Amidst the excitement of Nativity rehearsals and our festive Copthorne Christmas events, Year 2 has been hard at work diving into the wonders of space.

This week, the children took an inspiring journey as they learned about Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel to space. Her story of perseverance, determination and boundless curiosity, left a lasting impression on the class.

The children used their new iPads to research Mae Jemison and created amazing fact files that highlighted key information about her incredible achievements. A special shout-out goes to Isabella and Hanny, whose fact files truly stood out.

In addition to their space exploration, Year 2 has been getting hands-on with 2D and 3D design in their Digital lessons. The 2D nets they carefully crafted are now being transformed into stunning 3D space mobiles. The challenge doesn’t stop there; the students are also developing their skills in woodworking by sawing the wood to create fixed or rotating axles for their mobiles. It’s inspiring to see their creativity in full gear.

Stay tuned for more out-of-this-world projects from Year 2!

Many congratulations to our Year 6 pupils who have already secured and accepted offers and scholarships to Caterham School for September 2025.

We are thrilled that five scholarships have been awarded through a highly competitive process – a testament to our pupils’ hard work and the preparation they have gained.

Copthorne Prep is now in a unique position of having the multi award-winning Caterham School as its senior school. This means that, whilst we continue to prepare children for their choice of senior school across a broad range, our pupils also benefit from early offers and a smoother transition for those choosing Caterham School.

Pupils performed brilliantly in the Sumdog Maths competition with schools from around the Southeast.

The children played games during which they answered questions set at their individualised targets.

Copthorne classes finished in the first three places in the ‘Top Classes’, and six pupils finished in the top 10 individual results, with one of our pupils in 1st position. This is an amazing achievement; congratulations to our Copthorne Mathematicians!

Congratulations goes to:

Class Leader board

Individual results

Pupils at Caterham hit the top numbers once again this year with almost half of all GCSE grades the highest possible Grade 9.

The average result profile for a Caterham pupil in 2024 is 10 GCSEs at grade 8 (previously an A*) and the average individual grade an 8. A total of 20 pupils got 10 grade 9s or more. Over 85% of all GCSE grades were 9 to 7 with today’s success at GCSE following last week’s record-breaking A Level results.

Ceri Jones, Headmaster, said:

Today’s results are outstanding and well deserved by a fantastic group of young people who have proven themselves in every aspect of school life, inside and beyond the classroom. They step up to our Sixth Form with an impressive set of results, ready to enjoy and succeed in the next stage of their education at Caterham. I am thrilled for our pupils and their parents who must celebrate today.

I am also delighted for what this today’s, and this year’s, results represent for the school– a consistent excellence in academic achievement that opens doors of opportunity for our young people. Not only do Caterhamians secure top grades, and thrive in their wider co-curricular and sporting school life, but they also build crucial problem solving, entrepreneurial and digital skills in our unique Digital & Innovation EDGE curriculum. They are open minded and open hearted, taking an active role in our important Partnership work across the local area.

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Through partnership with Caterham School, Copthorne Prep follows the award-winning EDGE curriculum ensuring pupils are future-ready.  Our approach is to embrace the best of technology in learning and teaching, so that children are confident in applying digital skills when most powerful for their education, and whatever they choose to do in the future.

A Level records have been re-written at Caterham School with over 70 per cent of results A* or A grades and 92 per cent at A* to B grades.

Almost a third of all grades were the top A* grade and the average holding for a Caterham pupil in 2024 is A, A, A.  15 pupils achieved straight A grades. This summer’s results once again secure the School’s position in the academic premier league of UK schools. 

Ceri Jones, Headmaster, said:

I am thrilled that such a fantastic group of young people have realised their ambitions with this stellar set of results, the strongest in the School’s history. My warmest congratulations go to them, and of course their teachers and families who have supported them throughout. Incredible grades are only one measure of the success they have achieved whilst at Caterham –they have also thrown themselves into every aspect of school life here at Caterham, in the classroom, in creative and artistic performances and on the sports field, and in our important educational partnership work, and deserve to celebrate their significant success. I cannot wait to see what this group of talented young people go on to achieve in their lives and what difference they make to the world around them.  I am proud that our pupils leave Caterham not just with great grades, but also great friendships and memories, a network of support and community that will last a lifetime and a real sense of purpose and confidence about who they are and how to thrive in the years to come.

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Copthorne Prep School is part of the award-winning Caterham family of schools and was named as the Times Educational Supplement (Tes) Best UK Independent Senior School in 2023 and has long been recognised for expertise in innovation, digital learning and wellbeing in addition to top academic results.

Independent School Scholarships

Each year independent schools around the country offer financial assistance in the form of scholarships for children who show outstanding potential. A scholarship is therefore a very notable achievement, and we pride ourselves on the number of children at Copthorne Prep who are awarded scholarships at leading independent schools each year.

The scholarship process varies from school to school but typically involves a child demonstrating their ability in one or more disciplines, for example Academically, or in Sport, or Music, or with their Drama followed by an interview.

Scholarships are often linked to bursarial support which are themselves means-tested, and some senior schools can offer up to 100% of the full school fee depending on availability and circumstance.

Moving on From Copthorne Prep

When it is time to leave Copthorne Prep, we want to ensure our children go on to a school that can continue to celebrate their individual learning journey.  We have an excellent reputation for helping children successfully gain entry (many with scholarships) into leading independent schools, and this year is no different with our children receiving scholarships to Brighton College, Sevenoaks, Caterham, Roedean, Reigate Grammar, Worth, Bede’s, and Box Hill to name but a few.

Well done this year to all of our fantastic scholars!