Cothill

[Nottodaythankyouverymuch]

Any feedback? Now going co ed in the younger years but seems very very international for such a tiny prep. The headmaster seems great and I really like him. Would love any feedback.

We adored Cothill- DS finished there four years ago so a lot has changed but it was exactly the school we wanted and needed and both DS flourished there personally and academically. I recognise the 'International ' comment- perhaps because relatively few UK based families choose boarding, and perhaps because of the prestige of its onward destinations. I think certain preps tend to have close affinity to certain nationalities. Cothill had quite a few clever Thai boys, for example, but almost no Russians, whereas the nearby rival school was known as Summerfieldski (even by some parents). The balance seemed to change in Ys 6-8 when more UK boys came into scope for boarding.
With luck someone else with more recent (relevant) experience will come along with their view. We had a different Head, full boarding, single sex and different relationship with Sauveterre so probably not much help...

Current parents here.

Who goes: The mix was getting a bit too international a couple of years ago but it's heading back the other way following an influx of local day boys into the junior years (has lured a lot of families from St Hugh's, who see it as a definite upgrade). Remains very popular with British army officers who love the fact that there are so many full boarders, and with British families who want their sons to get used to boarding before going on to hard-core full boarding senior schools like Eton & Radley. Weekly boarding is not an option - you are either day or a full boarder - but with long and short exeats and half term, nobody ever seems to be in school for more than two weeks at a stretch.

New head: views vary a little depending on who you ask. He is a nice man with good intentions - and his wife, who is also very involved in the school, is universally liked. Much more "by the book" than his predecessor, and a bit less obsessed by sport. Has perhaps been naive in trying to introduce too many changes too quickly without thinking through all the consequences or taking parents and boys with him, but he is (a little belatedly) trying to put that right with a new parental consultation group.

Co-ed: It's clearly not going to be the same Cothill in two years' time that it was when we signed up six-ish years ago. We loved the unflashy, adventurous, let-boys-be-boys feel of the place, and rather sadly that will go once girls arrive. Girls are much more sophisticated in Y7/8, and it's a shame that in coed preps boys end up under pressure to grow up before they are ready. However, the die is cast and girls it is. Hopefully some of the distinctive Cothill magic will still remain!

Senior schools: DS got into the (over-subscribed) senior school he wanted at first time of asking and we have no doubt that having attended Cothill made a big difference. Public schools like boys who know how to board, and there's no better preparation than Cothill. Having said that, while a very high proportion of Cothillians go on to Eton/Winchester/Radley/Harrow, it's not an automatic ticket. If they think a school is unrealistic they will tell you, and then move heaven and earth to get your son into the best possible alternative.

@Nottodaythankyouverymuch LMK if any other qs.

I know this is a bit old but keen to hear any updates on various options. as a working parent I asked chat gpt to do some legwork for me as looking at Cothill and various others before a move from London and got a fairly astonishing result - is this really true!? A Cothill parent told me all exeats (7) start at 12.45 (and I saw the calendar) which is a hangover from full boarding I assume, and term starts at 11am (3) , as does the return after half term (3). so I got chat gpt to check for drop off/pick up times outside a fairly normal 9am-4.30pm type day against other preps, and published term dates and got the following - how can I take that much time off!? it's a massive outlier - does no-one work!?
Net effective childcare days = weekday school days in 2026 − (parental time-off full-day equivalents attributable to unusual timings).
On that basis:

• Cheam: 163 weekday school days, with only two end-of-term days finishing before 16:00 (counted as 1.0 day total).
• Net effective childcare = 163 − 1.0 = ~162.0 days.
• Pinewood (Shrivenham): 162 weekday school days, with term ends assumed to require early collection (3 half-days = 1.5 days). No half-term late returns.
• Net effective childcare = 162 − 1.5 = ~160.5 days.
• St Hugh’s (Carswell): 162 weekday school days, with term ends assumed to require early collection (3 half-days = 1.5 days).
• Net effective childcare = 162 − 1.5 = ~160.5 days.
• Sandroyd: 160 weekday school days, with one late-arrival start-of-term day (0.5) plus three early term ends (1.5) = 2.0 days.
• Net effective childcare = 160 − 2.0 = ~158.0 days.
• Cothill House: 154 weekday school days, less (i) three half-term returns at ~11:00 (1.5), (ii) three term starts at 11:00 (1.5), (iii) seven exeat 12:45 collections (3.5), and (iv) two weekday term ends (1.0) = 7.5 days total.
• Net effective childcare = 154 − 7.5 = ~146.5 days.

So, on a “net effective childcare days” basis for 2026, the order is: Cheam (~162.0) > Pinewood/St Hugh’s (~160.5) > Sandroyd (~158.0) >> Cothill (~146.5). That implies Cothill is about 15.5 effective working days behind Cheam in 2026 under your timing assumptions. THREE WEEKS LESS!!! ??? What am I missing?

@nevereverfinished You are not wrong. Half term tomorrow starts at 11am. I suppose in theory it’s so families coming from a long way away, as some do, can get there on time. However as a working parent myself it is very annoying. They’ve just moved sports day from a Saturday to a Friday as well. The only way we manage is mutual aid from other parents, luckily Cothill parents are good like that.

Having said that, there are some benefits. The school day itself is much longer than other schools (8am-6.30pm), which is incredibly handy if you work. And as someone else said, it often means you can get off peak holiday fares and beat the traffic if you are trying to get away…

Yes, I can see that the length of the school day is good for work (hence my curiosity) but I thought the boarding kids would return the night before? The other schools also seem to have boarders, so why is their term shorter than the other schools – it doesn’t make sense – they are several days shorter on each term.

@nevereverfinished Well another reason is that Cothill does Saturday school (lessons in mornings, matches in afternoons). St Hugh’s and Pinewood don’t have any Saturday morning lessons, just matches on some Saturday afternoons.

Looked at Cothill for our DS and feel like we dodged a massive bullet by not sending him there.

met the previous head who was fantastic. Lovely fellow who clearly had a passion for the school others about to leave.

The school felt very relaxed to the point of disorganized/haphazard which was a bit concerning. But it did feel like a big if slightly chaotic family

the facilities were not that impressive, neither were the two boys who showed us around. Yes they left us adult visitors alone to walk around the school with a couple of year 5/6 boys giving us the tour (rather than a member of staff), including going into the dorms.

Quite surprising from a safeguarding perspective but also showed the trusting nature. The boys who took us in the tour were very far from polished. I was surprised they had been chosen but at least it was an authentic experience

the facilities seemed untidy and like they needed a refresh. Lots of money had been spent on the new sports building which was nearing completion. Rest of the school seemed short on funds!

In addition a few major things concerned us:

• had heard via MN that the trust behind Cothill was financially in hot water

• we were not fans of our school fees being spent on other schools in the trust, rather than Cothill especially since it was obvious that money needed to be spent at the school

• the incoming head had been announced and his profile was not that appealing to us. Very heavy on drama which DS has zero interest in

• we had concerns about the transition to the new head, we knew it would be units but could not have guessed how big the changes would be!

• we met a member of staff who severely bad mouthed other schools in the area, which we didn’t like and were very surprised about

what we didn’t know at the time was that in the next 2-3 years the school would go from boys boarding to co-ed and flexi boarding + day. MASSIVE change.

plus then the trust was sold to Radley. Again massive change.

Heard lots of amazing stories about Cothill over the years and boys all went to top schools in the last . But now it’s a totally different school IMO

You have not taken account of the fact that Cothill have compulsory lessons on Saturday morning, also sport on Saturday afternoon. Add that into your calculations and suddenly the short fall as you see it is much smaller. Another poster also pointed out that the school day is longer than most. All in all there isn't really such a wide gap in teaching time. Anyway the destination schools seem to indicate that more school days doesn't necessarily mean better end result.

@MissDaisy1982 it sounds like Cothill and you might not have suited one another, given the aspects you found off-putting when you visited. I think you must have visited the year after my DSs left, otherwise they might well have been the unpolished boys touring you. I used to love the informality that looked like chaos but really wasn't- the supervision and authority were definitely there but pitched to be unobtrusive. The boys were asked to be 'happy, busy and polite' rather than well-groomed and orderly, and I'm not sure I ever saw them with shirts tucked in or hair combed except on Sundays. They were unsophisticated enough to be keen on the woodwork room, treetops and WW1 'dead German's finger'- they weren't materialistic or driven by fashion or peer pressure except in playing sport. Boys had huge respect for staff but these wore their authority lightly.

I've always felt there were Cothill families and Summerfields families- and that nobody would struggle to decide between them. When we toured the latter we saw state of the art facilities and immaculate pupils, and everything felt beautifully-run, consciously impressive and deliberately marketed to parents. It's a brilliant school with a similar demographic- I had nephews who were really happy there and moved seemlessly on the Summerfields conveyor belt to Eton. My DSis and BiL considered Cothill and found it charming but scruffy and too free-range for their taste. DH and I adored Cothill and felt Summerfields was impressive but too polished and self-conscious. Of course, I realise you haven't mentioned Summerfields- the comment isnt about comparing the two, but the reality that choosing a school is art rather than science, and the items on your wish list aren't necessarily the deciding factors. You have to like the culture and feel not just the leavers' destinations.
I agree that the previous Head was tremendously good- he said to us that there were no bad choices amongst the schools we were considering; it was a question of which one felt comfortable and congenial.

@Hubertus great post

ultimately it’s all about fit with the child and the family

these are all good schools

Take Eton. For some it’s the be all and end all and the MUST go to Eton!

For others who are “Eton material” it just doesn’t feel right and they haven’t even applied.

both are ok!

same with Cothill and every other school TBH

@MissDaisy1982 I agree, that's my point really

@Hubertus agree great post and really gives a useful steer on what actually matters all other things being equal.... plenty of smart kids getting into these senior schools from primary schools so not actually that much of a driver for us.
@BeRareAnt I take your point but it's not really just about teaching time. I don't work on Saturdays so the impact on working parents (but let's be honest often working mothers) is huge. It ends up being the difference between whether you can work or not and I just can't wrap my head around the idea that a really expensive school doesn't scratch their heads and think about how people actually pay the fees. Sometimes I think that because their kids are all subsidised they don't realise how much we all have to earn and that these days it takes both working. Even if you're freelance 3 weeks extra you can't work is a massive hit.

@nevereverfinished I don't remember a vast number of working mothers at Cothill unless you count managing the family wedding venue. A few- I was one- but I don't think the Governors were quite as atuned to cost considerations as they might have been; for instance there were no means-tested bursaries when we were there. I think that complacency might be changing but though, with the arrival of more locally-based families and the introduction of VAT. Also, Military families were always made very welcome and given a generous fee discount.

@nevereverfinished I agree with you - I think with more day pupils they really need to have a think about whether the timings are still appropriate - it’s a bit tone deaf.
It is a shame because there are so many ways that a school like Cothill is a godsend for working parents - I always think it’s so much better with the boys at school having fun with all their mates doing activities on site than them commuting home on a train or bus with a bored afterschool nanny and then having hours of homework to do, or sitting around watching TV at a childminder’s house.
I work full time and I just about manage with a combo of other parents helping out with pick ups etc, a bit of WFH and an understanding boss. I wouldn’t say that I can’t work at all on drop off days, it’s just a hassle. On days with a late drop off I have to work later in the evening to make the time up. However the boarding really helps when I have early morning/evening work stuff or overseas work trips.