Happy birthday to Oxfordshire Hospital School!

Oxfordshire Hospital School began in outdoor classrooms 100 years ago, teaching 14 young people. Today it is rated outstanding by Ofsted and maintained by Oxfordshire County Council, teaching at multiple hospital sites, including Oxford Health’s Highfield Unit and Oxford University Hospitals’ Children’s Hospital. The school also works in young people’s homes across the county.

The school is for children and young people aged 4 – 19 who are unable to attend their usual school because of a wide range of medical and mental health needs. Students may access education through the hospital school for varied periods of time.

Headteacher Steve Lowe says:

“Being the headteacher as the school turns 100 is a real privilege. Reflecting on the work of staff and the achievements of its pupils over 100 years is incredibly humbling. The school has seen so many changes and I’m sure that the challenges that face us now have been replicated in the past and probably will be again in some shape or form in the future.

“The staff and pupils that we have today as the school celebrates its centenary are a particularly special group of people who have all shown so much passion and determination to keep delivering such high quality learning opportunities for our pupils; an accomplishment that could not have been realised without the support of our professional partners and colleagues at the hospitals and support services with which we work.”

On Monday, October 5, Highfield Unit at Warneford and Children’s Hospital at John Radcliffe will have birthday cakes delivered to get the celebrations going.  At 2pm there will a birthday party which you can access by Google Meet at https://meet.google.com/aiy-fctz-cxn.

Throughout the centenary, the school will be taking part in events to raise funds and the profile of the hospital school sector. They will also highlight the challenges that children with medical conditions face to continue their education.

On October 10 and 11 there will be staff charity bike ride on a route around Oxfordshire and sites where the school teaches. The route is available here. 

Steve Lowe explains: “The ride will start at the Horton on the 10th and go to the JR Hospital. On the 11^th we’ll start at the JR and ride to Didcot. We will take in all the hospitals that we work at and as many others in Oxfordshire as our legs will carry us to!”

The ride will raise funds for charities associated with the school, including Oxford Health Charity.

See more about the OHS centenary and related events.