Students from Cokethorpe School have been helping pensioners through a partnership with Rosebank Care Home, in Bampton, part of the Premium Care Group.

Led by Dr Chris Flaherty, the school’s head of science, the initiative connects pupils and residents through creative projects, music and shared experiences.

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One of the latest initiatives included sixth form students spending time with residents during Curriculum Enrichment Week to create a large ‘Wishing Tree’ mural inside the care home.

The artwork, developed over several days, features handwritten wishes, memories and reflections from residents displayed on decorative hanging tags.

The finished mural was officially unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by students, staff and residents.

Cokethorpe School pupils at Rosebank care home (Image: Fortitude Communications)

Residents said the project helped spark conversation, creativity and companionship, while giving students an opportunity to engage with older generations and hear their stories.

Dr Flaherty said: “The Wishing Tree really became something special. Residents shared memories, wishes and stories, and it brought everyone together in a very meaningful way.”

After Rosebank staff shared a request for a violinist to perform for a resident living with dementia, who responded positively to violin music, a sixth former from Cokethorpe volunteered to visit and play at the home.

Rosebank staff said the performance demonstrated the powerful connection between music and memory.

Alongside the art and music projects, lower sixth students also volunteered to support a Dementia Awareness cake sale, organised in partnership with Rosebank Care Home.

The fundraiser was also led by Dr Flaherty, in partnership with Hazel Kenworthy, Cokethorpe’s teacher of physics.

Working alongside the school’s catering team, students helped to ice and decorate cakes.

The fundraiser successfully raised money and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Society, with support from parents and former parents of the school.

The school said that the ongoing initiatives reflected its wider commitment to community outreach across the county.

Students have also previously performed music at Rosebank, taking part in singing visits, while younger pupils from Cokethorpe Prep School also regularly visit.

The school has also worked on other local community art initiatives, including a mural project for Mulberry Bush School.

Cokethorpe School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils aged four to 18, set within a 150-acre parkland site near Witney.

In April it emerged that Les Phillips, who was in Oxford United‘s Milk Cup-winning team at Wembley in 1986, is now a groundsman at the school.

When his playing career came to an end, Mr Phillips trained as a greenkeeper at golf courses across Oxfordshire and he has been at the school for the last nine years.

Pattie Boyd has said no one involved with the forthcoming Beatles biopics has approached her, despite casting an actress to play her.

Former Magdalen College School pupil Sir Sam Mendes is to make four separate films about The Beatles, with one from each band member’s perspective.

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Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison have all granted permission and music rights for the four biopics.

Sir Sam attended Magdalen College School in east Oxford in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The series about the Fab Four is due for a simultaneous release in April 2028.

It will star Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and each film will tell the story of the band from a different member’s point of view.

Other actors who will star in the films include Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawai, Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Aimee Lou Wood, who are playing Linda McCartney, Yoko Ono, Maureen Starkey, and Pattie Boyd, respectively, with Sir Sam calling all four women “fascinating and unique figures in their own right”.

Pattie Boyd (Image: Eddie Janssens/Wikimedia Commons)

Speaking about the ambitious movie project, Ms Boyd told a podcast that nobody had “reached out” to her.

She added: “I might be completely wrong, but I would have thought it would be polite to mention it to me or let me know that they got someone who’s going to be playing me.

“Don’t you think they’d let me know? Well, I haven’t been contacted by anyone. I could have really told them great stories.

“But I don’t think they want to know. I think they want to create something that’s completely different, like a different story.”

Ms Boyd added that the forthcoming biopics seem to have “nothing to do with the truth (and) nothing to do with what really happened because they don’t want to talk to anyone who was there”.

Instead, she said it was closer to “the filmmaker’s creation of what they think happened”, according to the NME music and pop culture publication.

George Harrison with Pattie Boyd after their wedding (Image: KRLA Beat/Wikimedia Commons)

Mrs Boyd first met Mr Harrison on the set of 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, eventually marrying the guitarist in 1966 and divorcing him in 1977.

For many years, Mr Harrison lived at Friar Park in Henley, and his family still owns the mansion. He died in 2001.

A recording studio was used at Friar Park by Mr Harrison for his solo albums.

The studio was also used for work on Traveling Wilburys releases – the former Beatle was a member of the supergroup, which also featured Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne.

And recording and filming for The Beatles’ 1995 Anthology project also took place at the mansion studio.

Walled Gardens of Wallingford is set to return for 2026 on Sunday, June 14, opening a record number of 20 usually private gardens to delight visitors for the afternoon, including three opening to the public for the first time.

Now in its third year, the annual event has proved hugely popular with locals and tourists alike and saw more than 1,200 visitors at last June’s event.

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A spokesperson for the organisers of the Walled Gardens event said: “With secret nooks, beautiful blooms and surprising quiet in the centre of the bustling market town of Wallingford, this event is the perfect way to spend a summer afternoon.

Last year’s event saw around 1,200 visitors (Image: Wallingford Photographic Society)

“If you need to rest your feet there will be the opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine and strawberries, or an idyllic trip down the river on a short boat tour.

“Tea and cake will also be available as you peruse some of the local food, drink, arts and plant stalls.”

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The afternoon is run by a group of garden owners who raise money through tickets sales for charities in Wallingford and is this year sponsored by Root One and Champions.

Last year, more than £16,000 was raised for good causes in the town, and this year proceeds will be split between 10 charities including The Corn Exchange, St Mary-le-More Church, Style Acre and Wallingford Museum.

Tickets are limited and must be bought in advance from www.walledgardensofwallingford.co.uk or in person from KP Stationers, The Corn Exchange or Root One Garden Centre.