Oakham School is a co-educational public school in the market town of Oakham, Rutland. Founded in 1584 by Archdeacon Robert Johnson, it is one of the oldest schools in England and shares a common origin and badge design with Uppingham School, with which it maintains a historic rivalry. The school remained a small local grammar institution for several centuries before expanding in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, eventually becoming fully independent in 1970 and one of the first boys’ public schools in Britain to become fully co-educational across all year groups.
The early school operated from a single classroom beside the parish church and was endowed specifically to provide classical education in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. Its fortunes fluctuated through the nineteenth century, with periods of low enrolment, financial strain and changes brought about by national education reforms. By the early twentieth century Oakham had begun to modernise academically and structurally, adding science and modern languages, building new boarding houses and developing larger facilities. The Memorial Chapel, dedicated in 1925, honours former pupils and staff killed in the First World War, with a memorial library later commemorating those lost in the Second World War.
Co-education was introduced progressively from 1971 under headmaster John Buchanan, who oversaw major expansion and diversification of the school. Today Oakham educates boys and girls aged 10 to 18 and has a nearly even split between boarders and day pupils. The school is structured into lower, middle and upper sections. Jerwoods, the lower school, accommodates pupils aged 10 to 13 and combines academic teaching with a carousel of creative arts and physical education. The middle school operates a broader GCSE curriculum and is organised across ten houses, split evenly between boys and girls, offering full boarding, flexi-boarding or day places. The upper school offers both A-levels and the International Baccalaureate, with strong outcomes across both routes.
Oakham has sixteen boarding and day houses spread across the three age phases. School House and Round House accommodate seventh-form boys and girls respectively. The campus includes a chapel, extensive playing fields, science centres and a mix of modern and historic accommodation.
Sport plays a central role in school life. Rugby, hockey, cricket and athletics are major boys’ sports, while hockey, netball and tennis lead the girls’ programme. Oakham has a competitive history in national rugby competitions, winning the National Schools Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2023. The school also fields teams in shooting, where it has won the Ashburton Shield on three occasions. County cricket matches have occasionally been hosted on the school grounds.
The extracurricular programme includes the Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, with students achieving at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. The school marked significant milestones with visits from Queen Elizabeth II in 1984 and Prince Philip in connection with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Oakham maintains a large alumni community known as Old Oakhamians. Former pupils have careers across sport, public service, the arts, broadcasting, academia and business. The school also features in educational history for its role in early music copyright litigation in 1981 and for being one of several independent schools found to have shared fee information in a 2005 competition case, which resulted in financial penalties and a compensation trust for affected families.