Discover Cokethorpe
A co-educational through school on a single, stunning parkland estate that provides a research-informed education with exceptional breadth and an individual focus.
Exceptional Breadth | Individual Focus
An independent, co-educational day school, encompassing the Prep and Senior Schools on a single site, set in 150 acres of glorious West Oxfordshire parkland, nestled on the edge of the Cotswolds’ renowned serenity and a stone’s throw from metropolitan Oxford.
What you will discover when you visit Cokethorpe is more than a stunning vista. It goes deeper than the mix of traditional and modern buildings that make up the physical fabric of the School, it is in the energy and dynamism of our teachers and the grounded innovations of our academic approach. It is evident in the spirit and welcome of our pupils whose warmth, strengths and confidence are exemplar of the School’s ethos and intents.
We expect a lot from our pupils, but we support them to achieve those levels and inspire them to reach beyond. They are provided with an exceptional breadth of opportunity, whether in the array of subjects or academic enrichment activities, or the wealth of AOB (our Clubs, Societies and Activities programme) options they can benefit from, challenge themselves through, and find enjoyment in.
They are supported across this breadth with a truly individual focus. Small class sizes allow for a tailored educational experience to best support each pupil’s learning. This is reinforced and furthered by the strong tutoring system, which provides academic and pastoral support to pupils each day.
We embrace the diversity of children’s talents, ideas and experiences, and our ethos demonstrates this by focusing on providing the right environment for them all to excel.
A welcome from our:
Head of Prep School
Mrs Sarah Orton
Head of Sixth Form
Mr Ed Tolputt
A research-informed approach
We foster a lifelong love of learning in every pupil. Our approach is centred on personalised teaching, recognising each child’s uniqueness and tailoring methods to their needs. Beyond academic excellence, we build strong learning skills for life.
As a research-informed school, we apply the latest educational insights to ensure our practices are effective and evidence-based. Through innovative, engaging strategies, we create a rigorous environment where every pupil can thrive.
Leadership
Leadership is about much more than holding positions of responsibility, whether as a Prefect, Sports Captain, CEO or Prime Minister. To be successful, a leader must display the mindset and characteristics that inspire others to follow and to work collaboratively towards common goals.
At Cokethorpe, we believe in developing these traits in our pupils. This will enable them to more readily succeed in all facets of life after school. By embodying these characteristics, they will possess not only the attributes of great leadership but a mindset that will enable them to lead happy and fulfilling lives. We identify these as:
| Integrity | Doing what you know to be the right thing |
| Courage | Sometimes choosing the difficult option |
| Empathy | Understanding that others’ views might be different from your own |
| Judgement | Knowing when, and when not to act |
| Ambition | Challenging yourself to be better |
| Responsibility | Being relied upon to do the right thing |
Qualities of leadership are intrinsic to Cokethorpe’s approach and are evident throughout the School. In the Prep School, they take the form of the Cokethorpe Characters, a means by which our youngest pupils are introduced to morals, ethics and broader approaches to learning, that will become the framework on which the Senior School’s Leadership Programme is pinned.
The Senior School’s merit system of ‘Recommendations’ are awarded on the basis of the Leadership characteristics, as they are on the Cokethorpe Characters in the Prep. And in Sixth Form, the Leadership Grants programme sits alongside but distinct to the Scholars Programme. It is awarded to those students who demonstrate leadership through their contributions to all aspects of School life.
Space to Grow. A Community to Belong.
As a through school, Prep and Senior, Cokethorpe is in rarefied company. Couple that with the Prep and Senior Schools being on a single site, and in a rural, day school setting, and Cokethorpe is almost unique.
The Prep School was opened as the ‘Junior Department’ in 1994, with the Reception Class being added in 2007. Since then, the Prep School has flourished and is now home to about 100 pupils.
The youngest years in the Prep School, Reception and Year 1, have a new, dedicated and tailored space, helping them to adapt to the pace of school life. Years 2 to 6 are located across the Lower Quad, occupying the sumptuous Queen Anne Mansion House.
The Senior School classrooms are based around the purpose-built Middle and Upper Quads, with approximately 500 pupils across our First Form to Upper Sixth.
The Prep School benefits from access to many of the Senior School’s facilities, however, the dedicated Sixth Form Centre was completed in 2009. This allows our Sixth Form students space to focus on their studies, to discuss, hold events and to socialise.
All of our pupils, from Reception to Upper Sixth benefit from the School’s glorious setting and the exceptional breadth of opportunities it allows the School to provide.
Welcome from the Head of Prep School
Children should enjoy childhood. High academic standards flourish when learning is creative, memorable, and allows room to explore. Our small classes mean teachers know each child well and tailor learning accordingly. Strong relationships underpin pastoral care, ensuring challenge is appropriately pitched.
A Cokethorpe Prep School education is about so much more than the taught curriculum, it happens in Maths lessons, on the sports field, in the woods, and on the stage. Outdoor education is integral, and our setting provides wonderful opportunities to learn and play.
Parents choose Cokethorpe Prep for its balance of care and ambition. It is a welcoming place where kindness, respect, and high standards go hand-in-hand. I warmly invite you to visit and experience it for yourself.
Mrs Sarah Orton
Head of Prep
Sixth Form Life
The culmination of a child’s time at Cokethorpe, and the business end of their education, Sixth Form is a time for applying knowledge and skills accumulated to the rigours of examination. It is also a moment to embrace responsibility, opportunity, and challenge, and make the most of them all.
Making Sixth Form Count
The Sixth Form at Cokethorpe serves as a springboard to life beyond School, whether it be college, university, or the workplace. We support students to become independent-minded, purposeful, and, above all, happy young adults, equipped with the skills, intellect, and attitude to thrive.
We encourage students in the Sixth Form:
- To be curious. To be inspired to ask meaningful questions, and not to be limited by the scope of the textbook or the exam board’s specification.
- To be organised. To make best use of every hour in the working day to successfully navigate academic study, sporting and cultural commitments, and the university/college application process. To appreciate the importance of a to-do list.
- To be ambitious. Not to aim high, but to plan high. Not to wait to find out if something is achievable, but to make it achievable.
- To be creative. To find time in the day to pursue hobbies and passions. To remain grounded and mindful.
- To be hard working. To be motivated by the positives, and to learn to enjoy working hard and making progress.
- To be thoughtful. To look after and support each other. To take responsibility for making the School a better place for all, and to lead by example. To remember there is a world beyond Cokethorpe.
Academic Life
Academic life in the Sixth Form is different from lower down the School. Students are taught in smaller groups, study fewer subjects, and are expected to spend a larger proportion of the day studying independently – every hour spent in class should be matched by an hour of out-of-class study (working on class assignments, consolidating content and reading beyond the syllabus). When not in lessons, students study in the Sixth Form Centre (which serves as an academic, administrative and social hub). Academic study is supported by an ongoing programme of Learning Character Education, and a ‘Pre A’ course in the first term of the Lower Sixth.
Through the AOB Programme, the Extended Project, the Enlightenment Lecture Series (read about the Series here), the Lower Sixth Electives course, and a peppering of one-off super-curricular opportunities, Sixth Form students are inspired to think beyond their subjects, and to see the bigger picture; to understand the context of and connections between all that they learn in lessons, and to develop life-long interests and passions. And, of course, they are encouraged to take full advantage of the School’s co-curricular offering – sport, music, drama, outdoor pursuits, and so much more.
The Sixth Form is a sociable, kind, and supportive community, which gives students the freedom to discover who they are, and to follow their own discrete path. We encourage students to be ambitious, both academically and beyond, and, as importantly, give students the necessary support and nurture to achieve those ambitions. We celebrate students who work hard, who are mindful of others, and who make the most of all that Cokethorpe has to offer.
Please get in touch if you would like to know more, or if you would like to visit the Sixth Form Centre and meet some of the students.
Mr Ed Tolputt
Head of Sixth Form
Where next?
Digital Learning
At Cokethorpe, we are proud of the way we embrace modern technology, utilising it to support and augment teaching and learning, both in the classroom and beyond.
Publications and Films
Discover Cokethorpe through the medium of film or read from among the colourful and varied array of publications produced throughout the School year, including those produced by our pupils.
Pastoral Life
The pastoral provision at Cokethorpe is one of the great strengths of the School and has directly evolved from its ethos of being community and family focused.
Book your tour today
Come and visit Cokethorpe, whether for an Open Morning, one of our monthly Meet the Head events, or a personal Tour, and Discover Your Cokethorpe.