O liver - The London Oratory School

Celebrating Boys’ Experiences
It has been wonderful over the last term for many of us to be able to
enjoy the experiences and talents of our pupils in the Junior House,
Senior and Sixth Form. Once again the following pages represent just
a sample of life at the School.
I would par ticularly like to congratulate those ten pupils who achieved
The Headmaster’s Award. This was presented to the boys for achieving
a Cer tificate of Academic Excellence in each of their three term
repor ts last year. This required the boys to obtain a minimum of 80%
of their repor t rating scores at Level 1(Outstanding) and the remainder
at Level 2(Very Good). An outstanding achievement, when you
consider they managed to achieve this standard for the whole year.
Why a Boys’ School in the 21 st Century?
A number of Independent boys’ schools in England have recently admitted girls for the first time and thus become fully coeducational.
Whilst co-educational schools are ideal for some pupils the decline in the number of boys’ schools is regrettable
especially in the early teenage years. The London Oratory School plans to remain a boys’ only school up to the age
of 16 years. I believe a boy’s only environment provides many unique advantages:
An environment free of cross-gender distractions in which:
- boys need not waste energy posturing or trying to live up to the gender stereotypes so prevalent in the
media and society at large.
- focus on academic tasks and achievement in which co-curricular activities can be paramount.
- frank and direct communication foster development and growth.
- is conducive to the full development of male spirituality
Educational programmes tailored to meet the developmental needs of boys where:
- boys can gain confidence in their ability to learn without being compared to girls who mature more quickly
and tend to enjoy more academic success in school.
- books and curricular materials that excite boys can be integrated into all aspects of the school’s programme.
- boys have oppor tunities to be taught and coached by teachers who have been engaged because they want
to work with boys.
- boys can grow at their own pace and can “be boys” for as long as they need, protected from society’s pressure
to get involved with girls before they are ready.
A stimulating and safe learning environment that:
- encourages full par ticipation by boys in all activities (ar ts, athletics, community service).
- promotes self-expression and a respect for the many different paths to manhood.
- provides an atmosphere in which to explore sensitive gender and sex-related issues.
A setting in which boys develop strong bonds of friendship and camaraderie with peers and teachers so that:
- the impact of positive male role models can have its fullest effect.
- a distinctive esprit de corps enriches the lives of boys.
David McFadden
Headmaster
A C A D
Cover: Order of Malta Volunteers (OMV) article page 6