Aspire event  – ‘Do we have our own luck?’

On Wednesday 18 December, Year 9 and 10 students took part in an Oxplore livestream from the Ashmolean Museum, with a discussion on the big question ‘Do we have our own luck?’, deciding if luck is rooted in destiny, ritual or simple probability –  with guests from the University of Oxford. There was also a show and tell of ancient artefacts from the museum’s collection, with the opportunity for students to quiz experts in a Q&A session.

Year 9 students also took on the GCHQ Christmas Challenge –  a series of puzzles set by GCHQ puzzlers. The puzzlers encourage students aged 11-18 to think laterally and work as a team. Great fun all round!

Isla (Year 8) and Flora (Year 13) announced winners in the North Cotswolds Young Entrepreneurs Awards 2024  

Earlier this year, The Cotswold School were delighted to be invited by Nick West – one of the organisers of the North Cotswolds Awards (NCA) – to enter students into the category ‘The Young Entrepreneurs Awards’.  The awards are presented to students who demonstrate the ability to successfully run a small enterprise in their spare time.  

Nick’s infectious enthusiasm for involving young people in entrepreneurial activity prompted Mr White, Deputy Principal, Head of Sixth Form and Careers Leader, to find out how many of our students run small businesses.  

Co-ordinating entries, Mr White, said “As a school we thoroughly encourage budding entrepreneurs. Our Market Days are a fantastic opportunity for our young people to sell their handmade goods, which have included; cards, woodwork, digital art, jewellery, scrunchies and lavender hearts, jewellery, pet rocks, cookies and cakes. Not only are these student Market Day events a great opportunity for making money to reinvest in their own business ventures and to raise money for charity, they are also an amazing learning experience and a great feel-good event for the school community.” 

“I was expecting maybe five to ten responses and was blown away to get sixty-eight responses within a week! Following an assembly, hosted by Nick, there were fourteen applications from students who really wanted to push their businesses forward. Over the following months, each of our students received one-to-one mentoring from members of the Campden Business Forum.”  

In October, Steve Spencer from Campden Business Forum spoke to our budding entrepreneurs about the presentation phase of the competition, where students would address four guest judges from the Campden Business Forum. Eight young businesses were selected to go forward to the final stage of the competition. 

In the junior category, the following students showcased their small businesses. 

Isla (Year 8) runs her eco-friendly and sustainable business, ‘Creative Spark Jewellery’. Isla wowed the judges with her profit margins – most items costing less than £1 to produce but selling for £3-4 – and impressed them still further with her business growth.  

Alice and Eleanor (Year 8) make and sell all sorts of creative items, such as digital art, paintings, woodwork and crocheted items. Alice started the business in 2022, before Eleanor joined her in 2023. During their time, they have learnt how to use tools to cut designs into the wood and which items sell best, whilst ensuring that their products are sustainable by using wood from fallen trees and discarded fence posts. Their future plans – learning more art techniques, selling more art, and making people happy!  

Adam (Year 8) runs a car wash and valet business. He takes great pride in his work and has a good knowledge of the machines and products he uses. Adam has expanded his business into lawn mowing too!  

Andrew (Year 8) runs a lawn mowing business, with a clear goal – he wanted to earn enough money to buy a flight simulator. Charging £10-20 per lawn, Andrew achieved his goal. Another example of business diversification – he is now also selling 3D prints.  

Ewan (Year 8) makes high quality bird boxes using scrap wood, so every penny from sales is pure profit. His business acumen was further illustrated by his diversification into pumpkin growing. Last year he bought a £1 packet of seeds, tended to his pumpkins and sold them in his local area for a total of £25.  

In the senior category, the finalists were:   

GCSE Business Studies student Adam (Year 10). Adam sells lollipops and has a clear knowledge of business strategies: buy low, sell high (he buys his lollipops in bulk, at 8p each, and sells them for 50p); unique selling point (his lollipops are not sold in many shops); and find your market (Adam ingeniously noticed that when his peers went to the local shop to buy food, they often took a £5 note and were left with change). Like many of our student entrepreneurs, Adam has a clear motivation – in his case, to raise funds to buy birthday presents for his family.  

Max (Year 10) gained inspiration from entrepreneurs within his family and set up his business ‘Helping Hands’, helping senior citizens with daily tasks. Designing leaflets and distributing them in his community, Max now has three regular clients, charging £10 per hour for jobs such as gardening.  

Flora (Year 13) writes and performs music, under the stage name Flora Fiora. She started performing at age five, started song writing and taught herself guitar in the lockdown of 2020, and has accelerated her career since. Flora has a brand and logo, a producer, and a Vlog. Flora has performed on ‘BBC Introducing’ and has achieved 1700 listeners per day. With royalties she has earnt so far, Flora has reinvested this money in equipment, paying musicians and travelling to London venues to perform.  

Congratulations to Isla (Year 8) and Flora (Year 13) who were announced winners in the North Cotswolds Young Entrepreneurs Award 2024 category.  

Thank you and congratulations to everyone that took part; to our 9 students, representing their 8 businesses; and to their parents and families who give them exceptional support. 

Many thanks to Nick West for initiating this whole process and for the support throughout; Michael and Paul for giving of their time to mentor our young entrepreneurs; Steve, Grace, Elena and Mike for judging the presentations; Campden BRI, for their generous sponsorship of the awards for our school; and to Chipping Campden School for hosting these awards. 

Comprehensive School of the Year in the Southwest 2025

The Cotswold School is delighted to announce that it has been named as ‘Comprehensive School of the Year in the Southwest’ in The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025.

Published annually, the guide identifies the highest-achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their 2024 examination results. The tables are based on the percentage of A Level results at A*-B and GCSEs at 9-7.

We have featured strongly over the years, achieving the accolade of Comprehensive School of the Year in 2015/16 and Comprehensive School of the Year in the Southwest 2023, so to be top performing comprehensive in the Southwest again this year is an incredible achievement for all involved in our school.

At A Level 42% were either A* or A, and 74% were at A*to B, with 90% at A*-C. 34% of grades achieved at GCSE were at 9-7, with 80% of students achieving the benchmark of five or more 9-4 grades, including Mathematics and English.

As a school, our ethos is to provide exceptional teaching for every student where they can thrive, academically and socially, in an inspiring, caring and inclusive community. We know that these outcomes are a product of students feeling happy, supported and well taught in an enriching environment. This will enable us to create the brilliant futures our students deserve.

Headteacher at The Cotswold School, Mr Will Morgan, said “I am always grateful to our school community – this accolade is testimony to the excellent teaching and support of our fantastic teachers and support staff; the hard work and commitment of our students towards their learning; the ongoing encouragement of families; and to our supportive governing body. I am immensely proud of the support – both academic and pastoral – that we offer to our students, as well as our extra-curricular activities, helping to create opportunities to enable our students to thrive.”

“A heartfelt thank you to every member of our school community for contributing to this award.”

The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025 thetimes.com/best-schools-league-table