Colfe's School

THE AIMS OF THE SCHOOL

At Colfe's we aim to:
• promote excellence in all areas and to develop each pupil’s abilities and character to the full;

• provide innovative academic teaching which adds value and fosters learning and scholarship of the highest quality together with a wide range of cultural, sporting and extra-curricular activities;

• nurture an awareness of spiritual and moral values amongst our pupils in accordance with the Christian principles of our Founder, Abraham Colfe;

• maintain a balanced community of children from varied backgrounds within the context of an academically selective school;

• promote a purposeful and disciplined atmosphere in which boys and girls are encouraged to achieve their full potential, staff can find vocational fulfilment in their careers and all can use their talents for the greater good of the community and society as a whole.

Colfe’s School

Colfe’s is one of London’s oldest schools.  It can be traced back to the 15th century but took its name from Abraham Colfe, Vicar of Lewisham, who re-founded the school in 1652.  In his will, he entrusted the care of the school to the Leathersellers’ City Livery Company, which governs the school to this day.

In 1977 the school became independent; after 25 years as a voluntary aided boys’ grammar school.  For over twenty years now, Colfe’s has been co-educational, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls: over 1,250 pupils in all, from ages three to 18. The Leathersellers’ Scholarship programme enables us to select a number of scholars each year on fully-funded bursaries for direct entry to the Sixth Form. In so doing we draw on strong working relationships with a number of local comprehensive schools in two of London’s most deprived boroughs: 10% of pupils in a typical sixth form year group qualify for free school meals.

Colfe’s former site in Lewisham was destroyed in the Second World War.  In 1963 the school moved to its present location in South East London.  All parts of the school from Nursery to Sixth Form share the site.  The facilities are excellent: the  school has an abundance of green space on site as well as a performing arts centre, sports centre with full-size swimming pool, two additional extensive sports grounds and a dedicated forest school for younger pupils nearby.

Entrance is selective and academic standards are high, with more than 88.9% of A levels graded A*-B last year. More than 68% of pupils achieved GCSE grades 9-7, with 20% receiving the highest grade 9 - well above the national average. Pupils regularly gain places on the most competitive courses at university, including Oxford and Cambridge and Russell Group universities such as Bristol, Durham, Warwick and Leeds to study a variety of subjects from English, Economics and Maths to Medicine and Music. Sport, music and drama are strong and all staff are expected to engage with the thriving extra-curricular programme.

Colfe’s is proud of its long history but not burdened or defined by it.  It is very much a school of the present day.  The teachers are relaxed (without being casual) and professional (without being stuffy).  The culture is one in which pupils are encouraged to respect one another and to learn from each other.  Colfe’s doesn’t try to force pupils into a single mould – there is no recognisable ‘Colfe’s type of pupil’.  They are lively and willing to have a go.

Locally and nationally the school enjoys a strong and growing reputation for all-round quality and innovation.