The Flagpole

If you missed the Year 11 Parents' Sixth Form Q & A Session on Thursday 31 March, which was designed to answer any questions you might have relating to final preparation for the exams, the exam season, study leave, GCSE Results Day and transition to Sixth Form, you can watch a recording of the online event by clicking here.

Alternatively you can download the slides here.

This question is on the minds of all our Year 11 and U6 pupils. It is important that pupils find a method that works for them, and they will have been introduced to a variety of activities with their subject teachers. Some pupils can get overwhelmed but small steps and study periods can be the answer to alleviate stress rather than create it. To help revision over the holidays, please look at a short video to support both parents and pupils with inspiration and guidance: How to Revise.

Please find below, a copy of an email that was sent to all Year 10 parents this week:

As we approach the Easter holidays, we want to bring to your attention some of the key events next term for Year 10 which form part of the preparation for their GCSE year and next steps thereafter. 

As in previous years, Year 10 will be having a full week of internal exams immediately before Half Term from Monday 23 to Friday 27 May. These will enable both the pupils and teachers to assess their progress over the first half of their GCSE courses and help with planning for Year 11. The exam timetable will be published next term and whilst some of the exams will be taken in their classrooms, Year 10 pupils will also sit some papers in the examination hall (unless they have access arrangements) so they have experience of this environment in advance of the Year 11 mocks. Teachers will spend dedicated time focusing on revision and preparation for these exams next term and we are recommending that pupils put some time aside over the Easter break to start their revision plans as directed by their teachers. Next term we have a REAL Time session planned for Thursday 5 May specifically to focus on revision skills - pupils have already spent some time on this and have access to their Learning Skills Team which includes revision support. If you would like to watch a short Revision Guidance Presentation, please click on the link. 

Of course, our Year 10 will very soon become Year 11 and as they mature, we want to grow them into senior leaders and role models for the younger pupils, not least within their vertical tutor groups. With this in mind, once the internal exams are over, we will be taking Year 10 pupils off timetable on Wednesday 15 June to undertake some specific training on developing their leadership skills. This will bring great benefit to both them and their tutor groups next year and they will immediately have the opportunity to put these skills into practice on House Activities Day at the end of this term. 

Whilst the GCSEs will rightly be a major focus for the pupils over the year ahead, pupils and parents will also be starting to gather their thoughts on post-GCSE studies. All pupils will have had a careers interview with Mrs Quinney, our Head of Careers, during Year 10 and they will have a follow up in Year 11 which parents are welcome to attend. In addition, another key event we will be running for all Year 10 pupils is the Sixth Form Taster Day on Tuesday 28 June. In addition to finding out more about what Sixth Form life entails, they will be able to choose five subjects to have a taste of what A-level or BTEC studies are like. Further details of the Sixth Form Taster Day will be sent out next term. 

To help with your own planning, there is a summary of key dates below, the first of which is the 360 Review Evening in school on Thursday 28 April where you will meet with your child's tutor to discuss overall progress and set some targets. The booking arrangements for this evening will be sent to you directly by email. 

Year 10 will be having an assembly on all the above tomorrow, Thursday 31 March, and we would encourage you to discuss the term ahead with them and contact us at school if you have any queries or concerns. 

With all best wishes for the Easter break, 

Ed Hester - Headmaster

Michael Spencer – Deputy Head - Academic

Ben Collie – Head of Sixth Form

In the week before May half-term (May 23–27) we will be conducting an internal examination week. For this period pupils will not be in normal lessons but will instead be using the time to revise and to take a series of assessments across their subjects. All year groups will continue to have their Games afternoon during this period.

For Lower Sixth students and Year 10 pupils we will be using the opportunity to begin preparations for public examinations next summer, helping them to become familiar with the formality of examinations and to have a taste of an examination hall environment, alongside any individual exam access arrangements. In order to allow for multiple papers, Lower Sixth will start examinations on Friday 10 May.

For Years 7 to 9 the experience will be less formal and papers will be shorter in length, with pupils working in classrooms throughout and engaging in practical Art and Technology sessions. Their assessments will provide the chance to revisit content and to demonstrate how much they have learnt this year.

All pupils should plan to revise in preparation for these assessments and will receive generic advice from the school alongside specific guidance from each subject. After half-term we will publish results and give feedback so that all pupils know how to improve in their future studies.

Does your child need a new laptop? Are you looking to purchase a device with 3 years insurance and warranty, so you don’t need to worry about faults, accidents or theft? Do you want to be able to pay for the device via monthly direct debits rather than upfront?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then you will be pleased to know that the next deployment of the College’s Digital Device Scheme will be open for orders after the Easter holidays. We are delighted to be able to now offer the scheme with the option of paying for the device over 36 monthly payments, with insurance and extended warranty included. Or if preferable, you can still purchase the device via upfront payment and access the insurance and warranty.

If your child is in need of a new device for their study then now is a great time to purchase through the next deployment of the Digital Device Scheme. We will be offering the Surface Go 3, with i3 processor, 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD and Windows 11, as well as a keyboard, rugged case, stylus and 36 month insurance and extended warranty. The Surface Go 2 has been an extremely popular choice through previous deployments and we can now offer the newer, more powerful Surface Go 3.

Full Information, with pricing and options, will be sent to all parents on week beginning 25 April, with the online portal open for orders from Monday 2 May until Friday 20 May. We will then distribute the devices to pupils once these arrive in school, which we anticipate to be in mid-June. This deployment is open to pupils in all year groups.

Please look out for the information on this after Easter.

Carnegie Awards Shadowing is up and running!

The Carnegie Medal is the UK’s longest running and best-loved book award recognising life-affirming reading experiences created through outstanding writing. Each year The Carnegie Medal is awarded for an outstanding book written in English for young people.

Unique in that they are judged solely by librarians, the roll-call of past winners includes: Arthur Ransome, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, Noel Streatfeild, Sally Gardner, Jason Reynolds and Elizabeth Acevedo.

A national (and international) reading for pleasure initiative, the Carnegie Awards Shadowing Scheme engages young people in reading the books on the shortlist via reading groups, and Princethorpe College has been involved in this initiative led by Librarian Celia Scott for the past 14 years. 

Each year pupils from Years 7-13 who take part in the scheme are invited to vote for their favourite books to win the Shadowers’ Choice Awards, which are announced alongside the Medal winners at the annual winners’ ceremony. They are challenged with having to read eight books in three months. The winners are announced on 16 June.

The eight books shortlisted this year celebrate the power of friendship, to create empathy, connection and hope. Six of the eight Carnegie shortlisted books are based on real-world events – from Tacky’s War to WWII; the legacy of the Troubles to the refugee crisis; the 2011 Japanese tsunami to the Central Park Exonerated Five case – with many demonstrating the power of friendship to help young people overcome challenges and celebrate difference.

The Awards mission is: To champion librarians to inspire and empower the next generation to create a better world through books and reading.

The 2022 Carnegie Medal shortlist (alphabetical by author surname):

October, October by Katya Balen, illustrated by Angela Harding (Bloomsbury)
Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin (Macmillan Children’s Books)
When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle (Andersen Press)
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock (Faber)
The Crossing by Manjeet Mann (Penguin Children’s Books)
Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada (Guppy Books)
Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle (Andersen Press)
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Thursday 28 April 2022 - 6.00pm to 8.30pm

To support the progress of our Year 7 and 10s we will be offering face to face meetings in the Sports Hall with your child’s tutor to discuss progress and future targets. It will be an opportunity for you to discuss all subjects and overall study skills. Importantly, targets will be made for further improvement and therefore it is expected that pupils will also attend the meeting.

Parents will be given the opportunity to electronically book a 15 minute slot with their child’s tutor. Parents will also be able to attend a series of workshops on how best to support their child whilst at Princethorpe. An email will be sent out to parents with more information and booking details during the Easter break.

Michael Spencer
Deputy Head – Academic

Please click for here the Easter holiday homework expectations.

Thank you 

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

Exams Summer 2022

Individual exam timetables can now be viewed on My School Portal by parents and pupils under the heading Exam Timetable; room allocations will appear nearer the time.

Exam clashes have been adjusted for most pupils and these are now showing on the portals. For any questions about your summer exams please email examinations@princethorpe.co.uk or pupils can come and speak to the Exams Office staff in Room S38 on Upper Pugin.

Shellagh Dodds
Examination and Assessment Manager