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Cokethorpe?

33 replies

Gonzoo · 12/11/2018 14:18

Any opinions on Cokethorpe especially the senior school?

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whatatod0 · 14/11/2018 11:30

not the right school for my dc. what do you want from a school? imo there are better schools within the area.

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whatatod0 · 14/11/2018 11:34

I would say it fits not too academic, socially confident, not too sporty dc. Last time I checked their A level results were pretty poor.
Some people really like it though, so it's probably a bit of a marmite school.

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Gonzoo · 14/11/2018 12:33

I'm interested in the 6th form. Could you say why it didn't fit? I'm after it for a boy who is getting 4-6 in his mock GCSEs.

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whatatod0 · 14/11/2018 12:59

My dc1 is pretty bright and we didn't think he'd be with as many like minded boys as he would be in other local schools. Also, we didn't think he was socially strong enough to hold his ground there. Also, he wanted to be in a school with strong sport and music. So pretty much totally the wrong school for him!
We have friends with kids there who say they're happy, but they seem much more party orientated than my dc.
Have you been to look round? Do you know parents who like it?

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Gonzoo · 14/11/2018 13:46

Hmmm I wasn't really hoping for a party school and I wouldn't say he's all that socially confident. But his GCSEs aren't going to be good enough for the more academic schools so I'm not sure where else to look really.

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whatatod0 · 14/11/2018 15:46

Teddies? D'Overbrooks?

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whatatod0 · 14/11/2018 15:47

Radley? Don't know if you want boarding though.

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Gonzoo · 14/11/2018 17:37

No we don't want boarding. I'm not sure being a day boy at a boarding school would be much fun hence Cokethorpe.

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WhyAmIPayingFees · 14/11/2018 23:57

OP hopefully you are aware of this but there is a 6th form information event on 15th Nov starting at 5.30. People speak highly of the pastoral care and provision for less academic kids.

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nicespice · 15/11/2018 22:32

Cokethorpe’s A Level results look good and I think were better than St Edward’s. Oxford, Exeter, UCL, Manchester universities represented. Is the school suffering from a past reputation?

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happygardening · 16/11/2018 08:50

"Cokethorpe’s A Level results look good and I think were better than St Edward’s"
No they're not here are St Edwards and here are Cokethorpes.
I should just add that I'm not favouring either school they are different: St Edwards is primarily boarding school and Cokethorpe is a day school neither would be considered very academic. I know parents with children at both and they all seem very pleased with their individual choice I just hate misinformation.

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Gonzoo · 16/11/2018 11:03

I thought the value added data from Durham was meant to be used internally only? That it wasn't meant for marketing purposes yet I can see it on Cokethorpes website. Because Durham doesn't publish the tables there really is no way to validate their claim of top 10% right?

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whatatod0 · 16/11/2018 12:07

A*,A,B – Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Christchurch College, Oxford.
Is that a normal kind of offer for that course?

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roguedad · 16/11/2018 12:52

People need to be really careful with the data on questions like this, as you need to decide what is meant by "good" and "better than". There are umpteen metrics in the school performance data and to be honest, there are scripts for multiple episodes of More Or Less in there.

If you look at a metric related to getting into top universities, the proportion of kids getting good grades in facilitating subjects might catch your eye. Teddies (T) is consistently better than Cokethorpe (C) in the last five reported years, averaging about twice the proportion. In fact by that metric, C is worse than Wood Green, Henry Box and Bartholomew and many local comps in most recent years. If you look at average grades and points, T is still slightly ahead of C in the 2017 results.

But these numbers can just reflect entry criteria and subject choices, and C has a strong history of trying to get more kids through FT education till 18. So is it any surprise that a metric which is unfavourable to less academic kids looks bad?

In 2017 C was better than T in the Value Added metric in fact, so it is not wrong to make the claim - it's just a bit useless to not explain what is being measured. I haven't gone through the last few years on the VA score, but I recall in the past seeing some good numbers for C, so I wouldn't be surprised if the web site claim holds up to scrutiny. I'm not so sure about some of the other headline claims on that web page. C's marketing clearly thinks it is OK to take a record of all Bs in Latin and ClasCiv and headline it as "100% A*-B" in Classics. Not the first year they've done it either. So you need to fact check this stuff.

So if you think that what you really want to know about is the quality of the teaching, perhaps as expressed by the VA metric, it might be reasonable to claim that C is good and better than Teddies. I've moved my kids away from C recently for several other reasons which do include concerns about academic focus and performance, but they do get some things right.

Apologies for the long pedantic post. Ranking anything by multi-dimensional data is fundamentally impossible unless you decide first how to boil it down to a one-dimensional thing, and there are many ways of doing that.

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claraschu · 16/11/2018 13:03

Have you looked at d'Overbroecks? It is a wonderful school, in my opinion, where two of my (very different) kids have been very happy. It has tiny classes, a flexible and supportive approach, a lovely informal atmosphere, and a genuine ethos of letting children be the people they are, not forcing them into a box.

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Gonzoo · 16/11/2018 13:21

Teddies is off the list for us as we don't want boarding. D'overbroek is one we hadn't considered that might warrant a look. DSS likely has undiagnosed SEN and is not performing well at GCSE at a state school. To be honest, he's miserable. He needs somewhere that will boost his confidence and hopefully raise his grades. I'm looking for a school with motivational and talented teaching. At the open night at Cokethorpe they seemed to take just this type of kid.

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claraschu · 16/11/2018 13:42

I think d'Overbroecks is worth a look. It is a great school.

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whatatod0 · 16/11/2018 20:55

Well I think D'Overb's sounds like a good try then.

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parentofcokethorpechildren · 04/12/2018 14:54

Feel free to email direct, as I have a child currently in Cokethorpe senior school. I will give you honest feedback.

There’s still lots of unfair assumptions regarding Cokethope, in my very honest opinion. My son as an academic scholar and thriving at this school. Every child is different. Unfortunately, a school is judged merely by the academic results. I have no issues with a school that accepts average ability children- Cokethorpe seems to get judged for not being so great for academics.

Not my experience at all. Other schools select the most able of children, achieve the highest results and people assume that those children receive a higher level of teaching....... hardly rocket science.

Cokethorpe has entry tests that cater for a wider selection of ability and is more inclusive. A nurturing environment that has helped my child thrive. You just need to keep this in mind. The facilities are beautiful of course and a bonus. I am glad you attended the open event and judged for yourself.

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WhyAmIPayingFees · 09/12/2018 08:18

“The facilities are beautiful of course and a bonus”. What beautiful facilities? A bonus compared to where? Seriously? I’ve been doing my homework and am pretty shocked TBH. Cokethorpe charges 6400 a term which is a lot more than SHSK at 5490 and only slightly less than Abingdon day at 6650. Both those schools have large new state of the art Science labs, dedicated concert halls and a long-standing investment in classical music (Ab school orchestra did Rachmaninov piano concerto this week), they share an 8-lane swimming pool and athletics facilities that Cokethorpe often has to rent to have a proper sports day. A has a leading rowing club while C shut down rowing years ago. Both schools have new or recent sports centres allowing a wide range of individual sports. I think the real question is where the money is going in Duckington and parents, particularly for scholarship level kids, should take a hard look on what is on offer for the ££, not just in terms of facilities but also curriculum content and ethos.

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BlueBertie · 09/12/2018 10:19

I can't imagine there's much crossover in intake between cokethorpe and AB/SHSK though. Cokethorpe isn't a selective school whereas the other two are both highly selective. I'm not sure there's any comparison really. If you have a kid that a selective school isn't the right fit then Cokethorpe might be perfect, rowing be damned.

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parentofcokethorpechildren · 09/12/2018 10:47

I was referring to the location and grounds, specifically. As I said, this is a bonus in my opinion- not the main reason we chose the school.

My child has plenty of options on offer for his curriculum- much more than our local state school. Believe me, he was challenged to cut his subjects down with the GCSE options on offer.

There is little point in comparing Cokethorpe with highly selective schools. If you have a scholarship level child in need of that environment to thrive, then so be it. My children are doing well, regardless. The extra curricular side keeps them enthusiastic and engaged. In the meantime, kayaking. Climbing and horse riding keeps them more than occupied!

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WhyAmIPayingFees · 09/12/2018 10:48

I disagree. First the previous poster was talking about a scholarship level kid so the comparison is reasonable. Second the assessment of facilities compared to fees is not necessarily closely tied to academic intake quality. Not having an athletics track or a pool given the level of fees is shocking independently of the academic level of the intake and needs to be pointed out especially for a school that prides itself on sports and makes a song and dance about it.

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WhyAmIPayingFees · 09/12/2018 10:54

I was responding to BlueBertie. Not sure where you are located parentof.... but in my neck of the woods the local state have more on offer in fact.

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BlueBertie · 09/12/2018 11:43

The comparison between a non selective school and a selective school is never going to be reasonable. They are aiming at entirely different things with a different ethos. It's very obvious that Cokethorpe doesn't have the facilities you mention. And if that's the criteria a parent is choosing on then it's not the right school.

Some parents of very bright confident kids will still choose a non selective school because they want their children to mix with a wider ability group. Or they want a less pressurised environment that has more of a focus on pastoral care and wider achievements.

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