Rhubarb December 2025

their time, others with their treasure. All have given to Teddies in one way or another.Today, their legacy lives on – sometimes in buildings and facilities, always in character and ethos. Malcolm Oxley is at the centre of this edition of Rhubarb, just as he was at the centre of Teddies life for generations of pupils. His legacy to the School is immense, not only in the lives which he touched but also in the gifts

That principle of partnership underpins not only our projects for pupils but also our building plans for the future. Teddies Collaborates (the partnership programme which already sends all the pupils in the Lower Sixth out to work in local foodbanks, charity shops and care homes) and Teddies Up (the Saturday morning school for children from local primary schools) are the most significant new partnership projects in the recent past.

FROM THE WARDEN

Lower Sixth pupil in a local care home as part of Teddies Collaborates.

Malcolm Oxley during the opening of the Oxley Library.

Teddies 2030 is the plan for the future, to transform the School on both sides of the Woodstock Road. On the Quad Side, the Physical Sciences building will become the new Science Centre, with state-of-the-art laboratories for Chemistry and Physics as well as spaces for robotics and artificial intelligence created around a glass-fronted Hall of Science.The Field of Dreams will be built on the Field Side, including a new track for athletics, a new artificial pitch for rugby and football, new courts for tennis and netball, and a new sports centre with a rowing tank, an indoor hockey pitch, and new spaces for strength and conditioning, for visiting teams, and for OSE events.Teddies 2030 will provide new facilities not only for our pupils but also for our community in Oxford.The details of those projects and the ways in which you can support them can be found on pages 18-19.

which he gave.The library which bears his name will grow to accommodate the books which he left to the School – given their number, some but not all! The John and Rose Oxley Bursary Fund, established through Malcolm’s generosity and in memory of his parents, will help bring into St Edward’s bright and talented children whose parents teach in schools or universities or whose families have a connection to the Church of England, and who might not otherwise be able to afford the fees.The memory of Malcolm, the very definition of a school master in the very best sense of that old-fashioned term, lives on in the teachers who seek to follow his example in the classroom, in the rehearsal room and in the House. Our hope is that Malcolm’s example will inspire many of you to support the fund, a lasting and fitting memorial for a remarkable man. See page 17. As every gardener knows, rhubarb has deep roots. Its leaves change with the seasons, just as schools change with the times.The leaves can be damaged by the thoughtless and the careless, but the heart endures. In fact, rhubarb thrives in a harsh climate. Perhaps those are metaphors for these political times. Rooted in Oxford and in the OSE community, connected to its past in buildings and in beliefs,Teddies is thriving – and I hope that this edition of Rhubarb will give you a window into all that is happening in our school at this time. In particular, I hope that you enjoy reading on page 63 about the recent inspection, and the inspiring judgements about our school from the Independent Schools Inspectorate. “If you build it, they will come” – that is our hope for the future as we prepare to create the Field of Dreams, for the benefactors who will make it possible and for the children whose lives it will change. It is also what is happening in the present.Together we have built a community of which people – parents, staff and pupils both present and past – want to be part.The new Gatehouse will be busy – and I hope that you will pass through it on a visit back to Teddies very soon. Rhubarb has deep roots. Its leaves change with the seasons, just as schools change with the times.

New Science Block – architect’s drawing.

New Sports Centre – architect’s drawing.

Benefaction and legacy are everywhere at St Edward’s. Every pupil and every member of staff, past and present, benefits from the generosity of previous generations. Some have been generous with

5