The Oratory School
The Oratory School is an independent Roman Catholic boarding and day school for boys aged 11 to 18 in Woodcote, Oxfordshire, England. Founded in 1859 by Cardinal John Henry Newman, it has historical ties to, but is not officially affiliated with fellow Oratorian schools, the London Oratory School and the Brompton Oratory in London. Although a separate entity from the nearby Oratory Preparatory School, it shares a board of governors and a common history. Newman founded the school with the intention of providing a classical education to Roman Catholic boys.
According to the Good Schools Guide, 70% of pupils achieve A/B grades at A Level and that the school "enjoys inspirational leadership, has achieved GSG 'overall best in UK' for three years running and is consistently at the top of the tree", with "state-of-the-art" boarding facilities and an ongoing refurbishment programme under way.
History
The Oratory, Liverpool
The Oratory stands to the north of Liverpool Cathedral in Merseyside, England. It was originally the mortuary chapel to St James Cemetery, and houses a collection of 19th-century sculpture and important funeral monuments as part of the Walker Art Gallery. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
History
The Oratory was built in 1829, and used for funeral services before burials in the adjacent cemetery. It was designed by John Foster. When the cemetery closed, the building fell into disuse. In 1986 it came under the care of National Museums Liverpool, and is used to contain a collection of sculpture and statues.
Architecture
The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple. At each end is a portico with six columns. There are no windows and the building is lit from above. Inside, a coffered ceiling is supported by Ionic columns. Pollard and Pevsner consider this to be Foster's best surviving building. On 28 June 1952 it was designated as a Grade I listed building. In the National Heritage List for England it is described as "one of the purest monuments of the Greek Revival in England". Around the Oratory are cast iron railings and gate piers that have been listed at Grade II.
Oratory School
An Oratory School is primarily any of several schools founded or initially operated by the Oratorians (priests of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri), a congregation of Catholic priests.
The term was also used early in the career of St. John Bosco, who went on to establish his followers as the Salesian priests and Brothers.
List of Oratory Schools
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