Oswestry School

Oswestry School - a private boarding school, was founded more than 600 years ago, in 1407, which makes it one of the oldest schools in the UK. Located in the city of Oswestry on the border between England and Wales. The school has good transport links to Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham airports, which are easily accessible by car or train.

For several centuries, the school has trained many generations of students. Oswestry School is famous not only for its history, but also for the fact that it is rare for England that from the very beginning it did not belong to any religious denomination, being truly independent.

The school is known for its progressiveness and today continues to develop. The school's mottis: "We are not studying for school, but for life."

Oswestry School does not focus on any one academic subject, sport or art. Pupils are encouraged to develop and improve their abilities and talents, for which the school provides all the opportunities. Students are energetic, self-confident, and, most importantly, happy.

The school has about 450 students.

DIRECTOR (stand 2023)

Peter Middleton, Education - Школа Stewart's Melville College, Edinburgh; University of Bristol, Bachelor’s Degree, English Literature; University of Strathclyde, PGCE (Secondary), Education.

Famous school graduates

• Frederick Gustav Barnaby, British Army Officer
• Thomas Bray, priest
• William Archibald Spooner, Lecturer at Oxford University, after whom the famous play on words “Spoonism” was named
• John Freeman, poet and naturalist
• Peter Edwards, artist
• Charles Ingram, former Army Major, winner of the game “WhWants tBe a Millionaire” in 2001
• Alexander Jones, soccer player
• James Jones Priest
• Edward Luid, nerd, naturalist, geographer
• Philip Levelin, journalist and writer
• Charles Moses, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Goronvey Owen, poet
• John Parry-Thomas, engineer and motorcycle racer
• Thomas Penson, architect
• Ivor Roberts-Jones, sculptor
• John Sinclair, doctor
• Mezas Thomas, Bishop
• Joe Walton, science fiction and fantasy writer
• William Worthington, Priest

KEY FACTORS

• The school is located in the countryside, but on the border with a small town, which allows students not to feel divorced from city life.
• Complete safety, perfect ecology.
• The school is proud of its warm family atmosphere, its unshakable moral principles and community.
• Teachers and school staff strive to create an environment where young people can develop and reach their full potential.
• The school sets itself the task of educating real personalities and teaching each child to be a responsible person who will be able to realize himself in life as much as possible.
• Small classes - an average of 16 people.
• The rati of teachers and students: 1: 9.
• 35 interest clubs.
• It is possible to go to school for 1-2 weeks during the school year for testing and immersion in English.
• The Faculty of Art and Design received a gold award from the UK Good Schools Guide for the best results in the GCSE exams in Design and Technology.

Videworks of students on the subject of "Design and Technology"

EQUIPMENT

The school campus occupies 50 acres of land, with a beautiful view of the old market square of the city. The school has a new modern sports centre, an educational building with an exhibition hall, scientific laboratories, mathematical and computer classrooms. All audiences have internet access and are equipped with the latest interactive whiteboards and digital projectors. The school has a well-equipped workshop for technological design and art studio.

For sports, 30 acres of sports fields, a heated indoor pool, a gym, all-weather tennis and netball courts, cricket and other sports grounds are designed.

PROGRAM

GCSE

High School Program for General Certificate of Secondary Education. Typically, students’ study 9 subjects.

A-level

A pre-university two-year program aimed at preparing and passing exams in a number of disciplines and obtaining a certificate of "advanced" level Advanced Level General Certificate of Education. In the first year of study (AS), students’ study 4-5 subjects, in the second (A2) - 3-4 subjects.

ACCOMMODATION

There are three residences in the school, the rooms in which vary in size. All residences have WI-FI.

Residence for Girls - Guinevere House

Rooms for 3-4 people, a common room with satellite TV, wireless Internet, music centre. There is a kitchen where dinner is prepared for girls every night. There is alsa computer room with a printer. In the annex for the graduation class, the girls live in double rooms. The rooms are spacious, and each student has her own workplace.

Boys Residence - School House

The residence was built in 1776. The rooms are double and quadruple. The common room has satellite TV, DVD, Xbox, Wii game console. The games room has billiards. In the study room for each student has a separate table. In the kitchen for boys, dinner is prepared every night. For older students there is a room with a game table in air hockey.

Graduation Boys Residence - Holbache House

The residence for 35 people opened in 2006 and is equipped with the latest technology. There are both double and single rooms. In the kitchen, boys can cook on their own, while the common room has satellite TV, DVD and a music centre.

SPORT

At Oswestry School, they try to develop all the skills of students, not just academic ones. Therefore, the school offers a huge selection of sports. Here are: football, hockey, rugby, netball, cricket, tennis, badminton, athletics, triathlon, cross-country skiing, rowing, fencing, rounders, mountain biking, aerobics, cross-country running, sailing, Kung Fu, basketball.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

The school offers many extracurricular activities. A list of available clubs and their opening hours is published at the beginning of each semester, and students are free to enrol in one or more clubs.

For students living in the residence, a separate program of activities for the weekend is developed (trips, thematic excursions, going to the cinema, go-karting, barbecue, parties, etc.).

Oswestry School is famous for the success of its pupils in music and art. Classes in music, theatre and art are held at the highest level. More than half of the students play musical instruments, many are engaged in fine arts, ceramics, photography and sculpture.

The school organizes trips to theatres and exhibitions (both to the UK and other European countries). School excursions are usually dedicated to the topics studied. There is an exchange program with the French school, and high school students can take part in annual ski trips, for example, in the Italian Alps. Recently, students of the school went on expeditions to South Africa and the Alps.

School clubs

Adventures:

• Canoeing and kayaking
• rock climbing
• Prize for the Duke of Edinburgh Award
• Sailing
• Shooting

Creative activities:

• Painting
• Ceramics
• Photo
• Journalism and creative writing
• Making accessories
• Directing films
• Creating jewellery
• Metal modelling
• Textiles

Pop Arts:

• Church choir
• School choir
• Music
• Playing in school groups
• Ballet classes for different levels of training
• Modern dances
• Musical Theatre
• Theory of music
• Orchestras

As well as:

• Club of debate and oratory
• English speaking club
• Chess
• First Aid Courses
• Cooking
• Club of investors
• Organization of events
• Club of cat lovers
• Book Club
• Science club
• School newspaper
• Christian club

COST, 2023-2024

£10,590 - £12,480 per semester.
There are 3 semesters in the school year.

Included in cost

• Teaching
• Accommodation and meals

Extra paid

• Flights
• Transfers t/ from the airport
• Visa
• Services of the company "Paradise"
• Guardianship (as required by British law)

SERVICES OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMPANY INCLUDE

• Selection of 5-6 schools that best meet the individual characteristics of the child, further goals, talents, with the desired environment. Help in the correct interpretation of school ratings, an explanation of why the school occupies one place or another. Help in obtaining reliable information about schools that are not included in the ratings, with an explanation of the reasons for non-participation in it.
• Admission t1-3 schools, selected from the proposed. Which includes the preparation of the necessary documents, school reports, characteristics, recommendations. Selection and submission of tests to prepare the student for exam testing, assistance in preparing essays. Preparation for an interview with the teacher / principal, registration for the exam. The necessary list of recommendations when attending school for passing entrance examinations. Correspondence with the school (far from all schools enter in to correspondence with foreign parents, they are cautious about them, trust only ta trusted agent).
• Assistance in paying registration fees, deposits, bills. Clarification of school rules, including disciplinary and legal aspects.
• Filling out the required medical forms.
• Selection of guardians required by UK law.

Student supervision during the first month of training is provided as a gift: assistance in resolving issues related to resettlement, billing, informing parents about the child’s health status, assistance with understanding of academic programs, organization of ext. classes for the child in a particular subject, help in choosing the program most suitable for the child, transfer to another class, etc.

IMPRESSIONS FROM A VISIT TO OSWESTRY SCHOOL

Olga Karpova
Paradise Boarding School Expert
karpovaos@yandex.ru

What is a school that is over six hundred years old? Special spirit and special atmosphere. I was lucky: + 20 degrees, all buildings are flooded with sunlight, not a cloud in the sky. Very beautiful and majestic. In the old days, modernity is woven. Probably only a couple of buildings preserved inside the decoration of past centuries, everything else was built or updated, but without violating the general old-school look. Even the new huge sports hall fit intthe big picture.

Afternoon on Wednesday - sports and activity, severyone in sports uniforms are scattered across the fields.

I get acquainted with Valeria, she graduates from school this year, got here, winning a grant for training. She didn’t choose a school, she was sent here. And having shown good results, she was able to stay in the last year of the program. Submits her application to Oxford tomorrow! So, anything is possible!

Our school tour is an inside look. Valeria loves her school, knows many, admires friends who disappear at a music school, and dreams of playing the piano. And she became a prefect, sets an example to thers, helps kids.

A completely ordinary modest young girl who fell in love with mathematics because of the burning eyes of the teacher and some kind of "cosmic" explanation of the subject. I believe she is a future entrepreneur or a very cool economist. Last year, they organized the present case inside the school as part of the Os Biz project: they wrote a business plan, calculated profits and risks, took 36 pounds from the school to open a case. Already paid off and even work as a plus: they sell hot chocolate at breaks and various pastries. All income is given to charity. In general, there is a lot about charity and helping those in need.

It's nice to be here. It is felt that students and teachers are a big family, everyone knows each other, ready to help and guide.

And traditional! Tradition in everything!

Natasha Strein
Founder of ‘’Paradise’’

Vladimir is a young stately Georgian, a graduate student in the British boarding school Oswestry. He got here by winning a competition organized by HMC in developing countries: he received a scholarship, and 80% of the cost of his training and accommodation is paid by HMC. In Georgia, grades from 1 t10, in Vladimir - only dozens. It was necessary tpass IELTS with dignity and pass 2 interviews: one on logical tasks, the other on the ability tpresent oneself. And here he is in Britain, one of 10 favourites. 500 Georgian excellent students participated in the competition. You could choose a school from 200 offered. Why did you choose this one? Very old, 600 years old. Small, therefore, individual attention. It has everything you need. Read more

The technology design teacher at Oswestry Boarding School is like an impulsive doctor from Back tthe Future. His  sense of humour is in perfect order, richer than the whole tour of his vast workshop. DT is not a work in our understanding. Yes, you can alsmake a stool here, but first you have tmake design, drawings, choose materials and tools, explain in the project why you use them. On a scientific basis. And everyone does something different.

He pulls out a full-length mirror frame from the workshop. It seems usual (for the level of this school!), But no: it will be created exactly according tthe model, from the same materials and according to the processing technique of the German company Bauhaus.

I visited the boarding school Oswestry School in the north of England, near the ancient town of Shrewsbury, where Darwin was born. Blindingly green fields extend tthe horizon, a breeze pulls leaves, birds sing, a rooster drives chickens. The 13th century cathedral with a plaque where the names of all the vicars from the early Middle Ages to 2015 are neatly inscribed!

We have lunch in the garden of the director's house. The director is young, cheerful and kind. Not at all like the director of my childhood, Tatyana Vasilievna, in huge glasses, from the loud cry of which we clung to the walls.

TwGermans in green and black uniforms conduct a tour of the school: today is Saturday, you can walk in your clothes, but they dressed in uniform tpresent the school in the best possible way. They chose this school for its size in order tlearn the language faster, and therefore took the subject “history of religion”: they say that in England it is more philosophical in nature and offers many opportunities for oral reasoning. These are well-thought-out German citizens, but they are only 15! They praise the school in every way: there are less classes than at home, and teachers are more attentive, and there is nsuch equipment in Germany. With them is the prefect Irina in the black mantle. It shines like the sun itself on this wonderful day. The third year at school, does not want tleave!

Oswestry is a small school for England - about 400 children, 21 nationalities, but most are English. The daughters of the director study here. A solid indoor pool, football and other fields of 35 hectares, a technological design workshop, an art studiwith the highest level of work, a garden for preparing homework in the fresh air, 35 interest clubs, a proud chapel - without it. And smiles, smiles, smiles. An ideal first step for quickly mastering English and school subjects.