Cokethorpe School
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Cokethorpe School
| image = Cokethorpe School Logo 2021.jpg
| caption = Cokethorpe's new school branding 2021
| motto = Inopiam Ingenio Pensant
| established = 1957
| type = Private day school
| gender = Boys until 1992
Coeducational from 1992
| lower_age = 4
| upper_age = 18
| enrolment = about 660
| religious_affiliation = Church of England and Roman Catholic
| head_label = Headmaster
| head = Damian Ettinger
| chair_label = Chairman of Governors
| chair = John Bennett
| free_label_1 = Former Pupils
| free_1 = The Cokethorpe Society
| houses = Senior School: Feilden, Gascoigne, Harcourt, Queen Anne, Swift, Lower House and Vanbrugh.
Prep School: Baker, Gwyn, Lockwood and Symonds.{{cite web|url=http://www.cokethorpe.org.uk/383/junior-school/pastoral |title=Welcome from the Head of Sixth Form}}
| colours = Navy blue and gold
| publication = The Ocellus- The termly newsletter & The SHEDule- The list of the academic year's event
| free_label_2 = Setting
| free_2 = Rural (150 acres)
| city = Oxfordshire
| county = Oxfordshire
| country = England
| postcode = OX29 7PU
| website = {{URL|www.cokethorpe.org.uk}}
}}
Cokethorpe School is a private day school in Witney, West Oxfordshire. The school was founded in 1957 by Francis Brown.{{cite book |last1=Crossley |first1=Alan |last2=Currie |first2=C.R.J. (eds.) |last3=Baggs |first3=A.P. |last4=Chance |first4=Eleanor |last5=Colvin |first5=Christina |last6=Day |first6=C.J. |last7=Selwyn |first7=Nesta |last8=Townley |first8=Simon C. |year=1996 |title=A History of the County of Oxford |volume=13: Bampton Hundred (Part One) |isbn=978-0-19722-790-9 |pages=110–118 |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15962 |access-date=27 January 2012}} It is a member of HMC, IAPS, and The Society of Heads. The school has approximately 660 students from ages 4 to 18.
History
File:Cokethorpe School Geograph-3428838-by-Stephen-Richards.jpg
The country house was used by Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt.{{cite web |title=Cokethorpe School, Oxfordshire |work=Venues |publisher=Remotegoat |url=http://www.remotegoat.co.uk/venue_view.php?uid=27312 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421061304/http://www.remotegoat.co.uk/venue_view.php?uid=27312 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |access-date=27 January 2012 }} When Major Percy Henry Guy Feilden and his wife, Dorothy Louisa Brand, moved there in 1908, they undertook extensive renovations.{{cite web |title=People of Headington: Katharine Feilden |work=Headington, Oxford |publisher=Stephanie Jenkins |date=3 January 2012 |url= http://www.headington.org.uk/history/famous_people/feilden.htm |access-date=27 January 2012}} He died on 25 March 1944 and was buried there.{{cite web |last=Jeffery |first=Zoe |title=Percy Henry Guy Feilden (b. – 1944) |work=Records |publisher=Geni |url= http://www.geni.com/people/Percy-Feilden/6000000002898169120 |access-date=27 January 2012}} His son, Major-General Randle Guy Feilden, who was later knighted, was his successor. In 1957, it was left with part of the grounds to Francis Brown, who opened the school as a secondary boys' boarding school with 14 pupils. In about 1960 Yarnton Manor was used as a dormitory of the school.{{cite book |last1=Crossley |first1=Alan |last2=Elrington |first2=C.R. (eds.) |author-link2=Christopher Elrington |last3=Baggs |first3=A.P. |last4=Blair |first4=W.J. |last5=Chance |first5=Eleanor |last6=Colvin |first6=Christina |last7=Cooper |first7=Janet |last8=Day |first8=C.J. |last9=Selwyn |first9=Nesta |last10=Townley |first10=Simon C. |date=1990 |title=A History of the County of Oxford |volume=12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock |series=Victoria County History |isbn=978-0-19722-774-9 |pages=475–478 |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=1261 |access-date=3 February 2012}} In 1963, a charitable trust was formed, and in 1966, the school buildings and grounds were sold to the school trustees.
File:HardwickCokethorpe StMary DedicationStone.jpg
Cokethorpe School is a joint Church of England and Roman Catholic foundation.{{cite web |url= http://www.cokethorpe.org.uk/index.cfm?page=senior.content&cmid=30 |title=Pastoral Care |publisher=Cokethorpe School |access-date=12 October 2014}} The chapel is on the golf course on the school grounds. It is the former parish church of Hardwick and was restored and extended in 1973.
In 1985, the roof of the northwest wing was studied while the building was being repaired.{{cite journal |last=Steane |first=John |title=Cokethorpe Park (PRN 11202 SP 37100620) |journal=The Newsletter of the Council for British Archaeology Regional Group 9 (Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire) |number=16 |publisher=The Council for British Archaeology |year=1986 |url=http://www.cba-southmidlands.org.uk/CBA%20SMA/SMA%201986.PDF |format=PDF |access-date=3 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002154356/http://www.cba-southmidlands.org.uk/CBA%20SMA/SMA%201986.PDF |archive-date=2 October 2013 |url-status = dead}} In 1986 work began on the construction of further buildings. The School started admitting girls in 1992 and opened a Prep School in 1994. The boarding facility was closed in 2003.
Facilities
The school runs out of an 18th-century Grade II* listed Queen Anne style country house.{{NHLE|num=1048970|desc=Cokethorpe School|grade=II*|accessdate=7 June 2014}} The grounds include a chapel, rugby/football pitches, and astro pitches. A carved ‘giant’ peacock stands at the central crossroads within the school grounds. Cokethorpe has a strong sporting tradition with students playing national age group rugby and England women's hockey.
Notable former pupils
{{see also|Category:People educated at Cokethorpe School}}
- Martin Edwards, former Manchester United chairman
- Richard Hills, jockey, six-time British Classics winner, twin brother to Michael Hills
- Michael Hills, jockey, 1996 Derby Stakes winner, twin brother to Richard Hills
- Toby Sebastian, actor – portrayed Trystane Martell in the HBO series Game of Thrones
- Henry Purdy, professional rugby player
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Schools in Oxfordshire}}
{{coord |51.753|-1.465|type:edu_region:GB|display=title}}
Category:1957 establishments in England
Category:Educational institutions established in 1957
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Oxfordshire
Category:Grade II* listed educational buildings
Category:Private schools in Oxfordshire
Category:Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference