Cottesmore School

Cottesmore Christmas Feast - Part 5, The Final Part • After eating the delicious Christmas feast and listening to the speeches, we decamp to the great hall to marvel at the ‘professional entertainers’. This part of the evening is reminiscent of a classic Victorian or Edwardian post-dinner Drawing Room parlour game session, but one can assume that it is much more noisy. Every year there is a different line-up, with some classics thrown in - see if you can spot any familiar acts. The evening ends with the whole school singing The National Anthem, Auld Lang Syne, the school song Carmen Cottesmorianum and We Wish You a Merry Christmas (the repertoire has expanded as we used to only sing the first two). This year there was an impromptu rendition of “And the first tree in the green wood, it was the holly” before heading up to the upstairs.

The Feast - Part 4: Speeches and Sweets • At Cottesmore’s Christmas Feast an essential part of the epic evening’s proceedings are speeches after pudding, which are received with huge enthusiasm by the feasters. The Headmaster says thank you to every member of staff, the Deputy Head says a special goodbye to the gappers and the Director of Sport sums up the successful sporting year. Various senior girls and boys respond with their own speeches. After the speeches are made, the girls and boys are invited to open their specially prepared bags of sweets and then we all head to the great hall for the ‘professional entertainment’.

The Cottesmore Feast Part 3 - Eating, Crackers and Coins in the Air • The adults serve the girls and boys and then we all eat the most delicious Christmas Feast together and then crackers are pulled. The lucky ones might find coins in their Christmas pudding - if they do, the tradition is to hold the coin in the air, stand up, and everybody cheers.

The Feast - Part 1: Adult Team Assemble • A formal dinner for 200 takes place on the last light of the Michaelmas Term. It is an evening of many sections. The first trick is to assemble.

Cottesmore Christmas Feast - Part 2 • One of the loveliest Cottesmore Christmas traditions is when the girls and boys cheer the teachers into the dining rooms as we commence ‘The Feast’ - a sign of appreciation and respect. The adults then wait on the girls and boys using our best silver service skills.

COTTESMORE IN HONG KONG

In many ways, Cottesmore is a demonstrably traditional school and it hosts a strong contingent of London, Surrey, Sussex and Home Counties families. It has also, for more than half a century, been closely connected to the rest of the world.

Cottesmore has attracted a global audience since frequent air travel became possible 60 years ago.

Expats continue to use Cottesmore as a hub of continuity, as do forces and foreign office families. Hong Kong is one of the wonderful places where many Cottesmorians - past, present & future - still live.

Foreign nationals also enjoy Cottesmore's close links to traditional life in the UK.

What all of these families also appreciate is the close eye that Cottesmore keeps on the future, modern ways of learning and trends which will become a natural part of our children's lives. They also acknowledge that our links to, and knowledge of, UK senior schools are invaluable.

Cottesmore's Hong Kong visit was a huge success and the event at the Hong Kong Club was the icing on the mooncake. Thank you to the present Cottesmore families for helping us organise this highly successful trip and to the Old Cottesmorian families and friends for such a warm welcome.

Floreat Cottesmorianum. Hong Kong sit florebit.

Good luck to all those receiving their A Level results today. ❤️

We had a delightful Sunday afternoon by the lake while others were at Bockett’s Farm.

Sunday fishing • The Sunday fishing expedition to the Cottesmore lake is happening shortly. We’ve been busy preparing the rods and tackle boxes ready for action.