opinions on cokethorpe school

[abitrag568u]

Hello All,

I am just wondering if Cokethorpe would be a fit for shy,sporty,bright DS

We have had very positive experiences of both the Prep and Senior school. Whilst broadly non selective, it has an excellent programme for academically strong children, lots of sporting opportunities plus lots in music and drama, and has also been hugely supportive where additional academic support has been needed.

There is a new Head this year so things likely to develop further.

It suffers in reputation versus the highly selective Oxford schools, but we have nothing but positive experiences across a range of requirements.

That's great to hear, @HelloooJackie! Would you mind sharing more about how they stretch their more able pupils and their Music? I've heard (on the parents' grapevine) that it's quite weak in those areas. If not, I'd love to know more! The Music page on their website is almost all about beginners' tuition which doesn't look promising.

So there is a Scholar's programme for the most academically able pupils. I don't have any direct experience of it though, but from what I can see it involves both breadth and depth in key areas.

For music, the current Director of Music has certainly increased the number of children taking up instruments, and there are a lot of opportunities to get involved e.g. orchestra, various choirs, bands, open mic nights etc. There are weekly lunchtime concerts, as well as regular larger concerts too involving the orchestra and choirs. For already advanced students in music, they seem to have plenty of opportunities to perform, but I don't know about how the tuition supports them.

Thank you!

We went to The Oratory, Woodcote after visiting Cokethorpe twice. We liked what we saw and everything ticked the boxes for us but the transport route did not favour us and their compromise did not suit us.

We are very happy at The Oratory, son gets the opportunity to try different sports. We don't regret our decision.