Head of Prep

Headington Rye Oxford Prep School is a vibrant and welcoming school set in 12 secluded and secure acres of playing fields and grounds. In an environment where individuals come first, Headington Rye Oxford is renowned for its commitment to academic excellence, pastoral support and an impressive range of extra-curricular opportunities.

The School has roots as Headington since 1915 and as Rye St Antony since 1930, with the two schools merging in 2024. Both schools were founded to offer girls a contemporary education fit to prepare them for the world at the time. Today, pupils at Headington Rye Oxford face very different challenges and we aim to enable them to develop the thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills they need to help explore their potential and achieve more than they thought possible. Headington Rye Oxford Prep School is home to more than 250 pupils comprising more than 30 nationalities.

From September 2024, the Prep School will be based on the stunning 12-acre secure and secluded wooded site formerly used as Rye St Antony School, separated from the senior school by a pedestrianised path.

Children benefit from a wealth of teaching expertise, unrivalled facilities and exceptional pastoral care. From age 3 in the Nursery, pupils benefit from Specialist teaching in French, Ballet, Music, Sport and Forest School and from age 4 in Reception, learn to read music and play the piano. As children progress through the School, they also receive specialist teaching in Art, Computing, Dance, Drama and Science in addition to the subjects taught by specialists from age three.

The Prep School is a stimulating and progressive environment in which excellent teaching enables highly-motivated pupils to achieve high standards. The ability profile is above average and careful-targeted lesson planning to deliver the rich and broad curriculum ensures there is challenge and rigour to satisfy our high-achieving pupils.

Many of our pupils are achieving across the curriculum at a level beyond their years. Our Stretch and Challenge programme is great provision for potential scholars. Approximately a quarter of Year 6 achieve scholarships to Headington Rye Oxford and other senior schools.

Children confidently talk about how they learn and naturally draw on habits such as perseverance, curiosity and collaboration as active participants in their learning journey. In the younger years, lessons are taught predominantly by class teachers supported by subject specialists in Sport, Music, Modern Foreign Languages and Computing. By Year 6, pupils are almost exclusively taught by subject specialists whose high expectations and mastery of their subject means there is no limit to the pupils’ outcomes.

We believe that a truly excellent education is about more than academic achievement alone, so we encourage every pupil to take advantage of the impressive range of around 80 clubs.

Children have the opportunity to have a go at everything from Street Dance and Football to birdwatching and coding. We have a thriving Forest School for children from Nursery up to Year 3 and benefit from ArtsMark Gold status.

We are proud of the excellent pastoral care at Headington Rye Oxford, which we believe is fundamental to the ethos of the School. Our pastoral team is led by our Deputy Head Pastoral, supported by class teachers, our school counsellors, wellbeing assistant and chaplains. All staff aim to encourage a happy environment, where girls can flourish in an atmosphere which includes tolerance, integrity, openness and thoughtfulness.

Pastoral care is key to children’s well-being and academic success, which starts from all staff knowing the girls inside out. We have strong systems in place to identify those who need extra support, advice and encouragement and to ensure they receive it. Our goal is to create a community which reflects the ethical and moral framework of our Christian foundation.