# Oxford Academy (California)

Oxford Academy, sometimes stylized as OA, is a public school in Cypress, California serving grades 7–12 as part of the Anaheim Union High School District.
As of 2024, the school was ranked #4 for the best high schools in California by U.S. News & World Report, as well as #22 for the best U.S. high schools.

## History

Built in 1960 on the corner of Orange Ave and Grindlay St in Cypress, Oxford Academy's campus originally served as the location of the Anaheim Union High School District's new middle school. Oxford Junior High School was established in 1965, but closed soon after in 1980 due to declining enrollment. Afterwards, the campus hosted various different institutions for brief periods of time, including a satellite campus for Barclay College as well as the Cypress Cultural Arts Center. Finally, in response to district-wide school overcrowding, administrators reopened the site as Oxford Academy, a magnet school serving AUHSD students, in the fall of 1998. Although some administrators and teachers expressed concern that the new school would poach the best students from schools around the district, they decided ultimately that the competition would be beneficial, not only for those high-achieving students at Oxford but also for other schools aiming to keep pace.
Ever since its inception in 1998, the school has undergone a number of modernization efforts to renovate old facilities and add new buildings to accommodate the larger student body. The first major expansion came in 2006 when the gymnasium and English buildings were built, the tennis and basketball courts were upgraded, and the old outdoor amphitheater was removed. In 2018, the school added extra security, including a perimeter gate preventing public visitors from entering freely for the first time since the campus was built. Oxford opened a new building for STEAM education in 2020, providing brand new facilities for performing arts and engineering.

## Admissions

Admission to Oxford Academy is done primarily for the incoming seventh grade class. Each year, about 200 spaces are reserved for students who reside within AUHSD boundaries, which serves most of Anaheim and Cypress, but also portions of La Palma, Buena Park, and Stanton. From there, Oxford selects 25 students from each of the eight geographical areas defined by the school district's junior high schools. The school also designates an additional 35 spots for those who may live outside the district borders. In addition to this, there is also admission allowed for incoming eighth and ninth grade students, though only to fill in spaces for students in those classes who have left the school. When spaces are limited, the school may bar admission for such students. Furthermore, to provide opportunities for students who live in all areas of the district, the school takes in an equal number of students from each of its regions (represented by the eight AUHSD junior high school attendance areas).
The admission process is two-fold. First, during the fall, applicants must submit their final report cards from the prior two years, some proof of residence, as well as a reference from a teacher. Then, applicants who pass this initial filter are invited to take an entrance exam the following January. This exam consists of multiple choice reading comprehension and mathematics questions, short answer math questions, and a written essay. Students are then informed of their admission (or failure thereof) the following month. A one-minute video interview is also conducted, which is a significant part of whether prospective students are accepted.
The school's prestigious reputation has also given rise to classes offered by private tutoring organizations in the area, such as Perfect Score Academy and Pace Academy, to assist prospective students in preparing for the entrance examination.

## Demographics

In the 2022-23 school year, Oxford Academy's enrollment totaled 1289 junior high school and high school students. Of this, boys numbered 644 (49.96%), slightly outnumbered by the girls, who tallied at 645 (50.04%).
Oxford's student body is mostly Asian-Americans. According to the NCES, its racial makeup during the aforementioned school year was
* 921 (71.42%) Asian
* 234 (18.14%) Hispanic
* 83 (6.44%) White (non-hispanic)
* 30 (2.33%) Two or more races
* 12 (0.93%) Black (non-hispanic)
* 8 (0.62%) American Indian / Alaska Native
As reported by the State of California, 38.71% of the student body was eligible for either free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Act of 1946.

## Dress code

Students, while on campus or at school-sponsored events, must wear a solid red, white, blue, or grey polo top paired with khaki or navy-blue pants, shorts, or skirt. Black tops were once allowed, but were prohibited prior to the 2010-11 school year. They may also wear a sweatshirt or sweater of an appropriate color (including black), though only on top of the aforementioned polo. To fulfill these criteria, students generally wear a school-provided top, which is a solid-color polo with the Oxford Academy "OA" logo embroidered on the chest, as well as school-provided khaki bottoms.
There are a few exceptions to these rules. Notably, students may wear (approved) class-specific or club t-shirts on Fridays, and on the first Friday of the month can wear college apparel with jeans. Additionally, students are allowed to wear formal attire to school if required to for a class or club-related event. Finally, the school occasionally holds "free dress days", typically on the last day of the semester, where students are allowed to wear anything which fits within the wider AUHSD dress code.
Violation of dress code during normal school hours results in the student being required to change clothes in addition to being punished accordingly (typically through detention). Too many of such infractions may even cause the offender to lose the privilege of participating in free dress days.

## Academics

Oxford Academy aims to best prepare its students for college in a number of ways. For one, it runs on a "block schedule", holding even periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays and odd periods on Wednesdays and Fridays, mirroring the longer but more spaced out class structure found at most American universities. The school also provides a large selection of advanced placement (AP) courses for potential future college credit, even some which are mandatory (including, but not limited to, AP English Language and AP US History). Oxford offers classes which fit the University of California "A-G Course" requirements, guaranteeing that students graduate having fulfilled the minimum course requirements for attending a school in the UC system. Students may even dual enroll at nearby Cypress College to take courses which directly transfer to CSU or UC system schools.
Oxford Academy upholds a strict GPA requirement for its students. 7th and 8th graders must maintain a 2.5, 9th and 10th graders a 2.7, and 11th and 12th graders a 3.0 grade point average in order to avoid being placed on academic probation. Failure to improve one's academic performance to this standard results in expulsion from the school.
Aside from its standard classes, Oxford also offers four different pathways - Biotechnology, Business, Computer Science, and Engineering - in an effort to expose students to different fields of study they may pursue after high school. In junior high, students take a pathway introductory course lasting one quarter each. Afterwards, in high school, students select a pathway and take three corresponding courses at their own pace. Students are also required to take at least four years of foreign language and two years of some visual and performing arts (also called VAPA). The foreign language offerings have changed over the years, with French and Mandarin having been taught in the past. As of 2024, the two languages offered are Spanish and Korean. To fulfill their mandatory VAPA requirement, students may choose between orchestra, band, choir, and art.

## Athletics

Oxford offers a variety of extracurricular sports for its students to participate in. High school students may join cross country, volleyball, baseball / softball, basketball, soccer, tennis, swimming, or track and field, and typically compete against other schools in the 605 League within the CIF Southern Section. Oxford used to offer other sports, such as golf, and notably does not have its own football team. Junior high school students may partake in intramural athletics, which include all the aforementioned sports as well as flag-football. They also play against other middle schools in AUHSD.