queenie

Anyone from Oxford?

A friend is very interested in sending his daughter to boarding school at Headington. Can you tell me the general reputation, food quality, any gossip etc.

Any information appreciated. They are a Chinese family in HK and have pretty much chosen it out of a book.

Cheers

FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

Hi Queenie,

I used to live in Cowley, an area right next to Headington. From what I remember, it was a nice area, nearish to the city (10 min bus ride), clean and pretty respectable.
Oxford itself is fantastic. If the girl in question is Chinese, she will have no trouble atall fitting in - I swear there are more Chinese and Japanese than Brits in Oxford :-)

Hope this helps, if you need anymore specific advise, feel free to get in touch.

cov-canuck

Is that Headington Girls School, Oxford by any chance? I went there as a day pupil for 8 years. A lot has changed since I left less than 10 years ago, but you can't fault the education there, and there were always a lot of international boarders, so she won't be alone.

yonk

I used to shop on Cowley Road and it was always "gritty" with a very diverse ethnic mix, which I really liked - I think there has been a regeneration of the area since I left, to clean up some of the drug issues.

I was at Uni (Brookes) in Headington and it's expensive housing with a high proportion of Uni students living there, so can be lively. I expect anyone at boarding school will be well supervised so I wouldn't be worried.

I think to get the best out of Oxford, you should live there. I lived in a nearby town and it was hell to get into and out of as the traffic system is "interesting".

I always use Up My street to check out areas of the UK.

Poula

A friends child goes to Oxford High. Its a very good school. She is loving going there. Seems like the girls there are a friendly bunch and looking at the league tables they all acheive the desired academic results. There are also loads of afterschool activities, sport, music etc.
I've never heard anything bad about the school. Seems to be a very caring shcool environment.

I would send my kids there if I had the dough.