Sibford School


Sibford School is a British co-educational independent school in Sibford Ferris, west of Banbury in north Oxfordshire, linked with the Religious Society of Friends. The school has both day and boarding pupils between the ages of 3 and 18.

History and overview

Sibford School was founded in 1842 as a co-educational boarding school for the children of 'disowned' Quakers - those who had married outside the Society of Friends - as their children were barred from entering Ackworth School. It later accepted children from practicing Quaker families. The school was originally based in Walford Manor in the centre of Sibford Ferris, which had been remodeled in the 17th century. The Sibfords had a long association with the Quaker movement, although locally Quakers were still a dissenting minority in an area dominated by Church of England landowners. It opened with 26 boys and 22 girls and the first recorded pupil was nine-year-old Lucy Endall, who entered the school on 16 January 1842. Richard Routh was the first headmaster and remained in post until 1880. Sibford School initially occupied 18 acres of land and had a strong agricultural bias. The boys worked part-time on the farm while the girls did household duties. In this way it was possible to reduce fees to parents, which were adjusted according to means.
The school expanded to a site to the south of the village with the opening of The Hill building by Dame Elizabeth Cadbury in 1930. It was on this site that all future building projects took place, including several boarding houses, the science block, the dining hall, sports hall and an art and music building. The Junior School, originally called Orchard Close, for primary school aged pupils, opened in 1989.

The School today

Today the school accommodates both boarders and day pupils, of all faiths and none, and in September 2011 had more than 420 pupils. It is set in more than of grounds surrounded by the Cotswold countryside. The school comprises three divisions of pupils: the Junior School for those aged 3–11; the Senior School for those aged 11–16; and the Sixth Form for those aged 16–18.

Notable former pupils

Old scholars form the Sibford Old Scholars Association.