schools sit the ISEB pre-tests in Year 6 or 7 for entrance at 13+. Other 13+ candidates sit the School’s own examination papers in Year 8. Sixth Form entrance examinations and interviews are held in the November before the proposed year of entry and include general papers involving Maths and essay-writing, a critical thinking skills assessment and an academic interview.
Registration fees are £150 (UK) and £250 (overseas-based families). For information about admissions, please check the website, www.headington.org, or contact the School's friendly admissions team who will be happy to help. Fees per term (2024-2025). Senior School: Full Boarders £15,027–£16,466; Weekly Boarders £12,553–£13,918; Half-Weekly Boarders £10,034–£11,048; Day Girls £7,515–£8,180.
Scholarships and bursaries. Scholarships are awarded for academic achievement, art, dance, drama, music and sport. These awards recognise talent and achievement and most do not provide any fee reduction or financial reward, although there are a small number of special academic and music scholarships available to the highest achieving candidates at 11+ and 13+ entry. The Headington Rye Access Programme (HRAP) supports talented girls who would benefit from all that the School has to offer but who may not be able to access a Headington Rye education without some form of financial assistance. Means-tested bursaries of up to 100 per cent of fees are available for local day girls who achieve high marks in our entrance examinations and are awarded at 11+ and 13+. Exceptional candidates at 16+ may be eligible for our Special Awards programme, worth 10 per cent of fees.
Charitable status. Headington Rye Oxford Limited is a Registered Charity, number 309678. It exists to provide quality education for girls.
Governors & Staff:
Governing Council:
Chair of Governors: Mrs Carol Oster Warriner, MA Oxon
Vice Chair of Governors: Dr Kate Ringham, BA Hons, PhD
Vice Chair of Governors: Lady Stanley of Alderley, BSc, Dip Sci
Miss Claire Boyd, BA Hons
Mr Mark Curtis, MA Oxon
Mrs Penny Gardner, BA Hons, ACMA
Mrs Kiki Glen, MA Hons
Mrs Sue Hampshire
Miss Susan Hincks, MA Oxon
Mr Jim Johnston, BSc, MRICS
Mrs Shuna McGregor
The Rev Darren McFarland, BA Hons, BTh
Mr Tom Montgomery, MBA Oxon
Mr Anup Mysoor, BCom, MSc, MBA
Mr Richard Nicholson, MA Oxon, ARCO, PG Cert, QTS
Company Secretary: Mr Richard Couzens, MBE, MA Cranfield
Clerk to the Council: Mrs Sukey McMaster
Headmistress: Mrs C Jordan, MA Oxon
Head of Prep: Mrs J Crouch, BA Keele, MA London, NPQH
First Deputy Head (Staff & Operations): Mr S Hawkes, BA Brunel
Deputy Head (Academic): Dr A-M Stanton-Ife, MA Cantab, MA UCL, PhD UC
Deputy Head (Supra-curricular): Mrs Rachel Thanassoulis, MA Glasgow, MSt Oxon
Deputy Head (Pastoral): Miss A Proctor, BA Oxon, MSc Dunelm
Deputy Head (Pupil Experience): Mrs Jo Creber, BA Southampton
Bursar: Mr R Couzens, MBE, MA Cranfield