Cotham School

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title: "Cotham School" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["secondary-schools-in-bristol", "academies-in-bristol", "educational-institutions-established-in-1856", "1856-establishments-in-england", "locally-listed-buildings-in-bristol"] topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotham_School" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox school"]

Field	Value
name	Cotham School
logo	Cotham School.jpg
logo_size	150px
image	Cotham School (geograph 2818702).jpg
caption	Cotham School's entrance on
es
established	(as the Merchant Venturers' School)
type	Secondary Academy
head	Joanne Butler
address	Cotham Drive
city	Bristol
county
postcode	BS6 6DT
country	England
local_authority	Bristol City Council
urn	137440
ofsted	Yes
enrolment	1487 (data from April 2018)
capacity	1480 (data from April 2018)
gender	Mixed
lower_age	11
upper_age	18
houses	Delta, Gamma, Sigma, Omega
website
::

| name = Cotham School | logo = Cotham School.jpg | logo_size = 150px | image = Cotham School (geograph 2818702).jpg | caption = Cotham School's entrance on

es = | motto = | established = (as the Merchant Venturers' School) | closed = | type = Secondary Academy | head_label = | head = Joanne Butler | r_head_label = | r_head = | chair_label = | chair = | founder = | address = Cotham Drive | city = Bristol | county = | postcode = BS6 6DT | country = England | local_authority = Bristol City Council | urn = 137440 | ofsted = Yes | enrolment = 1487 (data from April 2018) | capacity = 1480 (data from April 2018) | gender = Mixed | lower_age = 11 | upper_age = 18 | houses = Delta, Gamma, Sigma, Omega | colours = | publication = | website =

Cotham School is a secondary school with academy status in Cotham, a suburb of Bristol, England. The catchment area for this school is Cotham, Clifton, Kingsdown, Southern Redland, Bishopston, St Paul's and Easton.

The school shares a sixth form, the North Bristol Post 16 Centre, with nearby Redland Green School. The Cotham campus is situated in Charnwood House, although sixth form lessons also take place at the main school site. Construction on a new teaching and dining block was finished in 2018 and increased the school's capacity significantly.

Cotham School is one of the few schools in the UK to have educated two Nobel laureates: Paul Dirac, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933, and Peter Higgs, who received the same award in 2013.

History

Cotham School was established in 1856. Its predecessor was the Merchant Venturers' School. Until the academic year 2000/01, Cotham was a grammar school. It became a comprehensive in 2001, and an academy in September 2011. A £20m redevelopment and expansion was completed in 2012, using funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme.

The BBC drama Thirteen was filmed here in 2015.

Notable alumni

• Tony Badger, Master of Clare College, Cambridge, 2003–14; Paul Mellon Professor of American History, University of Cambridge, 1992–2014.
• Paul Dirac, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1932 to 1969 at the University of Cambridge, who won the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics with Erwin Schrödinger for work on quantum mechanics.
• Wallace Fox, Professor of Community Therapeutics from 1979 to 1986 at the Cardiothoracic Institute, Royal Brompton Hospital; did important work on tuberculosis
• David Garmston, journalist
• Peter Higgs, Professor of Theoretical Physics from 1980 to 1996 at the University of Edinburgh; received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics with François Englert for his work on subatomic particles including the Higgs boson;
• Maya Jama, TV presenter
• John James, businessman and philanthropist
• Martyn Jarrett, Bishop of Beverley 2000–2012; Bishop of Burnley from 1994 to 2000
• Laya Lewis, actress
• Gary Mabbutt, professional footballer for Bristol Rovers F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and England
• Arthur Milton, cricketer and footballer
• John Mortimore, cricketer
• Michael Parsons, designer of bridges including the Severn and Humber Bridges{{citation |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/michael-parsons-obituary-tgxbr5sc7 |newspaper=The Times |date=1 June 2021 |page=44 |title=Michael Parsons
• John Perry, musician and author. Guitarist The Only Ones
• Greg Poole, artist
• Derek Robinson, novelist
• John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln 2001–2011; Bishop of Ludlow from 1994 to 2001
• Julian Sedgwick, actor
• John Tidmarsh, journalist
• Amy Willerton, contestant on I'm a Celebrity 2013 and contestant in Miss Universe
• Russell Wood, cricketer

References

References

1. "Cotham School Expansion". Cotham School.
2. Griffiths, Jon. (March 2006). "Cotham Old Boys". BBC.
3. Weale, Sally. (29 January 2015). "Bristol's Cotham school scores exam results to outshine famous alumni". Guardian.
4. "Professor's visit thrills his old school". Bristol Post.
5. (7 May 2010). "Professor Wallace Fox". Telegraph.
6. (July 2019). "Dave Garmston". Radio West.
7. (17 November 2004). "Look at why we loves Bristol.". Gale.
8. "The clergy". Worksop Priory.
9. (4 June 2008). "Arthur Milton". ESPN Cricinfo.
10. (9 August 1951). "Bristol school "reunion" in Gloucestershire team". Yorkshire Evening Post.
11. [[John Perry (musician)]]
12. (10 July 2014). "The Only Ones".
13. (11 January 2019). "Greg Poole obituary".
14. "Derek Robinson". Good Reads.
15. (20 November 2011). "Bristol church organist's 60 years of service marked". BBC News.
16. (7 March 2011}}{{Dead link). "A man of the World Service". Bristol Post.
17. (19 November 2013). ""I was bullied at school": Bristol I'm a Celebrity contestant Amy Willerton on her time at school". Bristol Post.

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