THE PERSE SCHOOL Hills Rd Cambridge CB2 8QF
THE ORATORY SCHOOL
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The Oratory School Woodcote South Oxfordshire RG8 0PJ
Established 1859 Fixtures Eton College, Bradfield College, Reed’s, St Edward’s Oxford Cricket professional Dan Housego (Middlesex & Gloucestershire) Teams 12 Facilities Seven squares, 12 nets, four lanes indoors Club/county affiliation Oxfordshire Brief history The Oratory School was founded at Edgbaston. Games were played in the playground behind the school. In 1873 a sports ground was acquired at Ravenhurst about a mile to the west of the school under the headship of Fr John Norris. Cricket and football were played here and both flourished. The captain of the school and a prominent OS cricketer – an opening bowler - in the late 1880s was John Pius Boland, who later won two gold medals at the Athens Olympics in 1896 for tennis. The headmaster from 1921–1934 was Fr Edward Pereira (OS 1876-85), a county cricketer for Warwickshire – the only Catholic priest ever to play first-class cricket. His school record for throwing the cricket ball (115 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches) still holds good. In 1896, he gave family money to expand the Ravenshurst Grounds and in 1900 to build a new pavilion. This new pavilion was burned down by suffragettes in 1914. This was in retaliation for an incident when a boy sprinkled ink on some suffragettes
meeting outside the school. The fire destroyed many early cricket records and photos. The Oratory took part in an annual cricket match at Lord’s against Beaumont from 1926 to 1968 – this was the only Lord’s fixture between Catholic public schools. When Beaumont was closed down in 1966, the fixture was taken up by Downside against whom the OS had a famous victory in 1967. The 1968 match was a draw and proved to be the final Lord’s match for the school, as the authorities discontinued school fixtures at the ground. In the late 1930s when the school was very small, a team was still fielded. EW Swanton said that he had always had a soft spot for The Oratory. He was the president of the OSCC from 1996–2000. From 2000–2003 it was Sir John Paul Getty and he was succeeded by MJK Smith of England and Warwickshire. Currently Old Oratorian Keith Hornby is president. The 1st XI cricket field, behind the school, was excavated and laid out in 1946/47 “as a tribute to those Old Oratorians who served in the Second World War and in memory of those who gave their lives”. The pavilion was built in 1958 Cricketers of note Steve Tomlinson (Glamorgan), Benny Howell (Hampshire & Gloucestershire), Housego, Michael Roberts (Hampshire) Extras The Oratory has a fantastic ground and views
Established The Perse School was founded in 1615 by the will of Stephen Perse, MD, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. It provided for 100 local boys and was first established in Lorteburn Lane, later called Free School Lane Notable fixtures MCC, Cambridge Crusaders, Bedford School, Oundle, Norwich, Haileybury, Ipswich, Stamford Cricket professional Head of Cricket Sean Park, ECB Level III); Jason Coleman (Australia – Parammatta Cricket Club) Teams U12 (A-C), U13 (A-C), U14 (A-C); U15 (A-B), U16, 2nd XI & 1st XI Girls’ cricket Offered 2016 provided the first ever 1st XI girls’ team at the school. The strength of girls’ cricket continues to grow with success at regional levels, particularly at U13 and U15 age groups Facilities Six indoor nets (facility large enough to play indoor cricket tournament for seniors in Lent term). Six outdoor astro nets. Three grounds, with pitches on the upper school, prep school and Abington playing fields off-site Club/county affiliation Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bury St Edmunds CC, Saffron Walden CC, Cambridge Granta CC, Foxton CC Cricketers of note Chris Pepper (Essex Academy) Extras The Perse hosts Cambridgeshire youth fixtures Finest moment on the field In the late 1990s the 1st XI enjoyed a nail-biting tie against much-fancied opponents, Eton
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