FAQs

No worries! Please contact us at admissions@oxf.gdst.net to see if there are places available.

We do occasionally accept applicants mid-year (i.e. for a Spring or Summer Term start) if there are places available.

The key difference is that a bursary is means-tested and a scholarship is not. We offer bursaries so that a GDST education is accessible to the best and the brightest girls, including those who are not in a position to pay full fees.

A bursary takes into account academic ability but its value is directly related to the income and financial resources of the family. Scholarships are awarded purely on academic, sporting, artistic, dramatic, or musical merit, as measured in our entrance exam or subsequent scholarship process, and take no account of family income or resources.

Our GDST bursaries and scholarships are available to any student for Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) (external candidates only) and Sixth Form (16+) entry. A student may hold two scholarships at any one time, and they may also be held in conjunction with a bursary.

Very rarely, the school may withdraw a bursary or scholarship if, for example, you provide inaccurate information, or your child’s behaviour or work is unsatisfactory. Please also note that we re-assess each family every year to take account of significant changes in family income and circumstances.

A bursary may go up or down to reflect these changes. This ensures that those most in need receive our support.

Unfortunately, no. We do not make past papers available to parents or schools.

Unfortunately, no. Our entrance papers are written in-house by the Heads of Department and the Deputy Head, Academic. There will be an opportunity to request feedback on the final result of a girl’s admission, if requested, but as there is no comparison to be made between our exam papers and other exam papers, it would not be helpful to you.

Tutoring in preparation for an Admissions Day is unnecessary and, in fact, we discourage this. We assess your daughter on what she can achieve on her own.

Our admissions process varies according to year of entry. To read more about the process for your daughter’s age group, visit the Admissions pages and look for your daughter’s prospective year group (e.g. Reception to Sixth Form), where full details will be provided.

Yes, you can do the entrance assessments externally but, of course, our preference is that you attend our Admissions Day on site. If you are unable to attend, then we would ask for any assessments to be completed in your daughter’s current school (or, for overseas applicants, your local British Council or a reputable assessment centre). If this is not possible, then we would carry out an online assessment.

Regrettably, we do not offer parking on-site but there is ample roadside in several two-hour parking bays located on Charlbury Road and Belbroughton Road. Please be mindful, however, of ‘permit bays’. Traffic wardens do patrol from time-to-time and issue parking penalty tickets periodically.

For directions to the school, please refer to the Contact Us section.

We understand the need for our future pupils to be happy and comfortable when they start at Oxford High, so we hold a ‘New Pupils’ Day’ every year for all girls from Reception through to Year 12. The New Pupils’ Day is held during the latter part of June/early July and parents are also invited to attend a part of the day, usually for the Nearly New School Uniform Sale or afternoon tea.

This is the day when your daughter will meet her new form teacher for September and her new class friends, and receive a general induction to the school. We will inform you, in advance, of the exact date and timings as well as sending every pupil a Welcome Pack with all the important information that is needed.

Once your place has been confirmed as accepted, we will also invite you to come along to age-appropriate events or concerts in school so you can meet your future classmates or fellow parents. Buddy systems, parent handbooks and ‘getting to know you’ events are all part of the warm welcome you will enjoy when you join Oxford High School!

We are able to offer a huge range of extra-curricular activities to our pupils and these are run by both staff and peripatetic teachers. Some classes may incur extra charges, i.e. music tuition, sailing and tennis, and pupils may need to attend trials if they wish to be part of the squad that represents the school in hockey and netball. Speech & Drama tuition is an option for girls from Year 7 to Year 12 and the pupils work towards achieving their Trinity Guildhall grade every year, starting from Grade 3 in Year 7 to Grade 8 in Year 12. Overall, if a pupil wishes to do an activity, then she can. We run over 90 clubs from Art to Zumba and almost everything in between!

Read more about our Co-Curricular Programme in the Prep School and the Senior School.