Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

The Cokethorpe Parents’ and Friends’ Association (CPFA) is made up of all parents and guardians of current pupils, current members of staff of the School and governors.

The general aim of the Association is to give parents, staff, and governors the opportunity to meet informally and socially. Popular events throughout the year include Burns’ Night, Quiz Nights, Summer Ball, Murder Mystery Evening, Fireworks Extravaganza, and the Christmas Fair, not to mention the regular Coffee Mornings at the onsite Ue Coffee Roasters shop.

For the latest CPFA events, please visit the Upcoming Events page.

The CPFA Committee

The CPFA committee is elected annually at the AGM and is composed of current parents/guardians and staff. The committee is always happy to welcome new members; please contact the Committee Chair for more information by email.

Want to know more about the CPFA?

What better way than to read about it from the members themselves; below is an interview with the current Chair about volunteering with, and enjoying the events of the CPFA.

What is the CPFA and how does it operate?

It is a committee of volunteer parents who meet to discuss, plan and coordinate a series of events for the benefit of parents, pupils, and staff at Cokethorpe School. Although there are representatives from across the Prep and Senior Schools on the present committee – of which there are thirteen members – we do not follow a strict year group representative model as you might find in some other schools. We know that there are an awful lot of parents in a school like this who have skills that would be enormously beneficial to the group, we would not wish to restrict access and miss out on those skills. Whilst there is not a formal policy or structure, we do have representation from the Prep and Senior School, and some members who have been part of the School community for years, and others who have joined much more recently. It is an enjoyable environment to be in.

The committee is that core group who will attend meetings six times per year, but there is also another thirty or so parents who support events or activities in other ways. Some may help with running specific events, such as the Fireworks Extravaganza, the Peacock Ball or the Christmas Fair, or help to run the Nearly New Uniform Sales, whilst others are able to help with the setup for them, and some who go above and beyond and are on hand for every activity the CPFA is a part of; we are very lucky with the strength of support we are able to call on.

You mentioned a few CPFA events there, how does the events calendar unfold?

We begin the school year with quite a busy Michaelmas Term with the Murder Mystery, a hugely popular evening that centres around a performance written, directed and produced by the School’s Drama Department, and cast by a collection of very able and enormously entertaining current and former staff of the School. This is usually followed by a wine and cheese evening for the First Form parents. Then we move on to the Fireworks, which is a lavish and utterly lovely event, and then conclude the term with the Christmas Fair. Each week we also have our Coffee Mornings on a Friday after drop-off and once a month we hold our uniform sales. The rest of the year follows a similar pattern and certainly keeps us busy.

Busy indeed! What are some of the ways that parents can get involved?

Simply coming to the events and being involved in the community is one of the easiest and best ways that everyone can contribute. We now have a particularly accessible and easy to use booking site which means that the events are more open than they have ever been before. If parents have an hour or two to spare and are willing to be more directly involved, then there are all sorts of ways they can do this, and it is probably best to talk to a member of the committee at one of the events or our coffee mornings about what would best fit them and the time they are able to give. With the range of events we run, I do think there is something for everyone, both in terms of attendance and becoming more involved.

What is it like to be involved with running events with the CPFA?

It is honestly a lot of fun, and I find it really rewarding. I know a lot of other parents involved feel that was as well. We have our core events which seem to be growing year on year, and have their own reward, and we then have new events or different approaches to some existing ones which provides real opportunity for creativity and the establishment (we hope!) of the staple events of the future.

CPFA Events in pictures

Where next?

Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events

Find out about and book for the upcoming events at the School, from Open Mornings to concerts and drama productions across the Prep and Senior Schools.

The Cokethorpe Fund - New Cokethorpe Pavilion - Community
The Cokethorpe Fund

Created by Old Cokethorpeans for the benefit of current and future Cokethorpeans, the Cokethorpe Fund creates opportunities across bursaries and other areas of School life.

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