Christ Church Cathedral School is a boarding and day Preparatory and Pre-preparatory School for about one hundred and thirty boys between the ages of four and thirteen plus.
The School provides about forty bursaries for Choristers of the choirs of Christ Church Cathedral and Worcester College, and is administered by the Dean and Canons of Christ Church, with the assistance of lay members drawn from the city's professional community.
It was founded in 1546 when provision was made for the education of eight Choristers on King Henry VIII's foundation of Christ Church on the site of Cardinal Wolsey's earlier foundation of Cardinal College. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, at the initiative of Dean Liddell, father of Alice Liddell, the inspiration for 'Alice in Wonderland', the boarding house was established at No 1 Brewer Street, and in 1892, during the Headship of the Reverend Henry Sayers, father of Dorothy L Sayers, the Italian Mediaeval scholar and creator of Lord Peter Wimsey, the present building was erected.
The School is centrally situated off St Aldates, and two hundred yards from Christ Church. It therefore not only enjoys the unique cultural background provided by Oxford itself, but also has the advantage of excellent recreational facilities on Christ Church Meadow.
Recently a prestigious new teaching block has been built. It contains a much enhanced Pre-Prep Department, four additional teaching classrooms, a large science laboratory and a built-in computer network. In addition there is a multi-purpose hall and entrance foyer, where recitals, exhibitions and conferences can be held. The building is known as the Sir William Walton Centre, and the composer's widow, Lady Walton, opened it in June 1994.
