The headmaster of Cokethorpe School, Damian Ettinger, wrote in a recent school newsletter about how parents should not expect their children to grow up in their image, as each child is an individual and has the right to develop that individuality.

He noted how every young person is a mixture of their genes and their environment, the influence of their families, their schools and their peers, but that they also possess free will and make personal choices that influence their future.

A school knows that mutual trust, support and co-operation provide the best possible environment in which these children can develop the character they need if they are to face life’s challenges.

These challenges are best supported by the pastoral care and values of a school.

In both the junior school and the senior school, the house system, personal tutoring, year-group specific social and health programmes, and a joint Anglican and Roman Catholic foundation create a tried and tested support structure.

All focus on development of the whole person, encourage loyalty and participation, and instil a sense of personal responsibility.

A parent, whose daughter joined in Year 10, and has just received her GCSE results, recently wrote to the headmaster to say how delighted they were with her results, and also commented: “We have witnessed our daughter's development both academically and socially at Cokethorpe in a way that we had not seen at her previous school.

“She is now really thriving and is very excited by the next challenge of sixth form. We have been very aware of, and are very grateful for, Cokethorpe's pastoral care and focus on the individual.

“Our daughter has benefited considerably from the level of attention and nurture.”

A parent of a recent leaver also wrote to the headmaster to “simply thank him”. The parent mentioned how “one of the main reasons we chose Cokethorpe for our son was the pastoral care. He was a shy child, not so easy to believe now, but the care and nurturing he has received has made him into a young man with his own ideas and thoughts.”

In addition to the academic and emotional support from tutors and the sixth form academic mentors, the staff ensure involvement in the widest possible sense.

Inter-house competitions, social activities, pupil councils, Year 6 monitors and the prefect system are just some of the ways in which the pupils interact with other age groups, as well as providing both formal and informal opportunities for the pupils to exercise leadership, services and responsibility.

A spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is embedded in the educational aims of Cokethorpe School, which is an on-going process delivered through the taught curriculum, the pastoral programme, the rich programme of extra-curricular activities and the wider aspect of life at the school.