Cokethorpe School is celebrating a strong showing at the 2026 Young Art Oxford Competition, with 57 pupil artworks shortlisted for exhibition and several students receiving top awards.
The annual Young Art Oxford Competition is open to children from Reception to Year 9 across Oxfordshire. This year’s contest attracted close to 3,000 entries from state, independent and SEN schools, as well as home-schooled pupils. Entry fees help support the Rafiki Thabo Foundation.
Cokethorpe pupils submitted more than 250 pieces of artwork, all inspired by this year’s theme, “Little Things That Matter.” From those entries, 57 were selected for display.
Among the school’s achievements was a first-place award in the Reception to Year 2 category. Several other pupils were also recognised as category winners across both the Prep and Senior School sections.
The shortlisted artworks will be exhibited at the Ashmolean Museum on 15 and 16 May, with a private viewing and prize-giving ceremony taking place on the Friday evening.
Young Art Oxford is designed to encourage children to produce entirely original work and interpret each year’s theme in their own way. The competition is widely regarded as an opportunity for young artists to gain confidence by seeing their work displayed in a professional gallery setting.
At Cokethorpe, pupils from Reception to Year 8 take weekly 50-minute art lessons taught by specialist teachers, while Year 9 pupils can choose to continue studying the subject.
Helen Hammond, Art Teacher at Cokethorpe, said: “Young Art Oxford is such a valuable opportunity for children to express themselves creatively and feel proud of what they can achieve. We encourage every pupil to develop their own ideas and interpretations, while helping them build techniques and confidence along the way.”
Set within a 150-acre parkland estate near Witney, Cokethorpe School provides independent co-educational learning for pupils aged four to 18.
