Cothill House is a day and boarding boys' independent school for preparatory pupils in Cothill, Oxfordshire, which houses around 220 boys from the ages 8–13.

General information

The school offers day places, junior and full boarding, with around 220 pupils. A range of music scholarships and bursaries are provided in term time. Facilities include a CDT centre, golf course, swimming pool (covered), a theatre, six hard tennis courts, 20 music practice rooms, 2 drum rooms, a squash court, games room, a library, a science lab, a computer room and a teaching block. A new state of the art Sports Centre is currently being constructed, due to be completed by the summer of 2023. The headmaster's house is attached to the main school. The school is operated by the Cothill Educational Trust, a charity registered in England, which also runs the nearby Chandlings School, Kennington (a co-educational preparatory day school serving ages 2–11), th
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Mowden Hall in

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, and the campus of the former

St Aubyns School St. Aubyns School was a boys' preparatory school in Rottingdean, East Sussex, England, which in its final years became co-educational and taught children of both sexes between the ages of three and thirteen. The school was founded in 1895, tak ...

, Rottingdean, which it acquired in 2012 and closed in 2013, now awaiting redevelopment. Trustees include Ralph Townsend, head of

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Boarding

Cothill House is a full boarding school, meaning the pupils there board full-time, and the only times they are allowed home are on organised weekends, exeats, half-terms and end-of-terms. Day places will only be on offer for the Cothill Juniors in Years 4 and 5.

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and his brother

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were registered to attend Cothill, which was the choice of their father

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

, but in the end they both attended a rival establishment,

Ludgrove Ludgrove, or Ludgrave, or Ludgraves, was an estate and farm in Middlesex between Monken Hadley in the west and Cockfosters in the east in what is now north London. It was centered on Ludgrove Farm (the Blue House) near to Cockfosters. History The ...

, instead.

Notable Old Cothillians

* Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpore, diplomat and politician * John Bradbury, 2nd Baron Bradbury * General Sir Hugh Stockwell,

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James Charles Macnab of Macnab James Charles Macnab of Macnab JP (14 April 1926 – 11 January 2013), otherwise known as The Macnab, was the 23rd Chief of Clan Macnab, and a member of the Royal Company of Archers, Queen Elizabeth II's bodyguard in Scotland. Early life Bor ...

, Chief of Clan Macnab *

Rupert Thorneloe Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Stuart Michael Thorneloe, MBE (17 October 1969 – 1 July 2009) was a British Army officer who was killed in action on 1 July 2009 near Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. Thorneloe is the highest- ...

, soldier *

Alexander Gordon, 7th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair Alexander George Gordon, 7th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, (31 March 1955 – 12 March 2020) was a Scottish peer and the son of Alastair Gordon, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair. Life Gordon was educated at Cothill House, Abingdon, an ...

'Aberdeen and Temair, 7th Marquess of' in ''Who's Who 2012'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2011 *

Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Offaly Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Offaly (12 January 1974 – 9 May 1997), styled The Hon. Thomas FitzGerald before 1976 and as Earl of Offaly between 1976 and 1997, was the only son of Maurice, Marquess of Kildare (now the 9th Duke of Leinster). I ...

Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...

, British politician, leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

1966–76 * Richard Symonds, civil servant. * Hugh Pym, British journalist and author * Archie Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, British aristocrat

History

The school was founded in 1860 (in

Dry Sandford Dry Sandford is a village in the Vale of White Horse district of England, about north-west of Abingdon. It is one of two villages in the civil parish of St Helen Without. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred ...

), before moving to its present location in 1870.

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Boarding schools in Oxfordshire Preparatory schools in Oxfordshire