On March 22nd, Oundle was reviewed in the Guardian for the ‘Lets move to…’ section of the newspaper. It is always exciting to have one’s town featured in the national press, but when it is a snapshot view, there is a risk of bad press. Although the majority of the article was positive, it caused a bit of a stir, with many people not in agreement with some views that were made.

Oundle was described by Tom Dyckhoff as being a ‘cute’ town which is part of a rather ‘Plain Jain county’. There were various positive comments referring to the farmers markets, Amps Wine and coffee shops, where Beans was the only one mentioned. One resident, Carol Sandall, described Oundle School pupils as ‘Oundle’s version of hoodies’ who ‘mill about the town’ finding ‘anyone over 21 totally invisible. An expensive education does not apparently include teaching the difference between a road and a pavement.’

However, many local residents think that this is an exaggeration. While admittedly there are a lot of school pupils from both the state and private sector in town, as Leigh Giurlando realistically says, ‘When there are at least five school children to one lone person, the lone person may have to move out of the way. Oundle School pupils are mainly polite. They do not cause fights and are rarely rude. They are just normal teenagers’.

It was also said in the article that the school dominates the town. Janet, who we interviewed at the bus stop in town, agreed that Oundle School does dominate the town. However, local tradesmen who generate income from the school and the pupils, feel that although the school pupils do seem to dominate the town, ‘it is not in a bad way’ says David, who works in Trendalls. ‘Oundle is still a vibrant community when the school pupils are on holiday,’ says Phil from Normans. ‘Oundle School does play a major part in the town’s life, but it’s not a problem’.

Philip Amps from Amps Wines told us that the school helps the town. ‘Many of the locals use the school’s sports facilities such as the swimming pool and the sports fields, which we wouldn’t have without the school’. He also questions the journalist’s research. “If he had stayed in Oundle for a few days he would have taken in more of the town. As it is, it seems as if he arrived here for a couple of hours, spoke to a few people and got the simplified version’.