Issue 43 • January 2020 • Record of Michaelmas Term 2019
THE
OCELLUS From the Headmaster
Readers of my earlier contributions to The Ocellus will know that I am a fan of Hilary Mantel, in particular her historical novels about that agent of the Reformation, Thomas Cromwell. The delayed third and final instalment of the trilogy is due in the New Year. It is said that Mantel has been reluctant to see her hero go to the scaffold – my apologies if that is a ‘spoiler’! She clearly has a loyalty to Cromwell, and it was perhaps his loyalty to his master, Cardinal Wolsey, that endeared her to him in the first place. There is something quite interesting going on here. Mantel admires loyalty to an individual, but is ready to let go of a widely accepted idea, that Cromwell was a brute. Zealous loyalty to ‘ideas’ can be dangerous. It may be inflexibility, even intolerance, in disguise. The philosopher Karl Popper argued that any currently accepted belief should only be seen as a working theory, always open to falsification. How doggedly we hold on to ideas is often tested at election time. Brexit – good or bad? The economy – spend or save? NATO - essential or outdated? It is an over-simplification, but the philosophical response to all these questions is probably ‘who knows for sure; let’s keep an open mind’. The ability to remain open-minded is one of the products of a sound liberal education, and the ability to change one’s mind an important key skill. Such flexibility seems clearly to be a virtue, not least because the opposite is potentially so damaging. But what to say about loyalty to individuals? The novelist E.M. Forster once wrote, ‘If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country’. It is a challenging idea, and was even more challenging in 1938 when Forster wrote it. Loyalty and friendship do seem inextricably linked. A friend, after all, is someone we know we can rely on, in good times and bad. What value is friendship if, having made a mistake, our friends are quick to fade away. This, I think, is the point being made by Mantel about Cromwell and Wolsey. Wolsey was not without his faults! But he had been good to Cromwell, and Cromwell believed it important to remain loyal to him. But personal loyalty surely cannot be uncritical. As said by no less than St Augustine and Gandhi, one may come to hate the sin but still love the sinner. How to achieve that balance in practice depends on another intellectual quality, wisdom, something that may be teachable in limited measure, but which relies on perhaps the greatest of all teachers, experience.
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Academic Contents
From the Headmaster Academic Junior School Sixth Form The Arts Sport Houses Beyond the Classroom AOB CPFA The Cokethorpe Society Annual Fund Wider Community Archives Tail Feathers
Page 1 2-7 8-13 14-15 16-19 20-23 24 25 26-27 28 29 30 30 31 32
‘Ocellus’ (pronounced ‘oh, sell-us’) refers to the eye in the tail feathers of a peacock. Front Page Photo: Launch of balloon by James Shaw (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) as part of his Extended Project Qualification and AOB
Onatti Theatre French Performance
'The Onatti Theatre French performance was as amazing as always. We have been working with Onatti for about eight years and they have performed for our pupils aged ten to fourteen in French and in Spanish. This year, Onatti performed Les Garçons. Our First and Second Form pupils were lucky enough to see the perfornance on this occasion. A few of our pupils were invited on stage and Sanad Ibrahim (Second Form, Vanbrugh) in particular was a fantastic actor. He had to help get the actress’s boyfriend to come on stage, except that he did not realise that he was trying to enter through the window. After screaming from genuine fear, to the delight of his peers, Sanad was equipped with a frying pan to hit the actor, to then realise that he had to help him on to the stage. After being given such confusing instructions in French, all to add comedy in the show, he was allowed to return to the audience. First and Second Form pupils enjoyed a great play again, and joined in French as and when they had to, with pride and amusement.' Miss Bertholle
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The Ha-Ha Launch ‘Shortly after coming back to school in September a number of pupils attended the annual book launch of our in house anthologies of creative writing and art work. Aptly named ‘The Ha Has’ these collections have become hotly anticipated with pupils working hard during the year to get their work selected for publication and the competition is fierce amongst some of Cokethorpe’s most talented writers. Writing this year covered topics as diverse as songs of the Loch Ness Monster to roadkill to considerations that Icarus has not fallen after all. Both anthologies are celebrations of the written word and give pupils and their families an opportunity to celebrate that success.’ Miss Jackson
Election Hustings
As the General Election gripped the nation, it could also be said that election fever gripped Cokethorpe. Our Sixth Form were lucky enough to attend a hustings that featured the three candidates standing in the Witney and West Oxfordshire constituency here at Cokethorpe School. The candidates debated a range of issues and the questions asked by our Sixth Form challenged our three candidates. The level of engagement from the Sixth Form was very impressive and excellent discussions about the election have been had in many lessons since the hustings. The students had an opportunity to cast a vote at the end of the hustings and returned a clear winner with Robert Courts, the Conservative candidate and local MP, receiving 59% of the their vote. The Politics Department were eager to give the younger pupils an opportunity to engage with the General Election and we therefore held two hustings, one for the First to Third Form and one for the Fourth to Fifth Form, where members of the History and Politics Department represented the leaders of the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP and Green Parties. In heated debates the central issues of the election were covered, from Brexit to the environment. The pupils enjoyed seeing their teachers go head-to-head in vigorous debate but also were able to pose many telling questions to the panel. Their awareness of political issues was excellent and both events sparked lively debate in the lessons that followed. In a similar vein to the Sixth Form, the pupils had an opportunity to cast a vote for one of the parties represented. The First to Third Form returned a clear victory for the Green candidate with 45% of the total vote while the Fourth to Fifth Form produced a closer contest won by the Conservatives with 31% of the vote.
Academic Classical Athens Conference
Senior Maths Challenge
The lectures examined the power of persuasion in speeches, the depiction of ancient drama on vases and the surprising links between tragedy and comedy. Our students enjoyed hearing and thinking about the opinions of current scholars, which will no doubt benefit them in constructing their own arguments in essays and also gave them a glimpse of what university lectures might be like.
Olive Green wishes to colour all the circles in the diagram so that, for each circle, there is exactly one circle of the same colour joined to it. What is the smallest number of colours that Olive needs to complete this task? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5
On Thursday 26 September, Sixth Form Classical Civilisation students visited Radley College to attend a series of lectures given by working academics from the University of Oxford. The theme for this year's conference was Greek Theatre, a topic which students are currently exploring in their lessons as part of their A Level syllabus.
GCSE Art Trip to Compton Verney
The Fourth Form Art and Textiles pupils kicked off their GCSE studies with a trip to Compton Verney to see the exhibition A Tea Journey to use it as a starting point for their new projects. They were initially introduced to the permanent collection before moving on to the exhibition which visually illustrated the cultural significance of tea throughout the centuries. The pupils then attended a screen printing workshop using tea related stencils they had prepared in School. This was particularly enjoyable, if a little messy. The pupils returned to School with a huge array of recorded information and ideas on which to build over the coming year.
A Level Biology Field Trip
The Upper Sixth Biologists spent four days at the Orielton FSC in Pembrokeshire, Wales deepening their understanding of investigative work and data analysis. They carried out a number of investigations in various habitats, including a freshwater stream biodiversity study, a sand dune succession survey, and a study of chlorophyll pigmentation in different seaweed. It was exciting to think that the sand dunes we sampled were the same that were used to film scenes in the last Harry Potter film! Unfortunately the Welsh weather got the best of us one day and we had to abandon the rocky shore when the rain started to blow horizontally. Overall, it was a brilliant trip with many memorable moments in the field and at the centre; importantly, all students came away feeling that they had learned a great deal.
Model United Nations
A group of eight Sixth Form students participated in the 2019 Oxford Global Model United Nations Conference from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 November. The event involved approximately 750 students from across the globe, each representing a specific country in a specific committee. A range of issues were discussed, from how to best combat the illegal trade of small arms to the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Following an opening keynote from entrepreneur Penny Power, the next two days were a hive of activity with working papers being drawn up and debated before resolutions were drafted, amended and ultimately, passed. The participants enjoyed this unique opportunity to consider global issues from other perspectives while developing their core skills of diplomacy and advocacy.
Our Sixth Form mathematicians tested their mathematical knowhow against the Senior Maths Challenge. Armed just with an HB pencil they tackled questions on Geometry, algebra, Pythagoras and many more.Below is an example of one of the questions.
Senior Maths Challenge Results Upper Sixth Silver Tom Kirchleitner - Best in Year Benjamin McDonald Luke Graham Bronze Charlie Clarke Hollie Jackson Matthew Christensen Lower Sixth Gold Samuel Elek - Best in School, Best in Year, Advances to Senior Kangaroo Silver Tom Potter Samuel Carter Ewan Short Bronze George London Poppy Wehrle
Explore Learning Maths Award
On Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 November, Explore Learning came to Cokethorpe to host Round One of the Mathematicians’ Award competition. Select pupils from Year 5, Year 6, First Form and Second Form participated in a workshop for the national competition, which involved solving problems themed around The Natural History Museum. The top four qualifiers from Junior School, and the top four in Senior School will go on to represent Cokethorpe for Round Two in January. Answer to Maths Challenge If Olive uses just one colour, then each circle would be joined to three circles with the same colour as it. So one colour is not enough. However, it is possible using just two colours to colour the circles so that each white circle is joined to just one white circle, and each black circle is joined to just one black circle. Therefore the smallest number of circles that Olive needs is two.
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Academic Maths Coding Puzzle from STEM Week
During STEM Week the Maths Department released a Coding Puzzle every day, the results of which were added together to form an answer at the end of the week. Below is one of the questions. You will need to answer the question, and visit the Wikipedia page of the answer: Question: a) Who was the first female prime minister of the UK? b) What is the 3D shape with every side of a square? c) What is the best selling film of all time (not adjusted for inflation) d) The School you go to e) Where the First Form visited during STEM week f) The country which recently hosted the Rugby World Cup g) The coding system that uses a mirror of the alphabet to code its letters Section of Wiki Page: a) Later Life b) Formulas c) Plot d) History e) Funding f) Geography g) Encryption Paragraph: a) 1 b) 1 c) 5 d) 2 e) 2 f) 4 g) 1
STEM Week
STEM week continues to provide a series of enrichment activities for the whole School. This year we were delighted to have scientist Emily Grossman with her incredibly fun show Brain Fizzing Facts to talk to Lower School. As well as welcoming back the charismatic Simon Watt with his Look Up! Show which was fantastic, we were delighted to welcome in schools from across the Corinthian Partnership to see it, as well as an evening performance for the wider community. Tutor groups battled it out in the Code Breaking competition; a series of tasks that increased in difficulty throughout the week and ignited the competitive spirit each morning. As well as the tennis ball tower competition that was eventually won by Fifth Form Queen Anne who were very proud of their efforts. During Wednesday lunch time a fantastic STEM Fair took place in the Upper Quad. This was an opportunity for all pupils to gain hands-on experience and see how all STEM subjects have a wider impact in their curriculum. Pupils had the opportunity to discover how shape memory alloys are an integral part of many surgical procedures and were able to experiment with how they work. As well as looking at how lungs operate with the Biology Department, slime making was as fun as ever with the Chemistry Department. The PE Department showed how the world of STEM is associated closely with their subject through performance analysis, DT allowed pupils to put their problem solving skills to the test. Pupils were able to use their logic with a series of maths puzzles. It was fabulous to see the energy and engagement of pupils during this event across the whole School.
Word in Paragraph: a) 9 b) 6 c) 3 d) 10 e) 51 f) 9 g) 52 Letter in Word: a) 5 b) 1 c) 1 d) 3 e) 1 f) 1 g) 1
Answer: ROUNDED
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First Form Trip to Bletchley Park
As part of STEM Week, the Maths, DT and Science Departments took the First Form to Bletchley Park. The First Form got a look first hand at the wonders and history of the World War Two decoding site, not only having a tour and exploring the hubs, but also putting their deciphering skills to the test in a challenge that culminated with them being able to see and try one of the enigma machines.
Academic Sixth Form MFL Trip to Paris
'On Friday 4 October, our six 'intrépides' students in Upper Sixth embarked on a journey filled with promenades along the River Seine and cultural discoveries in the most incredible parts of the French capital. Whilst the aim of these three days was to experience the many aspects of Parisian life and society studied at A Level, a truly successful Paris trip would not be complete without admiring the architectural splendours around us and catching a glimpse of Mona Lisa's mysterious smile.Our students embraced everything French, as well as witnessing the darker sides of current affairs. Coming face-to-face with the harsh conditions that many immigrants live in has raised many questions: an invaluable moment of awareness for our students who have studied the challenges of immigration in France. Mme Bertholle, a native of Paris, has been a wonderful guide and took us to the eminent La Sorbonne University and the most secret and picturesque streets leading to the Sacré Coeur. This was a memorable adventure and we would like to congratulate our students who were true Cokethorpe ambassadors.' Miss Garitey
Art and Textiles Exhibition
The Christmas Art Exhibition was held in the last week of term exhibiting work from our recent trips to Venice, Compton Verney and the Art Award Holders response to the theme ‘Spectrum of Colour’. The Lower Sixth’s hard work was evident in their response to the task of combining perspective techniques and painting to capture a view down Venice’s narrow canals. The Lower Sixth textile work captured the opulence of Venice with detailed machine and hand embroidery. Upper Sixth Projects are in their final stages and it was intriguing to see their sketchbooks documenting their progress thus far. The Art Award Holders responded to the theme Spectrum of Colour. Traditional media was also used to capture Lions, Landscapes, fruit and phoenixes. The Fifth Form Award Holders presented their projects in progress.The Fourth Form presented their work for the first time, speaking confidently about their projects inspired by our visit to Compton Verney. Well done to all our young artists.
Scholars' Presentation Evening
On Thursday 28 November,the Academic Scholars, Art Award Holders and DT Award Holders presented work at the inaugural Scholars' Exhibition Evening held in the Library. Parents, teachers and pupils were able to enjoy learning about a wide range of thought-provoking topics in such fields as history The Last Russian Tsar, science Protein Folding and Snowflake Physics, English Shakespeare's Enduring Linguistic Influence and design How Robotics Can Help Humans. Ciara McCarthy (Fifth Form, Feilden) and Caellum Sharp (Second Form, Vanbrugh) were Highly Commended for their presentations on Black Holes and Cancer and T-Cells respectively; and Lucas Bennett's (Fourth Form, Queen Anne) very high level of detailed research saw him win the award for the overall best presentation on Aerodynamic Biomimicry.
A Level PE Trip to Bath University
On Friday 15 November, eleven Lower Sixth A Level Physical Education students visited Bath University to take part in fitness tests in their sports and exercise science labs. Tests included VO2 max test, Lactate Threshold, Windgate Test and different kinds of strength tests. This was followed by a tour of the sports facilities as well as a lecture from the lead physiologist at the university about Hypoxia/Altitude training.
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Academic Maths and Physics as a Degree Talk
'On Tuesday 10 December, Dr Paul Chleboun visited from the University of Warwick to discuss with the Fifth and Sixth Form the benefits of studying a degree involving mathematical sciences. He touched on where such degrees could lead, as well as discussing his research on probability and its role in the dynamics of interacting particle systems. Later he ran a clinic with the Upper Sixth Mathematicians further discussing probability as well as introducing the idea of Chaos Theory in mathematics.' Mr Ladell Stuart
Fifth Form Spanish Trip to Madrid
'At the start of the October half term, 24 Fourth and Fifth Form pupils travelled to Madrid for four days to experience Spanish life and culture, accompanied by Mr Laver, Mr Jones and Mrs Neame. During our visit, we were treated to a guided tour of a bull ring, where we learnt about the history and art of the ‘corrida de toros’, ate a meal of traditional Spanish tapas, and visited the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid football club. There was also an opportunity to practise our Spanish language skills during a two-hour language lesson, which was a great way to improve our fluency. The whole trip certainly brought the pupils’ Spanish studies to life and has hopefully lit a spark of curiosity for many to continue learning Spanish for many years to come.' Mr Laver
F1 in Schools
As part of the F1 in Schools competition, two teams of Third Form pupils have been investigating the factors that will influence their cars whilst also learning about the wider network of skills that go into making a successful team. We were delighted to be invited to Mercedes AMG F1 to tour the factory and had the opportunity to talk to the engineers. The pupils asked a wide range of perceptive questions and learnt about the materials, process and testing that go into a car. They were also thrilled to be able to take a close look at the F1 world championship constructors trophy which was steeped in rich racing history. It was a hugely informative experience and our thanks go to Mike Elliott for arranging this opportunity for us.
Fifth Form GCSE Textiles Day The talented GCSE Textile Art pupils spent the day making their coursework final pieces. Their exciting ideas include fashion and textile art inspired by the theme of 'Nature'. With inspiration taken from their own interpretations of the theme their designs include flowers, butterflies, fire, fish and the sea. Their finished work will be on show at the end of year Art Exhibition in the Summer Term.
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Sixth Form Trip to Granada
'The Upper Sixth Spanish linguists visited Granada, the capital of Moorish Andalusia. We spent a day touring the city, including the Albaicin, which is one of the oldest Arab quarters still remaining in Spain encapsulating historical Morisco construction that predates back to the Nasrid Kingdom. Later in the evening, we experienced a flamenco show in Sacromonte (otherwise known as the birthplace of flamenco) which offered an exciting variety of music and dances that allowed us to immerse ourselves around the gypsy identity and culture. The trip also included a fascinating tour of the extraordinary Alhambra Palace, an example of the finest Islamic and Christian architecture. There we were witness to a range of stunning views of the whole city and its magnificent gardens. That afternoon we ventured back into the heart of the city, in the Casco Viejo, in search of parting gifts and to see more of this diverse city before we travelled back the following day. The trip was both highly enjoyable and memorable for the whole class, whilst also providing a real and useful insight into what we had been studying.' Tenisha Aparo Iboch (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) and Lawrence Topley (Upper Sixth, Harcourt)
Academic Art and Textiles Trip to Venice
The Art Department study trip this year took us to the Beautiful City of Venice. We arrived at St Marks Square on the first morning in time to capture photographs in the early morning sunshine, the long shadows accentuating the beautiful architecture. The young artists were wowed by this amazing square and the waterfront with the moored gondolas jostling ready to take tourists around the city. We wandered through the city drawing from several vantage points before visiting the Guggenheim Art Gallery in the afternoon. The following day we visited the Rialto market, taking inspiration from the bustling community and produce on display before heading off for the Biennale, an outstanding contemporary Art spectacle. Students were amazed by the variety of Art on display and the thoroughly modern digital techniques employed by many artists. On the final full day we visited the interior of St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, the ornate detail providing lots of inspiration for our textile artists, before heading off to the Island of Burano in the afternoon. The last morning gave the students time to mooch around the Venetian area local to the Rialto bridge to take final photographs before heading back home. The pupils were impeccably behaved throughout the trip and they all made excellent use of their time in the practical and contextual visits. We are looking forward to seeing the work they produce inspired by beautiful Venice.
Sixth Form Taster Day
Choosing A levels can be a difficult task but Fifth Form pupils were able to get a sneak peak and some insider knowledge ahead of time during the Sixth Form Taster Day. The day provided the opportunity and freedom for pupils to take on the role of Sixth Form academic learners, common room inhabitants and Hackett’s coffee drinkers (well, probably hot chocolate!).
All pupils spent time in the classroom with teachers exploring the nature of learning at A level, engaging in debate and discussions, groups tasks and practical activities. The pupils were enthusiastic and spoke vividly about their experiences, sharing anecdotes and their thoughts about the future. We hope the day was a useful part of the jigsaw that is making choices and will continue to meet with them and discuss their ideas over the coming year.
Psychology and Sociology Fair
'Upper Sixth Psychologists and Sociologists presented the findings from their independent investigations at the first ‘Social Science Research Fair’. The judges, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Lisi, were impressed with the levels of commitment displayed by all students and the application of their research method knowledge to a range of fascinating areas. Hannah King’s (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) investigation into whether male perceptions of attraction correlated with female age progression was the overall winner of the competition, whilst Nell Summerley’s (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) investigation into whether there was a difference in levels of introversion and extraversion seen in males and females was awarded students’ choice. Congratulations to all those involved.' Mrs Rogers
Kids Lit Quiz
'On Tuesday 26 November, Cokethorpe hosted the annual Kids’ Lit Quiz and eight Cokethorpe pupils competed to find the top reading team. 23 teams attended from around Oxfordshire and Berkshire, attempting to get to the next round which took place in London on the Tuesday 3 December. The questions were very challenging, for example, 'who won the fourth ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? All in all, it was an amazing experience and fun too! Cokethorpe did not make it to the national final this year...maybe next year?' Tijn Camoenié (First Form, Harcourt) and Millie Warrilow (First Form, Harcourt)
Create your Future Trip
On Tuesday 1 October, a group of Lower Sixth and Fifth Form pupils visited the Create you Future Exhibition at ExCeL, London. Universities, conservatoires and industry specialists from the world of arts, whether that be the Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Production or TV attended the exhibition. With many seminars available including ‘Careers in the Creative Industries’ from Screenskills (Industry specialists in placing those into the Film Industry) and ‘Music Production and Sound Engineering’ from Point Blank Music School. The day was a valuable tool for those who are thinking about the Creative Arts for their future education or career.
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Junior School Pre-Prep Nativity Cast List Narrators: Avalon Harris and Molly Sheer
Family: Flo and Jo - Berry Drake and Esmae Lakey-Dodson Mum and Dad - Portia Rudge and Harry Skeen Travellers: Mary and Joseph - Katie Bowden and Oscar Rivers Donkey - Chloe Strickland Kings: Balthasar - Xavier Dodd Melchior - Ludwig Scholler Caspar - Montague Scott Bethlehem Townsfolk: Man - Ridge Neal Lady - Julia Pisanello Sellers - James Miller and Joseph Cranmer Shepherds: Pete - Oliver Mettrick Ben - Zak Ahmed Ed - Diego Navas de la Fuente Bill - Benjamin Morgan Angels: James Clayton, Jury Elhrari, Lucas Manson, Isabella Oldham, Kyle Rudge, George Theyer, Eloise Young-Gale
Pre-Prep Nativity
On Friday 6 December, Pre-Prep entertained parents with two brilliant performances of their Nativity Everyone Loves A Baby!. Parents made their way past the warming fire in the Mansion to take their seats where a spectacular treat awaited them. Beautiful angels entered the Corinthian Room, their sparkling costumes illuminated and glowing in the dark. After gliding down the aisle, the rest of the cast processed in and the play began. At a Bethlehem Inn, two girls Flo and Jo, lived with their parents, a kind innkeeper and his wife, who have just had a baby. But the girls were not too keen on the new addition. They would rather have a dog, a donkey, or even a camel. The girls went in search of their friend Bill. On the way they met Mary, Joseph, the three wise men and some shepherds, who were all talking about another baby, baby Jesus. After visiting the stable, the girls realised that this baby was something very special indeed. All the Pre-Prep children sang beautifully throughout the show. There were several stand-out songs including the rousing Glory Hallelujah, with a wonderful verse performed by Reception, the poignant Come To The Stable, and the folk inspired, toe-tapping, Four Happy Shepherds. The acting was of a particularly high standard this year and everyone had several difficult lines to learn. Year 2 narrators even managed to learn all their verses from memory. As ever, Mrs Mace had created some fantastic costumes, including many with ingenious integral lights.
U10 Hockey Festival
Cokethorpe held the annual U10 Hockey Festive Tournament this term. The afternoon was full of Christmas spirit with players and coaches dressing up in festive dress in order to fully embrace the occasion. Four schools took part with players showing just how hard they had been working this season to develop cores skills and apply their tactical understanding to the game. Over 25 goals were scored throughout the afternoon. The tournament ended with a festive tea giving the players chance to reflect on the afternoon and start Christmas festivities early. Cokethorpe were crowned champions after winning all of their matches. Results: 1st: Cokethorpe A 2nd: Ducklington School 3rd: St Johns Evangelist School 4th: Brize Norton School 5th: Cokethorpe B
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Upcycled Christmas Jumpers
Flashing Christmas trees made of rope, cardboard reindeer and paper snowflakes‌These are a few of the creative ways our eco-friendly pupils upcycled their Christmas Jumpers this year. Cokethorpe Junior School’s Eco Committee are running the competition for best upcycled sweater to stop their friends buying a brand new woollie for the school Christmas Jumper Day. Winners will be announced during Christmas lunch later today. There are three categories: Pre-Prep (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2), Year 3 and Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6. The competition was open to anyone who did not find a Christmas jumper in the exchanges organised by the Eco Committee since half term.
Junior School Year 4 Visit from Crocodiles of the World
Have you ever stared into the eyes of an alligator or watched Indiana Jones battle with snakes? Well on Thursday 12 September, Mr Stevenson, a zookeeper from Crocodiles of the World, visited Year 4 with some very interesting guests. We were very lucky to be able to see and touch four fascinating reptiles. Firstly, a small bearded-dragon was revealed, then he replaced the lizard in his dark, secure box and took out a tortoise named Trevor. An impressive boa constrictor became our third visitor and a few of us felt slightly nervous! Then the zookeeper produced a five-year-old salt-water alligator! Each of us stroked this wonderful creature and were amazed at how calm he was. We had our faces really close to him so that we could examine his special eyes. It felt very strange but exciting to have such unusual animals in the Corinthian Room where we have normal assemblies! We have learnt to not believe all the bad things that are often said about snakes and crocodiles.
Green Week
The Junior School Eco Committee kicked off Green Week by leading an assembly on how our planet needs everyone in the School to be engaged and asked pupils to make changes, however small, in their everyday lives. During form time, every child wrote a pledge – a small change to their life or everyday habits. Over the course of the week the Catering team, with the help of Year 5 and 6 children monitored food waste across the whole School and displayed the results. Over the week the Junior School reduced their food waste by an impressive 65%. The competition raised pupil awareness of exactly what they were choosing in the servery each day. Within lessons the older children enjoyed a philosophical debate on ‘What is a tree worth?’. The Eco Committee also organised a Clothes Exchange for which pupils brought in items of clothing, no longer worn, to swap with a classmate. Within each class, Energy Monitors were elected to ensure lights and electrical appliances were switched off when not in use. In line with the whole School Eco-Bricking Project, Junior School children have begun collecting single-use plastic and filling eco-bricks both at home and within their classrooms.
Christmas Jumper Day
Year 4 Maths Challenge
On Tuesday 5 November, four Year 4 mathematicians took part in the Maths Challenge in Oxford. They had a fantastic afternoon competing in many rounds of challenging maths problems. Dicey Dicey was the first round, in which the teams had to rapidly solve mental maths calculations. The second fast-paced round was called What Next? where they puzzled over what would come next in ascending and descending sequences including fractions and decimals. Make 24 required all four given numbers to be used to reach the target number of 24. The last number round was Ordering Cards, which involved arranging given digit cards to correctly match the totals. The final two rounds were Tangrams Quads and Domino Jigsaws. The children were tasked with manipulating tangram pieces to create quadrilaterals. They were then given an image of a set of dominoes that fitted together as one big grid of dots with no boundaries between pieces. The children had to work out how the set of dominoes had been arranged. Throughout the afternoon, there was an atmosphere of excitement and energy, as over one hundred, enthusiastic, young mathematicians eagerly tackled the puzzles before them. The four Junior School children worked incredibly hard and enthusiastically all afternoon to earn as many points as possible in their pairs. Very well done to Darcy Atkinson (Year 4, Baker), Molly Harding (Year 4, Lockwood), Freya Richards (Year 4, Lockwood) and Henry Turner (Year 4, Symonds).
Year 6 Maths Challenge
On Thursday 7 November, four Year 6 Mathematicians took part in the Maths Challenge in Oxford. They had a fantastic afternoon competing in three rounds of challenging maths problems. The children began with a round of working through equations systematically to allocate values to a set of letters. Counting Down was the second round which entailed using sets of six values and the four operations to reach as many of the target numbers as possible within the time limit. The final round was The Big Event – a variety of puzzling problems for the pairs to solve. The hall had a wonderful atmosphere with the lively young mathematicians thoroughly enjoying themselves as they puzzled over challenging questions. The children worked incredibly hard and enthusiastically all afternoon to earn as many points as possible in their pairs. Both pairs did very well; out of the 52 pairs of children taking part, Sam Harding (Year 6, Baker) and Hugo Mellor (Year 6, Symonds) achieved 7th place and Arthur Butler (Year 6, Gwyn) and Alex Monaghan (Year 6, Baker) achieving 18th place. Very well done to the four young mathematicians!
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Junior School Pre-Prep Trip to Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre
Water Aid
Thank you for your support with our Harvest Appeal. This year we have been collecting money for Water Aid. We are delighted to report that the Junior School raised £406.92 which will help to provide clean water and toilet facilities for communities around the world. The cheque was presented to a representative from Water Aid in assembly.
Year 6 Trip to The Living Rainforest
‘Year
6 Evolution in Action Workshop
On Tuesday 15 October, Year 6 took part in an Evolution in Action workshop, which was run by Ian Snell from Science Oxford. The children learned about variation, natural selection, adaptation and evolution through a series of fun and engaging practical activities that really helped to develop and consolidate their understanding. 'We learned a lot about evolution by playing fun games.’ Alex Monaghan (Year 6, Baker) ‘I thought the workshop was fun, but it also taught us a lot. I definitely came out more knowledgeable than when I went in.’ Emmeline Black (Year 6, Baker) ‘We learned so much from the workshop. We played weird games that helped us to understand what evolution is. We used spoons, chopsticks and straws. It was so much fun and we got to pretend we were different ducks!’ Audrey McCormick (Year 6, Symonds) ‘The Evolution Workshop was amazing. We played Clippy Island and that was fun. We all enjoyed it. There were many activities, like who would adapt the most. We all said the spoon duck would win. I enjoyed all the activities and I learnt about how whales got their flippers.’ Giovanni Virk (Year 6, Lockwood) ‘I learned so much about evolution.’ Megan Hunt (Year 6, Symonds) ‘It was great fun. I enjoyed doing all the activities and I learnt some new, interesting facts.’ Josh King (Year 6, Baker)
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The Pre-Prep children had a wonderful, sunny day out at the Sutton Courtenay Wildlife Centre. They spent the day finding out how to survive in the woods, made a pond, found forest food and created a woodland shelter for their toys. After a Teddy Bears picnic they used some of their senses to listen out for sounds in the woods and made a lovely cup of fragrant teddy bear tea using plants from the Herb Garden. It was lovely to see all of the children take such an interest in the native wildlife and have so much fun learning new and useful skills.
To inspire the children on their topic for the term, Year 6 visited The Living Rainforest to take part in an adaptations workshop and explore the flora and fauna of this habitat. During the tour they were given an introduction to the world’s tropical rainforests, an understanding of life in this rich and unique environment. The children were thoroughly engaged and asked pertinent questions. The children enjoyed getting up close to the whistling turaco bird, the noisy toucan, marmoset monkeys, giant butterflies, stingrays, terrapins and many more.
Year 5 Trip to Birmingham Science Museum
On Thursday 10 October, Year 5 travelled to Birmingham Science Museum to become astronauts for the day. The experience began with a workshop which explored life on the International Space Station. They learnt about the astronauts on-board and what their daily life is like. Then we began our astronaut training! After our workshop we had some time to explore the galleries where children were able to design and operate their own robots, view some authentic space equipment such as space suits, and design their own extra-terrestrial life form to cope with specific alien planet conditions.
Year 5 Trip to Didcot Sewage Works
'In our Circle of Life topic lessons, Year 5 have revisited their understanding of the Water Cycle and explored how water can be found in different forms on our planet. On Wednesday 20 November, the children visited Didcot Sewage Treatment Works, where they had fun, interactive lessons and an informative tour of the wastewater treatment plant. They learned all about the natural water cycle, good and bad micro-organisms, the process water goes through before and after it is used and how to make a difference in School and at home.' Mrs Dow
Junior School Junior School Christmas Production
As a tribute to history’s most famous advocate of evolution, Charles Darwin, the Junior School performed the musical Darwin Rocks! and wowed the audience with two incredible performances on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 November. In this lighthearted adventure of discovery, travelling from the future to the past, Darwin Rocks both informed and entertained. The catchy songs were accompanied by a group formed especially for the occasion. This provided the children with the opportunity to perform with a live rock band. It was wonderful to see every child from Year 3 to Year 6 perform together on stage. The Year 6 Future Human Ambassadors did a superb job and provided humorous yet informative links to all the different scenes. From Victorian England to the Archipelagos of South America, there were many highlights which included the spectacular opening number set in London, Darwin Rocks!, followed by an enchanting candle lit performance of carols by the Junior School Choir. Year 3 and 4 provided a change of scene as we visited Tierra Del Fuego for their evocative performance around a realistic fire. The Groove of Evolution set in The University Museum, complete with dancing ancestors provided much hilarity and everyone enjoyed the ingenious choreography in Better Than A Dog. The finale song, Nothing Beats Being You, sung by the whole School provided an emotional and fitting close. Once again, Mrs Mace excelled with a sumptuous array of colourful costumes across the board. The technically challenging audio-visual aspects added to the high-quality production, with colourful and spectacular lighting set-pieces and carefully chosen musical links, supported by creative digital backdrops. There were many stand-out performances, including the three children playing Charles Darwin at different stages of his life. However, it was the sheer joy and energy from the whole cast which resonated, displaying high levels of performance competence. Darwin Rocks! captured everyone’s imagination in an experience that will reverberate for a long time.
Christmas Production Cast List
6KF Ambassadors from the future Evo: Emmeline Black Lu: Audrey McCormick Chan: Hattie Hunt Charles: Giovanni Virk Newspaper vendors: Oliver Herbert, Thomas Blackmore, Andrew Homewood John: Josh King Marion: Imogen Wilde Mason: Alexander Monaghan Anna: Hannah Smith Emma: Megan Hunt Year 3 Fuegians: Amy Lukama, Georgia Cross, Tamsin Pratt, Edward Longman, Toby Keates, Samuel Young-Gale, Joshua Crumlish, Joseph Palmer, Emilia Perry, Mya Demain, Oliver Black, Scarlett Gould, Pearl Geraghty, Mia Beechey, Carter Neal Year 4 Chief Chris: Molly Harding Chief Chris’s Father: Jake Jolleys Fuegians: Beatrice Kendall, James Edwards, Isabella Filo, Wilfred McGibbon, Atalanta Cannell, Sienna Timms, Alexander Phinbow, Freya Richards Fuegian Merchant: Bobbie Hunt Officers: Constantia Cannell, Iona Mettrick, Darcy Atkinson, Henry Turner Sailors: Oliver Bowden, Talal Ibrahim, Oliver Chorley 5JD Huxley: Nathaniel Brown Wilberforce: Koemi Neal Bodyguard: Jacob Liu (6BG) Scientists: Merryn Tattersall, Seoyeon Lee, Luella Hickey, Katy Stiger, Noah Yesudian Lady Brodie: Daisy Drake Ancestors: Carlo Campos, Chloe Webber, Lewis Hardy, Ivan ‘t Hart Homo sapien: Isaac Pool Future Human: Benjamin Longman Joe: Kristian Richards 5LD Gene: Heather Homewood Charles: Leo Middleton Chums: Harry Rivers, Jiho Lee, Arthur McCormick, Toby Wyatt, Stanley Harris Friends: Katie Sheldon, Isobella Clarke, Isabelle Sales, Lilliana Strickland, Sophie Grenville-Jones Emma: Maggie West Mary-Ann: Monica Summons 6BG Ambassadors from the future Evo: Chloe Lukama Lu: Emily Pratt Chan: Samson Harding Painter: Jack Harris Charles: Antonio Virk Emma: Amelia Palmer Gentleman: Jacob Liu Etty: Millie Cross Francis: Lara Wilkinson Chief Chris: Callum Costley Fuego: Luke Demain Jeremy: Hugo Mellor York: Arthur Butler
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Junior School Thoughts on Didcot Sewage Works
Here are some thoughts from the Year 5 children who attended the trip to Didcot Sewage Works. ‘Our visit to Didcot Sewage Works was fun. It was loud and very cold. We wore special headgear, a high visibility vest and gloves. It was interesting to see sewage water cleaned and returned to the river clear.’ ‘Didcot Sewage Treatment Plant was a fun, educational, yet rather smelly trip! I enjoyed it a lot and found it very interesting.’ ‘I really enjoyed the fascinating trip to Didcot Sewage Works. We had an interesting tour around the plant even though it was a bit smelly!' ‘I enjoyed the competition of turning ‘poo soup’ into the clearest water. My team did not win but it was exciting trying to build the best filtration method.’
British Sign Language
Junior School children were taught new language skills by our own Senior School pupils, who showed them British Sign Language. Lucy Jenkin (Fourth Form, Gascoigne) and Clemmie Ayres (Fourth Form, Gascoigne) kindly gave up their spare time to show the children in the Junior School in Year 1 and Year 6 how deaf children communicate. The children learnt how to start off a conversation and how to spell their own names by signing. They rounded the session off by singing and signing the Baby Shark song.
Languages Day
Junior School was buzzing with linguists learning about a variety of languages and cultures in celebration of European Day of Languages. We had fun learning to write and speak languages with different alphabets, including Arabic, Mandarin and Russian, as parents, teachers and Sixth Form students from throughout the Cokethorpe community kindly shared their knowledge of languages and cultures from the Lebanon to Hong Kong, New Zealand, Zambia, India, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Year 4 Trip to Cotswold Wildlife Park
This term, Year 4 have been studying the topic of predators and visited Cotswold Wildlife Park to see some of the animals we have been learning about. It was a freezing cold day and so coaxing some of our smaller, furrier friends out of their burrows was a tricky task, but after mastering our animal sounds, we managed to do so! We saw lots of fascinating creatures throughout the trip, but our favourites were the wolverines who put on a hilarious show by pushing each other out of the trees. A big focus from our learning has been on endangered species, especially big cats such as jaguars and leopards, so it was an amazing experience for us to see these beautiful creatures up close in a safe habitat. Learning about these animals and the dangers they face has been a very enlightening experience, and some of us have supported the WWF in order to help protect them. This is something we hope to encourage others to do by raising their awareness with all the things we have learned this term.
Christingle
'On Monday 9 December, we processed to the School Chapel for our annual Christingle Service. The Christingle Service (probably derived from the German word 'Christkindl', which means 'little Christ child') dates back to 1747, and since 1968 the Service has been strongly promoted by The Children's Society. In The Christingle Song, we are reminded that the decorated orange, with its red ribbon, white candle, four cocktail sticks and fruits and sweets, clearly points us to 'Jesus, the Light of the World'. Our Christingles this year were beautifully made by Year 2, and all the Readers and children involved read and sang beautifully. As ever, my heartfelt thanks to Ms Du Feu and all the supporting staff for another very memorable Christingle Service.' Revd Howard, School Chaplain
Christmas Party Bag Appeal
This year the Junior School children filled gift bags to send to the children in Kenya supported by The Nasio Trust. In keeping with their environmental work, the School provided paper bags which were decorated by the children. The gift bags contained small gifts for the children in Kenya. Many of these young children will never have received a present before. Many thanks for all your support and generosity.
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Junior School Corinthian Partnership Science Show
Following on from Simon Watts excellent science show on Space earlier in the term pupils from the Corinthian Partnership Schools (Aston & Cote C of E Primary School, Coombe C of E Primary School, Cokethorpe Junior School and Ducklington C of E Primary School) have enjoyed space workshops, looking at comets, handling meteoroids and using telescopes this half-term.
Kitchen Garden
Dr Flaherty, Assistant Director of Studies has been impressed by the pupils’ knowledge of Space and their enthusiasm to learn more.
This term, Year 1 were joined by the Reception Class for their Outdoor Learning lessons. They started the term by harvesting lavender, drying it in the classroom and making it into scented lavender bags. As the term moved on, they harvested pumpkins, beetroot, sweet peas and carrots. On dry days, the children collected leaves, identifying the tree species and then making Autumn collages. On wet days, the learning came inside and they planted bulbs in the classroom ready for Springtime. The children have had hands-on learning about seasonal changes and growing and caring for plants. They thoroughly enjoyed going out and about in our beautiful parkland, especially when it was muddy!
Thoughts on the Corinthian Partnership Days
A few quotes from our Year 6 children: 'By far, the best bit was the circus skills… the juggling, trying to walk the tightrope and learning how to balance. It was awesome seeing what the instructor could do!' Audrey McCormick (Year 6, Symonds)
Corinthian Partnership Days
On Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September, the children from the Corinthian Partnership Schools came together for two days of large scale, collaborative projects and communication skills activities to celebrate the Corinthian Partnership. Aston and Cote, Combe and Ducklington Primary Schools joined Cokethorpe Junior School for an array of activities. All the children in Years 4 and 5 from the four schools enjoyed taking part in a giant scale, lego town-planning construction project. Meanwhile Year 6 had a very different day in four mixed groups, with a carousel of four workshops. They enjoyed philosophical debates, djembe drumming, creating Henry Matisse inspired artwork and a circus skills workshop. The weather on both days was glorious, perfect for the barbecue lunch and ice cream eaten on the fields overlooking the Mansion House. Wednesday was another busy day of activities with Years 2 and 3 following in the footsteps of Years 4 and 5, taking part in another giant scale, lego town-planning construction project. Whilst Year 1 enjoyed a circus skills show followed by circus skills workshops and a story-telling workshop. There was a super atmosphere in the School and staff were very proud of the way in which our children welcomed their guests and contributed to all the activities.
'The Corinthian Room was alive with the sound of drumming! Djembe drumming was beautiful.' Millie Cross (Year 6, Baker) 'Art was my favourite. We transformed plain white tiles into colourful pieces of art by cutting and arranging paper in the style of Henry Matisse.' Emmeline Black (Year 6, Baker) 'In philosophy, interacting with children from other schools, sharing and hearing others’ opinions as well as debating was great fun. We debated which animals it was acceptable to eat and why, such as polar bears.' Millie Cross (Year 6, Baker) 'I thought drumming with so many people was going to be really hard, but it wasn’t. It was the best!' Imogen Wilde (Year 6, Lockwood) 'I enjoyed learning how to balance a peacock feather on my nose and how to spin a plate on a stick.' Arthur Butler (Year 6, Gwyn)
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Sixth Form Sixth Form Introduction Days
At the start of the term which is an important part of the transition into Sixth Form, all new students participate in a three day induction programme. The aim of these three days is to create a sense of community within the year group through shared experiences and a need to meet challenges together. Alongside an induction into the type of learner that we expect all of our students to become there were also activities that aim to test, develop and challenge perceptions of what learning is. All of the students participated in the amazing Operating Theatre Live day with dissection and a broad range of knowledge about how the body works and how it is described. All of them came out with a sense of achievement and something that fitted with their own course of study. The inter-relationship between subjects was definitely and vividly explored.
The students also benefitted from a graffiti workshop day with a focus on artistic expression rather than the science of the day before. Again all students entered into the spirit of the day and, again, everyone left with a sense of purpose. It is clear that the narrative and the challenge of the induction programme was embraced by all.
Welcome to Sixth Form Dinner On Tuesday 24 September, the Sixth Form held their annual Welcome to Sixth Form Dinner. An event organised by the Sixth Form Social Committee welcomed the new Lower Sixth students to the School. The students were treated to welcome drinks as they sat down to a ‘Nando’s’ style dinner, cooked by the fantastic Catering Department. The food was outstanding and was followed by speeches offering advice from the Upper Sixth. A quiz ended the evening with each Tutor Group competing in four rounds ranging from general knowledge to music. A great evening was had by all. A huge thank you to everyone who made the evening so special for our Sixth Form.
Sixth Form Christmas Dinner and Party
After a very busy term, the Sixth Form came together to celebrate Christmas on Friday 6 December. For entire day, the Sixth Form Centre was full of festive cheer with music playing and gifts delivered via Secret Santa in the evening to bring some festive cheer to the students. The evening was planned to perfection by the Sixth Form Social Committee and Mrs Sheldon in the Catering Department. The Dining Hall was transformed into a winter wonderland and as the students entered the Hall, they were greeted by snow drifting down on them. The Hall looked magical, and as they sat down to enjoy the carvery-style dinner with their tutors, there was certainly a special atmosphere in the air. The evening ended with each Tutor Group singing their part of the twelve days of Christmas, as the students left full of the Cokethorpe Christmas Spirit.
Safe Drive, Stay Alive
As our Sixth Form students prepare for their driving tests we, as their teachers understand that they are excited about the freedom and responsibility this will give them as young adults. The Sixth Form PSHE programme gave all our Lower Sixth the opportunity to attend the ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ course in Oxford this term. Thames Valley Police captured the attention of the crowd where our students heard from the people who deal with the after effects of poor driving and decision making. This hard-hitting talk introduced them to surgeons, police officers, firefighters, victims and their families. Our Lower Sixth students listened attentively and learnt a great deal in preparation to start their driving lessons.
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Cardiff University Trip
On Tuesday 26 November, Lower Sixth students visited Cardiff University to begin the process of planning the next phase of their education. 'The trip to Cardiff University was illuminating - revealing the different aspects as well as importance of Higher Education. We were warmly welcomed with a lecture on the undergraduate courses available and student life, along with some interesting extra-curricular activities such as custard wrestling! Some of the current students gave us a lovely tour of the campus, giving everyone time to ponder their futures as we explored the town. Overall, the trip gave us great insight into life at university – scary but exciting times are ahead!' Georgie James (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne)
Sixth Form Enlightenment Lectures Slang - Counter-Culture or the Culture Now?
On Friday 11 October, the Sixth Form received an Enlightenment Lecture delivered by Lexicographer, Jonathon Green on the subject of slang. The talk critiqued societal perceptions of ‘street talk’ and analysed the use, history and evolution of slang. Particularly interesting was his explanation about why not all slang should be considered as a compilation of vulgar ‘dirty words’, but rather as the urban shorthand of a language. Mr Green’s lecture was humorous, engaging and in many places, shocking; his frequent use of so-called ‘taboo’ language made us challenge the power that certain words hold. This talk certainly suggested new literary ideas and I look forward to reading his latest book, which explores the relationship between women and slang.' Lauren Thomas (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne)
Save the Planet and... Burn Plastic?
'Having Adrian Griffiths, CEO of Recycling Technologies in Swindon, visit Cokethorpe from his company Plaxx and talk of the new and innovative way in which plastic could be recycled and put to better use was fascinating. Mr Griffiths explained his method of how plastic and dust could be melted down using a newly created system to produce a crude oil substitute. The talk demonstrated that plastic may have great potential for the future, and that the sooner the concept and machinery becomes commonplace within mass producing companies, the better. Whilst my confidence in plastic was restored following Mr Griffiths's visit, I felt that the importance of sustainability is never to be underestimated. Indeed, Mr Griffiths also brought to our attention the dangers of carbon in everyday products, and how we can sidestep this issue through investment in plastic. Overall, the Plaxx presentation explored the great potential of plastic, and beauty of innovation, and the roles we can play in our struggle against climate change.' Louis Rawlinson (Upper Sixth, Harcourt)
Homelessness
'The Enlightenment Lecture given by Paul Roberts, CEO of AspireOxford, on homelessness in Oxford is a subject that is quite close to us all. The charity works with the rough sleepers that we see every time we go into Oxford. It was enlightening to learn about the sad increase in homelessness and how it can happen to anyone. To learn about what the charity was doing was really inspiring. It also demonstrated to us that it is not only a national charity that can help to make change, but if local people are passionate about a cause then anything is possible.' Paige Davies (Lower Sixth, Feilden)
Reviews from Enlightenment Lecture Speakers
'From my point of view that was excellent: I hope the audience enjoyed it as much as I did! And there were lots of good questions - I would happily have answered questions for another hour!' Jonathon Green 'Thanks for inviting me to speak at Cokethorpe School, it was great to see the interest of so many students in what is a vital subject. Reducing the carbon emissions associated with our day-to-day lives is critical. Plastic, with the right recycling infrastructure, may well play a significant role in achieving the aim of reducing our carbon footprint. I do hope that the role that engineering and innovation can play in our day-to-day lives and the sustainability of our planet will inspire some of your students to go on and achieve great things!' Adrian Griffiths
MMI Medicine and Veterinary
On Saturday 16 November, we held our inaugural MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews) day for both Medicine and Veterinary students here at Cokethorpe School. The MMI day was created to replicate an interview day held at university. The six interview stations meant all students were interviewed from their personal statements, at a prioritisation station and an ethics station. The veterinary students were also asked to complete a manual dexterity task in the cold. The idea behind an MMI is similar to that of speed dating, a brief interview and move on to the next table. To help facilitate the day we welcomed parents, OCs and two universities to School. These included two Vets, one Veterinary Physiotherapist, two Consultant Anaesthetists, a Clinical Psychologist and two GPs, as well as a fourth-year student from the Royal Veterinary College and an Admissions Tutor from Lancaster University. The day comprised of an introduction talk ‘a day in the life of …a doctor or a vet’ followed by the first MMI session. The participants on the day were not only Cokethorpe students, we had students from Henry Box School, Wood Green School, Chipping Norton School, Burford School, The Marlborough School, Matthew Arnold School, Henley College and Abingdon School. Good luck to all the students with their future interviews whether for Medicine or a Veterinary place at university.
Christmas Concert
On Friday 6 December, the Sixth Form held the annual Christmas Service in the Sixth Form Centre. Led by Reverend Howard, the Sixth Form sang Christmas favourites, new and old, heard readings, watched dramatic performances and heard a variety of musical renditions from students and staff. A special thanks to the Music Department who ensured the Christmas Spirit was felt by all and the Catering Department who finished the afternoon with mince pies, hot chocolate and mulled wine bringing the festivities to an end.
Charity Committee
The Charity Committee have certainly been busy this term raising a total of £800 so far this year for ‘Oxfordshire Mind’ and ‘Help for Heroes’, the two charities the Sixth Form team have chosen to support this year. Cake sales and christmas jumper events have ensured an impressive amount of money has been collected so far and the committee hope to deliver the money collected at the end of the year in a special ceremony to these two charities. The Charity Committee would like to take the opportunity to thank all pupils and students who have supported the events this term, in particular the First Form who have made some fabulous cakes to support the cake sales.
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The Arts St Cecilia Concert
Jazz Band Sonnymoon for Two - Sonny Rollins Song for my Father - Horace Silver Harrison Procter Sonatina in G: Mmt I, Allegro risoluto Dvořák Millie Pratley Gaelic Blessing - Rutter Concert Band Livin’ on a Prayer - Bon Jovi Bel Canto Slipping Through My Fingers Andersson and Ulvaeus My Life is in Your Hands - Franklin Olivia Stacey In His Eyes - Wildhorn Jazz Combo Bésame Mucho - Consuelo Velázquez My Favourite Things - Rogers and Hammerstein String Orchestra Shape of You - Sheeran A Million Dreams - Pasek and Paul Folk Song Suite: Movement I - Vaughan Williams Poppy Wehrle Allegretto Malincolico - Poulenc First Form You’ll be in my Heart - Collins Orchestra Egmont Overture - Beethoven Sea Songs - Vaughan Williams
Choral Evensong
On Monday 14 October, we welcomed parents, pupils and staff to our termly Choral Evening in the Chapel, remembering that we continued a tradition that had begun 470 years earlier in 1549. After the hymn Praise to the Lord (originally a German hymn), we heard the Preces and Responses by Ayleward and a Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by Stanford. The Readings reminded us how some evil-doers (King Ahab and Jezebel) never really change, while others (Saul of Tarsus, who became St Paul) are able to change. After the beautiful anthem Greater Love Hath No Man by Ireland, we finally closed with prayers and the magnificent Welsh hymn Guide Me, O My Great Redeemer. We also enjoyed Bach's Fantasia in C Minor BWV 570, played by Dr Winkley on the organ. Many thanks to Mr Hughes, the Music Department and the School Choir for another highly memorable Choral Evensong, which reflected our rich British tradition of choral and organ music from all over Europe. Revd Howard, School Chaplain
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St Cecilia Concert
The St Cecilia Concert was a great celebration of the hard work and achievements of Cokethorpe's finest musicians. Featuring solos from Harrison Procter (Fifth Form, Feilden) violin; Olivia Stacey (Lower Sixth, Swift), voice, Poppy Wehrle (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne) flute and Millie Pratley (Fourth Form, Swift) voice. They each performed with finesse demonstrating great maturity in their interpretation. The Concert Band, Jazz Band and String Orchestra presented a varied programme taking the audience on a musical journey from Vaughan Williams’ Folk Song Suite to a lively performance of 80’s classic Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi. Sixth Former, Oliver Charles (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) gave a commanding performance of Besame Mucho and My Favourite Things with the jazz combo which contrasted nicely with the sweet sounds of Bel Canto. The First Form gave a rousing performance of You’ll Be in My Heart and it was great to see them coming together as a year group to perform in two part harmony. The concert concluded with a stunning performance of Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and Vaughan Williams’s Sea Songs by the orchestra, with all musicians playing with great passion and enthusiasm.
Live Lounge
Cokethorpe once again welcomed Luke Potter (Joss Stone, Yes Sir Boss, Potts and Jammin) to the School for a day of workshops and an exceptional evening of music. Throughout the day several of the School’s singer/songwriters had the opportunity to bring their music to a workshop with a house band led by Luke where they were shown how to arrange their music in different ways. Pupils were taught the importance of considering how a song might work with different ensembles when constructing songs and how to make best use of given instrumentalists. The day was topped off with an evening performance where all pupils were able to showcase what they had developed over the course of the day.
Music Award Holders' Recital
The music department’s series of recitals commenced in excellent fashion with a programme featuring a range of styles and instruments by the School’s Music Award Holders. It was clear that in spite of the long summer holiday, the students had continued to practise, presenting pieces, amongst others, by Charpentier, Vivaldi, Vaughan Williams, and Grieg, to a high standard and with musical insight. It certainly provided an impressive start to Cokethorpe’s musical calendar.
The Arts First Form Mime Presentations
On Monday 18 November, the First Form competed the first public performance of their Senior School Drama careers. There were four highly entertaining pieces of mime, detailing diverse and humorous tales such as: colourful and chaotic characters on board a cruise ship, a thrilling visit to the funfair with a lethal rollercoaster, the horrors of a lost finger in fast food preparation and an exhilarating trip into space with crash landings and psychotic telepathic aliens. The whole cohort was focused keenly on their practical skills and this this was a highly enjoyable performance from a talented year group.
The Lovely Bones Theatre Trip
On Thursday 14 November, the Drama Department took a group of Fifth and Sixth Form Drama students to see The Lovely Bones at The Oxford Playhouse. This chilling narrative, told from the point of view of a murdered teenage girl, was instantly brought to life using some extremely effective theatrical devices. The, at times, horrific story line, was highlighted with masterful moments of tension and coupled with fantastic sound, set and lighting design. This hugely engaging and enjoyable production certainly gave our pupils a lot to write about in the analytical and evaluative writing for their GCSE and A Level examinations.
LAMDA Showcase
GCSE Recital
This annual recital provides the School’s GCSE music pupils with an opportunity to perform publically those pieces that they have been learning to play as part of the performance coursework submission. This year a great range of musical styles was offered, ranging from violin and piano duets, to pop pieces on drums and bass guitar. The standard of the performances was naturally high and the students are no doubt pleased that they have now completed 30% of their academic course.
The first pupil performance of this academic year performed to a packed audience in The Shed, on Tuesday 24 September. An eclectic mix of LAMDA pieces, both solo and duo, from our First Form to Sixth Form demonstrated current work in progress and completed examination performances. All pupils contributing did so with passion and much preparation. Our thanks go out to all involved and for Mrs Cooper for organising the event.
Night of the Proms
Advent Services
On Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 December the whole School was invited to participate in our two Advent Carol Services in St Mary's Church, Witney. Feilden, Gascoigne and Harcourt Houses attended with family and friends on the Monday night; and Queen Anne, Swift and Vanbrugh on the Tuesday night. The church was decorated with an amazing display of Christmas trees, as St Mary's was again celebrating their Winter Wonderland Festival. This year we again adapted the Advent Carol Service from King's College Cambridge, which focuses our minds and our hearts on the Season of Advent. So the readings, ably read by pupils from the three attendant Houses, prepared us thoughtfully and progressively for the arrival and return of a long-awaited Messiah; and choral items, congregational carols, prayers and Advent Responses led us gently through the Season of Advent towards Christmas. The whole service was wonderfully introduced and concluded on the organ by Dr Winkley. We also enjoyed a new descant to Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending, written by Mr Hughes himself. My heartfelt thanks to all the musicians, all the staff and all the pupils for their involvement and participation in these two very memorable Advent Services. Revd Ian Howard, School Chaplain
On Thursday 12 September, students studying Music in the Lower and Upper Sixth were able to visit the Royal Albert Hall in London for a performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. As this is one of the set works students have been studying for their A Level, it was a fantastic opportunity to listen to a live performance of the work. The performance did not disappoint with the Aurora Orchestra interweaving a memorising performance of the Symphonie Fantastique with theatrical design, lighting, movement and Berlioz’s own words about his music, alongside a presentation of the work’s musical ideas with live excerpts. Students were swept away with the energy and commitment of the orchestra in what was an extremely valuable experience.
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The Arts The Crucible Michaelmas Production Cast and Crew
Betty Parris Rebecca Hutchinson Reverend Samuel Parris George Kinniburgh Tituba Poppy Stewart Abigail Williams Alice Woodwards Susanna Walcott Maddie Abbs-Woodd Mrs Ann Putnam Lucy Marshall Thomas Putnam Arthur Eve Mercy Lewis Ella Dalton Mary Warren Mimi Dobson John Proctor Sam Carter Rebecca Nurse Millie Knight Giles Corey Dylan Morris Reverend John Hale Jamie Wehrle Elizabeth Proctor Molly Cockin Francis Nurse James Shaw Ezekiel Cheever Oscar Luckett Jailor Navid Mowat Judge Hathorne Ruben Hammond Guards Matthew Rees Rafi Layish Judge Sewell Tom Orton Deputy Governor Danforth Hayden Camidge Sarah Good Abbey Malin Herrick Daniel Ferrier Ruth Putnam Caitlyn Alford Martha Corey Amy Goodgame Salem Townsfolk/Courtroom/Girls Archie Clarke, Marni Cox, Emily Stewart, Rohana Saunders, Lily Charles, Dee Biles, Jasmine Hammond, Lily Cannell, Lucy Keeling, Grace Ponsford, Molly Grinham, Nancy Christensen, Georgie Verdon, Mae Topley, Jossy Brown, Scarlet Munn, Lucy Jenkin, Clementine Ayres, Poppy Harris, Ella Cripps, Josiah Cannell The Crew Sam Copping Morgan Thomas Lewie Camidge Aoife Kirkham Charlie Kerton Malachy Brown Costumes Mrs L Mace Costume Assistants Lydia Dale Adela Wilson Set Artwork Mr W G Lawson Lighting James Ball Thanks Go To Our Headmaster Mr Bowsher and the Maintenance Team The Foundation Office Miss Wadeson in The Box Office The Catering Team
Fernleigh Care Home
The Choir were this year invited to Fernleigh Care Home to sing for residents and family members at their Christmas Party. As presents were given out to all in attendance the Choir sung Christmas Carols.
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The Crucible
Cokethorpe Drama closed the Michaelmas term with a searing and powerful production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. This was a topical and thought-provoking performance, with outstanding and mature portrayals of characters caught in a maelstrom of frenzied paranoia. The menacing mood was set by Poppy Stewart’s (Fourth Form, Gascoigne) mesmerising performance as Tituba, leading the young girls in a figurative blend of ritualistic movement. The escalating tension was brought sharply into focus by an agitated Reverend Parris, played with skill and absolute command by George Kinniburgh (upper Sixth, Harcourt) whose efforts to deflect blame were destructively infectious. Abigail, his headstrong niece and leader of the conspiracy was played with terrifying authority by Alice Woodwards (Lower Sixth, Swift) on her Cokethorpe Drama debut, and her coterie of young followers were collectively terrifying in their hysteria. To add to the villainy, Lucy Marshall (Fifth Form, Harcourt) and Arthur Eve (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) were a joy to watch as Mr and Mrs Putnam, soaking each scene with their twisted melancholy and abuse of power. This was matched by Judges Hathorne and Sewell, played by Ruben Hammond (Lower Sixth, Harcourt) and Tom Orton (Fifth Form, Swift) with maturity and convincing authority. They in turn supported a commanding performance by Hayden Camidge (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) as Deputy Governor Danforth, whose growling presence and unbending interpretation of the law perfectly captured the stern and unforgiving nature of the early settler communities. Into the cauldron of this frenzy were thrown sympathetic characters, such as the virtuous and idealistic Revered Hale, whose quest for truth was superbly captured by Jamie Wehrle (Fourth Form, Queen Anne). Alongside him the gruff, yet noble Giles Corey was expertly played by Dylan Morris (Fourth Form, Vanbrugh) and the compassionate fragility of Francis and Rebecca Nurse was beautifully conveyed by James Shaw (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) and Amelia Knight (Fifth Form, Gascoigne). The focal point of this moving tragedy though rested on the characters of John and Elizabeth Proctor, played here by Sam Carter (Lower Sixth, Queen Anne) and Molly Cockin (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh). These two performers shone with their mature interpretations of marital strife, regret, resolution and final absolution. They provided a warm and believable heart to this historical tragedy; as their community imploded in accusation, fear and murder, we believed in the hope and redemption provided by their sensitive portrayal. There were also many valuable members of the supporting cast who provided lively and dynamic characterisation, especially in the terrifying court scene. With outstanding period costumes by Mrs Mace, a haunting sound and lighting design, all played against the backdrop of a fragmented and evocative set, this was a production which exemplified the very best of Cokethorpe Drama. It demonstrated the exceptional maturity of our pupils to tackle weighty themes, as they created a highly charged and believable performance with a potent message for our time on the dangers of division and hysteria in a post-truth society.
Lent Term Arts Events Afternoon Music Recital Monday 20 January 2020 4.15pm – 5.00pm Corinthian Room
Drama Award Holders’ Showcase Monday 27 January 2020 4.15pm – 5.00pm The Shed
Fifth Form Devised Examination Performances
Fifth Form Drama candidates presented their devised GCSE pieces to a live audience in The Shed on Thursday 26 September. The work showcased some mature and thought-provoking theatre as well as some outstanding individual performances. One ensemble provided the audience with a glimpse into a personal story of the consequences of bullying. This was a wonderful example of excellent teamwork and a lesson in how humour can be used to highlight tragedy. The Museum of Childhood was a clever framing device used to introduce the audience to a ‘behind the scenes’ look at some traditional fairytale characters and their darker hidden secrets, reflecting the pressures of modern life for young people today. Themes of injustice and prejudice were explored and brilliantly presented using a variety of theatre techniques to reflect the experiences of victims of persecution and discrimination. All candidates demonstrated great courage, creativity and collaboration. It was a truly enjoyable evening of ambitious theatre making.
Second Form Showcase Tuesday 4 February 2020 3.10pm – 4.00pm The Shed Choral Evensong Monday 10 February 2020 4.15pm – 5.00pm The Chapel Young Musician Competition Final Thursday 13 February 2020 7.00pm - 9.00pm The Shed Inter-House Drama Competition Tuesday 3 March – Friday 6 March 2020 Heats - 1.15pm – 2.00pm The Shed Finals - 4.00pm – 5.00pm Sports Hall Spring Concert Thursday 19 March 2020 7.00pm – 9.00pm The Shed Drama Lent Term Production The Threepenny Opera Thursday 26 March – Friday 27 March 2020 7.00pm – 9.00pm The Shed
November Music Recital
On Monday 11 November, the term’s first afternoon recital was a splendid success and featured students from across the year groups. They entertained the audience with musical offerings by composers including Telemann, Bach, Gershwin, and Poulenc on a variety of musical instruments. The standard of music was certainly high with performances demonstrating considerable musicianship and artistic nuance.
LAMDA Examinations Monday 30 March – Thursday 2 April 2020 All Day Events Corinthian Room Third Form Showcase Thursday 2 April 2020 7.00pm – 8.00pm The Shed
Candlelit Singers' Concert
On Thursday 5 December, a lovely evening was had by all who attended the Candlelit Singers' Concert in the Chapel. The performance from the Senior School singers featured vocal soloists and a trio. The audience enjoyed a varied programme, with offerings from composers such as Handel, Faure and Rutter. This was followed by mulled wine and minced pies. It was a great start to the festive season.
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Sport Sports Colours
The awarding of Sports Colours in recognition for exceptional playing standards at Senior level and awarded as either half or full colours. Full Colours
Hockey Frankie Brown Neve Macken Tenisha Aparo Iboch Rugby Barney Bolton James Benali Matthew Christensen Charlie Fletcher Connor Kirby Archie Scott Lawrence Topley Ben Wannell Finley Wightman Half Colours Hockey Lizzie Tomkins Milly Pittaway Alexia Zamani
Climbing Trip to Symonds Yat
The climbers made the most of a rare dry day to dash over to the Forest of Dean, and try out some of the awesome climbs at Symonds Yat. The adventure started with a short abseil into the base of the climbs, which our climbers achieved with bags of confidence. Based in the Red Rock/Long Stone area, they were soon proving their skill and expertise on some tricky routes, which included climbing around the mouths of two large caves at the base of the crag. Towards the end of the trip, some of the more experienced climbed Symonds Yat’s famous pinnacle – The Long Stone. The view from the top was, as expressed by all, ‘awesome’! The climbers were, as ever, entirely fit for the challenge of the day, and came back with huge grins and plenty of stories to tell.
Cokethorpe First XV and U16 Rugby Kit
Cokethorpe rugby is fortunate enough to be sponsored by Sweetcroft Homes this term. Owner and Director Glen Chapman purchased two fantastic new kits for the 1st XV and U16s to wear in all their fixtures. We are hugely grateful and appreciative to Glen for his ongoing support of the rugby programme.
Rugby Téo Loeffen Charlie Clarke
Senior Captains
Congratulations to this term’s Senior Sports Captains. Rugby Captain: Barney Bolton Vice Captains: Laurence Topley James Benali Hockey Captain: Vice Captain:
Frankie Brown Neve Macken
Being awarded the position of Senior Captain is a great privilege and having the responsibility of being a role model to the younger pupils in the School. It has been pleasing to see such a mature and professional approach to this task.
RYA Schools Sailing Champions
From Saturday 30 November to Sunday 1 December, three sailors went down to Weymouth and took part in the RYA Schools Sailing Match Racing Championship. The Cokethorpe team with Barty Gray (Lower Sixth, Gascoigne) as the helm and Joe Cantwell (Upper Sixth, Swift) and Henry Kerton (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) as crew, faced nine other schools in the regatta and were first to the first mark in all of their races. The Cokethorpe team won all the pre-start battles and the crew hiked out harder and kept the boat flatter, resulting in it being faster up wind. Congratulations to our new National winners who showed great team spirit and have worked hard to get the trophy.
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Golf Report
This term the Cokethorpe School Golf Team was able to compete in several events and performed very successfully. A group of our younger golfers have also been benefitting from lessons with our pro, Adam Souter throughout this term. Our Fourth Form golfers, Freya Coughlan (Fourth Form, Harcourt) and Ollie Webb (Fourth Form, Swift), competed for the School in the British Schools Southern Open. This was a national event for U21s and there were schools from across England, Scotland and Wales. The pairing performed superbly against some top class opposition and came 15th overall, 6th after handicaps were factored in. In the individual events Freya came 2nd in the girls event and Ollie came 10th in the U15 category. Freya was the joint winner of the overall individual event with handicaps. Freya also competed for the school in the British Schools Ladies Open and finished 7th overall and first in the U15 event, a fabulous achievement. Two of our Third Form golfers, Freddie Murfitt (Third Form, Queen Anne) and Ben Collier (Third Form, Swift), competed in the ISGA Junior Schools Cup at Sunningdale Heath. Facing a line-up of the top golfing junior schools in the country they competed with great credit to finish 12th out of 21 schools entered. Beating schools such as Whitgift and Reeds, both of whom have dedicated golf academies, they can be very proud of their efforts. The term’s golf ended rather frustratingly with our fixture against St Edwards, Oxford cancelled due to inclement weather but all the golfers are looking forward to the Summer Term when we will again have a good series of events for our golfers to take part in.
Sport Greece Sailing Trip
During the half term, ten students went on an adventure and took part in a sailing trip around the Greek islands. After landing in Corfu, taking the ferry all the way down to Lefkada and finally the mini bus to Nidri, the sailors ultimately arrived to the yacht that would be their home for the next week. With the weather being fantastic, and the sea warm and as clear as crystal; the sailors had the opportunity to enjoy a variety of activities such as paddle boarding, kayaking and snorkelling. Although they did not have much wind during the trip, our team still managed to do some sailing and practice their tacks on the 51-feet long yacht that they were chartering for the week. Sunbathing on the upper deck of the yacht, rock jumping in the clear waters and going on adventurous hikes in the mountainous Greek islands were also part of the fun. Just when the sailors were getting accustomed to the tasty Greek food, the intrepid Greek cats and the warmth of the Mediterranean sea, their adventure was coming to an end.
Hockey Report
A brilliant season for the 1XI was kicked off before the start of term in Oxford where St Edwards school hosted a great pre-season event. Wins for Cokethorpe here highlighted the strength in depth at the top of the school and promise for the season ahead. From this point on the team began to gel scoring an impressive number of goals throughout the season demonstrating a high level of speed and skill. The 2nd XI have competed valiantly throughout this term, developing a spirit which has been seen them fight to a number of excellent victories. In victory and defeat the team have always enjoyed competing and the progress they have made in their hockey has been hugely impressive. The U16s have enjoyed great success through the hockey season. From the get-go they have shown grit and resilience in training that has enabled them make significant progress throughout attack and defence This is a truly remarkable group of young ladies who will continue to work hard on the astro and prepare for the national finals in March. The U15 girls have performed fantastically this season. Their attitude and ambition in matches have been outstanding and Captain Gemma Crocker (Fourth Form, Gascoigne) has proved herself to be an excellent captain. The U14s have played well this term, especially as it was the first proper taste of a full-sized pitch. Results were very good winning four and losing three of their matches. A thoroughly enjoyable season was had for the U13s, the team have grown in confidence with their performance on pitch and as a result, the games have become more exciting as the season progressed, securing some good wins from the As. The U12As started off the season with an energetic afternoon at Winchester House School in which they gelled together as a team to play some excellent hockey, beating the hosts B team. The U12Bs have shown incredible improvement over the season and are now much more familiar with the rules of the game.
U12 and U13 Rugby Festival
The annual Cokethorpe rugby festival returned this October bigger and better than ever. With proud sponsors Akuma Rugby and Knead Wood Oven pizza supporting us throughout the day with shelter and great food – the boys were able to concentrate on their rugby. The tournament was split into four groups of U12s and U13s. The top two schools from each group would progress to a cup semi-final with the 3rd and 4th place moving into the plate semifinal. In the U12 section, Our Ladies Abingdon topped the group moving into the cup semi-final to play Cheltenham Bournside. The Cotswold School U13 team were looking formidable, comfortably navigating their way to top of the group beating our own Cokethorpe U13 team by two tries to nil. Cokethorpe led by Findlay Knox (Second Form, Feilden) was determined to lead his team to this years final, after the disappointment of losing in the final last year. Cheltenham Bournside U13 were playing some free flowing, slick rugby and sailed into the semi final to set up an eagerly awaited Cup semi-final against Cotswold. Cokethorpe would face Royal Latin U13A in the other cup semi-final. As we entered the knockout stages of the competition the dark clouds parted and the blue skies descended upon the Feilden pitches. This made for some really fast, attractive rugby with a lot of smiles on faces and some fantastic, vocal support from parents. Cotswold School U12 breezed into the final of the Cup and were ultimately too strong for Bournside U12 despite the game going into extra time. Despite a brilliant win and memorable comeback against Royal Latin U13s in the semi-final, Cokethorpe U13 were once again beaten in the final against a very well drilled Cheltenham Bournside U13 team. The whole event was played in great spirit and with over 240 boys involved was a fantastic success. We will be looking forward to welcoming another host of schools in 2020.
Players of the Season
Congratulations to the following pupils for their exceptional sporting performance during the Michaelmas Term. Senior Girls Frankie Brown Senior Boys Players Player of the Season - Ben Wannell
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Sport Kayaking
Congratulations to Charlie Dickson Upper Sixth, Feilden) and Hollie Jackson (Upper Sixth, Swift) who won the National Schools Kayaking Championships. They were absolutely fantastic winning the Ladies Trophy following a gruelling 20km race.
Ryde School Sailing Trip
Equestrian
Congratulations to the equestrian team for their performance at the rectory farm arena. With a squad of 25 individual performances across the two days, they secured five National qualification tickets and two Plate qualifications in three different competitions. It was another superb performance from our Equestrian squad at the National Championships with our 80cm team and 70cm individual making it through to the jump offs. Well done to Arthur for his 70cm podium finish on The Magnificent Pedro. Further congratulations to Ella Cammack (Lower Sixth, Swift), Isabella Smith (Fifth Form, Queen Anne), Freya (Soden (Fourth Form, Swift) and Grace Soden (Secind Form, Swift) who competed in the 90cm Arena Eventer Challenge qualifier. They won to earn qualification to the Championships at Hickstead in May next year.
On Wednesday 25 September, the Cokethorpe Sailing team comprising Joe Cantwell (Upper Sixth, Swift), Henry Kerton (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne), Adela Wilson (Lower Sixth, Feilden), Harrison Procter (Fifth Form, Feilden), Joe Ferrier (Fifth Form, Vanbrugh) and Malachy Brown (Third Form, Queen Anne) visited the Isle of Wight to compete in the Ryde School Sailing Firefly Team Race sailing against Ryde School on the sea. The Cokethorpe Crusaders won both races with the whole team sailing very well in a strong tide and significant waves. The very strong winds meant that the racing was sailed in Picos rather than the Fireflies which we had taken with us. Sailing Captain Joe Cantwell decided to test the temperature of the water twice before the start but still sailed through to join, joint captain Henry Kerton at the front. The team had a great day on the Isle of Wight and enjoyed open sea sailing, they will use this experience as preparation for the coming Weymouth regatta which will take place in November.
Ski Trip
Shooting
Congratulations to our Shooting Squad who won the Oxford Gun Company School’s Challenge, earning a medal, headgear and 250 cartridges each.
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On 14 December, 44 skiers and five accompanying members of staff set off for the resort of Schladming in Austria for the annual ski adventure. The journey was smooth and soon the group arrived in the beautiful southern Alps, which were blanketed in thick and glorious snow. The typical Austrian ‘gasthof’ was warm and welcoming, and the team was treated to a late meal before they set about unpacking for the exciting week ahead. The first few days of skiing set the tone; a ski-bus took us to the Reiteralm ski area with its extensive tree-lined pistes, efficient lift systems and largely traffic-free skiing. The course included four hours of ski instruction each day and the skiers quickly found their level under the expert eye of our lively and friendly local instructors. The chosen week coincided with the start of the main ski season, but just ahead of the Christmas rush for the slopes, which meant that the resort staff were all fresh and welcoming, and the facilities and infrastructure were in tip-top condition. The Cokethorpe teachers and the travel company arranged evening activities during the week, including highlights such as evening indoor and outdoor(!) swimming at the pool in Schladming, a local and interesting form of bowling, film nights and the all-important trip to the shops in Schladming. However, the highlight of the entertainment programme was Dr Winkley’s now infamous quiz, a hard-fought and hilarious competition in which the winning team came away as the inaugural champions of the ‘Schladming Plate’, which will be revived to grace future trips. As the daily skiing continued skills improved and enthusiasm remained high. Unfortunately, the weather gradually changed, and as temperatures in the valley soared to an unseasonal 10 degrees Celsius, lying snow disappeared and the hillsides turned from white to green. All was not lost, the pistes remained in good condition thanks to the stillfrozen ground and the incredible work carried out by the resort custodians. By the end of the week, tired skiers rallied to compete in the final slalom event, demonstrating new-found skills and putting in some fantastic times. The final evening culminated in prize-giving, always a highlight of the trip. The skiers returned home in good time for the Christmas festivities having had a fabulous week in a glorious part of Austria.
Sport Rugby Report
The Rugby season has been one to reflect upon with great pride for Cokethorpe this term. The ethos of inclusion and excellence has been demonstrated in abundance with over 200 boys involved in Senior School games every week. The strength in the lower part of the School is evident with both the U12s and U13s winning over 80% of their matches. Mr Cook’s U13s continue to show great quality and maturity and they are developing into a very good side under the leadership of captain Findlay Knox. There was great improvement for Mr Joiner’s U14s this season who have started to grow in confidence with the help of Mr Sheer introducing some structure to their play. The U15s had another season of one-sided victories and the occasional agonising defeat. They scored over 400 points across the term and cruised into the final of the County Cup against Lord William’s where they were unable to convert their chances losing the game 22-10. The U16s had mixed results this season with a number of high-profile injuries affecting their consistency and continuity. However, they still showed their class in several impressive victories. The 1st XV will look back on this term with very fond memories after some extremely impressive performances. Barney Bolton (upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) in his third year of 1st XV Rugby has led the team with great maturity and this group of boys have been a credit to the School in the way they have conducted themselves on and off the pitch.
U16 Hockey South Regional Finals
After such an impressive season the U16 girls travelled to Woking Hockey Club to take part in the South Regional Finals. This competition would determine who would move forward in the competition to represent the South in the National Hockey Tier 3 Championships in March. The girls performed brilliantly, proving just how hard they have worked all season. Emily Mumford (Fifth Form, Feilden) was outstanding in goal, and after many injuries her performance was vital and kept the team in contention of progressing to the next round all day. After winning, drawing and losing a match, the girls and Miss Woodcock had a nervous wait to see if they had done enough for a national place, and they had. The U16s now progress to the National Finals in March. This is a first for the Cokethorpe Hockey team. We are very proud of the girls and hope with the programme put in place in the new year the girls will produce something special at the national finals.
Individual Congratulations Congratulations to Jacob Knight (Fifth Form, Vanbrugh) and Tom Riman (Fifth Form, Feilden) on their selection for Gloucester Academy. Alongside Zach Newcombe (Fifth Form, Harcourt) of Wasps they made impressive debuts for the 1st XV this term. Congratulations to James Benali (Upper Sixth, Gascoigne) for his selection to trial for South West England as well as an opportunity to train with Gloucester Academy U18s. Congratulations to Patrick West (Second Form, Feilden) in the Junior National Windsurfing Champions Cup. He was victorious in the 4.5m2 sail race. Congratulations to Freya Coughlan (Fourth Form, Harcourt) who has been crowned the Midlands South Girls Handicap Champion for 2019. She also came 2nd in the U15 event and 13th overall in the British Schools Ladies Open. Congratulations to Ruby Colleton (Fifth Form, Gascoigne) and Freya Coughlan, placed 1st and 3rd respectively in the Nicola Sparks Memorial Trophy Golf competition at Burford Golf Club. Freya also won the Boddington Trophy for her contribution to the County during the year. Congratulations to Chloe Elliott who won the U18 girls title in the Fred Perry tournament in London Congratulations to Lucas Bennett (Fourth Form, Queen Anne) who has also been chosen to be in the Tera Pro Sailing National Squad. Congratulations to siblings Jamie (Fifth Form, Gascoigne), Jasmine (Third Form, Gascoigne) and Jack Hammond (First Form, Gascoigne) who all competed at the British Solo Ice Dancing Championships. Jack took bronze in the Basic Novice level and and Jamie took Silver in the Intermediate Novice Mens level. Congratulations to Milly Pittaway (Upper Sixth, Feilden) who has been selected for the U19 NPL Severn Stars Netball Squad for 2019-20 season. Congratulations to Leonie Watson (Upper Sixth, Feilden) was at the Head of the Charles rowing event in Boston, USA representing City of Oxford Rowing Club in the Youth Women’s Eights. As the largest rowing event in the world of 11,000 athletes and 1,900 boats, they were thrilled to get one of the fastest splits of 19.22 minutes. Congratulations to Tatianna White (Fifth Form, Feilden) who was crowned the U16 Champion in the Fast/Solo category in the Ultimate Dancer Competition. Congratulations to Izzy Kirby (Fourth Form, Queen Anne) who qulaified for The Schools Challenge Grand Final. She scored her highest round to qualify for the Super Final and gained 5th place.
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Houses Cokethorpe Characters Cokethorpe Characters are selected for reasons such as good behaviour, positive contributions to School life or receiving a high number of recommendations. Below is the list of Cokethorpe Characters for the Michaelmas Term.
Feilden: Joe Norman Gascoigne: Georgie Sandiford Spencer Harcourt: Nick Taylor Queen Anne: Isadora Williams Swift: Neo Ji Vanbrugh: Rosie Doland
Lower House Disco
The first half term ended with a bang as our new First Form pupils held their annual disco. The Shed was transformed into a blaze of lights by our amazing Sixth Form and the music was pumping out. The pupils enjoyed dance offs, limbo dancing and of course the compulsory YMCA! They kept their energy up with frequent visits to the tuck shop, which was superbly manned by the Sixth Form team. A great night was had by all and thankfully we had two weeks to recover before the start of another busy term. The evening would not have passed off so successfully without the enthusiasm, hard work and good humour displayed by Orlando Cox (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) our Head of Lower House and his great team of Sixth Form students. First Form would like to say a massive thank you to all of them.
The Pratley Shield
Every term the total recommendations in Lower House are calculated. The average amount per tutor group is counted and the Form with the best average is awarded the Pratley Shield. The Pratley Shield winners for this term are Feilden.
House Hockey
The House Hockey competition was a reflection of all the hard work, enthusiasm, fun and resilience the players and coaches have had this term. All Houses came together to fight for this prestigious title. The First and Second Form took part in a 7 a side competition as Swift took early control, smashing goals against all areas of the backboard and net. The girls came out with a clear directive set by their Housemasters and it was great to see the teams work together, some even playing in unfamiliar positions to ensure they had a 11 a side team that would compete. The standard of hockey in both competitions was high, the girls showed intelligent play as the House Captains implemented appropriate tactical changes according to their opposition. Well done to all who took part, a wonderful event and impressive end to such a successful season for all our hockey players. The results were as follows…. 1st Gascoigne 2nd Vanbrugh 3rd Harcourt 4th Swift 5th Feilden 6th Queen Anne
Swift House Event
On the night before the House Singing competition, Swift House gathered for an enjoyable evening of bowling and camaraderie. The event was well attended and allowed members of the House to enjoy a delicious meal (prepared by the inimitable catering team) and a game of bowling at Hollywood Bowl in Oxford. Fun was had by all and a previously unknown talent for bowling was discovered by a few. We are convinced that the sense of team that we built over the course of the evening was a big factor in our tremendous victory in the House Singing competition the following afternoon.
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Inter-House Singing
This year’s Inter-House Singing competition kicked off the Michaelmas Term with excitement and enthusiasm as House’s were given the theme of ‘Hits of the 1980s’. The pressure was on for reigning champions Gascoigne who got the House Song section of the competition off to a start with their rendition of What a Feeling from Flashdance. However, it was not to be their year, as they were beaten into second place by winners Swift with their take on the Human League’s Don’t You Want Me, Baby? and their slick ensemble performance of Some Nights by Fun, with Queen Anne once again completing the top three with a confident interpretation of Starship’s We Built This City. There were many outstanding performances from musicians from across all six houses but the adjudicator, Michael Stinton, thought the deserved winner of the outstanding individual musician award was Tom Alford for his direction of Swift’s ensemble performance.
Beyond the Classroom First Form Camp
The annual First Form camp was a great success, as new pupils gathered to start the year getting to know the School, their teachers and more importantly, each other. The camp was held over two days in the School grounds and the pupils had the chance to try their hand at archery, bushcraft, climbing, kayaking, raft building and laser quest. Everyone had great fun and participated enthusiastically in all of the activities run by Reach Outdoors. After a hearty supper, the pupils spent the night camping in their respective Houses. Even the pouring rain throughout the night did not dampen their enthusiasm and energy. They left camp the next day having made new friends and with a real desire to get the term started. We wish them all luck on their Cokethorpe journey.
Chinese Delegation
On Thursday 28 November, the School played host to a delegation of Chinese educationalists who were looking to understand better the British education system. Mrs Vivian Chen, Chair of Demay Education, assisted by her daughter Ariel and son Frank, met with various members of staff, including the Director of Studies, the Head of Junior School and the Deputy Head. Having arrived on a cold and wet Thursday morning, our visitors were warmed by both a fire in the Mansion Entrance and Caellum Sharp’s (Second Form, Vanbrugh) playing of the Erhu. The Headmaster had purchased the ancient Chinese musical instrument some weeks previously, and Caellum performed three pieces for our honoured guests. A visit to one of the Corinthian Partnership schools, a choral performance in the Chapel, a Junior School production and a Scholars’ Presentation Evening made for a very long, but hopefully informative visit. The day finished with dinner at the Ashmolean Museum, before the visitors returned to London the next day. It is planned for Mr Uglow to visit the Headquarters of Demay Education based in Nanjing in February, with the hope that the two institutions will find areas of common practice and forge links for both staff interaction and pupil visits.
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
'During October, we took four groups, each with seven Fourth Form pupils, into the wilds of the Chilterns Massif for their Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award expedition. Such an undertaking requires them to walk, unsupported, carrying everything they need for the two-day trek. At the end of a day walking their arduous task is not yet done – they still need to set up their camp, cook their food, clean up and get to bed only to walk again the next day. Given this, it was perhaps surprising that all pupils started the weekend with a smile on their face and (almost) all ended it that way too! A traditional weekend in October brings a biting wind, rain and little respite from both – this weekend was no different. However, the participants worked together to overcome the odds and complete their objective in good spirits. A massive congratulations to those that successfully completed the expedition – you should be proud of what you achieved in just two days.' Mr Steventon
James and Ella Shaw
Congratulations to James Shaw (Upper Sixth, Harcourt) and Ella Shaw (Fifth Form, Harcourt) who undertook an intensive learn to glide course over the summer holidays. They recently took their first solo flights.
Remembrance Service
On the morning of Monday 11 November, the whole School congregated in the Upper Quad to take part in the annual Remembrance Service. The service acknowledged not only fallen service members, but also civilian victims of terror and war around the world. The Reverend Ian Howard led a small procession that included the Headmaster and flag bearer, carrying the flag of The Royal British Legion, into the Quad to carry out the service. The whole School marked the solemn occasion alongside staff with a Last Post, played by student musicians, followed by a two minutes silence. The service continued with a hymn and prayers, giving everyone the opportunity to reflect and remember all those fallen heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. 25
AOB Lent Term AOB Options
Ace Your Exams Advanced CAD American Football - The Board Game! Art Award Holders Badminton Basketball Bel Canto Below the Line (Newspaper) Build-A-Bike Chess Club Clay Club Climbing Club Cokethorpe Shooting Club Concert Band Confirmation Course Criminology Cross Country Club C-SALT (Sound and Lighting) DT Workshop Project Debating and Discussion Club Digital Art Dissection Club Drama Academy Drama Award Holders Drama - Michaelmas Production Drawing Club DT - Award Holders Duke of Edinburgh Award Eco Warriors Exam Art F1 in Schools Competition First Aid French Speaking GCSE Ancient Greek Girls' Cricket Girls' Football Golf Grow It, Eat It Guided Reading Handwriting Hockey Training Homework, Study and Silent Reading Horse Riding Italian for Beginners Jazz Band Jazz Combo Maptivists (Geography) Maths πrates Music - A Level/GCSE Drop-In Robotics Rugby Development Rugby: Video Analysis/Nutrition Sailing Club Sci-Fi Symposium Self-Defence Set up a Business in Ten weeks Sixth Form Academic, HE and Careers Sixth Form Skills Programme So You Think You Can Maths? Spanish Speaking Sports Award Holders Strategy Games Strength and Conditioning String Orchestra Table Tennis Textiles (Exam Classes) Textiles Club The Scholars' Club The Wellbeing Club Third Form Ancient Greek Top up your Maths Touch Typing Triathlon Training Triple Science
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Build-a-Bike
The Build-a-Bike AOB came about as a result of a conversation between three staff with a love for motorcycles, in the hope of getting more people into the hobby. The main aim was to not only give pupils an in-depth knowledge of the workings of a motorcycle but also to give them the practical skills needed to be able to fix and maintain one. We started the term by looking at an MZ 2-stroke engine which gave pupils the chance to see the inside of an engine and learn the intricacies of taking an engine apart. We then found a 1960 BSA Bantam in a beautiful maroon colour. The bike has been dry stored since 1966, meaning it was in a perfect condition for pupils with little restoration experience. The group got to work cataloguing all the parts, cleaning them and reassembling things such as the wheels, handlebars and fuel tank. We hope to teach the group how to restore various parts of the bike, such as the engine and drivetrain, to get the bike running and mechanically sound, along with basic bodywork and paint prep to get the parts free of rust and ready to be painted, restoring the bike to a factory finish.
Sixth Form AOBs
In addition to their academic studies, all Sixth Form students take part in a Life Skills Programme that has been specifically designed to identify and develop a number of things that will be of use later in life. Over the course of the two years from Lower Sixth to Upper Sixth, all students will experience all of the AOBs included on the list in the blue column of the next page.
Grow It, Eat It AOB
This term, the members of the Grow it, Eat it AOB have taken on the challenge of defeating the weeds and successfully grown a variety of vegetables, all from seed. The polytunnel has been filled with tomatoes and salad crops, whilst outside each pupil has grown a pumpkin plant from the collected seeds last year, with the most amazing autumn harvest. The group have also been busy planting garlic, shallots and onions as well as broad beans. The garden has now been put to bed for the winter, ready for new crops next year.
AOB Balloon Launch
Sixth Form AOB List CV Writing Interview Technique Music Technology Digital Art Open University Online Courses Persuasive Writing Health - Drugs and Alcohol Accessing Newspapers Navigating Your Emotions Speaking in Public An Introduction to Cooking Yoga First Aid Etiquette Social Media Chairing a Meeting Wellbeing Personal Finance An Introduction to Sewing
'The balloon launch was part of two projects I undertook this term, one for my EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) and this one as an AOB. The first one used a Raspberry Pi to take stills and a video, but stopped working at about 10,000ft. The second was changed to a GoPro which recorded the entire flight. Planning started early in 2019 with permission from the Civil Aviation Authority and then a date where weather patterns would keep the balloon away from London airspace had to be agreed. The balloon was filled with helium to carry the 500g payload ready for the descent. After release it is estimated that it climbed to over 60,000ft - at one point the camera picks out the contrail of a jet aircraft below. As it climbed, the balloon expanded to twice its size and then burst. This coincidentally flipped the camera over and recorded the debris of the popped balloon. The balloon landed in a garden near Swaffham and thanks to a GPS pet tracker it was easy to recover.' James Shaw (Upper Sixth, Harcourt)
The Line and Below the Line
This term, pupils from the First Form to Fourth Form published their junior newspaper Below the Line. The senior newpaper, The Line, is compiled and edited by Sixth Form students in their AOB group with contributions from Fifth Form pupils.
Sixth Form AOB Wellbeing
Students have been learning Mindfulness and Meditation as a means of alleviating stress, anxiety, depression, and promoting well-being. This four-week course involved students learning about the myths and mis-interpretations of meditation, whilst having the opportunity to practise and enjoy meditation and mindfulness tasks. The group discussed how to maintain good mental health and the power of ‘letting go’ to improve emotional health.
Sixth Form AOB Interview Technique
In the Interview Technique AOB, students in the Lower Sixth learnt top tips for future interviews, at university or in the work place. From preparation, research and effective listening; to dress codes, handshakes and the importance of integrity, students are given opportunities to discuss and rehearse their skills practically through role play. They also explored the importance of charisma, and showing character, which of course Cokethorpe students have in abundance. The course culminated in a presentation to their peers to showcase their knowledge and speaking and listening skills.
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CPFA Cheese and Wine Evening
On Friday 18 October the CPFA hosted a Cheese and Wine Evening in the Dining Hall for parents of pupils in the First Form. The event provided an opportunity for parents to socialise while their children were at the Lower House Disco. The evening was a great success and well-attended. Thank you to our fabulous Catering Team for providing a selection of cheese and wine. A very enjoyable evening was had by all involved.
CPFA Murder Mystery Cast
With many thanks to the Cokethorpe Players: Christina Stardust Philippa Foxfingers Jenny Beaver Carlos Whispers Simeon Black Brenda Winkle Monty Nightcreeper Bethany Blower
Mrs Hooper Mrs Ringham Mrs Whitcombe Mr Walwyn Mr Goulding Mrs Orton Mr Lawson Miss Mace
Recurring Events
CPFA Coffee Mornings Ue Coffee Roasters Coffee Shop, Cokethorpe School Every Friday during term time from 8.30am to 9.15am 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
CPFA Committee Chair Vice-Chair Treasurer
Clare Priestley-Smith Kirsteen Fellows Michael Ward
The CPFA committee is elected annually at the AGM and is composed of current parents/guardians and staff. The committee is keen to welcome new members, particularly parents/guardians from year groups that are currently under represented. For more information please email the Chair, Clare PriestleySmith. We appreciate that there are people who prefer not to commit to joining a committee but are very willing to volunteer their help at specific events. A list of such 'helpers' is kept and we are always grateful to hear from anyone willing to join it. The CPFA Committee meets once a month at 8.00pm in the Corinthian Room.
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Christmas Fair
The scene set with fairy lights and sparkling stag, shoppers were welcomed to the Fair by the pupils’ brass band and carolling catering staff. Greeted with mince pies and mulled wine once inside, there were opportunities for all sorts of Christmas present buying to the lovely singing of the Junior School Choir. Attendance perhaps reached its peak with the arrival of breaktime when students purchased vast quantities of churros and chips! Stall holders were a mixture of local and further afield, selling luxury goods and gifts aimed at a more junior purse. The raffle was particularly popular – three hampers containing a gift from each of the stalls in attendance made for spectacular prizes. Sincere thanks to all those supporting the event in either a shopping, donating or volunteering capacity.
Fireworks Extravaganza
The impressive Mansion House and Cokethorpe grounds were the backdrop to our fantastic annual Fireworks Extravaganza. Everyone came prepared for the weather, wrapped up in their hats and scarves, ready to enjoy the evening’s festivities. The funfair rides were a big hit with the guests. There was also a hog roast and barbecue, warming soup, spiced mulled wine and hot chocolate. The bonfire pyre was lit, with the warmth reaching the crowds who stood in anticipation of the fireworks display. A huge thank you to everyone who attended the event and to those who helped on the night and behind the scenes.
Murder Mystery
It was another amazing sell out performance by the brilliant Cokethorpe Players with technical support from Hayden Camidge (Upper Sixth, Vanburgh). The Shed was transformed into a special celebrity edition of ‘The Final Countdown’ quiz show. A special thank you must go to the amazing Mrs Hooper and Mrs Ringham who had written a fantastic script and to Mr Goulding who had taken time out to return to Cokethorpe. There were two successful teams this year who managed to correctly identify the murderer and these teams were presented with bottles of prosecco. A big thank you to everyone involved, including the Maintenance Team, and of course our final thank you must go to the Catering Team for providing such a delicious curry supper. A fabulous evening was had by all.
The Cokethorpe Society Christmas Wreath Workshop
The Cokethorpe Society held three Christmas Wreath workshops over the first week of December in Michaelmas Term. The first was held in the Corinthian Room on the evening of Thursday 5 December, and the other two in the Dining Hall on Saturday 7 December. Over 60 OCs, parents and staff were instructed on how to construct and decorate their own wreaths. We are delighted to say that all three workshops sold out, and thanks to everyone’s generosity we raised an incredible £700 for the Annual Fund. Keep an eye out for 2020 dates next term! Best of all, they can be completely recycled in the new year by placing them in the garden with some birdseed, whereby the birds will come and feed on the seeds and take everything, including the moss base, for their nests. Many thanks go to Dee Rowles from Minster Flowers who ran the workshops and kindly donated the bouquets for the raffle.
Forthcoming Events
London Society Drinks Carmelite Chambers Wednesday 18 March, 7.30pm – 9.30pm Annual OC Reunion Drinks Cokethorpe Society AGM Corinthian Room, Cokethorpe School Wednesday 22 April, 7.00pm – 9.00pm Drinks and buffet supper from 7.00pm, formal proceedings beginning at 7.30pm Oxford Town and Gown 10K run Sunday 3 May from 9.00am Come and join the Cokethorpe Society team taking part in the 10K race OC Sports Festival Cokethorpe School Friday 19 June 2020, 6.00pm – 9.30pm Football, Cricket, Tennis and Shooting A BBQ will follow Family Picnic Cokethorpe School Sunday 21 June, 11.00am – 3.00pm Bring your family along
Annual Fund
Terence Robinson
'I was sent to Barnados Orphanage from an early age. During the war years, we had to be fostered away from the home I was in to make way for displaced children awaiting transporting away from bombed out towns and cities.When I was around 12 years old, I was fostered out by a husband and wife who were employed to work to help start up a new private school at Cokethorpe, which had previously been occupied by the Army and Land Army. This was the beginning of Cokethorpe School. What a shock to be around welleducated boys! They were all very kind and I became one of the crowd. The education I received was first class, and very much enjoyed my time at Cokethorpe.' Terence Robinson (OC, 1957)
Thank you to Steve Pudney
OC Profile - Tony Baker
I joined Cokethorpe in September 1959, along with about forty other boys. It was an all boys boarding school at that time. The main school could not accommodate all the boarders, so there were boarding facilities at Yarnton Manor and two housemaster's houses in Buckland. After two terms at the school, I was made a dormitory captain, and had to oversee a new cohort of boys. This was at a time when the school introduced some bunk-beds, and I was able to have a top bunk. However on the first night I turned over and fell out of bed, much to the amusement of the new boys in my charge! After about a year I was put in charge of a boarding house, which was on the green in Witney. During my last year I was honoured to be Head of School, working closely with prefects and sub-prefects, many of which are friends to this day.
We are delighted to announce that with the funds raised from the Christmas Wreath Workshops the Drama Department has been able to purchase a much needed Stage-in-a-Box. The Stage-in-a-Box is a portable metal box which transforms into a stage or performance area, and contains more than 60 pieces including replica rostas, manikins and a fully working lighting rig. It is designed to help pupils visualise how stage sets and lighting work.
We would very much like to thank Steve Pudney for sending in memories of his time at Cokethorpe School.
Cokethorpe Society Donations
Tony Baker (OC 1964, Harcourt) with a rook
Cokethorpe gave everyone opportunities, whether it was on the sport field, rowing, school trips, including skiing and field trips. It was a very character building environment, as it is today. After leaving school I joined a builders merchant, and aged 21 became a representative for a Unilever company in London. I moved through the ranks and was finally promoted to a manager based in Leamington Spa. During my working career I worked for Smith & Nephew and RDI. I have now retired, but keep active with local initiatives, tennis, local politics, village facilities and Cokethorpe itself, having sat on the board of governors from 1981 to 2009 being vice chairman for eighteen years, and I am currently President of the Cokethorpe Society.
If you have any old photos, videos or stories you would like to share with the Society, we would be delighted to receive them for our archives and to share on social media. Please email any scanned documents to society@ cokethorpe.org or, if sending by post, please address any packages to: Cokethorpe Society Cokethorpe School Witney, OX29 7PU
Cokethorpe Society Committee
Chair: Tom Biggs (2008) Treasurer: Tony Baker (1964) Secretary: Charles Bartlett (2008)
Cokethorpe Society Contact Details
society@cokethorpe.org 01993 892352 Facebook fb.com/groups/cokethorpesociety
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Annual Fund Ways of Giving
All donations to the Annual Fund are put to good use immediately, so the impact of your gift will be felt by current as well as future generations of pupils. Participation is the key, not the level of generosity. Quite simply, every gift helps.
Annual Fund 2019 – 2020 This year, we are seeking support for the projects listed below: Melting Point Apparatus £1,600 It is used for determining the melting point of a solid, and subsequently its identity or purity. It would benefit the Corinthian Partnership schools, Science clubs and A Level students.
There are many ways you can support and donate to the Annual Fund and more information about each of these can be found on our website: www.cokethorpe.org. uk/2019annualfund Some of the most popular ways to give include regular giving, single gifts, bequests, payroll giving, matched giving and stocks and shares.
What to do Next
Full details of how you can support the Annual Fund using any of these methods can be found on our website. Alternatively you can get in touch using the details below if you wish to discuss making a gift. foundationoffice@cokethorpe.org 01993 892352 Foundation Office Cokethorpe School Witney Oxon OX29 7PU
Trim Trail - £5,000 To provide the children with a variety of physical challenges to develop balance, climbing confidence, upper and lower body strength, core stability, coordination and gross motor skills. Treehouse - £8,000 To develop the provision the woods offer to better develop their exploring, climbing, imaginative play and risk taking in an exciting new environment. It would additionally be used as an outdoor classroom to support environmental studies. We have chosen a selection of both Senior and Junior School projects across the science, sport, drama and social areas of the School. The projects are of varying value so that you can make a contribution towards your preferred project or purchase a whole project outright for the School. So that you are aware of the value of each project, we have put an approximate cost for each project next to its description.
Wider Community Use of Cokethorpe Facilities
This term, the School has supported a number of local groups, businesses, associations and sports clubs, including: Deborah Manning Dance School Ducklington Junior Football Club Ducklington Primary School Judo Council of Great Britain Kids Lit Quiz Opera Anywhere Oxfordshire Cricket Coaches Oxfordshire Youth Cricket Club Ride and Stride Standlake Beavers Standlake Explorers Standlake Scouts Witney and District Fustal Club Witney Chess Club Witney Hockey Club Wychwood Badgers Hockey Club Wychwood Hockey Club
Ducklington Sports Club Contact Details If you are interested in knowing more about football at Ducklington, please contact Edward Todd, on 07500284693 or eddietodd007@gmail.com. We also hire the hall for parties of children under the age of 13.
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Witney Chess Congress
The weekend of 2 and 3 November saw the seventh Witney Chess Congress take place, with over 100 players (a record number for the congress) taking part. The Dining Hall is without doubt one of the finest venues for holding chess events in the country, and we are very grateful to Cokethorpe School for allowing us the use of their facilities for the congress. What is particularly noteworthy and pleasing is the large (and growing) number of players who regularly attend the congress from outside Witney and the surrounding areas. Our particular thanks go to Miss Sheldon for her help in organising the congress and to the excellent Catering team for keeping the players fed and watered over the course of the weekend in their usual exemplary fashion!
Ducklington Sports Club
Ducklington Sports Club has a strong heritage in West Oxfordshire and has produced some great teams with players who have gone on to play semi-pro and even professional football. We pride ourselves on our safeguarding which enables us to achieve the Football Association Charter Standard award, winning Best in Group in 2018. We thank Cokethorpe for letting us hire their facility on a Tuesday evening for our Under 10 and Under 13 age groups. We have pupils from eight schools now and recently have had quite an abundance of players who attend Cokethorpe. Here is a photo of the Under 7s team who have topped their Autumn league. In the photo you see Diego Nava De La Fuente (Year 2, Symonds), Harry Skeen (Year 2, Lockwood) and Zak Ahmed (Year 2, Baker) who attend Cokethorpe School.
Archives The Birth of Soccer at Cokethorpe, 1967 'It is the summer holiday of 1967 and the previous year England had won the World Cup, so soccer was all the rage. Neil Wise was holidaying with me and my parents in Möenchengladbach, Germany, where my Father was stationed with the British Army on the Rhine. My Father had just bought us the very latest black and white paneled football which was so very different from the standard brown coloured ones. We suddenly devised a plan to introduce soccer into our club’s program at Cokethorpe, but knew we would meet some stiff opposition off the field as the School at the time did not recognise soccer as a valid sport with the winter and Easter terms given to rugby only. The summer term gave you the option of either cricket or full-time athletics. The plan we hatched was to ask the Headmaster, Mr P.M.S. Allen if we could play soccer as one of the Thursday clubs that the Photo: taken at the first football training school required us to sign up for. On returning session with a School-made camera! to School in September 1967, I was given the unenviable task of testing the feelings about this with the Headmaster, where upon his first question was, “where were we going to play?” as the school grounds could only accommodate rugby or hockey. We had anticipated this question and suggested we use the hockey pitch as what we now describe as a five-a-side field. To our surprise and relief Mr Allen agreed to our plan. We played our first hockey pitch soccer that term and much to the dislike of other masters, it became very popular with thirty boys signing up. At this point I needed to praise Mr Allen, who I always thought of as a progressive man as he had already introduced Catholics to Cokethorpe in 1965, but that story is for another time. 1967 was the first time Inter-House soccer matches could be played, but only on a five-a-side basis. From that, Thursday soccer club became very popular with over 40 players. Of course, the next step was that we wanted to play a full 11-a-side match, which we were able to do on the leased used rugby pitch. We set up a soccer selection group which included me, Neil Wise, Andrew Forbes and Andrew Timothy. Again, I was given the task of asking Mr Allen about the group, but his reply surprised me with the answer of yes, with two conditions. Firstly, that the School would not allow a home game and with us not having a pitch this was to be expected. The second condition was that we were not allowed to use the School’s name, which was a bit of a setback. We managed to organize an away game through one of the many taxi drivers which the School used. One of the drivers had an attachment to a local club.We won that match 8-3. I attach a brief copy of the event from the Peacock magazine 1968, with a proud team list from that day. The Peacock Magazine 1968 SOCCER CLUB The club has certainly aroused great interest this year, and at last, with the guarded approval of Mr Green and Mr Mathias Williams, our first unofficial match was played and won by eight goals to three. The team was: Hitchcock, Pudney, May, Wynter, Wise, Dobbs, Kyaruzi, Wong, Partlett, Goss and MacMillan-Scott.' Steven Pudney (OC 1968, Queen Anne) Photo: Headmaster P.M.S Allen, his wife, Steve’s mother and Steve
Turning Back the Pages Below are news items from past issues of The Bell Tower, The Peacock and The Ocellus. 50 Years Ago (1969) First XV Rugby Report The full operation of the kicking law made the game appreciably faster, and it was soon realised that positive rugby was essential. The prime object is to score more points than the opposition. This clearly indicated that the emphasis upon the basics was even more pronounced. The School XV started the season under the captaincy of the sole returning colour, M. A. D. Kitchin. It was a very young XV with many members lacking in experience; some graduating upwards from the Colts XV, and AdeniyiJones being thrust immediately into his first season of English Schools rugby. Morale did at times wax and wane, as there were insufficient 'old heads' to control the situation. The biggest problem lay at full-back, who, in the modern game, must adopt an attacking role as well as being the last line of defence. Various players bravely tried to fill the position, although no one took to it naturally. 30 Years Ago (1989) First XI Soccer Report In January the First XI Squad returned to Cokethorpe for the soccer season in an optimistic mood. Having thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas holidays we knew we would now be in for some very competitive matches. However, the prospect for the matches ahead was promising as we had at our disposal such footballing talents as Martyr, Birch, Kitching and Orebiyi (and myself!); also we knew we would be expertly led by our captain Adule Wariebi. For our first game we travelled to Reading to play against Leighton Park who always prove to be a tough opposition. They emphasised this by taking a swift 2-0 lead. I managed to pounce to give us a goal just before half time. A stern halftime team talk by Mr Gentry gave us the lift we needed for the second half. Leighton Park had all eleven players inside their penalty area as Martyr floated in a corner kick, and Wariebi was there to stab the ball home with only thirty seconds left on the clock. This dramatic victory gave us the perfect start for the season. 10 Years Ago (2009) International Rugby Andy Berry (Upper Sixth, Feilden) and Edward Church (Upper Sixth, Vanbrugh) have represented the England U18 Conference Squad in a series of trial matches. These were designed to identify and prepare players for the forthcoming international fixture against the touring Australian Schools and for the Six Nations tournament. Both featured in games against the South West Academies and London Academies sides and Andy was also selected to play against the North side. Both are awaiting news of their possible selection for the England U18 Group Squad. 31
Tail Feathers Ave Atque Valete
Open Morning
Saturday 14 March 2019 9.30am to 12.00pm Prospective parents interested in entry at any age are warmly invited to attend. All departments will be open, and there will be refreshments and activities. All welcome.
Mr Morgan
Lloyd Morgan was a rugby coach at Cokethorpe School for thirteen years. A firm favourite among pupils and staff he was also a local coaching legend of the game. He attended school locally at Abingdon School. In his teaching career he worked at Faringdon Community College, rising to be Deputy Head. Alongside his teaching he also coached rugby separately, starting in the mid-70s, spending twelve years coaching Oxfordshire U16s. In the 90s he was Director of Rugby at Cirencester RFC and then Swindon RFC. He was also a National Selector for England 16 Group, progressing to become Chairman of Selectors for England 1 Group. He has given so much to our rugby teams over the years, we wish him all the best as he leaves the School.
For personal visits at other times, for a tour, discussion with the Registrar, Mrs S Sheer, or the Head of Junior School if appropriate, or to meet the Headmaster, please contact Admissions (admissions@cokethorpe.org or 01993 703921).
Contact Information
Headmaster Email correspondence with Mr Ettinger (dje@cokethorpe.org) is particularly welcomed during the Headmaster ‘Live’ hour (8.00pm – 9.00pm on the first Monday of each month during term time).
Mr Richards - Head of Science
Having worked the previous fourteen years in one school and running a boarding House for the last eight, I was conscious of how much I might miss the sense of community as I embarked on a new chapter in my career: I need not have worried. The pupils and staff at Cokethorpe have made me feel very welcome and I have very much enjoyed my first term here. I have been particularly impressed by the level of pastoral care the tutor system brings and the happy feel of the School. I am very excited about the prospect of continuing to raise the profile of science, keeping it current, relevant and interesting. As a department we aim to keep an open mind to change and also to challenge, stretch and support learners at every stage in their science learning journey, both through Cokethorpe and beyond.
At other times please contact the Headmaster’s Secretary (01993 892325 or hmsec@cokethorpe.org). Senior Management Team Bursar: Mrs H Stapleton bursar@cokethorpe.org Deputy Headmaster: Mr J C Stevens jcs@cokethorpe.org Head of Junior School: Mrs N Black nab@cokethorpe.org Director of Studies: Mr A E Uglow aeu@cokethorpe.org Director of Co-Curricular: Mr G J Sheer gjs@cokethorpe.org
Staff News Mrs Pratley - Amos Trust
On Sunday 13 October, I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London. Raising money for the Amos Trust and raising awareness of the plight of girls who are at high risk of child marriage, have become mothers on the streets themselves or who have no option other than sex work is to support the Amos Trust’s campaign, ‘On Her Terms’, in Burundi, India, South Africa and Tanzania. Abuse and violence is ever present for girls on the street and this campaign is designed to build up trust, work through trauma and support each girls’ journey towards building a different future. Their journeys are much tougher and longer than the 13.1 miles that I ran and every penny I raised went some way to help the cause. Congratulations to Modern Foreign Languages teacher Miss Garitey, and her partner Louis, on the birth of their son Laurie Gabriel Michael born on Wednesday 6 November weighing 3.220 kg.
Congratulations to Geography teacher Mrs Statham and her husband Rob, on the birth of their son George William Robert born on Friday 4 October weighing 9lbs 4oz.
Congratulations to Marketing Manager Mr Griffiths and his fiancée Louise, on the birth of their daughter Sophie Primrose Jenny born on Friday 3 January weighing 6lbs 9oz.
Housemasters and Housemistresses Lower House: Mr M J P O'Connor mjoc@cokethorpe.org Feilden: Mr S G Carter sgc@cokethorpe.org Gascoigne: Mrs E Semenzato es@cokethorpe.org Harcourt: Mr W G Lawson wgl@cokethorpe.org Queen Anne: Mrs S A Orton sao@cokethorpe.org Swift: Mrs M H Cooper mhdc@cokethorpe.org Vanbrugh: Ms L A Mountain lam@cokethorpe.org
Editor’s Notes
The icon indicates that a longer write-up and/or further photographs are available on the School website. THE OCELLUS is edited and typeset by the Foundation Office. It is published by Cokethorpe School.
Cokethorpe School Witney, Oxon OX29 7PU Tel: 01993 703921 Email: admin@cokethorpe.org
www.cokethorpe.org.uk 32