the Review 2021

THE COKETHORPE REVIEW 2021

the REVIEW FINDING THE BREADTH Exceeding expectations in an unconventional year

A Year in Hindsight

Reflections and preparations from our Heads of School

Celebrating Community BBQs, Summer Parties and the Great British Bake Off

Accolades and Creativity

Discovering new talents and defining achievements

CONTRIBUTORS

Content Contributors: Mr Ettinger (Headmaster) Sam Carter (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) Poppy Wehrle (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) Alice Woodwards (Upper Sixth, Swift) Mr O’Connor (Lower House Housemaster) Mr Gale (Deputy Head of Sixth Form) Mrs Bignell (Head of Careers) Mr Tolputt (Head of Sixth Form) Mrs Bassey (Teacher, Year 5) Freya Richards (Year 5, Lockwood) Maggie West (Year 6, Gwyn) Sam Young-Gale (Year 4, Lockwood) Ms Williams (Head of Art and Textiles) Ms duFeu (Teacher of Music and Drama) Mr Morrison (Head of Prep Sport) Mr Sheer (Director of Co-Curricular) Mr Walshe (Director of Sport) Mr Robinson (Head of Rugby) Olive Nicholls (Fourth Form, Harcourt) Gemma Croker (Fifth Form, Gascoigne) Ms Brigham (Head of Outdoor Education) Dr Mary Miller (Enlightenment Lecture Speaker) Tegan Saunders (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne) Sophia May (Lower Sixth, Vanbrugh) Annabelle Vallance (Lower Sixth, Vanbrugh) Professor Dawn Archer (Enlightenment Lecture Speaker) Mr Bosse (Teacher of Mathematics) Ms Mountain (Vanbrugh Housemistress) Mr Carter (Feilden Housemaster) Mrs Semenzato (Gascoigne Housemistress) Mrs Woodcock (Harcourt Housemistress) Mrs Orton (Queen Anne Housemistress) Mr Joiner (Swift Housemaster) Mae Topley (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Ella Cripps (Fifth Form, Harcourt) Tom Potter (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Harriet Howell (Third Form, Harcourt) Nick Taylor (Second Form, Harcourt) Mr Belassie (Maintenance Team) Revd Howard (School Chaplain) Mr White (Teacher of Design and Technology) Dr Heidi Lawson (OC, Gascoigne) Mr Andrew Hope (OC, Queen Anne) Dr Jonathan Cranston (OC, Harcourt)

Editor: Mrs L Williams (Communications Officer) Design and Layout: Mrs T Logan (Digital Marketing Officer)

‘When the dog bites, when the bee stings...’

01

Perhaps only the older generation will immediately recognise these words from the Rogers and Hammerstein film musical, The Sound of Music. To give it some context, the Von Trapp family children flee to their new governess’ bedroom because they are scared of a thunderstorm. Maria, or rather Julie Andrews, tries to reassure them and to cheer them up with a song called My Favourite Things. We have been unavoidably focused on the many problems and challenges of this past couple of years, and so there is a lot to be said for following Maria’s advice, ‘When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don’t feel so bad’.

Given that Maria is a novice nun, I guess it is not surprising that her list of favourite things is quite a modest one. It does not include sun-drenched holidays, for example, or expensive gifts. It is more about the enjoyment that comes from simple pleasures, focusing on things that we can just observe, but which bring a smile – raindrops on roses, winters that melt into spring, and wild geese flying against the moonlight. Of course we get pleasure out of doing and having things we enjoy, but this song reminds us of something that some of us have had to learn anew these past eighteen months. There is a great deal of pleasure to be had from being more aware of our surroundings, of awakening our senses to the courage and kindness of others, of the delights that can be found in the natural world. This is a different kind of pleasure, not the pleasure of doing, or having, but the experience of being uplifted.

In reflecting on my favourite things of this past year or so I am moved to follow Maria’s example. What was it that made me smile, what lifted me and made me feel more hopeful? At School, it was particularly uplifting to witness the resilience of our pupils, their ability to bounce back from adversity. Like many millions of others, I also especially enjoyed the Marsh family videos on YouTube - If you haven’t seen their lockdown-inspired takes on well known songs, and especially their heartening example of a family at ease in each other’s company, look them up on all the usual platforms.

But for my absolute favourite thing, I return closer to home. When the Government announced the great return to school, we had to put in place a system of testing. Wanting to get slightly ahead of the game, and to hit the ground running on the Monday, we did as much of the testing as we could at the weekend. It was an almost military style operation.

I found it hugely uplifting as I stood back and saw just how well this was achieved, but more especially what that signified. Parents and children readily came in on the Saturday in great numbers; senior pupils and teachers gave up their time to ensure that the task went ahead smoothly and efficiently. Everyone was in good spirits, lots of catching up, and children clearly very happy to see each other. I saw that everyone was really keen to get back to School. There was also the underlying spirit of cooperation and trust between parents, pupils and teachers, which told me that the community had remained strong and united despite all the challenges.

On show that day were some of the things parents and teachers see, but may not always notice - the energy of our children, their friendship, their laughter, their trust, their sense of optimism.

These certainly are a few of my favourite things.

ACADEMIC

CONTENTS

04

Introduction from our Head of School

05

Deputy Heads Reflection Prefects 2020-2021

06

Scholars Round Up Exam Results

09 10 11

Prize Giving Maths Challenge Results LAMDA Results

SPORTS

24 25 26 27 28 30

Prep Sports Day Prep Sports Report Senior School Colours Senior Sports Overview Player Profiles Summer Games Sports News Outdoor Education News

COMMUNITY

48 49

Message from our Chaplain CPFA News Fundraising

NEWS

12 15 16

Events Projects Trips

THE ARTS

12 15 16

Creative Writing Visual Arts Drama Music Instrumental Exam Results

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

HOUSES

32

40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

33 34 36 38

Prep Overview Bushcraft Year Six Adventure Day AOBs CEW Enlightenment Lectures Duke of Edinburgh

Prep Lower House Feilden Vanbrugh Gascoigne Harcourt Queen Anne Swift

SOCIETY

STAFF

50

54

51 52

Annual Fund University Destinations From Our Alumni OC Feature

55

Achievements Announcements Starters and Leavers Farewells

03

ACADEMIC A Year in Reflection Introduction from our Head of School Coming into my last year at Cokethorpe has made me appreciate the time I have spent here, and how much I will miss it once I move on. The community at Cokethorpe is tightknit and supportive, making the beautiful School grounds feel even more inviting. No matter when you join the School, be that in the Prep or Senior School, both the staff and pupils are kind and welcoming and it is an environment where everyone can find the support they need.

Academics are the foundation upon which Cokethorpe is built. A range of support is provided for pupils of all abilities, and the teachers are there to help you achieve your ambitions. The curriculum at Cokethorpe is designed to inspire pupils to widen their breadth of knowledge in a subject, and pupils are always encouraged to indulge their curiosity and go beyond the curriculum, regardless of their particular field of interest.

What Cokethorpe particularly excels at, however, is the range of Co-Curricular opportunities it provides. Whether on the sports pitch, the stage, in the Art Studio, the DT Department, in Outdoor Education or during AOBs, there is a place at Cokethorpe to explore the things you enjoy doing the most. The Music, Drama, Art and Sports departments, amongst many others, provide an excellent way for all pupils to explore and excel in their interests and passions.

The opportunities that Cokethorpe has provided me with over my time here have been amazing. The chances I have been given to explore my interests, both in and out of the classroom have played a large role in forming the person I am today, and I will always look back on my years at Cokethorpe very fondly.

Cokethorpe is a school where the more you do, the more you achieve and experience, and making the most of my time here has been a delight.

Sam Carter (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne)

Words from our Deputy Heads of School When I was asked to write this piece, I had no idea what to say; I wanted to avoid all mention of the pandemic but it is undeniable that it has impacted life at Cokethorpe – masks in School, one-way systems in the corridors, year group bubbles and hand sanitiser stations etc.

Having to keep all the windows open during the winter was not pleasant and neither was the twice weekly lateral flow testing. However, our perceived discomfort was put into perspective

by Mrs Orton during a House Assembly when she showed us a video of children who continue to attend a bombed-out school on the frontline in Yemen. These children face greater hardships than many of us could ever imagine.

Yet they remain cheerful.

So, when we look back on a school year greatly impacted by a global pandemic, what will we remember with a smile? Many of the familiar extra-curricular activities – the Crawford Relay, Inter-House Drama and Young Musician of the Year – still took place, albeit in a slightly different format.

We were also introduced to new activities, such as the weekly MFL Department challenges, Midweek Medley and Trek to Tokyo.

My final year at Cokethorpe was definitely not how I would have envisaged it to be but we have all been brought closer together as a community and have a greater appreciation of each other, and everything that the School has to offer.

Poppy Wehrle (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne)

The last year at Cokethorpe has been somewhat unusual with lockdown and Covid restrictions. In spite of this, the School has been amazing at keeping the Cokethorpe community thriving and trying as many different ways to stay as ‘normal’ as possible.

Online lessons were engaging and actually a blessing in disguise in some respects. I was able to have one-to-one sessions regularly and keep working towards my A Levels with even more time to focus on my weaker areas. If it were not for the support of my dedicated teachers, the results I received this summer would not have been as wonderful as they were. I am still in shock!

On returning to School it was easy to get back into normal routines. This was due to how hard the School had tried to maintain the normality over lockdown, although it was much nicer to be able to see and hear everyone clearly again!

Even though my time as a Sixth Former was not the typical experience, it was one of the best. If I could give one piece of advice, to future Heads of School and Sixth Formers, it would be to take advantage of as much as you possibly can.

There are so many outstanding opportunities on offer, it really does make a difference.

The best part about my Cokethorpe career, here, is how much I have found my feet and realised what I want to do in the future. Without the skills, opportunities and confidence I have gained I would not be where I am today. Looking to the future, my time as a Cokethorpe student has prepared me for the next stage in my life.

I can honestly say that the last five years have given me some of the best moments that I will always cherish. I owe so much to Cokethorpe and will be forever grateful.

PREFECTS 2020-2021

05

Head of School Sam Carter Deputy Heads of School Alice Woodwards Poppy Wehrle Feilden Tiego Logan Adela Wilson Gascoigne Jarvis Drew Amelia Leslie Annabel Page Harcourt Mae Topley Poppy Adams Priya Ahluwalia Queen Anne Lauren Thomas Jonathan Cowie Cameron MacDonald Swift Olivia Stacey Vanbrugh Tom Whittenbury Izzy Carnell Mimi Rumsby

HoH

HoH Lower House

HoH Prep School

HoH

HoH

HoH

Alice Woodwards (Upper Sixth, Swift)

Prefects 2020 - 2021

Scholars Round Up Despite the challenges faced this year, our Scholars have been able to stretch and challenge themselves in a number of ways.

During lockdown, they participated in a series of online ‘Philosothons’, which gave pupils in different year groups the opportunity to hone their critical thinking skills by discussing and debating questions of ethics and philosophy.

In February, a number of Scholars also participated in an online Model United Nations conference. Throughout the year, the Scholars have pursued independent research projects on wide-ranging topics of their choosing, from Norse mythology to cryptocurrency. Following a process of careful drafting and revisions, their fascinating findings have been published in the 2020-2021 Scholars’ Journal.

Scholars List First Form Alex May (Vanbrugh) Sukhmani Panesar (Queen Anne) Emmy Black (Clarke) (Feilden) Oliver Herbert (Queen Anne) Liam Rowe (Harcourt) Second Form Archie Clarke (Clarke) (Queen Anne) Joe Norman (Feilden) Third Form Monty Bolton (Trevis) (Vanbrugh) George Keates (Vanbrugh) Simran Panesar (Queen Anne) Caellum Sharp (Cantwell) (Vanbrugh) Patrick West (Allen) (Feilden) Archie Wilkinson (Clarke) (Gascoigne) Fourth Form Florence Adepoju (Allen) (Harcourt) Dee Biles (Gascoigne) Rachael Elliott (Feilden) Aoife Kirkham (Clarke, Trevis) (Feilden) Nathan Taylor (Harcourt) Fifth Form Lucas Bennett (Queen Anne) Freya Coughlan (Harcourt) Millie Pratley (Allen) (Swift) Jamie Wehrle (Clarke) (Queen Anne) Claudia Woods-Cano (Swift) Lower Sixth Jenny Allen (Harcourt) Sam Cruttenden (Swift) Ruari Kirkham (Feilden)

Harrison Procter (Strickland) (Feilden) Zoe Smith (Vanbrugh) Alex Anderson (Queen Anne) Casper Bolton (Vanbrugh) Jossy Brown (Vanbrugh) Maddie May (Vanbrugh) Rosie Moore (Feilden) Emily Mumford (Feilden) Khadija Kharouchi (Harcourt) Millie Knight (Gascoigne) Tony Nguyen (Vanbrugh) Tom Orton (Swift) Upper Sixth Priya Ahluwalia (Harcourt) Sam Carter (Queen Anne) Jonathan Cowie (Queen Anne) Sam Elek (Queen Anne) George London (Feilden) Elen Moore (Queen Anne) Tom Potter (Harcourt) Ewan Short (Swift) Charlie Symonds (Vanbrugh) Lauren Thomas (Queen Anne) Mae Topley (Harcourt) Poppy Wehrle (Allen, Trevis, Strickland) (Queen Anne)

I am particularly pleased to see that sixteen pupils’ grades have qualified them for the School’s innovative Leadership Grants programme and look forward to their further development as leaders of the School community during their time in the Sixth Form.

My thanks again to our staff, who have shown their continued dedication in supporting our pupils, including during the long periods of remote learning that have been such a feature of this year group’s GCSE experience.

My thanks too to our pupils’ parents whose support of both their children and the School has been so significant these last eighteen months.’

Exam Results GCSE Results In a disruptive period of their education, the adaptability and willingness to embrace new realities for Fifth Form has been enormously gratifying this year, and the strength of their results is testament to their dedicated resolve in achieving their ambitions.

We must not lose sight of the unsettling impact on pupils the fluid nature of formal assessments in the last two years will have had.

That our pupils have stood up to these taxing times and fared so well in the rigorous process of assessment and testing put in place by the School should give them a sense of enormous satisfaction and pride in a job well done.

In all, more than 640 assessments were made across 70 pupils and 27 subjects, and there are many individual success stories throughout.

Among these, particular credit must go to the seven pupils who achieved at least eight Grade 9s, including one pupil who achieved ten Grade 9s and an A in Additional Maths.

Commenting, the Headmaster said, ‘My congratulations to every one of our pupils on their achievements today. They should be proud, as we are, of how they have tackled the challenges of the last two years.

A Level Results Rising to the Challenge: Cokethorpe students

Celebrate Results Day A Level students celebrated their successes at the culmination of their school studies after a disrupted eighteen months.

This year group have gone through an enormously changed and uncertain period in the preparations for their final A Level and BTEC Extended Diploma assessments. The manner in which they have responded to the challenges is deeply heartening, and the pleasing overall performance, with exceptional individual achievements, is testament to the character of this year’s Upper Sixth.

The students adapted well to their changed circumstances and embraced the challenge of the rigorous and comprehensive process of assessment and testing put in place by the School to determine their grades in the place of normal examinations.

In a strong year group there were a number of especially notable results worthy of highlight.

Congratulations to the two students who achieved a highly commendable 4A* and 1A; to our Head of School on his 3A* and 1 A which he will follow up by attending Cambridge University this autumn; also achieving 3A* and 1 A was one of our Deputy Heads of School, along with two others, whilst a good many more received a strong representation of A* and A grades.

Commenting, the Headmaster said, ‘Whilst these students are highlighted and celebrated for the particular merit of their achievements, I would like to extend my congratulations to all of our students on what they have achieved today and indeed over the last two years.

They have shown great reserves of calmness in adversity, resolve, and have proven true leaders for the School. They should all be proud of how they rose to the challenge this year. Their grades have been earned in difficult circumstances and are well deserved.

My thanks also to the staff right through from the Prep School to the Sixth Form, who have prepared the students so well, and to their parents without the steadfast support of whom neither we nor they could be successful.’

07

Prep School Prize Giving Pre-Prep In recognition of the exceptional hard work over the last two years during these unusual circumstances, each child will receive a book which has been carefully selected by their class teacher.

Academic Prize Winners

Molly Sheer (Year 3, Symonds) Monty Scott (Year 3, Symonds) Alexander Regardsoe (Year 4, Gwyn) Henry Turner (Year 5, Symonds) Freya Richards (Year 5, Lockwood) Merryn Tattersall (Year 6, Baker) Maggie West (Year 6, Gwyn)

Our Leavers Nathaniel Brown Isobella Clarke Cole Copeman Daisy Drake Zachary Flemming Grace Garner Sophie Grenville-Jones Lewis Hardy Stanley Harris Luella Hickey Heather Homewood Esme James Henry Kybett Ferdy Laughton-Hill Seoyeon Lee Jiho Lee Benjamin Longman Alexander Luckett Arthur McCormick

Leo Middleton Joshua Millington Alexis Mudie Koemi Neal Erin O’Neill Isaac Pool Kristian Richards Harry Rivers Isabelle Sales Katie Sheldon Katy Stiger Lilliana Strickland Monica Summons Merryn Tattersall Chloe Webber Maggie West Toby Wyatt Noah Yesudian

Pupil of the Year Grady Fluker (Year 3, Symonds) Juniper Bayes (Year 3, Symonds) Scarlett Gould (Year 4, Lockwood) Sienna Timms (Year 5, Baker) Darcy Atkinson (Year 5, Baker) Benjamin Longman (Year 6, Lockwood) Katie Sheldon (Year 6, Symonds) End of Year Awards for Effort Harry Skeen (Year 3, Lockwood) Mateo Luis Medel (Year 3, Gwyn) Benjamin Ferguson (Year 4, Baker) Lewis Campbell (Year 5, Gwyn) Jake Jolleys (Year 5, Gwyn) Grace Garner (Year 6, Gwyn) Stanley Harris (Year 6, Symonds) Cup Winners Julie Stormont Art Cup Xander Luckett (Year 6, Gwyn) Claire Hooper Drama Cup Xander Luckett (Year 6, Gwyn) Louise Bridge French Cup Koemi Neal (Year 6, Gwyn) Improvement and Progress Shield Heather Homewood (Year 6, Gwyn) Music Cup

Katy Stiger (Year 6, Lockwood) Sports Cups Isobella Clarke (Year 6, Lockwood) Stanley Harris (Year 6, Symonds)

Prep School Cup Benjamin Longman (Year 6, Lockwood)

Maths Challenge Results Lower School Results Gold, Best in School, Best in Second Form, Qualified for Junior Kangaroo Luke Taylor (Swift) Gold, Qualified for Junior Kangaroo William Hansen (Queen Anne) Aryun Verma (Queen Anne) Silver, Best in First Form Emmeline Black (Feilden) Silver Georgie Sandiford-Spencer (Gascoigne) Jack Turner (Gascoigne) Neo Ji (Swift) Nathan Hunt (Vanbrugh) Bronze Bear Macaulay (Feilden) Frederick Morlock (Feilden) Beth Morris (Feilden) Grace Clear (Gascoigne) Archie Griffiths (Gascoigne) Pippa Allen (Harcourt) Henry O’Brien (Harcourt) Hysen Jangulli (Queen Anne) Felix Pool (Queen Anne) Ibrahim Elhrari (Swift) Thomas Badger (Vanbrugh) Samson Harding (Feilden) Rafa Galliford (Gascoigne

Zac Wahid (Harcourt) Alex Monaghan (Queen Anne) Pixie Wastie-Beardsley (Queen Anne) Alex May (Vanbrugh)

Upper School Results Silver, Best in School, Best in Upper Sixth Sam Elek (Queen Anne) Silver Sam Carter (Queen Anne) Tom Potter (Harcourt) Poppy Wehrle (Queen Anne) Bronze George London (Feilden) Gold, Best in School, Best in Fifth Form Leo Volynski (Harcourt) Silver, Best in Fourth Form Nathan Taylor (Harcourt) Silver Claudia Woods-Cano (Swift) Yichao Sun (Vanbrugh) Bronze, Best in Third Form Simran Panesar (Queen Anne) Bronze Ollie Hodgson (Gascoigne) Freya Coughlan (Harcourt) Navid Mowat (Harcourt) Lucas Bennett (Queen Anne) Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) Millie Pratley (Swift) Jack Deeker (Feilden) Harry Richards (Feilden) Sam Richards (Feilden) Florence Adepoju (Harcourt) Benjamin Monagham (Queen Anne) Freddie Murfitt (Queen Anne) Max Quartley (Swift) Oliver Roberts (Feilden) Ella Goffe (Queen Anne) Monty Bolton (Vanbrugh)

09

Senior School Prize Giving Award Winners First Form Creative Arts Performing Arts STEM Humanities Languages

Audrey McCormick (Vanbrugh) Ella Sharp (Vanbrugh) Ella Hogeboom (Swift) Emmy Black (Feilden) Ella Hogeboom (Swift)

Second Form Creative Arts Performing Arts STEM Humanities Languages

Pippa Allen (Harcourt) Molly Ferrier (Vanbrugh) Zoe Robertson (Feilden) Freddie Morlock (Feilden) Zoe Robertson (Feilden)

Third Form Creative Arts Performing Arts STEM Humanities Languages

Cameron Welpton (Gascoigne) Nancy Christensen (Swift) Patrick West (Feilden) Oscar Luckett (Vanbrugh) Oscar Luckett (Vanbrugh)

Fourth Form Art Herbie Waters (Queen Anne) Biology Tom Avery (Gascoigne) Business Studies Freddie Murfitt (Queen Anne) Chemistry Aoife Kirkham (Feilden) Design Technology Max Snaith (Harcourt) Drama Dee Biles (Gascoigne) English Dee Biles (Gascoigne) English Literature Malachy Brown (Queen Anne) Geography Malachy Brown (Queen Anne) History Darcy Murray (Vanbrugh) Greek Aoife Kirkham (Feilden) Latin Aoife Kirkham (Feilden) Mathematics Lily Yang (Queen Anne) MFL (French) Darcy Murray (Vanbrugh) MFL (Spanish) Aoife Kirkham (Feilden) Music Malachy Brown (Queen Anne) Physical Education Alice Smith (Swift) Physics Nathan Taylor (Harcourt) Psychology Darcy Murray (Vanbrugh) Religious Studies Dee Biles (Gascoigne) Textiles Emily Middleton Bray (Vanbrugh) Fifth Form Art Maddie Abbs-Woodd (Gascoigne) Biology Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) Business Studies Gemma Croker (Gascoigne)

Chemistry Jamie Wherle (Queen Anne) Design Technology Lucas Bennett (Queen Anne) Drama Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) English Millie Pratley (Swift) English Literature Claudia Woods-Cano (Swift) Geography Danny Arbuckle (Queen Anne) History Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) Greek Millie Pratley (Swift) Latin Millie Pratley (Swift) Mathematics Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) MFL (French) Yichao Sun (Vanbrugh) MFL (Spanish) Seb Pegram (Queen Anne) Music Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) Physical Education Gemma Croker (Gascoigne) Physics Lucas Bennett (Queen Anne) Psychology Phoebe Carter (Queen Anne) Religious Studies Megan Cowie (Queen Anne) Textiles Maddie Abbs-Woodd (Gascoigne) Lower Sixth Art CristinaWardNaranjo(QueenAnne) Biology Jenny Allen (Harcourt) BTEC Business Jason Moore (Feilden) Business Studies Tony Nguyen (Vanbrugh) Chemistry Sam Cruttenden (Swift) Classical Civilisation Tegan Saunders (Queen Anne) Design Technology Theo Sergeant (Swift) Economics Tony Nguyen (Vanbrugh) English Literature Millie Knight (Gascoigne) Geography Zoe Smith (Vanbrugh) History Millie Knight (Gascoigne) Latin & Greek Ruari Kirkham (Feilden) Mathematics Jossy Brown (Vanbrugh) Further Mathematics Harrison Proctor (Feilden) MFL (French) Alex Anderson (Queen Anne) MFL (Spanish) Rosie Moore (Feilden) Music Tom Orton (Swift) Physical Education Emily Mumford (Feilden) Physics Harrison Proctor (Feilden) Psychology Emily Mumford (Feilden) Sociology Sophia May (Vanbrugh) Textiles Hebe Stapleton (Swift) Upper Sixth Art Annabel Page (Gascoigne) Biology Sam Carter (Queen Anne) BTEC Business Ffion Fry (Harcourt) Business Studies Amelia Leslie (Gascoigne) Chemistry Sam Carter (Queen Anne) Classical Civilisation Poppy Adams (Harcourt) Design Technology George London (Feilden) Drama Alice Woodwards (Swift) Economics Euan Short (Swift) English Lang & Lit Izzy Coles (Swift) English Literature Elen Moore (Queen Anne) Geography Kitty Miller (Swift) History Elen Moore (Queen Anne) Latin Sam Elek (Queen Anne) Mathematics Hannah Millard (Harcourt) Further Mathematics Sam Carter (Queen Anne) MFL (French) Poppy Wherle (Queen Anne) Music Poppy Wherle (Queen Anne)

Physical Education Physics Psychology Religious Studies Textiles

Amelia Leslie (Gascoigne) Sam Elek (Queen Anne) Izzy Coles (Swift) Lauren Thomas (Queen Anne) Lydia Dale (Feilden)

Ten Year Tie Awards Lewie Camidge (Vanbrugh) Joseph Curry (Gascoigne) Mrs S Dawes (MFL) Mrs H Hammond (Teacher of Art) Jasmine Hammond (Gascoigne) Jack Harding (Feilden) Holly Kendrick (Feilden) Ameila Leslie (Gascoigne) Mrs C Mason (Assistant Director of Studies) Rory Morrison (Vanbrugh) Mrs J Pollard (Teacher of Textiles) Mrs J Pratley (Lead Science Technician) Mr G Sheer (Director of Co-Curricular) Isabella Smith (Queen Anne) Mrs G Stubbings (Senior School Office Manager) Edith Wannell (Feilden)

Named Awards The Cranham Prize Poppy Adams (Harcourt) The Lancia Fulvia Prize Alice Woodwards (Swift) The Stephen Cookson Memorial Prize Tom Orton (Swift) The Sonia Tollady Memorial Prize Isabella Clarke (Harcourt) The Kate Perritt Prize Annabel Page (Gascoigne) The Martin Browne Memorial Prize Tom Potter (Harcourt) The Daniel Sumpter Sportsman of the Year Cameron McDonald (Queen Anne) The Boggis Rosebowl Sportswoman of the Year Priya Ahluwalia (Harcourt) The Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Award Sam Elek (Queen Anne) Richard Reah Award Alice Woodwards (Swift) and Poppy Wehrle (Queen Anne) The Grove Prize Olivia Stacey (Swift)

11

LAMDA Examination Results Name

Grade

Result

Alex Monaghan Amelia Atkinson Amy Goodgame Audrey McCormick Audrey McCormick Ben Collier Bobbie Hunt Bryony Wyatt Bryony Wyatt Connie Quartley Darcy Atkinson Ella Sharp Emily Martland Felix Waters Freddie Fellows Freddie Murfitt Freya Chandler Grace Gunn Grace Ponsford Hannah Smith Hattie Hunt Henry Cook Iona Mettrick Jack Harding James Shaw Jasmine Hammond Kitty Moore Lydia Monaghan Mae Serjeant Matilda Walker Matilda Walker Matthew Rees Megan Hunt Megan Hunt Meredith Smith Mia Spencer-Wakinski Mia Spencer-Wakinski Millie Cross Millie Cross Monty Bolton Rachael Elliott Rosanna Pickering Sebastian Wall Zachary Wheeler Zachary Wheeler

Acting Grade 3 – Duo Devising Drama Grade 4 – Duo Acting Grade 6 - Solo - Bronze Medal Acting Grade 2 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Devising Drama Grade 4 – Duo Acting Grade 2 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 4 – Duo Acting Grade 2 – Duo Acting Grade 2 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 5 – Duo Acting Grade 4 – Solo Acting Grade 5 – Duo Speaking in Public Grade 7 - Silver Medal Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 5 – Solo Devising Drama Grade 5 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 5 – Solo Acting Grade 2 – Solo Acting Grade 8 - Solo - Gold Medal Acting Grade 8 - Solo - Gold Medal Acting Grade 5 – Duo Acting Grade 5 – Solo Devising Drama Grade 4 – Duo Devising Drama Grade 5 – Duo Acting Grade 4 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Devising Drama Grade 4 – Duo Acting Grade 2 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Duo Acting Grade 2 – Solo Acting Grade 3 – Solo Acting Grade 2 – Solo Acting Grade 3 – Solo Acting Grade 5 – Solo Acting Grade 6 - Solo - Bronze Medal Acting Grade 2 – Duo Acting Grade 5 – Duo Acting Grade 3 – Solo Acting Grade 4 – Solo

Merit Merit Merit Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Pass Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Distinction Merit Merit Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Distinction Distinction

NEWS Events First Form Cross Curricular Day First Form spent a day off timetable for another Cross-Curricular Day, this one entitled, ‘Product Design: from concept to consumer’.

They spent the morning working with the Design and Technology Department, following a specific brief to design and create an innovative chocolate product. They took inspiration from some of the products already on the market and came up with some original and creative ideas.

The Business Studies Department led the afternoon where pupils considered branding, packaging and marketing. Computer Aided Design (CAD) proved to be a useful tool in the production of an eye-catching magazine advert.

The final pieces were judged and prizes were awarded to conclude the day. There were some exceptional entries so well done to First Form for demonstrating real ambition and courage.

Lower Sixth Summer Party After a productive day making headway on their UCAS applications and personal statements, the Lower Sixth gathered in the Lower Quad to celebrate a successful year.

The past months have certainly not been straight-forward and the year group relished the chance to share a meal together after so much upheaval and uncertainty.

The Catering Department transformed the Lower Quad into a space that gave off a festival vibe and they provided delicious Tex-Mex nibbles and wraps.

The evening was rounded off with some thoughtful awards and music provided by a very talented group, including Theo Serjeant (Swift), Oscar Penney (Feilden), Tom Orton (Swift), Ollie James (Queen Anne) and Casper Bolton (Vanbrugh).

Barbecues and the Great British Bake Off

13

After what feels like an eternity since the last First Form social, it was a delight to hold the annual barbecue on Friday 11 June.

Blessed with bright sunshine, everyone was in high spirits after having worked so hard during examination week. As always, the Catering Department provided the pupils with a delicious barbecue and a tongue-tingling array of accompaniments.

A First Form tradition is to bring in homemade desserts and, this year, the range and quality was breath-taking. If Amelie (Harcourt) does not make it on to The Great British Bake Off in the near future with her amazing chocolate cake, it would be a travesty!

In between the two courses, the pupils completed Mr Kersley’s Scavenger Hunt in record time and competed in a fun House match of diamond cricket, which was won by a single run.

Mr O’Connor

Play to Beat Cancer On Friday 18 June, Fourth Form pupil Alice Smith (Fourth Form, Swift) organised an epic 24-hour charity football match, in memory of local football coach, Mickey Lewis.

With the help of a team of over 30 of her peers from the Fourth Form, Alice played around the clock from 2.30pm in the Sports Hall. The event has raised over £2,000 of funds for Cancer Research UK and the Mickey Lewis Trust.

Mickey tragically passed away after a short battle with cancer. He was a football player as well as a coach, and inspired many young players to play football and improve their footballing skills. He supported several clubs in the local area, including Stonesfield Strikers where he coached Alice, and Oxford City and is greatly missed by all who knew him.

It was a herculean effort by all involved, so our congratulations to each and every player, and to Alice for organising a wonderful event to honour the memory of such a wonderful man.

Events A Mexcellent Summer Party To mark the formal signing off of their Teacher Assessed Grades, the Upper Sixth returned to School to get together for a social.

The event began with celebratory ice-creams from The Oxfordshire Cow - run by one of our parents - Mrs Christensen, served from a pop-up horsebox. This was followed by a Girls v Boys netball re-match; the first match having taken place earlier in the year. Despite a valiant performance from the boys’ team, it was the girls who were crowned the champions.

The evening was completed with a Tex-Mex themed meal on the South Lawn in beautiful sunshine with the Catering Department, as always, dressed for the occasion.

It is always a well-deserved celebration for the Upper Sixth, but this year more so than most, following the interruptions they have endured over the last two years to get here.

Despite those disruptions, they have persisted with their studies throughout and have proven themselves resilient and tenacious.

Farewell Upper Sixth – you leave with our best wishes.

Mr Gale

‘Curiouser and Curiouser!’ cried Alice –

Cokethorpe Summer Conference For three days in late June, the Fifth Form pupils took part in the Cokethorpe Summer Conference. The theme of the Conference was ‘Curiosity’, and its purpose was for pupils to explore beyond the boundaries of their GCSE syllabi.

The Conference, which was part organised by a group of students in the Lower Sixth, comprised talks, activities, and subject-linked seminars. The Conference ended with a Grease-themed celebration: with a selection of fairground rides (including Dodgems and a Ferris Wheel), a barbecue and speciality ice-creams, the pupils said farewell to each other and to School as they began their summer holiday.

The whole-year talks were on a variety of subjects, and included Ian Leslie, a behavioural psychologist who wrote the book Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It, and Alex Hibbert, a polar traveller who holds various records for cold-weather endurance. Mr Leslie, speaking a the very start of the Conference, delved into what it means to be curious, why it is important to be curious, and how to become curious. Mr Hibbert shared several inspiring stories about life in the Arctic, including a joyful description of a long winter living alongside the local people.

Alongside the talks, the pupils were kept busy with activities. They enjoyed an afternoon of survival skills on Monday (camp craft, fire building, and more), an Escape Room Challenge, a meet-and-greet with a collection of snakes and other exotic animals (introduced

by Michael Noone), and an Online Curiosity Carousel (or Curiosity Speed-Dating, as it became known…). In groups of five, the pupils moved from station to station, and, at each, had a Q&A with an interesting guest. The guest-list comprised: Luke Bolton (Formula 1 Engineer), Corinna Ferguson (Judge), Mike Gale (Banker), Luan Goldie (Novelist), Andy Staples (Tenor, Opera Director, Photographer), Lizzie O’Shea (Lawyer, Writer and Broadcaster), Patrick Hagenaar (DJ and Music Producer), and Abi Thomson (Sub-Dean, St Albans Cathedral).

Across the three days, the pupils were tasked to help build an ‘Archive of Curiosity’. Each pupil produced a one-minute explainer video on a topic that was randomly assigned at the start of the Conference; the films were edited together to form a single archive. Highlights included Jamie Wehrle’s (Fifth Form, Queen Anne)stop-motion animation explaining the Pando clonal colony in Colorado, Kit Baxter’s (Fifth Form, Vanbrugh) video explanation of the Rube Goldberg Machine, and Marni Cox’s (Fifth Form, Vanbrugh) deep dive into the Streisand Effect (featuring an interview with her father).

And finally, the break-out sessions. For each of their three Sixth Form subjects, each pupil attended two hour-long extension workshops – subject-themed, but beyond the syllabus.

For example, the Maths Department provided a module on Knot Theory (Maths but Knot as We Know It), the Politics Department provided Create your Own Political Party, and the Geography Department provided Fieldwork on your Phone (which included a visit to the local River Windrush).

It was a busy and enjoyable three days, made possible by the generous work of the Cokethorpe staff (teaching and non-teaching) and Lower Sixth volunteers, and made better by the infectious energy and enthusiasm brought to the Conference by the Fifth Form pupils in attendance. It will, I hope, become an annual event in the Cokethorpe diary.

Mr Tolputt

Second Form Independent Research Projects

Projects To the Finals for the Friendly Enterprise Team This year’s National Enterprise Challenge, set by NatWest, was to ‘Identify an issue that affects you, your school, your local community or the region where you live and develop an idea for an innovative new product or service that would help to address, resolve or reduce this issue.’

Pupils in the Fourth Form were divided into teams of six to try and design a solution to the challenge. Each team had to elect a Project Manager, and choose an issue to work on. They had to decide what to call their product, how it would work, who it would be marketed to, think about branding and logos, promotion and advertising, and how to pitch their idea.

Once the tasks had been completed, nine teams out of the sixteen were able to present their pitch to the rest of the year and the judges.

Second Form pupils were tasked with the nerve-wracking challenge of presenting their Independent Research Projects to their peers and teachers.

Pupils have spent the past year doing extensive research around a question of their choice.

These were diverse in content, including: ‘Video Games: Do they Play on our Minds?’, ‘How has Women’s Fashion changed since the Second World War’ and ‘How Prevalent is Casual Sexism in Everyday Language?’, to name just a few.

Final pieces ranged from posters, essays, and videos, to sculptures, drawings, and textiles.

The hard work and energy that the Second Form have put into their projects has been so impressive, the result of which contributed to the Cokethorpe Diploma which was awarded at the end of term.

The winners were ‘Team Companion’ who won the Cokethorpe Final and had their entry submitted to the National Final!

challenge, and an online escape room.

Two particular highlights were talks given by Hollywood Film Composer, David Buckley, and author and filmmaker, Chris Atkins. Speaking from his studio in the mountains of Andorra, Mr Buckley talked through the process of putting music to film, with live examples from the piano and excerpts from the latest film on which he is working.

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Chris Atkins, who, in 2016, was given a five year custodial sentence for tax fraud in relation to funding for his documentary film Starsuckers, spoke about his experience in HMP Wandsworth, and reflected upon the state of the UK prison system.

Since the reopening of School in April, the Midweek Medley programme took a new turn: each week a selection of Sixth Form volunteers presented on a subject of their choice, broadcast to the rest of the School via Teams.

The brief was ‘Varied ~ Interesting ~ Short’, and we have not been disappointed... Subjects have included: Period Costumes, Collecting Rare Books,Working on Farms, Skateboards, Poison, Upcycling, Gliding, Ice Hockey, and Benign Violation Theory.

Well done, and thank you, to all students involved for bringing interest and variety to Wednesday lunchtimes.

Mr Tolputt

Mrs Bignell

How to be Internet Awesome – a Filmmakers Guide As part of their computing lessons exploring the theme of internet safety, Year 5 planned their own short films. The budding filmmakers worked in groups to decide how to create a ‘12 shot’ storyboard to present their ideas.

Each group has explored a chosen topic from the theme of being SMART online and being ‘Internet Awesome’, from scam emails to online bullying through social media. The brief was to include a clear, simple message about being positive online.

Midweek Medley Early on in the Easter 2021 Lockdown, the ‘Midweek Medley’ was launched; a weekly opportunity for Sixth Form students to come together, online, for a variety of talks and activities. The programme included a general knowledge competition, a rubber-band-cart

The groups moved on to scriptwriting and making props for their movie or, in some cases, stop-start animation. In essence, they were researchers, planners, designers, editors and producers of their own group collaboration.

Watch out Steven Spielberg… you may have competition!

Mrs Bassey

Projects Ancient Antics Year 4 were transported back to Ancient Egypt, with a little help from Egyptian specialist, Jed from ‘Past Presents’. The fascinating exploration into the past began with a demonstration of how a power pyramid worked, by comparing it to the School with Mr Ettinger as the Pharaoh, Mrs Mersh as the nomarch, Mr Hughes as a foot soldier, and the poor children as the slaves.

Then followed an epic battle re-enactment of the Battle of Kadesh with one team playing the role of the Hittites and the other team representing the Egyptians. In the next session the children learnt about gods and mummification, then took turns to dress as some of the gods and act out different scenes.

For the final session, they split into groups of three and started grinding corn to flour, then acting as horses ploughing the field.

After delivering the stone, they constructed the pyramid and finally wrote their names in hieroglyphics. It was exhausting being Ancient Egyptians!

Trips ‘Not All Who Wander Are Lost’ For children learning how to write interesting stories, where better to visit than the Story Museum in Oxford? The trip provided the perfect framework for their English lessons and backdrop for their Drama piece on Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

In the Museum, Year 3 entered the ‘Magical Common Room’ (inspired by J K Rowling’s Hogwarts), a ‘Whispering Wood’ and a maze of wonderful galleries. This inspired the children for their story-writing workshop, which allowed them to use their own imaginations to plan a short story for themselves.

The trip concluded with an Alice in Wonderland walk, which took them through the streets of Oxford to Christ Church College, the College where Carroll lectured in Mathematics for 26 years.

Trips Pre-Prep Trip to Science Oxford The Pre-Prep children and their teachers were delighted to be able to go on a trip again. On a bright, sunny May morning, they headed off to Science Oxford. Science Oxford aims to inspire young people about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The children’s first session was in the Exploration Zone where they could explore, discover and play. There were twenty activities set up for them to try, including a spinning table, a scarf shooter and a curious camera.

After a break, the children went into the theatre room for a Science show called ‘Wow to Wonder’. They were encouraged to notice the odd ones out in groups of animals, mini-beasts and sounds. They observed curious liquids, some separating out into different colours and some that were even spotty! They each had a box of materials and were asked to experiment and see if they could discover which one was the stretchiest. The children watched a chemical reaction when bicarbonate of soda was added to citric acid. They were asked for their ideas of what might be happening. Finally, the children’s imagination was captured by a large, wooden box which suddenly flipped over onto its side. They were left to wonder what could be in the mysterious box and asked to think carefully and send their suggestions back to Science Oxford.

After a picnic lunch outside, the children went back inside for a Science Workshop entitled ‘Young Explorers’. This time, a large room had been set up with eight different activities to explore. These included building bridges, programming Bee Bots and experimenting with wind-up toys. The children were encouraged to use mini, electric microscopes to look closely at objects and to use their sense of hearing to identify similar sounds. It was an exciting afternoon with plenty of exploration challenges.

There was so much to see and do on this visit, it truly was an inspirational trip. The children were fully engaged in exploring and pondering questions. They are still wondering what might have been in that box!

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ARTS Creative Writing ‘The flaring red fire burned fiercely as it crackled madly at the roaring wind. Wood turned into ashes as black as the cold, gloomy sky, staring down at the land. Turning from blue, to red, to orange, leaping out at me. A river of souls billows out into the fresh air, letting nothing stand in its way, it spread from log to log like the blazing sun.

It devoured everything in reach of its burning hands, stretching to its maximum length just to grab the smallest of things, turning everything into darkness. Every time I touched it, it pierced me like a dagger, digging into my skin. The wind would suddenly strike with excitement at the tremendous fire making it vanish into a candle, grasping for life.’

Freya Richards (Year 5, Lockwood) ‘A ferocious army of white horses lashed against the defenceless rocks, charging then retreating, charging then retreating. All calm that used to be there had long escaped to any nook or cranny it could find, leaving only chaos; pure chaos. Any boat that happened to meet this almighty storm would surely sink to its doom, like an anchor. The storm had taken over.

Charcoal-grey clouds gathered, ready to burst, suddenly releasing their icy wrath in an almostsuccessful attempt to consume all that lay beneath the sky. It seemed very clear that the storm was winning the war.’

Maggie West (Year 6, Gwyn) ‘I went to the shed which was at the back of the garden, run down with one of the windows cracked. It’s a good hideout because my sister is scared of spiders. The door is rusty and creaks.

But today, something was different. Sooty, the next door neighbour’s cat, was not on her usual spot, but sniffing around the floor. Then I noticed it, a box on the floor. I stood irresolute by the door.

Slowly and carefully, I opened it. The box was made of rotting wood and studded with jewels.

It had a big brass lock. Inside was a gigantic diamond that glinted in the sun and suddenly blinded me for a second.’

Sam Young-Gale (Year 4, Lockwood)

Visual Arts Art Exhibition It was wonderful to be able to hold this year’s Summer Art and Textiles exhibition to celebrate the work of our young artists. Work was displayed from our A Level students, GCSE pupils and the Art Award Holders. It was particularly special to see the work all together as the creation time had been split between online learning and in School. Our young artists used their extended time that the exam board granted to complete excellent coursework submissions.

The GCSE pupils started with their coursework before the pandemic with a gallery and printing workshop at Compton Verney. The theme of this exhibition was ‘a Tea Journey’, our GCSE pupils responded to this stimulus in a wide variety of ways creating traditional painting, audio visual, garments, digital drawing and photography. The skills will provide strong foundations for their A Level and will give them an excellent base to build on, as will the resilience and fortitude they have shown working both in School and at home.

The title of this year’s exhibition came from our visit to the 2019 Venice Art Biennale, May You Live in Interesting Times the poignancy of this title becoming obvious to our students on the day in March 2020 when they left laden with their artwork and materials to complete their A Level in circumstances no one could have foreseen.

They responded to this trip to Venice, each taking their own personal direction, with courage and creativity. Their excellent work was admired by all who visited the exhibition.

The Award Holders produced work on their personally chosen theme, they have shown strong development of their painting skills in work completed with guidance at home as we could not meet together as a group. Next year, as year group bubbles are no longer required, I look forward to working with them as a whole once more.

Lastly, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all parents who came to see the exhibition as this took place with adherence to Covid safety, and not the usual drinks and celebrations. I worried that it would feel like a production line gallery, but no – your pride and celebrations with your children brought its own atmosphere of joy and this made a fantastic end to the GCSE and A Level this academic year.

Ms Williams

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Visual Arts

Drama

One of a Kind Art Competition

Michaelmas Term 2020

During the Summer Term we called on all Cokethorpe pupils to create something new from something old, on the theme of ‘A positive moment in 2020/2021.’ ​Here are some of the fantastic entries received.

A Level Devised Performance Man Enough to be a Woman Cast list: Alice Woodwards (Upper Sixth, Swift) and Ruben Hammond (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) An exploration of issues surrounding transgenderism told through one woman’s account of her transition journey.

This wonderfully sensitive and skilful portrayal of gender transition utilised influences from theatre practitioners Gecko. The combination of multi-role, puppetry, movement, and verbatim successfully challenged societal stereotypes and highlighted the importance of self-acceptance.

Christmas Sketches A Festive Fiasco Cast list: Bernard/Malcom – Dylan Morris (Vanbrugh) Belinda/Kate – Maddie Abbs-Woodd (Gascoigne) Harvey/John – Jamie Wehrle (Queen Anne) Three talented Fifth Form Award Holders performed a duo of festive sketches to cheer us on towards the close of Michaelmas Term.

Their magnificent characterisations and superb comic timing made for a laugh-out-loud filmed performance.

Lent Term 2021 GCSE Devised Performances Fifth Form Drama candidates performed their devised work in The Shed in front of their Drama teachers and peers. The variety of subject matter and theatrical techniques used to communicate ideas highlighted the ability and imagination of each individual within the three ensembles.

Devised from different stimuli, the work shown dealt with real life events featuring historical attitudes and treatment of mental health, the family’s bid to survive hidden from rest of the world, and the story of how a deaf, homeless man saved the lives of three troubled souls.

Radio Play Competition Over the last lockdown, the English and Drama departments launched a playwrighting competition. Open to all year groups, pupils were given a variety of pictorial and written stimuli from which to base their own radio play.

Submissions ranged in genre, style, and subject matter with many highlighting some wonderful

creativity and vision. Two First Form Vanbrugh pupils, Sophie Sharp and Ella Sharp, won Highly Commended recognition for their plays; one featuring the theft of children’s dreams and a bad-tempered elf and the other exploring the importance of family ties in times of trouble.

The overall winner of the competition, Felix Waters (Fourth Form Queen Anne) wrote a superbly atmospheric drama set in a dystopian world of surveillance and mysterious disappearances.

and varied career includes Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Thick of It, EastEnders and This Time with Alan Partridge. She gave each performer detailed, personal feedback and spoke to the whole School community about the vital life skills Drama develops. There was a special prize for the best runner-up performer Ella Cripps from Harcourt for her portrayal of Donna from Taking Care of Baby and the overall winners were Jamie and Lily for Queen Anne.

Summer Term 2021 His play, The Scales of Justice, was performed and recorded and can be heard on the School’s Sound Clound channel, featuring: Sarah/Red - Alice Woodwards (Upper Sixth, Swift) Tim/Froggy - Tom Orton (Lower Sixth, Swift) John/Robin - Ruben Hammond (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Angie/Snow - Ella Cripps (Fifth Form, Harcourt) Narrator - Mr T Walwyn Inter-House Drama competition As the old saying goes, ‘the show must go on’ and the annual Inter-House Drama competition went ahead as usual despite pandemic restrictions.

The first rounds were run remotely during lockdown. Two volunteers from each House performed a monologue of their choice for the judging panel: Mrs Ringham, Mr Walwyn, Mr Camidge, Mrs Whitcombe and Mrs Hooper.

The high standard meant the scores were very tight with Vanbrugh and Harcourt clinching joint third place. The top two Houses then battled it out in the final, which we were able to film when we returned to School two weeks later.

Tom Orton (Lower Sixth, Swift) and Alice Woodwards (Upper Sixth, Swift) represented Swift while Lily Cannell (Fourth Form, Queen Anne) and Jamie Wehrle (Fifth Form, Queen Anne) stepped forward for Queen Anne. Tom gave an excellent, intense portrayal of Gus from Electricity, disclosing his fears about his heart complaint while Alice’s comical performance of Jill from Goodbye Charles, a woman desperate not be divorced took the audience on a journey through laughter and heartbreak. Jamie was subtle yet emotionally powerful as Jim from Chat Room who recollects the day he was abandoned by his father at the zoo and Lily rounded off proceedings with her dynamic and hilarious interpretation of Doreen from A Talk in the Park sharing her thoughts on dogs, the police, and her distain of people in general.

The judge was professional actress and cofounder of ERA 50:50 Polly Kemp, whose vast

GCSE Monologue Performances GCSE Drama candidates performed their monologues to camera in The Shed as part of their course. Despite the lack of audience due to Covid restrictions, the pupils took to the stage showcasing a wide selection of characterisations, genres and work from playwrights post 1954.

Shakespeare Films

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Instead of our usual entertainment to celebrate the end of the academic year around Prep School Prize Giving, Year 6 performed filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s iconic plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth.

The children were excited by the chance to perform and eagerly embraced their roles, co-operating well together from the start. After discussing the differences between a Shakespeare Comedy and Tragedy, they looked at plot, locations, and characters. Each pupil was given individual scripts to learn, many asking for their lines to be in the original Shakespearian language.

Year 6 rehearsed superbly and were not at all daunted by the amount of work involved, learning their complex lines by heart.

A Level Monologue Performances Towards the end of the summer assessment period, the A Level Drama and Theatre candidates performed their final practical pieces to camera in The Shed. Their high level filmed work exhibited their talent, resilience and dedication to the subject, despite the difficulties of the past year.

Drama - Prep Performances The Nutcracker - filmed performance Whole Prep School (November 2020) Christmas Counts - Pre-Prep Nativity - filmed performance (December 2020) Christingle Service - Teams (December 2020) led by Revd Howard A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Shakespeare - filmed Summer Performance, Year 6KF (recorded June 2021, premiered July 2021) Macbeth - Shakespeare - filmed Summer Performance, Year 6BG (recorded in June 2021, premiered July 2021) Sing Up Day 2021 - Whole School - filmed performance outside (June 2021) Mrs Dow Farewell Performance ‘Flash Mob’ Whole School filmed performance outside plus Drone footage (June 2021) Croak Pre-Prep filmed summer performance (June 2021)

Towards the end of term, a small stage was set up in the Corinthian Room and the children collaborated brilliantly in each scene, adopting complicated stage directions and giving shape to the two plays.

Simple costumes and props were sourced from the School Wardrobe and Mrs Hammond created some superb make-up looks for the fairies and witches.

We were extremely lucky that Mr Camidge agreed to film and edit our two performances.

He also kindly set up lighting and microphones, with each play filmed during the course of one day.

Both classes really enjoyed the filming days and received a thrilling insight into the world of film. The children demonstrated great maturity and were incredibly supportive with their classmates throughout the whole process.

Both classes performed brilliantly, and it would be difficult to single out individual performances as it was above all a team effort.

The finished films are a testament to the children’s hard work as well as being a fantastic souvenir of their last term in the Prep School.

Ms duFeu

Music Young Musician of the Year In spite of the limitations brought about by the winter lockdown, the Music Department was determined that the sixth annual Young Musician of the Year Competition would take place. Although featuring a slight alteration to the usual format, we were delighted that the event was able to take place at the end of the Easter Term in a manner that retained the usual spirit and character of the occasion.

With the first round off-site, competitors recorded their performance at home and submitted their chosen piece to the Department staff for adjudication. From over 70 performances, thirteen pupils from across the Senior School were selected to take part in the final, which took place in The Shed in chapters in order to maintain year group bubbles.

Each individual had one opportunity to record their piece which was then edited together into a single concert recording by Mr Hughes, the result of which is available to view on the School’s YouTube account.

This year’s adjudicator, Alasdair Jamieson, was highly impressed by the quality of musicianship on display and noted the difficulty he faced in selecting a single winner. After considerable deliberation he ultimately settled on Alice Woodward’s (Upper Sixth, Swift) rendition of Remember Me from Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, for her emotive and engaging performance, and natural stage presence, followed by Olivia Stacey (Upper Sixth, Swift) and Poppy Wehrle (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) in joint-second place.

Sing Up Day On Wednesday 30 June 2021, singers across the world came together for Sing Up Day to perform (We are) Unstoppable by Emily Barden.

After many months of facing the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, this momentous occasion was the first time the Prep School had performed together as a whole school for over a year.

Standing together in front of the magnificent Rose Garden and Mansion House, the children radiated great confidence singing the positive and uplifting anthem.

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The soloists from Years 5 and 6 performed excellently with their microphones, showing their technical skill, while the rest of the Prep School sang enthusiastically around them, following the choreographed actions to perfection.

The atmosphere was jubilant and demonstrated that our Prep School is really unstoppable, creating a truly memorable Sing Up Day.

Instrumental Exam Results NAME Kristian Morgan Rebecca Edward Felix Caellum Malachy Morgan Poppy Ella Cannell Katie Maggie Harrison Poppy Jamie Megan Anna Katy Anna Rebecca

SURNAME Richards Thomas Pratley Cale Waters Sharp Brown Thomas Wehrle Sharp Constantia Sheldon West Procter Wehrle Wehrle Batchelor Pratley Stiger Pratley Pratley

INSTRUMENT French Horn Trumpet Cornet Trumpet Violin Piano Piano Piano Flute Oboe Cello Singing Singing Violin Piano Singing Singing Clarinet Piano Theory Piano

GRADE 1 5 5 4 7 8 5 3 ARSM 6 1 2 4 8 8 6 3 6 2 5 1

ACHIEVEMENT Pass Pass Merit Pass Merit Merit Merit Pass Distinction Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit Pass Distinction Merit Merit Merit Pass Distinction

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Prep School Art Showcase

SPORTS Prep School Sports Day 2021 After a two year absence, Prep School Sports Day was finally back! The excitement from the children was unsurprising and, despite the cloudy and rainy weather, we managed to start and finish the afternoon, packed with countless photo finishes.

There were some new and unfamiliar events this year. Years 3 to 6 particpated in the 75m Hurdles, Shot put, 60-yard dash and Quoit for the first time, whilst Pre-Prep competed in the Bean Bag race, 25m Hurdles, Speed Bounce and the Agility Obstacle Course. Years 3 to 6 sat in the middle of the track whilst cheering and supporting Pre-Prep taking part in their track events which consisted of the 25m Sprint, 25m Hurdles, the Egg and Spoon race, the Bean Bag race and the Sack race Afterwards, Pre-Prep headed over to take part in their carousel of events to finish, this involved the Ball Throw, Speed Bounce and the Agility Course.

Pre-Prep were magnificent, enthusiastic, and happy to start things off in front of a loud Prep School crowd.

Years 3 to 6 showed incredible courage, resilience and sportsmanship during the aftenoon. Despite the late changes to races, pupils effortlessly stepped into different events and put in a huge amount of effort to win it for their respective Houses. Years 3 to 6 competed in track events such as 60-yard dash, 75m Hurdles, 200m, 400m and the 4 x 50m Relay.

On the field, a combination of new and old events took place such as Vortex, Quoit, Shot put, Speed Bounce and Standing Long Jump.

I am pleased to announce there were many new School records!

The final standings were: 1st - Baker 2nd - Lockwood 3rd - Gwyn 4th - Symonds It was a wonderful day to end an unusual year in the sporting calendar.

The pupils practised tirelessly in the last weeks and it was pleasing to see every pupil showcasing these skills in both the field and track events.

Mr Morrison

Prep School Sports Report The Prep School have worked hard on their Cricket skills during the Summer Term at batting, bowling and fielding. These skills have been both technical and tactical at varying levels. There has been a vast improvement to certain individuals across the year groups in a very short amount of time. In Year 6, Grace Garner (Gwyn), Koemi Neal (Gwyn), Lexi Mudie (Gwyn) and Esme James (Baker) have excelled with their improved overarm bowling.

A special mention must go to Freddie McGibbon (Lockwood) and Lewis Campbell (Gwyn) in Year 5, who have bowled with accuracy and speed, as well as having tactical awareness in the field. In Year 4, Tony Garner (Baker) and Toby Keates (Lockwood) have been consistent performers both on the field and with the bat. Lastly, in Year 3, Oscar Rivers (Gwyn), Harry Skeen (Lockwood) and Esmae Lakey-Dodson (Lockwood) are beginning to understand the mechanics behind bowling overarm and have much improved ground fielding skills. Two stand out cricketers in the Prep School this term are Toby Wyatt (Year 6, Gwyn) and Stanley Harris (Year 6, Symonds).

Their all-round performances in training and in our only fixture of the Summer Term were outstanding, they both lead by example, offered support to others, and have brilliant knowledge of the game. I am looking forward to seeing fixtures return very soon!

In Athletics, all Prep School pupils worked hard at their jumping, running and throwing skills for the much anticipated return of Sports Day. Special mentions must go to Isabelle Noon (Year 4, Baker) and Jake Jolleys (Year 5, Gwyn) for their unbelievable jumping prowess in the standing long jump. Similarly, Merryn Tattersall (Year 6, Baker), Hunter Cook (Year 4, Baker), Sienna Timms (Year 5, Baker) and Juniper Bayes (Year 3, Symonds) have shown immense attitude and speed on the track in various distances.

It was amazing to see the children enjoying Sports Day again and proving hard work pays off with impressive times and distances.

Mr Morrison

Senior School Sports Colours Half Colours Rugby Samuel Carter (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) Ruben Hammond (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Jack Harding (Upper Sixth, Fielden) Finn Rumsby (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) Max Swancott (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) Charlie Symonds (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) Hockey Ellen Moore (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) Amelia Leslie (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) Mae Topley (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Olivia Stacey (Upper Sixth, Swift) Isabel Coles (Upper Sixth, Swift) Football Ruben Hammond (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Tiego Logan (Upper Sixth, Fielden) Cameron Macdonald (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) Netball Olivia Stacey (Upper Sixth, Swift) Priya Ahluwalia (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Amelia Leslie (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) Annabel Page (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne)

Full Colours Rugby Tiego Logan (Upper Sixth, Fielden) Cameron Macdonald (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) Hockey Priya Ahluwalia (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Mimi Rumsby (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) Annabel Page (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) Football Jack Wilde (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) Joe Sydenham (Upper Sixth, Swift) Ewan Short (Upper Sixth, Swift) Netball Ella Cammack (Upper Sixth, Swift) Evie Cope (Upper Sixth, Swift)

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Senior Sports Overview

PLAYER PROFILES

Whilst watching the heroics of Emma Raducanu at the US Open, we could be forgiven for forgetting that, for the average eighteen-yearold, they have not been able to play that much competitive sport recently. Indeed, whilst there were some much needed Cricket fixtures and a little Sailing, Golf and Tennis at the tail end of the last academic year, it is only now that something resembling a normal sporting programme is starting to take place.

NAME: IZZY KIRBY (Queen Anne) AGE: 16 SPORT: CRICKET

For nearly eighteen months, pupils have had to adapt. At first it was coming to terms with this thing called lockdown and very quickly the Cokethorpe School community just got on with it. Whether it was the Prep School starting their day with ‘Joe Wicks’ or doing Sports Day in their back gardens, the Senior School making the most of masterclasses courtesy of our Heads of Sport or Trekking to Tokyo, or the staff chipping in with over 4,000km run, walked or cycled in support of the NHS, we all found new ways to stay active.

For a time, we were back at School before we locked-down again. And then we were back on-site to finish out the academic year. What was interesting in all of this was the realisation of how much fixtures had become such a focal point of what we did previously. Preparing to face another school at Hockey, Football, Rugby, Netball or one of the many other sports we play provided the framework for our week.

The analysis of the week before, the tending to bumps and bruises, the tactics for the game ahead, the logistics of getting there and back – all of these things are part and parcel of school sport. But what do you do when they are no longer there? If you take away that focus what are you left with?

It certainly presented a challenge, and for those at the top end of the School there is no escaping the disappointment at not being able to run out in your final year and give your all for a team or in a competition that marks the apex of your sporting career to date. For many, though, it proved to be liberating. What it did more than anything else was to give us time – time to spend on skills and technique in a way that we had never been able to before.

It is hard to imagine sport without fixtures, but the last year and a half have certainly helped us assign to them their proper place.

Mr Sheer

Representation and Achievements: Oxfordshire u18s and Oxfordshire County Women’s team.

Goals and Aspirations: Being selected for a regional team like Central Sparks or Southern Vipers. Playing internationally for England.

Words of Encouragement: ‘Train as hard as you can, hard work pays off, but remember to always find the enjoyment in what you are doing. Find the right balance.’

NAME: JOE CHARLESWORTH (Queen Anne) AGE: 16 SPORT: RUGBY Representation and Achievements: Bicester Rugby Club and Wasps Academy (u17).

Goals and Aspirations: Moving over to prop for the next season and someday playing for England.

Words of Encouragement: ‘Make sure you focus on work ethic and maintain the discipline to keep training hard even when others are messing about.’

NAME: GEMMA CROKER (Gascoigne) AGE: 16 SPORT: HOCKEY Representation and Achievements: Oxford Hawkes First Team, Ladies National League, Final stage of the England u16s trials.

Goals and Aspirations: Selection for the Futures Cup tournament. Playing for the London u18 team, First League and the Olympics.

Words of Encouragement: ‘Get the most out ofNetball your training sessions and don’t be afraid to try new things.’

Summer Games 2021 In a change to our annual Sports Day visit to Tilsley Park, this year we held our inaugural Summer Games in the wonderful parkland setting of the School grounds.

The afternoon provided great fun and competition as each year group competed in a series of track and field events for their House.

The theme of this year’s event was teamwork and it was wonderful to see the pupils and students from First Form through to the Lower Sixth supporting their House and giving their all for each other. This was epitomised in the tug-of-war which saw some tremendous performances in the searing heat.

As well as the tug-of-war, each House competed in the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m relays, and some of the baton changes would not have looked out of place in this year’s Olympics! The field events of Javelin, Discus, Shot put and Long Jump proved to be particularly popular, and they were keenly contested throughout the afternoon.

The final scores for each House were incredibly close but after a final check the winner of the tug-of-war was Harcourt, and the overall winner was Feilden.

Mr Walshe

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Cricket News With Covid having ripped apart the joy of competitive fixtures for a little under eighteen months, Mr Cook organised a staff Cricket match against the Upper Sixth Form Leavers of 2021.

The staff won the toss and elected to bat. The Leavers took no time in taking the key wicket of danger man Mr Tolputt, with a fine ball from Ed Owens (Gascoigne). Mr Lewis was back in the pavilion shortly after, leaving Mr Cook and Mr Morrison to try and build an innings. Both batsmen showed their class knocking off quick fifties before Messers Robinson, Purdie and Loeffen chipped in with useful runs, leaving the Upper Sixth boys a target of 177 to win.

Henry Scrimshaw-Wright (Gascoigne) and Lorimer Kay (Feilden) went about the task of reducing the large total set by the staff. They started brightly, playing some tremendous shots and moving some ageing fielders around at will. Mr Tolputt decided to take matters into his own hands and using a truly unique bowling action, he turned the screw on the opening pair. Olly Thompson (Feilden), Finn Rumsby (Vanbrugh) and Ruben Hammond (Harcourt)

tried gallantly to fight their way into the match but the team of academic geriatrics were dominant throughout. Mr Biggs and Mr Capel bowled really accurately, meaning the pupils had to force the issue, bringing with it mistakes and more wickets and, eventually, a win for the staff team.

Mr Robinson

Rugby News ‘On Thursday 2 September, 24 pupils from the Cokethorpe U15s descended on the Oxford Harlequins Rugby Club for a two-day preseason Rugby tour. Aside from the excitement of the return of competitive sport on the horizon and the need for preparation, the tour was intended to rekindle friendships, as well as an enjoyment for sport, and indeed Rugby.

The first day was split into four training sessions focussing on scrummaging, attack, defence, and the breakdown. These were led

by Mr Sheer, Mr Walshe, Mr Brown, and Mr Robinson. With nearly eighteen months of contact Rugby lost due to the pandemic, it was particularly important that pupils were reintroduced to those elements of the game as safely as possible.

That evening, pupils were joined by Mr Cook and Mr Morrison at Atomic Burger on the Cowley Road for a team meal where I think most ate their body weight in fries and chicken wings. Perhaps the most poignant an important part of the trip was the opportunity to stay as a team at a nearby hotel which, in its simplest form, presented a relative return of normality and, again, gave students an opportunity to create real memories with their peers.

Back at Oxford Harlequins on Friday morning, pupils were joined by their parents who watched, for some, the first relatively competitive fixture of Rugby in many months.

Despite not being an inter-school match, it gave pupils a chance to feel the magic of competition and the adrenaline that comes with success.

Long may it last.

Mr Robinson

Equestrian News

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Over the summer, I was selected to represent Great Britain on the Home Pony GB squad, competing at Blair Castle International after being competitive in many trials throughout the season, including winning the final one.

Despite the very long (nine hour) drive, Basil came out very excitable in the Dressage due to a massive atmosphere leading to not our best Dressage test, but he then pulled it out of the bag in the jumping phases, and finished with a clear inside the time cross country on the last day, climbing 20 places to finish in 21st out of 60.

Olive Nicholls (Fourth Form, Harcourt) Olive and her horse, Basil

Hockey News On 25 August, I went to St Albans College to participate in the U17s Futures Cup. This is a competition where four regional teams made up of selected players compete in high intensity games across a four-day period. During the tournament, England head coaches are watching performances looking for players to select for the next round: U18’s National Age Group Selection.

I was fortunate to be selected and will now go away to Loughborough University for a

weekend of training and maintain playing at this high standard.

The Futures Cup was a great experience because I was playing at such a high level of Hockey across four days and this consequently allowed me to improve lots due to the exposure, some amazing coaches and playing alongside very talented players. I enjoyed that the tournament gave me a taste of what international level Hockey is like and I hope to compete in more Hockey like this in the future.

As part of the experience, we got to speak to many different competitive Hockey universities which was quite interesting because I got an insight to what university Hockey would be like.

Overall, my experience at The Futures Cup was very exciting and, although as a team we didn’t win, our performance was good and we quickly adapted to playing with players we had never met before.

Gemma Croker (Fifth Form, Gascoigne)

Gemma and her teammates

OUTDOOR Sailing News The challenges of Covid restrictions did not dampen the spirit of our sailors this year. In fact, we are proud that we have been able to offer Sailing as an AOB option for more pupils than ever before. As part of our Outdoor Education programme, pupils have been able to participate in a number of activities on a rotational carousel, allowing them time on the water each term. Sailing has become a popular choice (especially in the Summer Term!) and the nature of the carousel has allowed pupils to build upon the skills that they have gained in previous weeks. As a result, we have seen increased interest, enthusiasm and commitment for the sport.

Upon easing of some of these restrictions, a few members of our Sailing Team have had the opportunity to complete in two regattas. They should be commended for their commitment to the sport and their exceptional representation of the School as much of their training for this event had to be undertaken in their own time to ensure that they were able to compete at the highest level. Barty Gray (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne), Adela Wilson (Upper Sixth, Fielden) and Harrison Proctor (Lower Sixth, Fielden) recently competed in the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) U19 Championship, narrowly missing out on first place in what was a physically and mentally draining weekend, battling strong winds and rain. This event in particular allowed our pupils to showcase their leadership skills through organising their own attendance at the event.

EDUCATION

Malachy Brown (Fourth Form, Queen Anne), Katherine Stevenson (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne) and Tom Whittenbury (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) joined Barty, Adela and Harrison recently in the BSDRA Finals at Bough Beach. The group took part in Team Racing, which required an exceptional level of teamwork and cooperation, with all of our sailors gaining a wealth of insight into Sailing tactics, ensuring that they did not cross in last place. To do this, it was essential that the pupils had a firm grip of the rules, had prepared thoroughly, and could anticipate the strategies that would be used by other groups.

Kayaking News Our Kayaking programme has been growing from strength to strength despite the challenges we have faced with School closure, flooding of the Thames and some inclement weather. Our pupils have been learning the foundation skills of paddle sport in our more stable Canadian canoes, journeying on the water as well as learning about safe practice when travelling on the waterways. The pupils have made fantastic progress and have progressed to being able to paddle our brand new fleet of general purpose kayaks, transferring their learning to the double blade, single person kayak. This fantastic work by our pupils, and supportive coaching from Mr Del Rio, has built brilliant foundations for us to begin kayaking in our Marathon racing kayaks soon.

Miss Brigham

We are proud that the Team reached the Quarter Finals and whilst we will be sad to see our Upper Sixth sailors leave, they have been inspirational role models for our younger pupils. They have helped to establish a strong Cokethorpe team, and we are looking forward to seeing great successes with fewer restrictions next year.

Second Form Paddle Testing

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Summer Activities

BEYOND Prep School Overview Prep School Activities run at various times throughout the week and cater for a wide range of interests. All Prep School pupils are encouraged to try something new. Mr Gaertner enjoyed watching his team of intrepid Year 6 sailors practise their capsizing at Farmoor Reservoir, Mme Fuch’s Eco Club have embarked on a range of projects to improve the environment, and Miss Hall’s Street Dance troupe have broken out some amazing moves this term.

Mr Morrison continues his quest for ‘Sport Every Day’ and has encouraged all Prep School pupils to be involved in optional sport beyond their PE and games lessons. Running Club has continued come rain or shine, and we have also seen brilliant sportsmanship and teamwork in mixed Hockey, Football and Rounders clubs throughout the year. In response to a request from pupils, he also organised a taster session for Gym Club, which will start next term. Dance continues to be popular throughout the School, from Ballet to Modern and Street Dance.

Pre-Prep pupils were thrilled to get back to the swimming pool this term and have also enjoyed Ballet, the woods and the Kitchen Garden as part of their Pre-Prep Adventures programme.

THE CLASSROOM

Bushcraft On Wednesday 19 May, Year 5 and Year 6 set off for their three-day residential with the Bushcraft Company in Cornbury Park; an idyllic estate with the largest privately owned ancient woodland in the country.

It was the perfect setting for the Year 5 and Year 6 children to spend three days and two nights camping and learning different bushcraft skills.

Upon arrival, the children were separated into their tribes with their Tribe Leader. In these groupings they designed clan symbols on their tribal flags and set up their territory for their own fires. Next, they were given a survival lesson and taught how to light and maintain a fire. With the fires that they had made, the children cooked their own burgers for lunch, which were delicious!

Located in a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the children lived and breathed the story of Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. This involved key survival activities such as archery, camouflaging faces and perfecting knife skills, as ‘Torak,’ the main character would have done in the Mesolithic Era. Activities such as descaling wild salmon, building a rabbit/pheasant trap, and learning about the edible foods of the forest, ensured all children had the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone.

For eight lucky volunteers, the real highlight and the most memorable moment - was the challenge of chewing and swallowing a salmon fisheye whilst the rest of the tribes looked on in anticipation! Ponassed salmon (a North American native technique for preparing and cooking fish over an open fire), vegan falafel wraps, pasta and stone-baked pizzas were a few of the delicious meals that the children enjoyed.

Between meals, the groups enjoyed an array of snacks and brownies handmade on site.

The staff were very impressed by the children’s attitude. They demonstrated great teamwork, resilience, courage and positive thinking throughout the trip. Although exhausted and muddy, the children returned to School in high spirits, eager to share their Bushcraft experiences.

Year 6 Adventure Day On Tuesday 8 June, Year 6 children set off to Far Peak for their ‘Adventure Day’. Upon arrival, the children were split into three groups and headed straight off to different activities with their instructors: climbing, low ropes and caving. The towering heights of the climbing wall did not faze the children as they used the auto-belays to climb. Simultaneously, on the other side of the tower, others in the group worked together learning how to belay each other. The second activity, caving, involved navigating their way through a maze of tunnels whilst hunting for a key for the secret door! Although not far above the ground, the low ropes course still proved a challenge – requiring physical strength, agility, and coordination. After tackling the low ropes course individually, the group were set a challenge: to successfully carry a bucket of water the length of the course without spilling any! For many this was the highlight as they enjoyed working together as a team to complete the challenge. Over the course of the day, the children rotated through the various activities. It was great to see the children pushing their limits, rising to the challenges, stepping outside of their comfort zones and, perhaps most importantly, encouraging one another along the way.

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Senior AOBs Vets and Meds The Lower Sixth aspiring Veterinarians and Medical students have been learning different anatomy with our resident qualified vet, Dr Oldham during their VetMed AOB. They have also been studying potential associated pathology and presenting clinical symptoms.

They practised taking clinical histories and utilised their biological knowledge to think about what presenting symptoms a patient (be it a human or an amimal) may have. A recent highlight for the students was learning how to scrub in, gown and glove up for surgery, before practising different suturing techniques on an orange and pig’s trotter. They took full advantage of their experiences, especially with the challenges of gaining clinical practise due to Covid.

The material dealt with covered a wide range of First Aid emergencies, enabling all participants to deal with emergency situations with confidence in a prompt, safe and effective way, particularly where professional medical help is not immediately available. These sessions also supported the development of the School’s leadership traits in allowing pupils to develop their judgement, responsibility and empathy.

The Line and Below the Line

Michaelmas Term AOBs Art Club Art: Illustrating Issues A-Z of Great Modern Artists Badminton Below the Line (Newspaper) Black Lives Matter Business Simulator Chess Club Climbing Club Cokethorpe Shooting Club Dissection Club

Cokethorpe has two vibrant school newspapers which have now been combined in a back-toback bumper edition. Here pupils and staff can read articles about world events and issues seen from the perspective of our pupil body.

Contributors come from across the School.

The Line is primarily a Sixth Form paper whilst Below the Line represents the views of our younger pupils from First Form to Fifth Form.

Pupils select areas to research and write about, encompassing opinion pieces, interviews and reviews. The older students also take supporting photographs for their articles. There is an enthusiastic editorial group who take the role very seriously to ensure that we go to print (three times a year). Look out for the next editions!

First Aid We are always looking at ways to improve our AOB offering, and the addition of First Aid in the last twelve months or so has certainly done that.

Tactical Tuition, an external company, came very highly recommended and came into School to deliver these sessions on a weekly basis.

DT Coursework Exploring Christianity Fifth Form GCSE Art Sketchbook Improvement First Aid First Form Drawing Club Fourth Form Art GCSE – Experimental drawing GCSE Ancient Greek GCSE Triple Science Geography Club Geography Film Club Great Sporting Moments Grow It, Eat It. Guided Reading Homework, Study and Silent Reading Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award Introduction to Philosophy Italian for Beginners Maths πrates Mixed Football Outdoor Hockey Photography: Digital Sketchbook Politics - US Election 2020 Pre-Season Cricket

Running Club Sailing Club Senior Football AOB Sign Language for Beginners STEM Strategy Games Strength and Conditioning Student Investor Challenge Table Tennis Textiles Club Third Form Ancient Greek Touch Typing

Lockdown AOBs An Introduction to Cooking Art Award Holders Art Club Art: Illustrating Issues Below the Line (Newspaper) Business Simulator Chess Club Circuit Training Dissection Club Drawing Club DT Coursework Dungeons and Dragons Club Fifth Form GCSE Art Sketchbook Improvement Filmmaking Fine Art First Aid GCSE Ancient Greek GCSE Triple Science Geography Club Geography Film Club Great Sporting Moments Guided Reading Introduction to Philosophy Italian for Beginners Kids Against Plastic Life Skills Maths πrates Mindfulness Modern Dance Photography: Digital Sketchbook Running Club Sci-Fi Symposium Set up a business in ten weeks STEM Strategy Games Strength and Conditioning Student Investor Challenge Textiles ClubInspiring Digital Enterprise Award Third Form Ancient Greek Third Form Drama Touch Typing Volunteering

Summer AOBs Art Club Art Creations Badminton Below the Line (Newspaper) Build-A-Bike Business Simulator Chess Club Circuit Training Climbing Club Cokethorpe Shooting Club Dissection Club Drama Club DT Coursework Dungeons and Dragons Club Fifth Form GCSE Art Sketchbook Improvement Filmmaking Fine Art First Aid First Form Drawing Club GCSE Ancient Greek GCSE Triple Science Geography Club Geography Film Club Great Sporting Moments Grow It, Eat It. Guided Reading Helping The Community Homework, Study and Silent Reading Indoor Cricket Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award Italian for Beginners Kayaking Life Skills Magic: The Gathering Maths πrates Mindfulness Mixed Football Modern Dance Outdoor Hockey Photography: Nature in Focus Pre-Season Rugby Running Club Sailing Club Sci-Fi Symposium Senior Football AOB Set up a business in ten weeks Spanish Revision STEM Strategy Games Strength and Conditioning Student Investor Challenge Table Tennis Tennis Club Textiles Club Third Form Ancient Greek Third Form Drama Touch Typing

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CEW First Form - Far Peaks On Monday 5 July, the First Form set out to Far Peak Climbing Centre where the First Form took on a variety of activities throughout the day. The first activity was to explore an ‘indoor cave’ whereby pupils explored a number of darkened tunnels found within an area, with no torchlight and the help of only their senses to navigate them. After this, it was on to the next activity which was to overcome their fears and set their sights on climbing a 12.5m high tower, for which the members of staff were thoroughly impressed many pupils did! The third activity took the pupils inside again, this time, with the help of no ropes where they took it in turns in Bouldering. Here the pupils took on a number of routes, each having their own levels of difficulty and challenges, including some that had overhangs – not for the faint hearted! After working hard all morning it was time for a well earned rest, and a picnic lunch which the pupils all seemed to enjoy.

The afternoon brought more adventure, this time in the form of bushcraft. The pupils were taught the fundamentals of sourcing the materials to make a suitable shelter, as well as how to make and start a fire with use of kindle and a steel and flint – topped off with the help of roasting a couple of marshmallows - to maintain morale, of course! The last activity saw the pupils climb back on to an outside bouldering wall where by the objective this time, was to try to climb across it. By the end of the day pupils had exhausted all their energies and they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

First Form Watersports

Oxford Walking Tour

The First Form travelled to Cirencester to Lake 32 to take part in some activities on the lake, testing their resilience and leadership skills.

The pupils set off in groups and experienced Archery, low ropes, raft building, paddle boarding, kayaking and even an inflatable obstacle course. A great day of fun was had by all, learning transferable skills and developing teamwork throughout the day; even the poor weather did not impact their enjoyment.

Too often we live in a place without really seeing it for what it has been, is now, or could be in the future. Oxford is such an example: it’s a city of local, national, and international significance.

Second Form Sailing The entire Second Form took the water during Curriculum Enrichment week, trying their hand at Sailing at Farmoor Reservoir. With a good wind and fine weather, pupils quickly found their balance in a series of challenges involving navigation and teamwork. The afternoon was spent in small flotillas of boats tacking across the water, with only the occasional capsizing - and not always accidental! Despite the dunking of several of the crew, there were smiles across the board, as this intrepid year group enjoyed the thrill of sailing in such beautiful surroundings.

Wycliffe made the first popular translation of The Bible into English at Oxford. The AstraZenica Covid vaccine was designed in Oxford, and right now it is nurturing future Prime Ministers, scientists and entrepreneurs.

To walk in Oxford unaware of its history is to walk in it with one’s eyes wide shut.

For those reasons (and to have a nice day out) Third Form took a trip to the city of ‘Dreaming Spires.’ Facts about the past came as fast as our footfall through the streets: from its riverside situation the 10th century Oxford became an important frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex. We learned about the institution that gives Oxford its internationally renowned brand: The University of Oxford.

It was first mentioned in the 12th century and expanded rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris and the returning students settled in Oxford.

We saw where key moments in the ‘Harry Potter’ film series were produced; we lunched in the newly-pedestrianised Broad Street, on the very spot where martyrs were burned at the stake hundreds of years ago; we learned of some of the new techniques that industry and academics in Oxford are developing to make our cities greener and cleaner.

All in all, a fine day out.

Enlightenment Lectures How to Survive and Thrive

Second Form - Far Peaks On Wednesday 7 July, Second Form pupils enjoyed a trip to Far Peak, Northleach. Pupils showed their prowess at scaling the climbing tower, went bouldering and practised their caving skills. Pupils also learnt valuable bushcraft skills such as constructing shelters and building fires.

On Friday 29 January, we heard an excellent talk entitled ‘How to survive and thrive’ from exCokethorpe student, Amy Turner (2012, Swift).

She spoke about the importance of thriving, of being proactive rather than just reactive.

She talked about the importance of planning for unfortunate circumstances through the context of her experiences in the GB Kayaking team, which provided a practical example to apply her teachings. Her time as a Sports Psychologist was also relevant to her thesis, where she demonstrated the importance of a resilient mindset and overcoming adversity, particularly keeping calm in difficult situations,

so that one is able to act decisively. She also advocated the importance of not being afraid of failure, and being able to fail in order to push yourself beyond your limits. Overall, the talk was very useful, and left us with a real sense of how best to thrive, especially given the current circumstances.

Sam Carter (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne)

In the middle of lockdown, Amy Turner, an old Cokethorpean, gave a presentation to the Sixth Form about how to embrace life’s difficulties through resilience and ‘thrive’. I feel her presentation resonated with all listeners now more than ever. For me, the most impactful moment was when the audio for a video in her presentation was not working. Amy kept calm and composed and exemplified what is meant by emotional resilience. Thank you so much to Amy for taking the time to speak to us.

Tegan Saunders (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne)

How to Survive Death I am a Consultant Physician and my specialty is Palliative Medicine. I was delighted to speak with Sixth Form students at Cokethorpe School about this very important topic on Friday 14 March 2021. I explained that palliative care is focused on addressing the effects and symptoms of a disease, helping people live well, even if they do not have long left to live, and helping ensure that people die comfortably, as far as that is possible.

We discussed death in the 2020s; that approximately 7,000 people die annually in Oxfordshire and 703 people have died of Covid in the past year. I explored the effect of gender, poverty and race in the length of life we can expect to have and the symptom control we can expect to receive.

Talking about dying, death and our wishes is important work to undertake in our families.

Families will not be left wondering what the person would have wanted and can ensure that they as a family honour the dead person’s last wishes.

Making wills, keeping them up to date, discussing our wishes about organ donation and thinking about our digital legacy are important tasks even as young adults.

Dr Mary Miller

How to Survive Liars In our Friday WIT session we had a very interesting Enlightenment Lecture from Professor Dawn Archer, Professor of Pragmatics and Corpus Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her presentation, live form the North West on MS Teams, was entitled ‘How to Survive Liars’. It debunked some interesting myths about common traits that liars have and how they behave, and fed us the correct information instead. It was an extremely interactive session, as she played clips on scammers deceiving many people; we used the chat function on Teams to suggest what seemed suspicious to us.

I found it interesting that criminals are actually statistically better at spotting lies than professionals (notably the police!) and that, within 30 seconds, a successful liar can gain access to anyone’s private email and password, with the help of a simulated baby noise. Finally, I am really impressed with the quality of the informative lecture despite the difficulties faced

by Covid and it being online. It was still extremely engaging and the content was very interesting and will certainly be of use to all of us.

Sophia May (Lower Sixth, Vanbrugh)

We enjoyed a very interesting talk from Professor Archer about how to survive liars and how to avoid being conned by a liar. She spoke about the different features that can be noticed within someone who is lying, such as a person taking on identities to legitimise the story they are telling, and similarly the linguistic cues liars use to deceive people into believing them. I found her true or false activity very engaging, as many facts I thought to be true about liars were in fact false. In particular, I was intrigued by Archer’s comment that law enforcement personnel are no better at distinguishing lies than we are, and being a Psychology student studying eye-witness testimony, this surprised me.

Annabelle Vallance (Lower Sixth, Vanbrugh)

I had the privilege of giving a talk at Cokethorpe School on Friday 26 February 2021. Prior to that, Mr Elkin-Jones - the organiser of the Enlightenment Series of Talks - made sure that, together, we had hopefully ironed out any technical issues in the days leading up to the talk, given we’d moved online due to Covid. As seems to be the case when moving such talks online, there were still some technical issues(!) - but Mr Elkin-Jones worked with me, during the talk, to ensure that we could make the session as interactive as possible nonetheless. This included (among other things) Mr Elkin-Jones ably manning the chat facility and relaying comments to me; and students therefore being able to vote and/or comment on whether some statements were true or false when it comes to what (most) people tend to believe about lying. Whilst I would have much preferred to interact in person with the students, I was extremely pleased to see the level of interaction and engagement online.

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The students - and teachers - put forward some excellent points with regard to both the video clips we watched/listened to and also what they believe constituted an indicator of lying, and what did not. I have been able to leave them with a post activity, in case they want to explore the topic a little further - and I am looking forward to hearing what they make of the clips, as well as my analysis of them (ie; whether they agree/disagree, why, etc.).

I would also love to be able to engage with this wonderful group of people (students and teachers) in the future. Thank you so much to Mr Elkin-Jones for organising this opportunity.

Credit, too, to the wonderful students and staff Cokethorpe School.

Professor Dawn Archer

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze DofE The Third Form spent a lot of time working on their Bronze DofE in the Summer Term. At the end of their internal examinations week, they had two full-on days of training: one based at School focusing on food, first aid and kit; the other off-site, giving them some practical training in navigation and walking. The Third Form were then able to utilise the skills they gained from these days when they embarked on their assessed expedition during CEW in Northleach, along with a number of Fourth Form pupils who had their expedition delayed from the previous year.

Pupils had to take on a variety of conditions, from glaring sunshine to pouring rain, with a spot of scrambling through some overgrown routes required too. Unfortunately, groups were not able to camp at the time but were still able to demonstrate campcraft skills by erecting tents and cooking hot meals at School instead, with pot noodles being a very popular choice!

heat with some challenging navigational requirements certainly gave everyone a good reason to relax at the campsite on Saturday evening, with scenic views of the River Wye right next to us.

The second day started early with a training walk in the local area with staff, allowing students to review the skills they learned from previous DofE expeditions and extend them by applying them in more navigationally ambiguous situations. The day culminated back at camp with groups spending time planning their routes for the next three days.

The strain of the previous day took its toll on pupils on the Sunday morning with another early start and full day of hiking ahead of them, but it was great to see the enthusiasm with which groups set off from camp, eager to reach the end successfully.

This first taste of DofE will hopefully encourage many of them to continue with the Programme throughout their time at Cokethorpe, with Silver or maybe even Gold on the horizon.

After a peaceful night of camping next to a river, students set off on a challenging day four. Despite the route having the most elevation gain of any day, and the longest distance covered across various terrains, it was a pleasure to see the courage and ambition displayed by all the groups in successfully reaching the campsite that evening.

Mr Bosse

Silver DofE

With an early start on Saturday morning all the pupils hiked a great distance to the next campsite with a teacher accompanying every group. A long day of walking in the summer

Day three let groups walk independently with a scenic route on offer past features such as Arthog Waterfalls and Cregennan Lake; it also gave them further confidence with which to take on the next two days of hiking.

The fifth and final day had students taking bearings and hiking across wild country before being picked up by staff and returning to School. This should have given all students involved the necessary skills and experience to take on their assessed expedition in October, as well as some long-lasting memories.

Despite some of the differences these groups experienced from the usual way of running it, pupils showed great determination and ambition throughout the two days and, rightfully, felt proud of themselves upon completion.

Forty pupils in Fourth Form decided to take on the challenges of Silver DofE this year and started on this journey with an extended training and practise weekend based in the Forest of Dean. Upon arrival at the first campsite, pupils were thrust straight into training with the afternoon spent practising navigation skills in the local area and reviewing campcraft and emergency procedures at the campsite. In the evening, we were able to celebrate two birthdays that were happening that weekend before pupils spent some time planning their routes for the next two days.

long drive to the first campsite, we all enjoyed an early dinner of fish and chips on the beach that evening, even if some of the food was pinched by seagulls!

Despite some difficulties en route, most pupils were able to fit in a good day of walking before the return to School. Since then, they have hopefully been able to reflect on the highs and lows of the experience and are ready to embark on their assessed expedition in September.

Gold DofE Seventeen students in the Lower Sixth chose to embark on the Gold DofE programme this year; the highest level of the Award available. This process started with a five-day-long practise and training expedition in Snowdonia. After a

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HOUSES Prep School In the Prep School we have four Houses: Baker, Gwyn, Lockwood and Symonds.

Whilst we were unable to hold House meetings in the usual format, children throughout the Prep School still worked hard to earn House points and Recommendations throughout the year. Recommendations are not given lightly, but for truly outstanding work. Mrs Black met with nineteen pupils who had earned more than three recommendations and Mr Ettinger had the pleasure of meeting three pupils who had collected six or more Recommendations each.

Our House Captains and Vice Captains in Year 6 met throughout the year to make suggestions, organise fundraising, and plan their End of Year Celebrations, which included coloured hoodies, a barbecue and Rounders.

House Captains Baker House: Monica Summons Ferdy Laughton-Hill

Captain Vice-Captain

Gwyn House: Maggie West Kristian Richards

Captain Vice-Captain

Lockwood House: Katy Stiger Carlo Campos Isabelle Sales

Captain Vice-Captain Vice-Captain

Symonds House: Chloe Webber Lewis Hardy

Captain Vice-Captain

Senior School Lower House 2020-2021 Head of House: Annabel Page Lower House started the year in rather strange circumstances due to Covid restrictions; not being able to hold our usual overnight camp as a way of welcoming and orientating our newest pupils was a disappointment. However, in true Cokethorpe style, we ran our own orientation day which included climbing, scavenger hunts and laser tag. The day was rounded off with a barbecue and, some would say, the highlight of the day: the arrival of the ice cream van.

October saw our first Cross-Curricular day as the pupils had the opportunity to experience a range of activities linked to STEM. A fun and enlightening day was had by all and it certainly whetted their appetites for similar experiences throughout the year. October also saw the annual running of the Crawford Relay.

Although limited to year group bubbles for the first time in the race’s history, Lower House ran magnificently, literally sprinting around the 700m course.

Although we were unable to celebrate the end of the Michaelmas Term with our usual Advent Services, the School came together metaphorically to collect food items for the Christmas Hamper Campaign. Lower House was faultlessly generous in its contribution and greatly added to the number of hampers that made their way to St Mary’s Church in Witney.

February was a busy month as pupils took part in their first Inter-House Drama competition, which again, although curtailed somewhat

by Covid restrictions still saw a large number of Lower House pupils bravely performing.

In addition to Inter- House Drama, pupils also took part in the Young Musician of the Year competition and there were several outstanding performances from Lower House pupils. If Music and Drama were not your forte, the month ended with the House Countdown competition, which gave pupils the chance to show off their Maths and English skills.

As the year moved towards spring, Lower House pupils enjoyed more Cross-Curricular and STEM days and once again demonstrated ingenuity, enthusiasm and great teamwork.

As the weather improved, to celebrate Earth Day, Lower House took part in their inaugural House Photography competition. To celebrate and promote a return to nature they took photos around the School grounds and

presented them with the rationale behind them in House Assembly. There were some imaginative, vibrant and humorous photos and in a close-run final judgement Harcourt House were triumphant.

The strangest of years has ended with a fun-packed Curriculum Enrichment Week where pupils have enjoyed climbing, visited Cotswold Water Park, conquered the adrenalin-fuelled rides at Thorpe Park, and ended the week celebrating Languages Day in School.

We look forward with optimism to starting again in September 2021 with our Lower House overnight camp.

Mr O’Connor

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Feilden Head of House: Tiego Logan Deputy: Adela Wilson It seems somewhat incongruous to try to summarise a momentous year in a few words.

Perhaps I could start by saying that Feilden House maintained its ethos of kindness, standing together, and looking after each other, notwithstanding the rules that imposed segregation upon us. It might be sufficient to say that in School and at home, our pupils volunteered to compete against the other Houses in the Countdown and Drama competitions and did their very best to try to win. Or should I highlight that our Head of House, Tiego Logan, and his Deputy Prefect Adela Wilson, led the House by example and encouraged us all to maintain our stoicism, humour and composure. The work of tutors must be mentioned, as they remained steadfast in supporting and guiding the pupils in their care, no matter when or where, or whatever difficulties they were facing. Could it be the seamless return to School routine after the second major lockdown and the immediate sense of family and community that returned to our House. Or, the palpable feeling of energy, joy and euphoria in the course of Feilden’s victory at the Summer Games. Absolutely, a difficult year to summarise.

During our final Assembly of the year, in the summer air and beautiful surroundings of the School grounds, I looked around at the faces of the children and adults of Feilden House, and reflected on what a year it had been. Sadly for me, it was my last year as Housemaster as I take on new responsibilities in September. As I thought about what these people have been through, and how they responded to it, I was left with an overwhelming sense of pride. In years to come I will remember this as the year that we proved beyond doubt who we are both as a House and as part of the Cokethorpe community: individuals, diverse and unique, with strengths and weaknesses, with ideas and opinions; and in the most trying of situations people with characteristics that show their strength: integrity, empathy, judgement, ambition, responsibility and, above all, courage.

Mr Carter Feilden took charge of creating a design for the Headmaster’s Plinth during the Summer term. Head of House, Tiego (who plans to go on and study a degree in Marine Biology) came up with the environmental concept around the pollution of the ocean.

The Plinth

Vanbrugh Head of House: Tom Whittenbury Vanbrugh House had risen to the challenges presented by the last eighteen months through their care and compassion for one another.

At times, we have been frustrated by the impact of the pandemic on our usual activities, such as Inter-House competitions.

Although the Singing Competition could not be held, two pupils were able to perform live monologues as part of the Inter-House Drama competition. Pieces by Dennis Kelly and Mindy Jones were performed. We placed second in the Inter-House Countdown – alas, falling at the final hurdle of the conundrum.

The pandemic has forced a greater emphasis on individual accomplishments. The Vanbrugh Sixth Formers have sought out opportunities with which to shine, with three contributing talks to the Sixth Form Midweek Medley – orchestrated by Mr Tolputt.

Topics included ‘The History of Skateboarding’ and ‘Depop and Reselling Clothing’. Our Second Form gave presentations following individual research on such diverse topics as ‘Gendered Language’, ‘Are farmers paid a fair amount?’ and ‘Can housing be made affordable?’. Both Third and Fourth Form pupils have recently undertaken expeditions for their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

I would like to take this opportunity to give our best wishes to those who are moving on from Cokethorpe at the end of the 2020/2021 academic year. Our alumni move on to the Reading Football Academy and university courses including Psychology at Exeter, Sports Science at Loughborough and Accounting and Finance at both Sheffield and Bath.

The pupils of Vanbrugh House, as well as the tutors, should be immensely proud of the ways in which they have risen to the challenges of the last eighteen months. We are all looking forward to things, hopefully, being closer to ‘normal’ next year.

Ms Mountain

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Gascoigne Head of House: Jarvis Drew It has been an unusual academic year, but also one in which Gascoigne House has come together and made the most of all opportunities that were available. Humans are creatures of habit, and we therefore need to recognise the open-mindedness and resilience shown by all at a time when great adaptability is required. The pandemic has certainly been a reminder that often out of the greatest hardships come the finest accomplishments, both individual as well as collective.

As a Housemistress, I have been impressed with the teamwork that so many tutor groups developed in a year when House events and competitions were reduced to a minimum. The support pupils have offered each other ensured that the often revisited events were turned into a positive and enjoyable experience, even if not necessarily a success. This was certainly the case with the Inter-House Countdown competition, which took place during lockdown and saw so many pupils attending remotely, giving up their lunchtime to support their friends. It was a shame that we did not live up to our usual high standards in Inter-House Drama, but with the competition this year being organised remotely around monologues, I felt that what our dramatists really missed was the support of the group. It gives me pride in knowing that, for many, Gascoigne House is still the one to beat!

I could not complete a write-up of this year without mentioning those who have come to the end of a cycle here at Cokethorpe.

Resilience is a word we often associate with education and one that I would definitely use to describe the stoic approach our Fifth Form pupils and Upper Sixth students demonstrated throughout the assessment period. Those leaving us do so with our blessing and best wishes for the future.

Finally, I would like to thank our Prefects: Jarvis Drew, Annabel Page and Amelia Knight for their support. They acquitted themselves well in a year when their role and responsibilities were clearly limited by the various restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

Mrs Semenzato

Harcourt Head of House: Mae Topley Deputy: Adela Wilson This year was quite an outstanding one.

Throughout the year, there were twists and turns; some good, some not so good. Coming out of last year’s lockdown was exciting and it was great to step back into School; then lockdown arrived and people were saddened to say the least. However, things always get better, and this is abundantly clear seeing the School today. Although the Covid saga is not over, it is getting better. There were many major events throughout this year including the BLM movement which had a great impact on me. Of course, we had to work hard for exams but now we get to celebrate in our Form and compete in the Cokethorpe Summer Games and then look forward to CEW week. I can’t wait for next year.

Nick Taylor, Second Form

Despite the last year not being what any of us could have anticipated, and the year groups being kept to individual bubbles, Harcourt has still felt like a close-knit group. It has been particularly enjoyable seeing new House events commence this year, such as the Sixth Form Inter-House General Knowledge Competition.

I think one outstanding moment would be when we all finished our exams as we felt such relief and happiness. We all signed each others’ shirts and said our last goodbyes to people who are leaving for Sixth Form. The moment when we completed the last question on our last exam was equally as exciting. I have really enjoyed getting back to School this year and making the most of Fifth Form before stepping up into Sixth Form. Some moments that have stood out for me would be Inter-House Drama, signing off my results, and the Grease-themed summer party.

Ella Cripps, Fifth Form

Harriet Howell, Third Form

Poppy Wehrle, Upper Sixth

Brownies

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Tom Potter, Upper Sixth

When I first joined Cokethorpe I was a little nervous, but I got settled relatively quickly. It did not take me long to get to know my way around the School and make friends. I was put in the gold House; Harcourt. All the people in my House are kind and friendly. I had a very helpful form tutor who told us everything we needed to know. I have really enjoyed my first year at Cokethorpe and cannot wait to continue my journey here.

Although it has been a strange and tough year, our House has kept everyone in it going.

From the beginning of the year, when we held a House Assembly on the tennis courts, to making brownies during the third lockdown and finally winning the tug-of-war, Harcourt has, in my opinion, been the best House Cokethorpe has to offer. I will miss it greatly.

Firstly, congratulations to you all.

You have completed another year tremendously and I could not be prouder of each and every one of you. A year filled with challenges, but I feel all of you have learnt resilience and gained responsibility from these experiences no matter how small you may feel these to be.

After finishing my first year as your Housemistress there is so much to look back on. You have all worked so hard and this has been reflected in the many Recommendations you have collected to ensure Harcourt lifted the Recommendations trophy twice this year.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Inter-House Drama and Ella Cripps (Fifth Form) and Ruben Hammond (Upper Sixth) performed brilliantly, finishing third overall, and Ella winning the Outstanding Achievement Award for her contribution. The Lent Term also brought the Trek to Tokyo competition where we finished second, a great team effort. We also baked brownies together in Miss Dodson’s kitchen (remotely), laughing and joking but, more importantly, trying to keep up with the recipe. House Countdown: so close! Just the conundrum kept us out of the final. And finally, once back in School, you participated in the Cokethorpe Summer Games. It was brilliant watching you all compete together as a tutor group, laughing and having fun. As a result, you are all the very reason why we were victorious in the House tug-of-war competition and finished third overall finishing in the Summer Games.

Baking Brownies

What has amazed me most about being in Harcourt this year has been everyone’s effort to remain unified as a House, despite the year group bubbles, and though we were never able to be in a room together, I certainly felt as though we were all standing in Miss Dodson’s kitchen during her brownie tutorial. I feel very grateful to have been part of this House, especially throughout the last two years, as everyone’s hard work in House events and eagerness to participate online has meant we were still able to have fun experiences as a House.

Mae Topley, Head of House

Tug-Of-War Winners Moving forward into what we hope will be a more ‘normal year,’ I encourage you all to take risks, ask questions, and do more; you may be surprised in what you can achieve if you come out of your comfort zone and challenge yourselves further.

Mrs Woodcock

Queen Anne

The Summer Games provided the perfect end to the year and Queen Anne pupils impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm with which they embraced this inaugural event.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the immaculate School grounds, year groups moved in bubbles around a series of track and field events. Everyone involved gave their all; it was magical to hear the cheers and laughter as tutor groups fought for domination in the tug-of-war or attempted to show their skills and strength in the throwing competitions. Personal highlights were the slick relay changeovers of our Third Form, the speed of the Fourth Form runners and the tenacity of our Lower Sixth students in the tug-of-war – they were invincible.

Head of House: Lauren Thomas As Queen Anne House gathered together on the last day of term to celebrate the end of the academic year, there was a sense of anticipation and excitement. We assembled in bright sunshine around the pond to recognise the achievements and talents of pupils, and to hear the Tutor Team share their highlights of 2020-2021.

Despite our joy in meeting as a larger group for the first time in the academic year, we missed what would normally be our opportunity to wish our Upper Sixth leavers well as they head off to life beyond the familiarity of Cokethorpe’s bounds. However, we will soon have our chance to celebrate, with Results Day and the Peacock Ball providing a much-needed chance to share stories and come together.

As expected, staff and pupils of the House still had much to celebrate - the year has been a good one. Particular individual highlights from House competitions include Lily Cannel (Fourth Form) and Jamie Wehrle’s (Fifth Form) impressive monologue performances, Lily Yang’s (Fourth Form) detailed designs for her animated film and Felix Waters’ (Fourth Form) winning script for a radio play.

Lily Yang As a House, during the lockdown and year group bubbles, we have tried to connect in other ways through online weekly challenges and activities. We have explored talents, walked the fields and astros (regardless of the weather), taken time to notice the natural world around us and competed to find unusual uses for everyday objects.

So, we move on, and look forward to embracing whatever the next academic year may bring, with customary Queen Anne positivity. We say farewell to Lauren Thomas as Head of House and welcome our incoming Head of House, Katy Hobbs (Lower Sixth) into the role.

Mrs Orton

Lily Cannel

Jamie Wehrle

Swift Head of House: Olivia Stacey The theme this year in Swift House has been all about positivity, and I have been hugely impressed with the resilience, empathy, and courage that the pupils have continued to show during what has been a very challenging period.

Their endeavour, creativity, and good humour never fail to impress me, and I could not be prouder of what each and every individual has achieved this year. Despite the disrupted calendar of events, we have still managed to achieve a huge amount and I am delighted to share with you some of the highlights.

Each week during our House Assemblies I have set a weekly challenge, ranging from trick shots, to baking, tower building with spaghetti and marshmallows, and photography challenges to name just a few. It has been lovely to see the pupils working together to achieve a common goal and I hope the message has been clear throughout: to not be afraid to try new things and explore ones’ creative side, in the hope that a hidden talent or new hobby might just be uncovered!

Tom Orton

Our House Countdown team, led brilliantly

by Sam Cruttenden (Lower Sixth), managed to defeat Vanbrugh in a hotly contested ‘virtual’ final thanks to some quick thinking by Eddie Comerford (Fifth Form) in the final round, when it could have gone either way. House events are such an integral part of School life and have been sorely missed, and it was great to see representatives from all year groups competing together again for the good of the House.

Alice Woodwards (Upper Sixth, Swift) and Tom Orton (Lower Sixth, Swift) represented the House brilliantly in the Inter-House Drama competition, progressing to the final where they were pipped to first place by the equally brilliant Queen Anne- a real treat for the whole School to watch four such incredibly talented individuals.

At the end of another academic year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our leavers in Swift who are moving on, and in particular our outgoing Head of House Olivia Stacey. Your efforts and contributions to the House over the years have been hugely appreciated and I wish you all the best in your new ventures.

Mr Joiner

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Alice Woodwards

As the end of term approached it was lovely to see the return of Sports Day, a highlight for many and this year it did not disappoint.

A huge effort was given by all participants, many having to step out of their comfort zones and compete in events they would not usually choose to compete in. Unfortunately we were not quite able to match our victory in the Crawford Relay from earlier in the year, but nonetheless a very pleasing second place finish was just reward for all their hard work.

Congratulations to Feilden on giving Mr Carter the send-off he deserved!

Crawford Relay Winners

COMMUNITY Parents and Friends Association

Prep School Charity Day

Fundraising

Committee Members

Nasio Trust

Clare Priestley-Smith - Chair Kirsteen Fellows - Vice Chair Catherine Christensen – Vice Chair Mike Ward - Treasurer Nicola Thomas Nicola Wyatt Shane Goodgame Jane Costley Sarah Rivers

Cokethorpe Prep School raised a fantastic £336.67 from their annual Christmas card and tea towel sale which they have donated to the Nasio Trust. The Nasio Trust’s mission is to improve the well-being of children affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Cokethorpe’s donation helped support thirteen families with a Christmas package, including a radio, food and clothing.

To donate, please visit their website: www.thenasiotrust.org

Upcoming Events Fireworks Extravaganza - Friday 12 November 2021

Karate-Chop for Charity On Friday 30 and Saturday 31 July, I helped a local karate club (Oxon Karate Clubs) with a challenge to raise money for the NHS and Berinsfield Youth Centre. The challenge was to practise our kata (a sequence of choreographed techniques for martial arts practice) for 24 hours. Students could come and go as they pleased.

Christmas Fair - Thursday 2 December 2021

Recurring Events CPFA Coffee Mornings Ue, Cokethorpe School Every Friday during term time from 8.30am to 9.15am

The rule was that someone had to be on the mat, practicing. Six of us stayed for the 24 hours, making things more entertaining with 3am fancy dress! This was a great opportunity to improve our karate, as higher grades could help the lower grades, work together, and have time to practice.

By the end, we were struggling, had painful feet (I had to ice my feet when I got home, but was training the next day) .

We had a great experience with fantastic people which we will never forget. So far we have raised over £1400 for charity.

Mr Belassie

Nearly New Uniform Sales Run on a fortnightly basis at the coffee morning

CPFA Committee Meetings Corinthian Room, Cokethorpe School The first Wednesday of every month from 7.30pm Meetings are open to all. Feel free to come along without commitment.

Mr Belassie

Despite all the restrictions and not being able to cross over ‘bubbles’, The Prep School children still managed to go ahead with their Charity Day. They came dressed in their House Colours, paying £2 for the privilege. Instead of the usual stalls, the classes arranged quizzes, challenges, sales of ice lollies and much more!

In Pre-Prep the ‘Park a Car’ activity did a roaring trade. There was a flurry of interest in the raffle, with many exciting prizes. All around the school there were virtual challenges such as ‘Guess the number of shells in the jar’ and ‘Guess the name of the Dachshund Puppy’.

This year the money raised will be donated to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, in honour of Prince Phillip’s legacy. We were delighted to achieve a total of £418.25.

Charity Week Prize Winners The little dachshund was won by Oliver Noon (Year 1, Symonds). The dog was named Pip. Mrs Brash chose the name in honour of Prince Phillip.

Raffle winners: Jake Jolleys (Year 5, Gwyn) Benji Longman (Year 6, Lockwood) Xaver Scholler (Reception Year, Lockwood) Berry Drake (Year 3, Gwyn) Lucas Manson (Year 1, Gwyn) Monty Scott (Year 3, Symonds) Stanley Harris (Year 6, Symonds) Joshua Millington (Year 6, Symonds)

Message from the Chaplain Lessons from the Pandemic Today I would like to reflect on the positive.

As we remember the sanitising stations, the one-way corridors, the year group ‘bubbles’, the lessons on Teams and OneNote, the online PRE Evenings, the need to self-quarantine (and much more), what are the positive ‘lessons’ that we can all take forward, which may now help us fashion a new approach to School life?

As a part-time Modern Languages teacher and School Chaplain, I have probably had more time to observe the daily routine than most of my colleagues, who were fully involved in the battle against the virus, on Teams. We might all choose to dwell on different elements, but I would like to focus briefly on two: personal character and school organisation.

It has often been said that a good school should focus on character-building alongside academic results and other achievements, and I have been impressed in recent years by the Cokethorpe emphasis on ‘integrity, courage, empathy, judgement, ambition and responsibility’.

However, the continually changing demands of the last year have also nurtured other qualities, for example: perseverance, patience, determination, creativity, innovation, flexibility, resilience, mutual care and compassion.

Whereas all schools necessarily encourage a certain individualism (my grades, my options, ‘my future’), the pandemic has indirectly promoted a greater sense of group identity and corporate responsibility.

Of course, we have always sought to encourage this through groupings like ‘classes’, ‘teams’, ‘year groups’ and ‘Houses’, but now various new procedures (e.g. the wearing of masks to protect others and the need to stay in ‘bubbles’) have bonded pupils and staff together in a new way that make working and living together much more natural and more instinctive.

On a School level, we have all of course embraced IT like we have never done before!

And we have undoubtedly discovered some new ways of working together that may long outlast the pandemic. More one-way corridors to ease movement between lessons? More online PRE Evenings to reduce unnecessary travel and help more parents to participate more easily? More spectacular outside Assemblies? More Summer Games on the grass (that were serious fun)? More School video clips, showcasing School musicians and outstanding pupils?

Let us all encourage one another to identify these new positive elements and build them into our new future as individuals and as a School.’

Revd Howard

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SOCIETY Annual Fund Annual Fund donors: Mr and Mrs Avery Mr A W Baker Dr and Mrs J Berry Mr J S Billing Mr and Mrs J Craig Mr and Mrs D Ettinger Dr C Flaherty and Dr L Haslam Mr M Girling Mr P J Green Mr and Mrs C Overton Mr P G Vaughan-Fowler Mr and Mrs S Watts Mr and Mrs D Williams Our Anonymous Donors

University Destinations

Proceeds of the previous years’ collection: The Annual Fund has this year enabled the DT Department to purchase a mix of products, ranging from the iconic Juicy Salif created by Phillipe Stark to the everyday such as a range of mobile phones and digital cameras, with the idea to give pupils a chance to understand how people historically used technology in every day life. Icon design also extended to purchasing the front of a classic Mini that, together with the generosity of a classic Mini parts dealer, allowed the Department to build and wire up a working representation of a 1959 Mini. Donations from the Annual Fund have allowed the DT Department to begin their collection of historic iconic items, and are in the midst of displaying them in such a way that is both meaningful and inspiring to Cokethorpe’s pupils.

Mr White

Fifty-five Upper Sixth students left Cokethorpe this year having achieved an impressive set of A Level and BTEC grades. Among them, we had 49 A Level candidates and six taking the BTEC pathway, whilst a third of candidates completed an EPQ. Whilst there were some outstanding individual achievements, the whole year group have achieved admirably, with 30% A* grades, 64% A* - A grades, and 94% A* - B grades recorded.

Each year, the breadth of interests among our students is reflected in the variety of university destinations and courses they move on to study, and this year is no exception.

Popular destinations this year include: The University of Exeter – seven Nottingham Trent University – four Cardiff University – three The University of Leeds – three The University of Bath – two The University of Chichester - two Durham University – two Loughborough University - two The University of Sheffield – two Swansea University - two The University of Warwick – two The University of York – two Two students have opted for another path, with Tiego Logan (Upper Sixth, Feilden) electing to study overseas at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Poppy Wehrle (Upper Sixth, Queen Anne) has chosen to join the Band of HM Royal Marines.

We wish all our leavers the best of success in their new endeavours and look forward to welcoming them back to School as OCs soon.

From our Alumni

What is your favourite memory of your time at Cokethorpe?

There are so so many. Probably Mr Van Zyl regularly setting fire alarms off/suffocating everybody with burning Sulfur/drawing pen on his clock every lesson to tell us when lunch was.

Tell us something interesting about you / one of your hobbies: I have three dogs, Derek, Charlie and Maisie.

I’m nearly 24 and I STILL wear my Cokethorpe hoodie all the time and am dreading the day it becomes too old to wear.

subsidy policies. I started a ‘Pick Your Own’ fruit farm in 1977 and this has been expanded and now has a farm shop and a Christmas tree business. We also have twenty horses on ‘do it yourself’ liveries. We have converted a lot of old farm buildings into light industrial use buildings. We have some arable and woodland, but this is being eroded by road building schemes. We are currently looking into setting up a public electric charging station on a field adjacent to the busy A417.

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I gave up playing Rugby in my early twenties and took up Croquet. This has been my main leisure activity. I have represented Great Britain and Scotland in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Italy, Germany and The Republic of Ireland.

Dr Heidi Lawson BMedSc Gascoigne, 2008 - 2015 Tell us a little bit about what you are currently doing: I am starting my final year of Medicine at the University of Birmingham, and I have just achieved a first class intercalated BMedSc in Women’s Health.

I am a very keen Gloucester Rugby supporter and season ticket holder. I get to most of their home games and any European games they qualify for.

What got you into your current profession?

I have always been interested in Biology and love chatting to and helping people so I thought Medicine was the career for me!

How has Cokethorpe been a part of your development, both personally and careerwise?

I made the best friends during my time at Cokethorpe who I still see regularly.

Cokethorpe always encouraged me to achieve my best academically and is the reason I achieved a place at medical school.

What are your short-term goals and longterm aspirations?

My short-term goals are to finish this final year, finally be a doctor and earn some money so I can stop bleeding my parents dry! Long-term I would love a career in Women’s Health and to live in a nice house with a dog (or five).

Andrew Hope Farmer Queen Anne, 1959 - 1963 I was at Cokethorpe from Michaelmas Term, 1959 until Summer Term, 1963. I did not achieve a lot academically, but I made some great fiends whilst there and I am still in touch with a few, mainly by Facebook. I was also very keen on games and sport. I played Rugby, I Rowed and did Athletics and Cross Country.

My father was a farmer and I followed in his footsteps, and I love it. I went to Harper Adams College and then, after a year in the US, started work on our farm in Gloucestershire. Our two main enterprises are laying hens for hatching egg production, and pig breeding for pork and bacon production. I have always tried to diversify and, in my time, have kept cattle and sheep, but I gave them up as they always got out on Saturday afternoons and were too susceptible to the whims of government

I am a proud classic car owner and I have two children, Sophie, and James. James teaches Science in Bristol and Sophie is taking over the running of the farming business.

OC FEATURE

Who was your most inspirational teacher at Cokethorpe?

Dr Jonathan Cranston BVetMed BSc(Hons) MRCVS

There were many, Ted Fenton, Colin Maskery, Andrew Snow, Patricia Townsend, Keith Walton, Norman White, Peter Green, Peter Cranham – as I type these names, vivid memories and stories come rushing back of their lessons, their idiosyncrasies and their dedication. If I pick one who’s lasting impact I carry with me, it would be Warwick Daniels. As my Housemaster, he made an instant impression. My older brother, Andy (1997, Harcourt), and I started at Cokethorpe at the same time and our first day is etched in our memory. The School bus missed our stop causing us to arrive late. Then during games in the afternoon, our pens were stolen from our jackets hanging in the changing room – an intimidating first day! Graciously, Warwick, sensing how overwhelmed we were, took us into Witney on lunch break the next day to buy us replacements. His teaching style was always unique, the milk powder experiment to demonstrate surface area to volume ratio must be the most legendary lesson of all time!

‘Education is all about hooks,’ he would say. ‘If I want you to remember something, then I need to give you a hook to hang it on.’ And he was right! My brothers and I often revisit memories from that Biology lab!

Author of The Travelling Vet Veterinary Advisor to Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Harcourt 1992 – 1999 Head of School 1998-1999

Tell us about your most memorable time at Cokethorpe?

Cokethorpe will always hold a unique place in my heart and, the older I get, the more I appreciate my time there. As someone who thrives in open spaces, it was so special to attend such a scenic school deeply rooted in the English countryside. Prior to the playing field expansion, during breaktimes if I wasn’t playing a round of golf, I would often wander down the driveway to admire the horses and sheep in the fields or watch the greyhounds exercising.

Few schools offer such a bucolic setting in which to receive an education. I have so many fond memories of my time there but the InterHouse competitions were always a favourite. I distinctly remember playing in the Inter-House Cricket competition when Harcourt were the underdogs, but with the strategic guidance from our captain, my older brother, and dedicated team work, we managed to win it.

How did you find your way to becoming an international Vet? How did Cokethorpe inspire this career path?

My ambitions to become a Vet are part of my earliest memories. Despite fourteen rejections over two years, I finally got a place at the Royal Veterinary College in 2000, qualifying in 2006.

Initially, I wanted to work in rural farm practice which I did in North Devon for three years.

During that time, I had some opportunities in zoo veterinary work which awakened a desire to work on a wider range of animals.

At Cokethorpe, thanks to the passionate dedication of Peter Cranham, we were spoilt with an incredible array of expert speakers for our Thursday evening General Studies Lecture programme. Many of these speakers had travelled extensively and shared with us memorable stories from their travels. Looking back, I think this was the spark that ignited the flame of desire to work and travel as a Vet.

It must have been quite exciting working in the Jurassic Park film! How did you get into Veterinary consulting for films?

I vividly remember watching Jurassic Park in the cinema in 1993, during my time at Cokethorpe.

I never would have imagined that, 24 years later, I would spend twelve days on set, giving veterinary advice for two specific scenes in the fifth film of the series. It is not the typical career ambition for a Vet. A friend’s sister was working on the film and they were looking for a vet who had experience working with African wildlife so this friend put us in touch. Initially, it was a few emails with technical questions, but then the Director requested a meeting after which he insisted on having me on set for the filming of a few scenes. He wanted veterinary perspective when Zia removes the bullet from Blue’s leg and when Owen and Claire take blood from the T-Rex. It started out incredibly intimidating, knowing that my advice would be scrutinised by billions of people worldwide. But after a couple of trips to Pinewood, I relaxed into the role, relishing every minute; liaising with the Director, actors and the animatronics team. It was fascinating to be on the other side of the camera, seeing everything that goes into making a multi-million-dollar blockbuster film.

You have recently published a book, The Travelling Vet. What was the inspiration behind it? Are there any plans for any more books?

What pointers would you give the current Sixth Form students considering their future career paths?

Very early on in my career, I learned how frequently strange, funny or bizarre experiences happen in the course of a normal veterinary day. These are the kind of situations that lend themselves easily to storytelling.

Too good not to share, I would often recount these stories with friends or family and realised I needed to start journaling. Once I had the opportunity to work in Africa, the stories and experiences became even more incredible.

After a very memorable giraffe capture, I knew I needed to write about it. A book agent friend read my writing and encouraged me to write a book recounting some of these adventures.

1) Never give up on your dreams. I decided I wanted to be a vet at the age of six, I was gently urged to reconsider by many people, including a lot of my teachers, but despite having to retake my A levels, being rejected fourteen times by veterinary schools and having dyslexia, not only did I become a Vet, I have been able to excel in the profession and even written a book.

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2) Be open to new opportunities. I made a rule for myself that I would never say no to an opportunity to extend either my knowledge or my experience. That decision has paid off in countless ways, led to me travelling the world, working with some of the most iconic species and had me advising on a Hollywood blockbuster.

3) Always take time for yourself. The best career decision I ever made was to start working a fourday week. In the veterinary profession, the days can be very long. After three years in my first job, working long days, nights and weekends, I was on the grind, no time to stop, think, reflect on where my career was going or what I wanted to do. Dropping to a four-day week, still doing weekends and nights, gave me one day to re-evaluate, which ultimately led to my Africa trips, Jurassic World and The Travelling Vet!

After a few publishing offers, I was given six months to finish the book and eleven months later, in November 2018 it was published, with an amazing feature piece in The Times. What started off as a few anecdotes for friends, evolved to be published in ten different countries, multiple radio interviews, book tours around the country and abroad and even won an award in Taiwan! It has been an unbelievable journey. As for the future, there are still so many stories to tell…

4) Travel as much as you can; the world is a big place, there is so much to see and so many people to meet, and it will open your mind. Few people are lucky enough to do a job they love, for the money they want, working with people they like, in a place of their dreams so somewhere along the lines you will become frustrated, disillusioned or resentful, and travelling always manages to inspire me and help me gain perspective and re-dedicate myself to my career.

STAFF

Announcements Congratulations

Microsoft Innovative Educators

Achievements Association of Prep Schools ‘I hope you will join me in congratulating Mrs Black, who has recently been invited to join the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) District 10 Committee. As part of this group, she will work alongside other serving Head teachers of Prep Schools across the South West of England to support schools across the sector.

The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) is a school’s association with over 670 of the world’s leading Prep Schools in membership. Our membership of IAPS is important to us, as the kite mark of excellence in Prep School education. From the IAPS website: ‘Schools must reach a very high standard to be eligible for membership, with strict criteria on teaching a broad curriculum, maintaining excellent standards of pastoral care and keeping staff members’ professional development training up to date.

Although each of our schools is independent, and has its own ethos, they are all committed to delivering an excellent, well-rounded education to the pupils in their care.’

I know Mrs Black is looking forward to further promoting all the good work that is happening at Cokethorpe School within this arena, and the opportunities for our pupils and staff to make links with other like-minded schools in the group.’

Mr D Ettinger Headmaster

This academic year, following on from the strides the School has made in the areas of Digital Education, every member of the Cokethorpe Teaching Staff qualified as a Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE), demonstrating the cutting-edge approach Cokethorpe is taking in its teaching. A further level can be achieved, of Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE), which this year Mr Ladell-Stuart, Ms Dodson, Ms Fagan, Mrs Dawes and Mr Hughes all achieved. For next September, a further number of staff are aiming to achieve this level of competence and recognition, as it will illustrate the high level of digital literacy that the teaching staff have developed in the last 24 months.

Aside from helping the School in its progress towards Showcase School Status, those accredited as MIE Experts gain access to a thriving digital community of keen and enthusiastic teachers across the globe, keen to share the latest findings in Teaching and Learning. In particular this June, Mr LadellStuart was awarded an MIEE Teaching and Learning Award for contributions to the community in areas of Student-Centred Learning, Curriculum and Assessment, recognising the imprint that Cokethorpe is having on the community as a whole.

Mr Joiner and his wife Abi on the birth of their daughter, Alice (8lb 11 oz) in July 2020.

Mr and Mrs Ramsurn on the birth of their daughter, Nushka (6lb 1oz) in August 2020.

Miss Love and her partner on the birth of their son, Arlo in September 2020.

Mrs E Smith and husband Ed on the birth of their son, Barnaby Felix Jack (8lb 14oz) in September 2020.

Miss R L Mitchell on the birth of her son, Samuel Arthur Matthews, born on 31 March 2021.

Mr G Lewis who married Kate on Saturday 21 August 2021 in the Cokethorpe Chapel.

Mr T White who married Sheona on Saturday 17 July in Woodstock Town Hall.

Mrs McDougall who married Matt on Saturday 7 August 2021 in Norfolk.

2020-2021 Starters Mr L Marot, Modern Foreign Languages Teacher.

Mr N P J Walshe, Director of Sport.

Mr C J Morrison, Head of Prep Sport.

Mrs R Moore, Teacher of Spanish.

Mr A R T Fox, Teacher of Music.

Miss M Pittaway, Netball Coach.

2020-2021 Leavers Michaelmas Term Leavers Mr D J Laver, Modern Foreign Languages Teacher.

Mr M A Davies, Head of PE and Games.

Lent and Summer Term Leavers Miss K E Fagan, Year 6 Class Teacher.

Mr P J B Rudge, Head of History and Politics.

Mr B Jogi, Teacher of Physics.

Mrs J A Dow, Year 5 Class Teacher.

Miss G L Fordham, Teacher of Business Studies.

Miss L A Oliff, Head of Pre-Prep.

Mrs E C Riman, Teacher of English.

Miss C M Gardiner, WIT Coordinator.

Miss H J Brigham, Head of Outdoor Education.

2021 Starters

Farewell Mrs Dow

Mrs A Evans, Teacher of Psychology Mrs M J S Swain, Teacher of History.

Mrs R H Luckett, Prep School Teacher Mrs M Mercer, Teacher of Chemistry.

Mrs E Oram, Head of English.

Mrs N Proctor, Year 5 Class Teacher.

Mr T Rawlings, Teacher of English.

Mr A Rennie, Teacher of Business Studies Mr T Slader, Head of Outdoor Education.

Mrs L Wilkinson, Head of Wardrobe.

Mr N Yu, Teacher of Mathematics.

As well as filming the spectacle in the magnificent grounds, Mr Shaw sent his drone skywards, giving us a magical bird’s eye view as it panned over Cokethorpe and the surrounding West Oxfordshire countryside.

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This fitting and emotional tribute concluded with a presentation of flowers, as the children clapped and waved their farewells to Mrs Dow.

Farewell Mrs Oliff Mrs Du Feu and all of the children in the Prep School arranged a special surprise flash mob to wish a fond farewell to Mrs Dow, who will be greatly missed after many years at the School.

Unknown to Mrs Dow, the children had been working behind the scenes on the different parts of the performance. The music was especially selected for Mrs Dow to resonate with key elements of her 21-year career as well as looking ahead to her well-earned retirement.

One of the highlights included an incredible whole school dance routine of Abba’s Dancing Queen, which the children performed brilliantly.

Mrs Du Feu also used a selection of props throughout the presentation to add to the fun and celebration of a fantastic contribution by a truly special teacher.

At the end of the Summer Term, we had to say goodbye to Year 2 Teacher and Head of Pre-Prep Miss Oliff, who joined Cokethorpe in 2003. Miss Oliff leaves to move to Muscat in Oman as a member of the founding team for Cheltenham Muscat, the sister school of Cheltenham College.

Miss Oliff will be greatly missed by all of us here at Cokethorpe, she has given so much to the children and the School in her eighteen years’ service. We wish her the very best of luck in her move and look forward to hearing all about her new adventures.

Mrs Dow was featured in The Week Junior as Teacher of the Week, thanks to Gabriella Hughes (Year 5, Lockwood) who submitted this wonderful farewell piece.

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Cokethorpe School Witney, Oxon OX29 7PU Tel: 01993 703921 Email: admin@cokethorpe.org The Review | Issue 1 | 2021 Edited and produced by the Communications Department. Published by Cokethorpe School.