Set in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside, just outside Oxford, Cothill House has been providing an inspirational all-round boarding education and unrivaled opportunities for boys aged 8-13 for 150 years.
Established in 1870, Cothill is recognized globally as one of the country’s leading boys’ boarding prep schools with an exceptional record of preparing boys for the top public schools.
We aim to foster every boy’s happiness, confidence, and individual passions, helping them to achieve their potential, cultivate their love of learning, and stimulate their love of life. Cothill boys flourish in an environment where hard work, integrity, and originality are both valued and rewarded.
There is tremendous breadth to a Cothill education with excellence in sports, music, and the arts. Taught by outstanding, enthusiastic, and committed staff, boys are encouraged to ‘get stuck in and challenge themselves. As a result, Cothill boys learn the benefits of teamwork, grow in courage and thrive within our vibrant community.
A unique element of the School's offer is the time boys spend at the Château de Sauveterre, where they are immersed in the culture and language of the Gers in the south of France and gain an unforgettable life experience.
Celebrating our boys, our staff, our ethos, and our values, our website offers a small taste of life at Cothill House. However, the best way to get a true sense of all that is on offer at our remarkable school is to visit.
Cothill House provides an inspirational education and unrivaled boarding opportunities for boys in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside where:
- Each boy is treated as an individual, nurtured, and encouraged to find his strengths and develop his independence.
- Staff instill a love of discovery and learning amongst the boys, and build their confidence.
- Boys are prepared for the challenges they will encounter at future schools and are taught how to learn.
- Boys are encouraged to embrace teamwork, be happy, busy, and polite.
- The qualities of leadership, kindness, truthfulness, and respect for others are nourished.
- A wide range of opportunities is provided to inspire, enable and embolden all boys, and assist in their personal, social, academic, physical, and cultural development.
As a full boarding school, Cothill House aims to provide a friendly and caring boarding environment that reflects the atmosphere and ethos of the home and seeks:
- To create an open and trusting atmosphere where boys feel able to approach any member of the school community, confident that they will be listened to and treated as an individual.
- To develop a climate of tolerance, kindness, and trust where harassment, teasing, and bullying will never flourish.
- To provide the conditions where boarders’ intellectual, physical, and emotional needs are met, in an environment that values effort, achievement, kindness, and empathy.
- To safeguard and promote the welfare of every border, by providing an environment that is, as far as is possible, free from physical hazards or dangers.
- To provide a variety of wholesome, tasty, and nourishing food for all boys.
- To develop the boys’ sense of responsibility for self, others, and the environment.
- To provide supportive links with parents and guardians.
- To provide accommodation that is comfortable, cheerful, and suited to the needs of all boarders and which provides appropriate levels of privacy.
The boys at Cothill enjoy a broad and exciting academic curriculum built around a strong foundation in English and Maths. From the outset, boys are taught by subject specialists across the board, whose passion and skill mean that every boy can be brought on in a nurturing and supportive fashion as identified by the 2016 ISI inspection report.
At Cothill House class sizes are small - 18 is the maximum and 14 the average - enabling every boy to receive plenty of individual attention across all of the traditional academic disciplines. However, Cothill has also innovated over the years. All Year 7 boys spend one whole term at the school’s Château near Toulouse, where there is immersion in all things French. General Studies is also now an integral part of the curriculum from year 5 upwards, giving the boys a broad perspective on politics and current affairs, ethical issues, and the story of art since the classical era. Theme Weeks are a highlight of every year.
The progress the boys make is carefully monitored from the outset and extra support is made available wherever such a need is identified. Parents are kept up-to-date about levels of effort and attainment through regular reporting and parent-teacher meetings.
Cothill prepares boys to move on to an array of the country’s top public schools (Leavers' destinations) and every year a number are successful in winning scholarships. Whilst we are proud of our academic success, we never lose sight of the fact that we are preparing boys, not just for examinations, but for life.
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