‘Be the best that you can be’

With the successful move to co-education our pupils have the opportunity to work in, and be part of, a school that is evolving.

Whatever measure you use to judge a school, it is fair to say that OLA is near the top of the game in terms of public examinations results, students into Oxford and Cambridge, studying medicine, law or veterinary studies — just look at our Independent Schools Inspectorate report, something we are very proud of.

“Pupils achieve excellent results in a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

The provision for extra-curricular activities is excellent.” (ISI Report March 2010).

We also pride ourselves on the breadth of opportunities we provide for every pupil from three to 18.

Our expectation is that all pupils will contribute positively in some way to life both inside and outside school, due in no small part to the wealth of clubs and extra-curricular activities offered by our dedicated staff.

Nearly 70 activities are on offer to Senior School pupils this term from Tech Club to Flute Choir; synchronised swimming and trampolining to Greek, Eco Schools to golf.

With more than 20 clubs in our junior school, from fencing and African drumming to cross country, gardening to gymnastics, you could be forgiven for asking where we find time for the lessons which contribute to the excellent examination results we achieve.

For budding actors we offer in-house productions from the infant nativity play to the senior school’s Bugsy Malone, plus co-productions with other local schools.

If sport is your interest you may achieve success for OLA like our Under 14 Area Champion Netballers, our undefeated Under 13 Rugby team and our Year 8 boy who has qualified to take part in the EasyKarting World Finals this summer.

With so many pupils representing their county, region and country in a variety of disciplines we have this year started the OLA Sports Academy, due to open next term, to provide expert and professional support and guidance for our elite athletes.

Pupils can contribute to the Youth Forum, Food Committee, Eco Action Group, Year and School Councils, representing the views and opinions of their peers, leading initiatives relating to the environment and peer mentoring.

An established debating team and the refinement of our Socrates Club provide support for Sixth Formers applying to study medicine, law and veterinary studies or to Oxbridge and Russell Group universities. Young Enterprise teams have received excellent accolades.

Instilling in our pupils a sense of justice, fairness and an idea of what is right and wrong is fundamental to our mission statement.

Activities such as the Justice and Peace Group continue to play an important role in the life of the school.

A Peer Mentoring Programme attracted many Sixth Form student volunteers. The community focus of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Active Service element of our Sixth Form enrichment programme allows many of our pupils to make a difference in the lives of many who are lonely and vulnerable, offering a positive contribution to the community in which we live.

Our pupils aim high — quite literally sometimes — with a group from OLA reaching Everest base camp.

This summer’s challenge is an expedition to Ecuador. We are proud to have embedded an international ethos throughout the school, our link with Maryhill School in Mbarara, Uganda, being a contributing factor to achieving the DfE International Schools Award.

We believe it is our duty to find, develop and nurture the talents of every pupil within our school. We know our students will be entering a world where they will face many challenges.

It is our role to ensure our pupils are not only prepared for that world but also to become leaders and decision-makers.

It is our responsibility to ensure pupils build the skills and understanding to become global citizens ready and able to take their place in the world.

Matthew Burke, Deputy Head
Our Lady’s Abingdon, Radley Road, Abingdon, OX14 3PS
www.olab.org