Our Lady's Abingdon

Our Lady's Abingdon

Established	1860
Type	Other Independent School
Religion	Roman Catholic
Location	Radley Road Abingdon Oxfordshire OX14 3PS England
Local authority	Oxfordshire
DfE URN	123298
Gender	Male and Female
Ages	3–19
Website	olab.org.uk

Coordinates: 51°40′34″N 1°16′35″W / 51.67599°N 1.27626°W / 51.67599; -1.27626

Our Lady's Abingdon is an independent day school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. It was founded in 1860 by the Sisters of Mercy as Our Lady's Convent School but was then changed to Our Lady's Abingdon in 2008.

Originally a girls' school, it is now partly co-educational, and aims to admit boys and girls in all years by 2013.

The school was reconstituted independently of the Sisters of Mercy in 2007. It is a registered charity in England & Wales, formally titled Our Lady's Abingdon Trustees Ltd.^[1][2]

History

Our Lady's Abingdon was found by the Sisters of Mercy in 1860 educating boys and girls, later on only being a Single-sex education and now introducing boys into the senior school again. Our Lady's, the name of the school, actually refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus, rather than the girls in the school.

In 2009 the school allowed boys to join the senior school, the school has since allowed boys to join at any age, expecting the whole school to be co-educational by 2013.^[3][4]

Present school

Although a relatively small school, it offers a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils take nine or ten subjects at GCSE, and normally between three and four AS/A2 subjects in the Sixth Form. Sixth Form students also take part in a well-planned and varied Enrichment Programme Course which is non-examined. Pupils achieve good examination results and almost all go on to Higher Education. Out-of-School activities complement the curriculum. A wide range of extra-curricular clubs is on offer and pupils also participate with success in both the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Young Enterprise Scheme. There is a strong link with Maryhill School in Uganda and students and staff from both schools have visited each other. In addition, students from Our Lady's Abingdon – more informally known as OLA – have opportunities to take part in language exchange visits abroad, annual ski trips, water sports activities in France every other year and expeditions (with a community work element) to countries such as Kenya, China, Patagonia, Peru, and more recently to Nepal and a trek to Everest Base Camp. In April 2010, the choir and musicians from both the Junior and Senior Schools also performed in France.

Building programmes over recent years have provided excellent teaching facilities for subjects across the curriculum. A spacious Sixth Form Centre and a second computer room equipped for subject-specific classes are recent additions and interactive whiteboards have been installed in key areas of the School. A major building programme was completed in September 2006. This includes a new auditorium, drama studio, science laboratory, exhibition and reception area, teaching space and library/resource centre. In 2008 they extended the Sixth Form Centre and added a new science laboratory in the main building.

Our Lady’s Abingdon Junior School, which takes boys and girls from the age of three, is on the same site and shares some of the Senior school's facilities. Almost all of the Junior School pupils move on to the Senior School at the age of eleven. The rest of the Senior School intake is drawn from a range of State and Preparatory Schools, some a considerable distance away.

Academics

A-level Results 2009 Overall pass 100% Grade A - C 92% Grade A - B 76%

GCSE Results 2009 Overall pass 100% Grade A* & A 57% Grade A* to B 81% Grade A* to C 96% Pupils attaining at least five A* to C grades 98%

Extracurricular

The activities are varied. Extra-curricular music includes: choir, orchestra and wind-band. Other activities include: Drama, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Greek, Languages, Poetry, Reading, Science and Textiles.

The extra-curricular provision varies from term to term. New opportunities are always welcome and the School encourages senior students to take an active role in arranging activities for younger pupils. Students in Year 11 and VIth Form also have the opportunity of taking part in a team challenge expedition and community work in more remote locations overseas.

There is a wide range of extra curricular sporting activities at Our Lady’s Abingdon. The school has excellent facilities and the PE department run sports clubs Monday to Friday both at lunchtime and after school. Activities include swimming, netball, hockey, cross-country running, trampolining, fitness, football, badminton, rounders, athletics, tennis, basketball, synchronised swimming, dance and gymnastics.

Pupils are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular sports clubs regardless of their ability, and they offer an extensive range of after-school fixtures which gives the pupils the opportunity to compete against other schools and take part in county and national competitions.

Young Enterprise is a popular activity, which gives students the chance to be a company director for one year. Every year OLA run two companies, one in Year 10, one in the Lower Sixth.

Music

Our Lady's also has individual lessons in school for piano, oboe, clarinet, flute, drums, violin and many more including vocal lessons as well as 2 weekly lessons in class. One lesson is used to teach theory, music, composers etc. while the other is used to teach keyboards/percussion in groups.

See also

• List of schools in the South East of England
• List of independent schools in the United Kingdom

References

1. ^ "School website". http://www.olab.org.uk. 
2. ^ Our Lady's Abingdon, Registered Charity no. 1120372 at the Charity Commission
3. ^ "School website, page on Co-eductaion". http://www.olab.org.uk/page/?title=Co%2DEducation&pid=61. 
4. ^ "About Us page on school website". http://www.olab.org.uk/page/?title=About+Us&pid=6. 

External links

• Our Lady's Abingdon website
• Our Lady's Abingdon, Registered Charity no. 1120372 at the Charity Commission