Carrdus School

Carrdus School is an independent day preparatory school just outside Banbury and within easy reach of the villages of Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and South Warwickshire. For over 60 years it has encouraged and enabled girls aged 3-11 and boys aged 3-8 to make a confident, happy start to school life, finding and developing their areas for success. Founded by Kathleen Carrdus in 1952 at St John’s House, Banbury, the school moved to Overthorpe Hall in 1970 where it has continued to grow and thrive. It started with 9 pupils and now has over 140, together with more than 40 staff.

At the start of school life, a child’s small world of family gradually expands to the larger world of a class of children. This is where the partnership between school and home begins. We want the children to develop emotional wellbeing, creativity and pleasure in many activities. Achieving this requires a mutual respect within an informal, stimulating setting. Our small class sizes and excellent class teachers, specialist teachers and TAs mean that small-group and individual work is a regular part of each day, together with usual whole-class lessons. We have high academic standards; children are encouraged and extended with no need for selecting or streaming. Our methods enable us to instil a love of learning in each child while leaving time for plenty of art, sport, drama and performance. We work hard at Carrdus to create a secure and nurturing environment where all pupils can realise their academic potential as one of the range of achievements to be met during school life.

The school day runs from 8.45am to 3.40pm; we offer an early drop off from 8.15am and children are welcome to stay at school until 5.30pm, either at our popular Teatimers Club (for which there is a charge), or at one of the numerous after-school clubs. Family life is sacrosanct – far more important than school – so there is no school on Saturdays and enough time in the evenings for home pursuits, including a realistic session of homework for older children.