It prides itself on producing pupils who are ‘Climate Champ-ions’ as well as ‘decent, ambitious… but never arrogant’.
Now, in music to green campaigner King Charles’s ears, the Prince and Princess of Wales have added Oundle School to their top choices for their elder son Prince George’s secondary education.
Their search for the best school has seen them visit their alma maters – William’s Eton and Kate’s Marlborough College.
But Oundle, a £34,000-a-year co-educational school in north Northamptonshire, is now a frontrunner.
It dates from 1556 but has a modern ethos, boasting on its website: ‘We have a responsibility to ensure that every single member of the school community takes both individual and collective action towards environmental sustainability.’
Prince George (pictured) attending the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 25
The Prince and Princess of Wales have added Oundle School (pictured) to their top choices for their elder son Prince George’s secondary education
In December, George, ten, and his parents visited £47,000-a-year Marlborough, where Kate’s siblings Pippa and James were also educated. It is understood George has been allocated a ‘house’ in a safe location and given a housemaster should he take up a place.
But there is said to be concern that Marlborough has become ‘too flashy’ after a rise in its popularity with ultra-rich families due to its association with the Middletons.
‘The 2024 version of Marlborough may be quite different from how Kate remembers it,’ a source said. ‘It’s become a little more jet-set. Lots of parents have villas in Ibiza, chalets in Verbier or a private jet, which isn’t Kate’s style. She prefers understated wealth.’
Oundle says: ‘We encourage aspiration and abhor arrogance, nurturing open minds, authentic self-belief and a sense of service.’
A key draw is that, like Marlborough, all of the Waleses’ children could attend the co-educational school, an arrangement their security team is said to prefer.
William was initially keen to send George to Eton, a few miles from Windsor, but it is boys only. A consideration is whether George would be comfortable boarding at Oundle from age 11.
A source said: ‘Kate wants a school that suits all of her children and keeps them grounded.’
Oundle and Kensington Palace were approached for comment.