Rye St Antony School

Rye St Antony is an Independent School in Oxford. We are a day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18 and boys aged 3 to 11. Here at Rye we’ve been educating the individual for 90 years. Our pupils are encouraged to become whoever they want to be, and our aim is to inspire them to be the best they can be in life. To be ambitious, be curious, and be themselves

We pride ourselves in providing our pupils with a first-class education in a spectacular peaceful setting, close to the centre of the beautiful and historic city of Oxford. Independent School in Oxford. We call it ‘The Rye Way’.

For 90 years we have been educating young people on our glorious 12-acre site in central Oxford. At the heart of what we do here at Rye is to develop our young people’s talents to help them achieve academic success and personal happiness in equal measure. Our dedicated staff work with each individual pupil to ignite their curiosity for learning and build their confidence to take on new challenges.

We are renowned for our small class sizes and family atmosphere, which means that every pupil feels a real sense of belonging within the Rye community. They understand that they are known and valued for being themselves. The strong foundations given to us by our lay Catholic heritage underpin day-to-day interactions where respect, tolerance, and integrity ensure that our pupils have a strong sense of pride in themselves, their achievements, and in their school. The opportunity to board here means that Rye becomes a second home for many, and one to which they return in later life for reunions or to offer mentoring as part of our alumnae careers scheme.

Our commitment to individual success means that our boys move on from Rye at 7+ and 11+, heading to nearby academic schools such as the Dragon and Magdalen College School. Girls continue into the Senior School until 18 years, thriving in an environment where they grow into assured, successful young women ready to take their next steps in the world. Our girls-only senior school enables them to grow in confidence and resilience, learning to be bold in their aspirations. Rye girls know that the world is theirs for the taking.

Rye St Antony is a warm and welcoming school community that fosters individuality, encourages children to be curious in their learning, ambitious in their aspirations, and most importantly, themselves. What makes us different from other schools is our drive and desire to recognise each and every individual for their own unique set of skills and talents and to give them a school experience that is personal to them.

As a school founded by two women, over 90 years ago, who purposefully chose to create a lay-Catholic school in the heart of Oxford, key catholic values such as respect, integrity, fairness, respect, and hard work remain integral to all we offer today. Pupils at Rye of all faiths and secular backgrounds, and none, thrive in our school. Today, our founders continue to be an inspiration to our young girls as they move through our school – to be confident in their ability, to aim high and achieve high.

Pupils at Rye have the chance to explore and develop their talents and passions through our enrichment programme – to try new things, build new skills, and to be bold in their aspirations – to work out who they want to be. Through our forward-thinking nurturing community which blends strong pastoral care with a dynamic approach to learning which we call ‘The Rye Way’, pupils move forward with faith: faith in their religion or beliefs, faith in each other, faith in themselves.

Our pupils grow in confidence year on year and the opportunities for them to contribute to the school community are limitless. We actively encourage pupils to test their limits, take initiative, build upon their strengths, accept challenges, and prepare themselves for success in the outside world.