Basic Information & Location
Located on the main Banbury Road just north of Oxford City Centre, D’Overbroeck’s College delivers a first-class education to 11-18 year olds. A broad mix of international students commonly enrol on the School’s GCSE programme at the International Study Centre, before progressing to A levels which are taken alongside UK students in the Sixth Form. The Centre is on St Giles, close to the city centre.
School Motto
The ethos at d’Overbroeck’s is firmly built on personal relationships, on a relative lack of stuffiness and formal hierarchies, on a strong conviction that the individual, every individual, lies at the heart of the school.
Academic Matters
With classes no more than 15 up to GCSE and an average of seven at A level, plenty of time is allowed for revision as well as debate, interactive exercises and discussion in class. Critical thinking skills are taught before students move on to university. With over 35 subjects offered at A-level in the Sixth Form, students really are spoilt for choice. The School is open for students to select a mix of A-levels and clever timetabling enables this.
Teaches who are specialists in their fields care about students’ development and progress – they often stay behind after school to help students catch up and prepare for their exams.
Boarding / Pastoral Care
The majority of lower sixth boarders live either of the two co-ed boarding houses within the vicinity. One residence, on Banbury Road, has double rooms with en-suite bathrooms while the other house, Hayfield, has single rooms with shared bathrooms. Girls and boys have meals together and can socialise in communal areas though they live in separate parts of the houses. Upper sixth boarders stay with host families in the area. It is the house parent’s role to cook supper, give advice and oversee the two hour study period in the evening. A Director of Studies is assigned to each sixth form student, and they lend a sympathetic area with regard to academic and personal matters. In the lower school, form tutors are a mainstay of the school with tutor groups meeting every day.
Extracurricular
A broad range of sports and activities are offered, including traditional sports such as hockey, rugby, netball and football. The College makes good use of facilities across the city, such as at Oxford Brookes University which has a fitness gym, squash, climbing wall and Astroturf, to me but a few. Drama is treated seriously, with younger pupils working side by side with sixth formers to stage productions such as Peter Pan.
