The Oratory Preparatory School

The Oratory School was founded on 1 May 1859 in Edgbaston, a suburb in Birmingham, "for the education of [Roman Catholic] boys not destined to ecclesiastical estate", meaning not aiming to become priests. In 1922, the original school moved to Caversham Park near Reading, which offered better accommodation. In 1925, The Oratory Prep School was established with just four boys, at Rose Hill House, a Georgian-style country house in Emmer Green, less than a mile away from the main school. Its first Headmaster was Father Sebastian Ritchie, and by 1930 its numbers were up to thirty boys. By 1941, the school, based at Caversham Park, was taking boys only between the ages of six and thirteen. In…

The school accepts children of all faiths, but still has close ties with the Roman Catholic church; Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, sits on the Board of Governors, and Cardinal Baum was a member until his death in 2015. Children at the school are also expected to attend assemblies and weekly services. The school is in South Oxfordshire, England, although it has a Reading postcode, and is within the area of the Oxfordshire County Council Local Education Authority.