The Flagpole

The Admissions Cycle for entry to the College in 2023 has officially been launched. We have just published our Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet for 2023 and our friendly Admissions Team are already busy answering enquiries from prospective families and taking bookings for our open events.

The Entrance Exams will take place on Saturday 5 November 2022 and with just over six months until the registration deadline, Friday 30 September 2022, you can now book onto our Summer Open Evening and Year 5 Taster Days.

Our Summer Open Evening will take place on Wednesday 8 June 2022, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. This event will give prospective families a chance to look around the school and to hear from Ed Hester, the Headmaster. So, families do not miss out, we are encouraging visitors to book their place and time slot. The headmaster talks will take place at 6.45pm and 7.30pm, allowing families to explore the College before and after. Please book your place via our website.

In May and June, our popular Year 5 Taster Experiences are back to their original format and are taking place on a normal working day. These events aim to give prospective pupils a taste of senior school life and typically involve four lessons, a question and answer session with some of our current pupils and the chance to talk to the Headmaster, Mr Hester. Those attending will experience many aspects of Princethorpe school life, including tasting the legendary Princethorpe cookie!

There are four Year 5 Taster Experience sessions, Wednesday 4 May, Tuesday 14 June, Thursday 16 June or Wednesday 22 June. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The final opportunity to visit before the registration deadline for those wishing to join Years 7 to 10, is our Open Morning on Thursday 22 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Visitors will be able to look around the school on a normal working school day with our Year 8 and 9 pupils acting as tour guides.

If you are thinking of joining us for Sixth Form in 2023, we have a dedicated Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday 12 October 2022 from 6.30pm to 9.00pm. You will hear from Ed Hester, Headmaster and Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie regarding key events and dates in the Sixth Form application process. You will also receive specific A-level subject information and advice provided by the Heads of Departments and general information on the Sixth Form experience at Princethorpe.

For more information and to book your place at any of our Open Events or Taster Days please click here or contact our friendly Admissions Team on 01926 634201/262/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk

Entrance Exams for 2023 entry will take place on Saturday 5 November 2022. All candidates must be registered by Friday 30 September 2022. For those wishing to join us for Sixth Form in September 2023 the registration deadline will be announced shortly.

On Thursday 20 January, three Upper Sixth Form students, Mathura Elamurugan, Robyn Field, and Tobias Lambe, took part in the Round One of the Chemistry Olympiad. Designed to challenge and inspire, the UK Chemistry Olympiad, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, provides enrichment and a unique opportunity for students to push themselves further and excel in the fascinating field of Chemistry.

The 2022 paper covered many timely scientific contexts. With questions on E10 petrol, a grade of petrol which contains up to 10% renewable ethanol (a biofuel), the quantitative chemistry in lateral flow tests and techniques which allows vaccines to be stored at room temperature. 

The College was delighted that all three students who took part this year received an award. Tobias Lambe was awarded a Gold certificate (putting him comfortably in the top 9% nationally) while Mathura and Robyn were awarded Bronze certificates (putting them in the top 32% of all the participants).

The three Chemists prepared themselves for the competition by taking part in the weekly Chemistry Olympiad co-curricular club to develop their critical problem-solving skills, creative thinking, and their ability to put their knowledge to the test in real-world situations. They faced tough competition in this prestigious Olympiad and we congratulate them all on their excellent results.

Many congratulations to Lizzie Caisey who is taking on the role of Head of More House with immediate effect.

Lizzie, who holds a degree in Sociology and Criminology from Lancaster University and a masters in Sociology from Warwick University, has taught at schools in Manchester and then more recently at North Leamington. She joined Princethorpe College in 2020 to teach Psychology and Sociology. She has been supporting the College’s pastoral tutor programme by working as a co-tutor for Fisher House.

She takes over the role from Simon Robertson, who has decided to step down as Head of More House. Simon has been a key pastoral leader at Princethorpe for twelve years, he was previously Head of Year 10 and Year 11 before taking on responsibility for More when the College moved to vertical tutoring. We thank Simon on behalf of the huge number of parents and children who have benefited from his support. Simon will continue as a Biology teacher.

Comments Headmaster, Ed Hester, “I know Lizzie will embrace this important role with energy and commitment. We congratulate her and wish her well.”

Lizzie added, "I feel immensely fortunate to be given the opportunity to support pupils as Head of More House. The ethic of care that runs throughout every part of Princethorpe College is one of the things I love most about our school community, and it will be a privilege to contribute to this in my new role.”

Princethorpe has been taking part in British Science Week, a national celebration of Science run by the British Science Association. Throughout the week pupils from across the school have been enjoying entertaining and interesting activities designed to highlight the importance of Science and inspire and engage the next generation of scientists.

Pupils in Year’s 7, 8 and 9 have taken part in Biology, Chemistry and Physics lessons that have included experiments investigating action and reaction by making and testing balloon rockets, exploring photosynthesis by applying a gentle vacuum to leaf disks in solution, and investigating how changing particle size affects the rate of a chemical reaction using rockets fuelled by alka-seltzer. It’s been fantastic, hands on, explosive fun.

Pupils have also been taking part in a national poster competition on the theme of ‘growth’ with the best entries submitted into the national competition. Science teacher, Rob Southern held science themed assemblies on the topic of growth.

In Tutor Time pupils from Years 7 to 11 have faced a design technology challenge, constructing the tallest tower from just paper and tape. They have also all participated in the inter-tutor Science Quiz which tested pupils’ knowledge across the science disciplines and beyond.

Comments, Head of Science, Emma Cooper, "British Science Week has really allowed us to shine a spotlight on Science and provide a platform to engage pupils. They have enjoyed a wide range of fascinating and fun activities running alongside their normal day-to-day lessons."

The College is committed to providing the best science teaching and learning in the region, with a new £8 million, 10 laboratory, dedicated Science Centre now under construction that will inspire generations of Princethorpe scientists for years to come.

Huge congratulations to the U18 Rugby Sevens team who finished as runners up in the ISA National Tournament on Wednesday 9 March.

The competition took place at St James Senior Boys School in Surrey with 11 teams from across the country taking part. Split into two groups for the first round, the boys remained unbeaten in their five group stage matches only conceding one try and scoring 178 points.

They progressed to the Cup final where they faced Finborough School. Despite another strong performance, the boys narrowly missed out, finishing as runners up overall and earning themselves a well-deserved silver medal.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, commented, “The whole team is to be commended, effort, attitude and teamwork were in abundance as was plenty of great match play.”

A superb result, well done boys.

The U18 ISA National Netball Tournament took place on Thursday 10 March at Nottingham University, an amazing facility with a large sports hall with four courts.

The beauty of an ISA National tournament, is that you play schools that you don't normally come up against, so the competition field is unknown; this was especially heightened post-covid where the College hadn't participated in an ISA tournament for two years. 

Split into two pools, the team was aiming to finish in the top two in order to qualify for the Cup competition in the afternoon - and that they did! The girls played some superb netball, where they showed their unit play but also the versatility that there is within the team. They started off the pool with four wins from four, but watching from afar and the other results in the pool, they knew that their toughest game was shaping up to be the last pool game V Queen Ethelburga's from York. They were amazing; their timing, vision and their height meant that Princethorpe's team would be really up against it, but the girls continued to communicate and play well and respond to the game infront of them. Despite losing 6-17, the way the team played and grew throughout that game was really impressive. 

The Pool results ensured the team finished 2nd in group:
V St Dominics Won 13-1
V Stafford Grammar Won 16-10
V Finborough School Won 13-1
V Leighton Park School Won 13-4
V Queen Ethelburga's Lost 6 - 17

This meant that Princethorpe had qualified for the Cup semi-final V Kings High, Warwick. Whilst the Queen Ethelburga's game was a great game to have played to prepare them, it had taken the legs out of the girls, and despite their efforts they lost 7-18. This set them up for the bronze medal match V Scarisbrick. Despite being up at half time 5-3, they couldn't squeeze out the victory and lost 6-9.

It's hard to have such a positive day, and then come home without a medal. The netball shown throughout the day was really pleasing, from a group of players where the season was an unknown as senior netball slowly comes back to 'normal'.

Team Coach, Louise Harrison, said, "This team amaze us with their tenacity and versatility, they have had a great season so far and 4th place in the ISA Nationals is a great achievement, one the girls should be very proud of."

Well done to the squad:
Hannah McBride, Lucia McCosker-New, Charlotte Lewington, Evie Phillips, Eve Farquharson, Mia Johnson, Amelie Hancock, Nell Johnston, Millie Giffin, Ruby Harris

The Lower Sixth have just had their second opportunity to take part in the British Physics Olympiad Senior Physics Challenge competition, a gruelling one hour written paper containing some of the toughest questions imaginable. Organisers state that the competition is designed to test the very best of the best and that pupils should be reminded that there really are no easy marks. Special mention goes to the Bronze certificate winners Alex, Oscar, Madoc, Joe, Josh and Tom - fantastic effort, boys, well done!

Dan Lee
Head of Physics

The ISA U13 and U14 Rugby Sevens took place on Thursday 10 March at St James Senior Boys’ School in Surrey. Drawing squads from across the country both Princethorpe teams played brilliantly taking the Cup and Plate respectively.

The U13 were the National Champions after a very strong performance. In the group stages they saw off Lingfield College 40-5, Scarisbrick Hall School 35-0 and Holme Grange School 30-0 and just went down to the hosts, St James Senior Boys’ School 20-25. That put them equal top of the group and having scored the most points they went through to the Cup final. There they saw off Finborough School to claim the overall title. The team’s discipline and power in defence blending well with skill and intelligence in attack.

The U14 also played very well. In the group stage they beat Quinton House School 29-0, Bowbrook House School 41-0, Reddam House 31-0, St James Senior Boys’ School 21-12 and just lost to Shebbear College 12-19. That meant they finished second in the group and qualified for the Plate final where they faced Claires Court School, there lots of effort and great teamwork helped them claimed a 17-5 win to take the Plate.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell commented, “Congratulations to both squads on a fantastic effort. All the boys performed brilliantly which is great news for both 15-a-side and 7-a-side rugby at Princethorpe.”

Back in February pupils from Princethorpe College took part in the 2022 UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Intermediate Challenge, a prestigious national problem-solving competition that recognises the best young mathematicians in the country. The Challenge involves answering multiple choice questions and is sat under normal school exam conditions. This year the challenge was taken on-line. The papers are then marked by UKMT and the best pupils in the country are awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold Certificates.

The competition is aimed at Years 9, 10 and 11 and 62 Princethorpe pupils were selected to take part. It is a demanding exercise designed to stretch and test pupils’ mathematical skills, so the College is delighted that this year, Princethorpe’s mathematicians achieved exceptional results.

Congratulations to Zach Hawkins in Year 9, who was awarded a Gold certificate, and took the award for best performing student in school. Zach Hawkins, Ed Twyman, Joseph Newborough, Noah Granfield, Sophie Nicolle and Dylan Williams all performed so well that they have qualified for the follow-on round, the Intermediate Kangaroo challenge.

Gold certificate: Zach Hawkins, Ed Twyman and Joseph Newborough

Silver certificate: Amy Hogg, Noah Granfield, Carys Nicolle, Roman Thearia, Rahul Samra, Daisy Southgate, Sophie Nicolle, Dylan Williams, Krystina Yuen, Radley Evans and Jack Grindal.

Bronze certificate: Freddie Knott, Ollie Hutton, Tom Hollis, Alexander Leret, Joel Simon, Jack Fleming, Natasha Thomas, Amelia Chard, Anna Johnson, Anjola Okusanya, Lauren Bach, Dominic Lee, Jamie Smith, Eden Chaplow, Samuel Divers, Luchia Oatridge, Emmi Parmenter and Daniel Taylor.

Well done all and many thanks to all the pupils who took part, we hope you enjoyed the challenge.

Theo Scoutas
Post 16 Mathematics Co-ordinator

The U13 Netball Girls have made excellent progress this academic year. They have been focusing on waiting for the change in order to give the safe ball. The girls have had a busy few weeks this half term, with their County Tournament the first week back and then their National ISA Tournament the following week. 

For their County Tournament, the girls worked hard throughout the afternoon and faced tough competition from Stratford Girls Grammar, Bilton Grange and King's High. They finished in second place overall, after securing a good win against King's High. 

At the National ISA Netball Tournament the girls played with resilience, drive and passion throughout the day. They finished 3rd in the Group stage which left them competing for the Plate in the afternoon. A determined team managed to secure wins in the quarter finals and semi-finals but this left the girls facing King's High once again in the final for the Plate. In a very tight match, the girls finished on a 6-6 draw. Following the tournament rules the girls had to play golden goal - the next goal wins. The girls secured the first centre pass and worked the ball straight into our attacking D to score within minutes.

Team coach, Hannah Carminati, said "We could not be prouder of how hard these girls have worked this season and of their achievements." 

Playing for the squad were: Amy Farquharson, Annabel Leigh (Capt), Rosie Moreton, Skye Rotheram, Ellie Stern, Lauren Tebbatt, Issy Thompson and Bella Ward

On Tuesday 8 March, enthusiastic and well-read pupils from Year 8 and Year 9 represented Princethorpe College in the West Midlands heat of the National Reading Champions Quiz. Organised by the National Literacy Trust and aimed at pupils aged between 10 and 14-years-old, the quiz included eight challenging rounds testing pupils’ general knowledge on books written for children and young adults.

Hosted online on Teams, the quiz master for the event was educational writer and performer Mr Dilly. Hundreds of schools had entered the national competition but in their regional heat, Princethorpe’s two teams faced 25 schools from across the West Midlands.

The competition was certainly challenging including rounds titled, Double or Nothing, Dystopian and Science Fiction, Comedy and Horror, Author Pictures, Heroes and Heroines, Pets!, Brainteasers and Watch Me Now!

Competing from Year 8 were Kathryn Flegg, Ariana Gray, Alexa Holland, Jess Johnson, Daniel Ovens Gibbs, Delilah Teeton, Megan Thandi and Ethan Wright and from Year 9 were Pip Evans, Jess Lane and Bea Moulé.

The rounds came thick and fast, and the pupils worked under pressure to answer the questions before the clock timed out. It was a fantastic fun for them all, and proved just how much the pupils knew about children and young people’s fiction. Both Princethorpe teams performed brilliantly, working independently they finished fourth and fifth, an absolutely super result.

Celia Scott, School Librarian, said, "Our pupils have been preparing for a number of weeks and they performed really well against the 25 schools who took part in the West Midlands heat. We had a super morning much enjoyed by our avid readers, who clearly all know a lot about books."

A huge well done to them all.

The Sister Boniface Mysteries, the spin-off of the popular Father Brown series, was released in the UK last week on UKTV’s Drama channel. There will be 12 episodes in the series which looks like it will run weekly on Friday evenings.

The new murder mystery was filmed at Princethorpe over the summer holidays and follows the adventures of Sr Boniface, a Vespa-driving, crime solving, Cotswold-dwelling nun.

UKTV Drama’s channel can be found on Freeview, youview, TalkTalk and BT on channel 20, on Sky on channel 143, on Virgin on channel 130 and on Freesat on channel 158.

The eagle eyed amongst you will spot glimpses of the Chapel, the corridors around it and the Sixth Form Lawn in the shots.

It was fantastic to see Princethorpe transported back in time.

The latest issue of The Pinnacle has just been published, showcasing yet more of our pupils' excellent work. It's another bumper edition with plenty to amaze and inspire you.

A double-sized Minnacle is included too, with equally impressive work by Crackley Hall pupils from Nursery to Junior 6 and Crescent pupils from Reception to Year 6. It's wonderful to celebrate their talents too!

Copies will be shared with parents shortly but if you can't wait then why not have a read of the online editions of the magazine here: The Pinnacle and The Minnacle.