London Oratory School
The London Oratory School, also known as "The Oratory", is a Catholic voluntary aided secondary school for boys aged 7–18 and girls aged 16–18 in West Brompton. Founded in 1863 by The Fathers of The London Oratory then in Chelsea, London, it is historically linked to two fellow Oratorian institutions: the nearby Brompton Oratory and The Oratory School in Oxfordshire. The school is known for the quality of its choral and instrumental music and is one of England's oldest Catholic schools. The London Oratory School was named in The Sunday Times as one of the 'Top 10 Comprehensive Schools in the UK' for both 2022 and 2023.
The London Oratory School admits 180 boys to the first form, as well as twenty boys who join the senior school from the Junior House. The School educates boys aged 7–16 and boys and girls aged 16–18 in the sixth form. There are around 1,350 pupils including about 350 in the sixth form. The School shares its religious and cultural identity with the Congregation of the Oratory who founded the School and are its trustees. The school's formal links with the Brompton Oratory go back to the foundation of the school by The Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri and continue as the Fathers of this Congregation are the trustees of the School. The London Oratory School and The Brompton Oratory continue their close working relationship which includes the Oratory Fathers supplying chaplaincy to the School and the School supplying the Schola choir for the parish.
History
The Fathers of the London Oratory in Brompton, near South Kensington, opened their first school in King William Street in the City of London in 1852 and two parochial schools in Chelsea in 1856. Seven years later, in 1863, at the request of Cardinal Wiseman, who wanted to provide a wider education for Catholic children than was available at that time, the Oratory Fathers established a school for boys in Chelsea, and in 1870 a school for girls staffed by the Daughters of the Cross. These schools were fee paying and they were the forerunners of the present school.Both schools flourished but in the early part of the last century Cardinal Vaughan asked the Oratory Fathers to inaugurate the first Central Schools for Catholic children. This they did in 1912, developing the two schools which ceased to be fee paying, into Central Schools on a site in Stewart's Grove, Chelsea.
During both World Wars, sixty six 'Old Oratorians' lost their lives fighting for their country, with some of the men having been members of the Oratory Cadet Corps. The vast majority of Oratory boys joined the Army or RAF, but a select few did join the Royal Navy. Old Oratorians were recipients of decorations, such as the Croix de Guerre, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Cross. On the outbreak of war in 1939, the school, together with Fr Dale-Roberts of the Oratory, moved to Tonypandy in South Wales, whilst the school site in Stewart Grove was taken over by the War Office and used as a high status internment camp.
In 1959 the two central schools were amalgamated and in 1962 it was decided that the Daughters of the Cross were to be withdrawn after almost a century of devoted work. In 1963 the school was classed as a four-form entry grammar school admitting only boys since there were already many more selective places for girls than boys in the schools in the Westminster diocese. However, those girls currently at the school were, on the insistence of the newly appointed headmaster - who had applied for and been appointed head of a mixed school - allowed to remain at the school to complete their education.
The school moved to its present site in Fulham in 1970, now with six forms of entry at 11+, with girls being admitted annually to the sixth form.
In September 1989 the school, formerly a voluntary-aided school, became a grant-maintained school, continuing in the trusteeship of the Fathers of the London Oratory, who own the building and grounds and appoint the majority of the governors.
The Junior House, occupying a newly built block adjacent to the Arts Centre, was opened in September 1996, to which 20 seven-year-old boys are admitted for a specialist music education, with a strong emphasis on Catholic liturgical music.
Under the Academies Act 2010, the school became an Independent Academy in August 2011.
The school marked its 150th anniversary on 27 September 2013 with the celebration of Mass in Westminster Cathedral.
On 27 December 2023 at around 10am, a blaze erupted in one of the school buildings. The emergency services were quickly on the scene and the fire was brought under control, with no casualties reported. A sixteen year old youth was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of arson.
Headmasters
- Daniel Wright
- Pauline Devereux & Daniel Rooney
- David McFadden
- John McIntosh, CBE.
- Ian G. Gaffney
- Mr M. J. Campbell
- Mr J.P. O'Friel
- Lawrence J. B. Summerbell
- Dr. John Menzies Duffy
Houses
| House | Colour | Patron Saint |
| Campion | St. Edmund Campion | |
| Fisher | St. John Fisher | |
| Howard | St. Philip Howard | |
| More | St. Thomas More | |
| Owen | St. Nicholas Owen | |
| Southwell | St. Robert Southwell | |
| Junior House | St. Edward the Confessor |
Junior House
Twenty seven-year-old boys are admitted to the Junior House for a specialist musical education, including instrumental tuition. Some of the boys are admitted as choristers and sing in The Schola at from age 7. Boys admitted to the Junior House are full members of the school and are expected to continue their education at the school for the remainder of their Secondary Education. This is up until the age of sixteen.Pupils are selected on the basis of their musical aptitude and are required to take part in musical and, in the case of choristers, choral activities arranged outside normal school hours, including weekends and holidays, and to learn at least two musical instruments.
London Oratory School Schola
The Oratory in London is part of a liturgical and musical tradition which goes back to the 16th century when the first Oratory was established in Rome at the time of the Counter-Reformation. Both Palestrina and Victoria - the latter joining the Congregation - were closely associated with the Oratory and St Philip Neri, its founder. The Oratory in Europe has been closely associated with the development of polyphony and the chant. The Oratory in London together with the school have gained a reputation for maintaining the rich tradition of liturgical music in England and Europe.Choristers normally join the school at the age of seven and are selected by audition, examination and interview, although places may sometimes be available to boys who join the school at a later stage. The Choristers rehearse before lessons every morning, as well as for an hour immediately before services, and frequently during the lunch break and after school. They receive voice training from one of London's vocal coaches and all boys are given individual voice lessons. When their voices change, they devote more time to instrumental music. Their interest in singing is kept alive until their voices have developed sufficiently to enable them, where appropriate, to return to the Schola as Choral Scholars, when they benefit from the opportunity of singing alongside professional lay clerks from the Oratory Church Choir. Choristers are involved in other aspects of the musical life of the school.
The Schola sings at the Saturday evening Mass at the Oratory every week in term time and at other Masses and services during and outside term, and in the School Chapel during the week. In addition to the liturgical commitment, the choir engages in concert work and touring and has recorded film soundtracks and audio albums. The choir is most famous for its contribution to the double-platinum award-winning soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Each of these three soundtracks won a Grammy Award For Best Score. The choir also works extensively for charity, helping raise funds for various charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Save the Children and the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program.
The choir's patrons are Princess Michael of Kent, barrister Cherie Blair, actor Simon Callow, Cardinal Robert Sarah and composer Sir James MacMillan.
Sport
Rugby
The traditional sport of the school is rugby and the London Oratory is commonly seen as a 'rugby school'. The school has won 58 Middlesex county championships to date, most recently in the 2021/22 season. Furthermore, a sizeable number of Oratorians have gone on to represent England at international level, both at junior and senior levels. At non-international level, several Oratorians have played in The Varsity Match, with two old boys playing for the Cambridge XV in 2007. All teams in the school compete in their respective leagues, including the Daily Mail Cup, which the U15 XV making it to the final in 1992. In the first form, rugby is compulsory. The majority of the 180 boys turn out to play most Saturdays for fixtures against other schools. By the VI form, the number of boys is reduced to a 1st and 2nd XV. Both the 1st and 2nd XV play a full calendar of matches over the course of the season, against fellow schools in the South East, including The Oratory School, Dulwich, St. Paul's, Wimbledon College, Eton, Berkhamsted and Harrow, as well as a number of schools from further afield. The first overseas rugby tour was to Galway, Ireland in 1971, winning all matches, which was followed in 1979 by a US tour to New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC. Tours continued to San Francisco in 1983, Canada in 1988 and Australia in 1990, winning two out of seven matches in the latter. The 1st XV and 2nd XV toured Australia in July 2011, including one game in Singapore, the first major tour for 21 years.The school organises its own U12/U15 Sevens Tournament and also organises a national sevens competition at U16 level, which is held at London Irish. Rugby is played at the school's sports grounds at Barn Elms on the banks of the River Thames. Previous sports grounds used by the school include Hampstead Heath and the Duke of York's Headquarters. The house rugby competition also takes place in the Michaelmas term.