Art

At Copthorne we have a light and spacious art room with separate storage areas and a kiln room. The core elements in which we give the children opportunities to develop include drawing, painting, printmaking, clay / ceramics, photography, sculpture, textiles, 3D, colour, pattern, tone, line, shape, space, texture and form.

Performing Arts

We are proud of our school’s drama, dance and music credentials. So, we need a space to showcase this! Capacity for 300 people, but with retractable seating so we use the space flexibly. We are imagining dressing rooms, an extensive props cupboard and world-class lighting and audio. If COVID’s taught us anything it’s how to take our learning online, so we would like to broadcast, using quality cameras so we can showcase our performances to parents and audiences all over the world.

Social Spaces

When thinking about how social spaces might develop across the school, the idea of social and independence came up a lot. School should be a place to enjoy hanging out with friends as much as well as learning. Our pupils like the idea of having a common room complete with a café (inside or outside), pods for self-led learning, cosy seating. We are also daydreaming about a cinema space.

Outdoor Activities

Our all-weather Astro pitch will be built for September 2021, we cannot wait! We are also inspired by learning outside and think we could expand our Forest School and have an outdoor kitchen, mini-farm and outdoor classrooms. Imagine learning from our natural environment in the wild! We are “eco-friendly” and care about our planet, so the school needs to be as green and sustainable as possible.

Dining Room

Hot, healthy lunches, including an extensive salad bar, are served in the dining room every day. We cater for all different dietary requirements and serve a wide variety of food in a three-week rotation.

Design & Technology

At Copthorne we believe in providing opportunities for children to develop whatever their capabilities. In Design and Technology, we aim to combine their design and making skills with knowledge and understanding, allowing each individual to create quality products.

Music Room

Music plays an integral part of school life. All children are encouraged to sing in Chapel and hymn practice each week and they all have weekly classroom music lessons in which they listen to, create and perform music. Formal and informal concerts are held throughout the year and many children receive instrumental tuition from the visiting peripatetic music teachers. We therefore encourage all pupils to engage in music making, regardless of ability.

Nursery

Copthorne’s Coach House Nursery is where your child will learn to learn. As a parent of a 2–4-year-old, you will appreciate just how much learning there is to do! Amid the sea of waterproofs and Wellington boots you will find children using their imaginations, being absorbed by new experiences and generally having fun. These are the foundations on which Copthorne has been built and they prepare children well for the Pre-Prep years.

Pre Prep

We offer a broad and exciting curriculum for the liveliest and most enquiring minds.  We place great emphasis on learning to read and thinking mathematically and scientifically – Language, Maths and Science are core subjects.  Your child will also be introduced to History, Geography, Religious Education, French, Art and Crafts, Information Technology, Music and Physical Education.

Science Lab

Science at Copthorne is fun, informative and taught through a series of practical and theory sessions. We focus on allowing children to experiment and follow their own ideas, creating their own investigations. We cover the national curriculum scheme from Year’s 3 to 5 and then move on to Common Entrance in Year 6. Science is taught as a core subject. Children have around five lessons of science a week which is taught in two purpose-built laboratories from Year 3 upwards.

Sports

 The sports hall is used throughout the week for PE lessons and Games coaching. It is also used for a wide variety of after school clubs and activities; and has markings for a tennis court, netball court, four badminton courts and two cricket nets! There is also a dance studio above and a viewing gallery. 

Copthorne has 55 acres of playing fields and woodland which the children can use for break time, PE, matches against other schools, as well as weekly Forest Schools sessions for all children from Nursery to Year 4. 

Theatre

Converted from the original school gymnasium, the theatre provides an intimate atmosphere for the numerous plays, concerts and lectures held during the school year. Tiered seating and modern lighting and sound systems all add to the audience’s enjoyment and allow pupils to experience a taste of professional theatre.

Specialist Teaching

Offering GCSEs means we need to have more dedicated classrooms for specialist subjects. We like the idea of having different “zones”, for example in DT we could have a tech zone for 3d printing/technical Lego and a messy zone for metal welding or experimentation with materials. As well as learning we want to show off our skills and think an art gallery could be attached to our classroom so we can host exhibitions.