London Oratory School

my son got shot

From the outside, this is probably every parents dream of a school in which to send your son, the reality is somewhat different, and also rather dark.
from the very first day, as a young 11 year old child, extreme discipline is drilled into the pupils. not after they have done something wrong I must add, in fact before they may have even dared to walk up the ‘wrong’ corridor on their lunch break for example. these lunch breaks aren’t much fun either, for the first 2 years pupils are lined up in the playground in single file, not permitted to do anything else, until they are frogmarched to the relevant houseroom to be fed.
The school has a whole booklet of insane rules, which every pupils is required to carry round with them at all times, and yes you guessed it– detention if they dare leave this little white booklet at home.
some of the things in this rule book, which are banned:
— any kind of hair product
— running, shouting or whistling, at any time
–ball games
–wearing the school tie incorrectly
–using a specific tube station
–any kind of food or drink
–visiting any shop on the journey home, outside of school legislation
Some of the teachers actively target pupils they dislike, bullying them for as long as they remain in the school, less able pupils are often grouped together and written off as troublesome.
It is not a good environment for any child to grow up in, in my opinion. spending their pubescent years being constantly told off and not receiving any praise can really mess people up. there is no empathy, no accepting of individual pupil personalities, and harsh discipline for any pupil who steps out of line, even if this happened to be accidental.
There is a strange and sinister teacher-​pupil relationship. Pupils are encouraged, almost forced, to grass other pupils up, or they may get the blame themselves.
This is just a warning to anyone who may be reading. School years are meant to be the happiest and most memorable of a persons life. unfortunately the régime in place at this establishment may well be detrimental and potentially dangerous to a young persons development (just look at the suicide rate)
Be very careful before sending your child here. the exam results may be outstanding, but you have to ask yourself what is more important– an extra A or two at GCSE, or the personal development of a young adult.

The school is Catholic and quite strict about its entry requirements. It is very unlikely that non-​catholics are allowed to attend. The school is highly over-​subscribed as it achieves high results and is a state school. The school is all boys but has recently started allowing girls into the 6^th form.