The Flagpole

Pupils, staff and trustees have celebrated an important milestone in the construction of the new £8m state-of-the-art Science Centre at Princethorpe College. Headmaster, Ed Hester, donned a hi-vis jacket and hard hat and scaled the heights of the new building for the traditional topping out ceremony. Accompanied by the Heads of School, Freya Mills and Pratheesh Prabakaran, Year 7 representatives, Isaac Fowle and Chloe Sarkies, and invited guests, the topping out of the new £8 million Science Centre was celebrated on Wednesday 30 November.

The practice of ‘topping out’ a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious practice of placing a tree on the top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits of their ancestors who had been displaced (though you will be pleased to know that no trees were removed in the construction of the Science Centre and we will be extensively landscaping the surrounding area and planting additional trees). The practice migrated to England with Scandinavian invaders.

Invited Princethorpe trustees and teachers as well as the Managing Director of contractor Trendgrey Construction Limited, Nick Henderson, were present at the ceremony joining in with the good humour of the occasion as the tree was decorated. An optional tour of the exciting new development followed the event revealing first-hand the ten new laboratories that will open for business at the start of the next academic year.

Nick Henderson described the progress of the development, “The project at Princethorpe College has been progressing extremely well and we’re delighted to be at a stage where the ‘topping out’ ceremony can take place. The new building will be state-of-the-art providing a wonderful teaching and learning environment for pupils at the College.”

Ed Hester, said, “We were delighted to celebrate this significant and traditional moment in the construction of our new Science Centre. We are looking forward to its opening next year. The building is looking incredible, and we are all excited by the learning opportunities it will present us.”

Another exceptional year of achievement, progress, creativity and contribution was celebrated at Princethorpe College’s annual Prize Giving Ceremony at the Butterworth Hall, at Warwick University’s Arts Centre on Friday 18 November.

Before the ceremony, the Old Princethorpians Committee hosted a special Drinks Reception for the returning Class of 2022 and their parents, providing a welcome opportunity for last year’s cohort to get together and catch up.

Chair of Trustees, Mrs Liz Griffin, opened the proceedings, warmly welcoming parents, friends of the College and Princethorpians old and new to the occasion and then Father Alan Whelan MSC then led the assembled community in an opening prayer.

In his formal address, the Headmaster, Ed Hester, gave thanks to all those who make Princethorpe the special place it is. His warm words paid tribute to all that is done by so many in support of the College, the kindness, the compassion and the values that underpin the success stories of so many of our pupils and not just those who received prizes on the evening. He reminded us of St. John Henry Newman’s words ‘To live is to change’, and reflected on the changes we all experience, before congratulating last year’s Year 11 and Upper Sixth on their resilience and tenacity over the course of the last three challenging years.

All evening the atmosphere was joyful and celebratory and there were superb musical interludes from the school String Orchestra, Concert Band and the Year 7 Choir, whose performance of Rainbow Connection was both enthusiastic and uplifting.

Then it was time for the presentation of the awards. Listening to the citations was truly inspiring and humbling. The talent in evidence, the grit and determination, the passion, enthusiasm and commitment were all applauded and honoured.

Finally, we came to the main award, the Princethorpe Shield, the oldest and most prestigious College award presented annually to the student who is seen to embody the spirit and ethos of the College in many facets of their school life. It was a very popular decision this year, with the audience cheering a delighted and surprised Greg Burford who was thrilled to receive the Shield.

Headmaster designate, Grove du Toit, then spoke echoing Mr Hester’s congratulations, before the current Heads of School, Freya Mills, and Head Boy, Pratheesh Prabakaran, gave an eloquent vote of thanks.

The evening came to a close with the singing of the College Hymn, Here I Am Lord.

The full list of Prize Winners can be found in the Prize Giving Programme here.

Emails with links to the photo galleries will be sent to the Class of 2022, GCSE certificate recipients and the Prize Winners.

One ghostly Christmas Eve, the cold hearted Ebenezer Scrooge is visited at home by Marley's ghost, who wanders the Earth entwined by heavy chains and money boxes forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has a single chance to avoid the same fate: he will be visited by three spirits and must listen or be cursed to carry much heavier chains of his own.

So begins the story of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, directed by Aileen Cefaliello and Vicky Roberts and performed with verve and passion by our wonderful cast of players. Over three nights this week, captivated audiences are being transported to a festive feast for all the family with Tiny Tim, Fezziwig and the Urchins.

There is theatrical magic at work here, heart-warming, and hopeful, that will melt even the coldest of hearts, and what better way is there to start the countdown to Christmas.

A big 'break a leg' to all the cast and behind the scenes team for the last two performances!

View gallery to get a sneak preview of the performance.

Following on from the Year 11: 360 Reviews and Parents' Evenings, we would like to remind Year 11 pupils and parents of the Sixth Form Scholarship process for September 2023 for internal candidates.

All of our Year 11s are able to apply for Sixth Form Scholarships - Academic, Art, Music, Organ, Drama and Sport. To do so they must complete a Sixth Form Scholarship Application Form and write a 'personal statement' outlining their achievements to date and why they feel they would make an excellent candidate for the scholarship (maximum 500 words).

Those pupils who currently have a scholarship, will normally retain their award for Sixth Form, but must also complete a Sixth Form Scholarship Application Form to re-apply for the scholarship.

The deadline for this application is Monday 23 January 2023. Applications should be marked for the attention of the Registrar, Mrs Vanessa Rooney.

Depending on the scholarship, prospective award holders may be interviewed and/or take part in a scholarship assessment in February or March.

Details of any awards will be confirmed when the Sixth Form Offer letters are sent out in writing during week commencing Monday 20 March 2023. Some awards may be dependent on final GCSE grades.

The criteria for each of the scholarships can be found on our website here and in the Sixth Form Admissions Information Booklet 2023. It is essential that pupils and parents look through these in detail before making an application. The Sixth Form Application Form for current Princethorpe Year 11 pupils can be found here. The form can be filled in electronically and returned via email to admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

We hope that this will be another motivational factor for our Year 11s as they focus on their studies and revision in the build up to the exam season.

Recent leaver, Grace Leigh’s stunning and atmospheric photograph Phantom Of The River has received a Highly Commended in the Key Stage 5 Photography class at the Independent Schools Association’s prestigious National Art Competition.

Her picture was one part of her triptych that was presented at the College’s Art Show in the summer. The photo is an original unedited work, and by all reports the water in the lake was exceptionally cold when the young artist staged her shot. Her work took first place in the Regional ISA Art competition back in October and Princethorpe College Head of Art, Paul Hubball, is delighted that it has now received recognition at the national event.

Paul comments, “Many congratulations to Grace, her piece was exceptional, a product of the many hours of work and it is marvellous to see her talent rewarded in this way.”

The recognition is also a testament to the depth and range of talent in Princethorpe's Art and Photography Department.

A huge well done to Grace!

Six Lower Sixth students are currently sitting in seventh place in the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition. The prestigious competition, run by The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania runs annually, attracting teams from around the world. Last year 1,300 teams took part from 64 countries.

Starting with a virtual client and $100,000 cash, students are tasked with working collaboratively to meet the client’s long-term investment goals. Using the Wharton Investment Simulator and working with a defined list of equities, over the course of ten weeks, the students seek to grow their portfolios. At the end of the competition the boys have to submit a final report where they explain their investment choices.

The leading Princethorpe team, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, have been following a cautious strategy and it has been paying dividends, now five weeks in, their portfolio is worth over $117,000. The boys have chosen to stay away from stocks likely to be impacted by the current global turmoil and built a balanced portfolio with a range of smaller investments. They have also looked to invest in stocks that are sitting at a low point in their cycle. In a bear market, their strategy seems to be working.

Jacob Comerford, Guy Dawkins, William Harrison, Adam Ledbrook, Adam Lewis and Oscar Low are taking part in the competition as part of their Sixth Form enrichment activities, every Friday afternoon, and they are learning finance skills that will last them a lifetime.

Year 9 pupil, Sophie Henry, has secured her place in the Springboard FutureChef Regional Final after winning the super-heat by just one point. In a hotly contested cook-off Sophie won over the judges with the flavour profile of her dessert.

The winners of the Princethorpe school round, Sophie Henry and Year 9, Finlay Ross, were tasked with preparing a two-course meal of French dishes in just one hour to serve to Mr Hester and Mr McCollin showcasing their food preparation and presentation skills.

Sophie prepared Coq au Vin with chicken and bacon served on mashed potatoes with parsley and olive oil. Her dessert was Tarte au Citron craquante. Finlay prepared Steak Lyonnaise with potatoes and green beans and Chocolate Gateaux with strawberries and whipped cream.

The super-heat took place on Wednesday 30 November. Sophie and Finlay worked quickly, demonstrating technical skills and their finished plates of food were tantalising and full of flavour. The contestant’s attention to detail was superb with plates polished, food presented artistically, and work surfaces scrubbed.

The FutureChef competition challenges young people aged 12 to 16 who are keen to learn more about cooking, to cook their way through a series of rounds, allowing them to gain experience, meet professionals and develop their skills, all whilst learning invaluable lessons and getting an insight into the culinary industry.

It was a hard decision to choose between them and the judges deliberated carefully as they tasted the dishes and argued the pros and cons of first one dish and then another.

Teacher of Food Technology, Jacqui Scott said, “I am extremely proud of both of our Princethorpe competitors who put a lot of time and effort into menu planning and practising. The food they produced was of the highest standard and was beautifully presented. Both meals could have been served at a restaurant table. They were calm and collected throughout a tense 60 minutes and it was a very difficult decision.”

A very well done to both competitors, you clearly have the makings of a master chef.

This year's winning College Christmas card design, chosen by Ed Hester, Headmaster, is by Lower Sixth Former, Alex Matheson. His super drawing features the iconic Princethorpe tower surrounded by nods to Christmas of holly and red berries, framing the tower beautifully. 

Head of Art, Paul Hubball, commented, "There was another strong field of entries this year, with plenty of original ideas brought to the table with lots of attention to detail. Alex's symbolic drawing of the tower, his use of colour and originality really helped his design stand out and made it the perfect choice for this year's College Christmas card."

Congratulations also go to the Highly Commended entries, whose designs feature as cameos on the reverse of the card: Year 7 pupils, Liana Fairlie and Mimi Legge, Year 10 pupil, Bea Taylor and Lower Sixth Former, Lara Cutri.

Scroll through the gallery to see the entries that were Highly Commended. 

As the Michaelmas term draws to a close it is time once again to recognise and celebrate the many pupils who have risen to the challenge of the College’s ethos.

At lunchtime, on Monday 28 November, Assistant Head Co-curricular, Neil McCollin, congratulated pupils from across the College who had been nominated by members of staff for recognition for their achievements. All had tried their best; some had excelled or showed commitment to sport, performing arts, charity work or academic studies, whilst others had gone over and above for their House or Tutor group. All were an outstanding example for their peers.

Mr McCollin thanked each and every one of them, recognising the commitment and effort they put in and all that they do to enrich school life.

This term congratulations go to:

From Year 7: Stephanie Bolton, Issey Cleary, Lillibee Harris and Stephanie Perkins

From Year 8: George Fry, Charlotte Gower, Faith Katanda, William Long, Amy Robinson and Tara Rodgers

From Year 9: Henry Fox, Ariana Gray, Alexa Holland, Euan Nelson, Rosie Moreton, Noah Nix, Jorja Parris, Mia Petrucci, Sam Beaman-Henderson and Lily Carroll

From Year 10: Martina Grace, Harrison Guest, André Onyekwe and Emmanuel Simon

From Year 11: Jayden Carr, Isaac Fountaine, Louise Gambling, Charlotte Gledhill, Chloe Henderson, Lottie Hunter, David Ikuomola, Hamish O'Brien, Zack Oldfield, Lampros Papadogiannakis, Mia Samra, Oscar Tebbatt, Jemima Teeton and Tom Windley

From Lower Sixth: Will Antrobus, Mary-Ellen Boyle, Kiran Clark, Alex Flegg, Sophie Gray, Noah Kemp, Joseph Newborough, Connor Silvester, Zara Simpson and Alice Whittaker

From Upper Sixth:  Erin Arriordaz, Joe Glover, Harry Hewitt, Keira MacRae, Dylan Morgan Smith, Eleanor Page, Oscar Page, Evie Phillips, Pratheesh Prabakaran, Evan Ridd, Wilf Sansum, Edward Sharpe, Jack Tripp-Smith and Samuel Tubb

More information on pupils’ achievements can be found here.

The South Africa Tour Fundraising Wreath Making Evenings on Wednesday 30 November and Thursday 1 December were once again a great success.

The Sixth Form Centre was a hive of festive activity as parents, led by Vicky Bridgewater, grappled with evergreen foliage and wire, baubles, pine cones and ribbons to create wreaths that any high-class florist would be proud of.

Supported by Lee Cassell, Foundation Director of Sport and Neil McCollin, Assistant Head – Co-curricular and their band of South Africa tourist helpers, the wreath makers enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies and also took part in a festive raffle.

Lee Cassell commented, “It has been great to see so many parents support our fundraising at the Christmas Wreath Making events, our next event is the eagerly awaited South Africa Ball on Saturday 28 January.”

We are very proud of our U14 Hockey Girls, who won both the County and Zonal rounds to make it to the T2 Regional Final on Wednesday 23 November only to fall short after giving it everything, just narrowing missing out on a place in the National Finals to Ratcliffe College on penalty shuffles. A huge well done to them all. 

Two soldiers from the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) outreach team of the British Army visited Princethorpe College on Wednesday 30 November to deliver a talk and a series of workshops to a group of 28 Year 9 pupils.

The curriculum aligned session started with a talk highlighting the deficit of STEM skilled professionals in the UK and explained how the STEM skills developed at school and in further education are essential to a wide range of careers, including roles within the Army. The two interactive workshops gave pupils a chance to test their critical thinking, teamwork, perseverance, and leadership skills to overcome real-world challenges.

In the first workshop, ‘Operation: Disaster Relief’, the scene was set with a video of the 2005 earthquake that devastated Kathmandu, Nepal. Pupils’ task was to provide much needed humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the natural disaster and required the teams to build a Lego Mindstorms robot (with no instructions) from scratch, programme it and use it to locate people trapped beneath the rubble caused by the earthquake.

The second workshop, ‘Operation: Who’s the Hacker?’ challenged pupils to solve a puzzle using mathematical skill and logic. The teams had to plot co-ordinates of mobile phone masts on a map, use the range of each mast to determine who used their phones where and when, decipher codes to read encrypted messages, eliminate suspects and use evidence to deduce who the hacker was.

Year 9 engaged brilliantly with the activities, showing their competitive sides whilst being creative and working outside of their comfort zones. It was an excellent session, well done to all the pupils who took part.

Our U13A Girls Hockey team are celebrating after earning themselves a bronze medal at the ISA National tournament.

The team travelled to the Lee Valley National Hockey Stadium in the Olympic Park on Wednesday 23 November where they faced 20 schools from across the country. The tournament started with a pool round where the girls put on a confident display winning their four group games comfortably without letting a single goal across their line.

Before the playoffs started the girls took part in an amazing inspirational coaching session with hockey Olympian Chloe Rogers, who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics.

Then it was on to the Cup semi-final where the girls faced Langley Prep in a closely contested game where they were unlucky not to score, the girls were disappointed to lose 0-1. Determined, they moved on to the bronze medal match where they faced Ipswich High School. They held their nerve, took advantage of every opportunity presented, to win the game 3-2, and claim third place overall and the bronze medal.

Congratulations to them all.

Nine pupils ran for Warwickshire at the Inter County Schools Cross Country Championship at Himley Hall in Dudley on Saturday 19 November. Competing were the best cross-country runners from eight counties across England, ranging from Surrey to Staffordshire. On an undulating and testing Himley Hall course, in warm autumn sunshine, Princethorpe’s athletes ran with their usual tenacity and determination helping Warwickshire to their very first inter county win.

For the Inter Boys, Ben Smith claimed the best finish coming home first for Warwickshire, crossing the line in 9th place, Felix Batty was not far behind finishing second for the county in 18th place, then Jesse Esler was sixth finishing 31st. For the Inter Girls, Evie Marston had a good run to finish second for Warwickshire in 12th place with Kate Pomerleau ninth in 43rd place.  Lily Hunter ran well to finish fourth for Warwickshire in 19th place in the Junior Girls race with William Smith tenth for Warwickshire in 50th place and Charlie Atkins twelfth in 72nd place in the Junior Boys race. Charlie Leech finished seventh for Warwickshire in 42nd place in the Minor Boys race.

All the runners contributed vital points to the overall totals helping Warwickshire take the Inter Counties title for the very first time.

The Year 11s Freshers’ Fair took place on Tuesday 22 November and offered another opportunity for Year 11 to consider their A-level subject choices and explore life in the College’s popular Sixth Form.

Set out in the Sixth Form Centre Atrium were a host of subject stalls with displays, models and informative handouts, all manned by enthusiastic Sixth Form Subject Ambassadors. Pupils had the chance to wander freely, to visit the different stalls for the subjects they are considering studying and to ask any questions they might have. 

The Freshers’ Fair was part of the Year 11 PHSE Immersion Day that provided wider support for pupils in what is always a challenging year. The Year 11s were given the chance to visit the Sixth Form to get a feel for some of the wider Sixth Form facilities and to find out what life was like after Year 11. They also took part in essential Revision Skills sessions and participated in a question and answer session on the Sixth Form.

Orchestrated by Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, the Freshers' Fair will have helped facilitate Year 11s decision making process.

Commented Ben Collie, “Some Year 11s already know what subjects they want to study at A-level but others are less sure. The Freshers’ Fair was an opportunity for pupils to speak with students already studying the subjects, as well as a chance for them all to come into the Sixth Form Centre to help them understand their choices.”

Keen linguists from Year 9 organised themselves into teams and from Monday 7 to Friday 11 November competed in the GCHQ National Language Competition 2022. They gave up their evenings, breaks and lunchtimes to complete as many online language themed code-breaking challenges as possible. Over 2,000 teams participated nationwide, and the competition was fierce with pupils putting really their language skills to the test. We had some excellent results and the MFL department was really impressed by the teamwork and dedication shown by our Princethorpe pupils. Many congratulations to all who took part.

Princethorpe’s pupils achieved the following results:

And now it's your turn! For extra house points/merits/da Vinci merits can you and your family solve either challenge? Submit your answers to your MFL teacher before Friday 16 December. 

French Challenge

Spanish Challenge

Princethorpe’s popular PTA Christmas Fair took place on Sunday 27 November marking the start of the festive season.

Hundreds of visitors descended on a College resplendent in decorations. There were plenty of stalls selling a range of artisan products and gifts and an array of seasonal activities for all ages to partake in. Father Christmas and his elves made their usual stop off at the Fair, delighting children of all ages. The crowds enjoyed musical entertainment with a range of traditional melodies to get everyone in the Christmas spirit and in the Sixth Form Dining Room, families gathered to enjoy warming hot drinks and delicious mince pies.

Our huge thanks go out to the many helpers, supporters and workers who worked all weekend to make the event such a success. It is one of the PTA’s main fundraising events and they are delighted to report that this year the fair and Christmas raffle have raised a superb £5,226.62.

It won't be long before planning for the Summer Fete on Sunday 25 June begins in earnest. If you fancy getting involved, then do email the PTA at pta@princethorpe.co.uk.

If you are on the hunt for presents, we have a wonderful range of Old Princethorpian merchandise available from ties to cufflinks, pin badges to scarves and, not to mention, some very snazzy socks that would make a perfect Christmas gift.

Copies of A Spirit of Family, the first fifty years of Princethorpe College, by Alex Darkes and Nick Baker are also available.

Then we have prints and greetings cards available featuring the Soaring Red Brick Tower image and prints also of St Joseph's School.

Finally, the 2023 College calendar featuring 12 superb images of the College and its grounds is a perfect present and is sure to be a handy addition for any kitchen or office.

To ensure UK orders can arrive in time for Christmas, orders and payment will need to be received by 12 noon on Monday 19 December 2022 please.

Purchases can now be made easily via our online shop at https://connect.princethorpe.co.uk/shop or from the College shop.