The Flagpole

Princethorpe College Upper Sixth Former and Academic Prefect, Joseph Newborough, is thrilled to have received an offer to read Maths and Physics at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, comments, “Joseph has earned this success. Applying to Oxbridge is a character-testing experience. The process is very competitive, with students facing pre-tests, intensive scrutiny of their academic and personal achievements and rigorous interviews. This is excellent news for him.”

There is good news for the Upper Sixth across the board this year, with the College pleased to support 115 applications through UCAS. Many students applied early and are now reaping the benefits with 32 having already received decisions from all five of their university choices.

Ben Collie, continues, “Applications for medical courses are also progressing well, with interviews completed and two students now waiting on decisions, and the apprenticeship interview season is just about to kick off. Our Upper Sixth have exciting plans for the future, whether that be studying at university, undertaking internships or apprenticeships, working or taking gap years and we are delighted to support them all towards their next steps.”

We look forward to sharing more good news in due course.

As part of the Foundation's new Strategic Plan, Gemma Cullinane, our recently appointed Commercial Enterprises Manager, has been tasked with identifying potential additional income streams, with a particular focus on optimising our facilities, through events and activities outside of the school day. This additional income will be invested back into our schools to further enhance our educational provision.

A key part of the process is market research and Gemma is currently investigating the sorts of events, activities and opportunities that might appeal and would like to hear the views of the Princethorpe community.

Comments Gemma, "We are looking at a variety of exciting options. In the last parental survey there was a lot of interest in holiday camps, so I am keen to explore that further, other areas we might pursue include leisure activities for adults and children, larger scale events and private events and celebrations. I am really interested to hear from Princethorpe families, as your input will be vital in helping us shape our plans." 

Please follow this link to a short online questionnaire and have your say by Monday 26 February.

Many congratulations to the Boys 1st XI Football team on an excellent Quarter Final 1-0 win in the Independent Schools Football Association’s U18 Trophy. Having overcome University College School on penalties in a nail biting first round match, the team then beat Abingdon School 4-1 in the second round to qualify for the Quarter Final.

On Tuesday 30 January, they hosted Berkhamsted School at home in an evenly matched cup game. Both teams had good spells of possession but Princethorpe’s winning goal came just after half time when Joe Bird scored from a free kick. Joel Nicoll came close when he hit the bar from a header but the score remained at 1-0 until the final whistle.

A fantastic gritty effort from the boys means that the team have now reached the semi-finals. A huge well done to them all!

Princethorpe College sent a team of Lower Sixth and Year 10 pupils to Stowe School on Saturday 3 February to compete in the Young Citizen's Independent School's Mock Trial competition.

Competing against schools from around the country, Princethorpe’s pupils performed superbly taking on the roles of criminal barristers, court clerk, usher, witnesses and jurors in a criminal trial simulation against opposing school teams. Their performance was judged by experienced judges from the legal profession.

In what was a tight competition the team grew in confidence as the competition progressed and proved their capability by finishing in second place. They should be very proud of their efforts on the day and for all the hard work they put in preparing for the event.

Our College production of Loserville was magnificent. The Clarkson Theatre was filled full of energetic rock songs as audiences were transported back to America in the 1970s.

Loserville tells the story of unlikely hero Michael Dork and his closest friends, a group of socially awkward boys, struggling through High School and constantly thwarted by popular and privileged school quarterback, Eddie Arch and his cronies. Michael is trying to invent email, Lucas is writing his first Sci-Fi novel (Galaxy Battles; Episode 4) and Marvin and Francis spend all their time building a space ship from a shopping trolley. Then one day, a new girl arrives at the school. Holly is intelligent, funny and harbours a desire to become NASA’s first woman in space. Her sudden arrival throws everyone’s world into turmoil.

Loserville was filled full off brilliant and energetic rock songs by James Bourne of Busted and for five performances we joined our talented Musical Theatre Group on an exciting, if at times bumpy, ride to see our heroes got their 'Ticket Outta Loseville'.

It was spectacular show, full of vibrant energy and enthusiasm and we are all humming along to the songs after what was a most entertaining and enjoyable performance.

Congratulations to everyone involved, on stage and behind the scenes and especially to the Directors, Mr Cowlishaw and Ms Newborough. We just can't wait to find out what their plans are for next year!

After a very early departure from Princethorpe College, 21 Sixth Form students flew to Geneva on Friday 26 January on a mission to visit CERN.

The students summarised their trip for the Flagpole:

"Travelling light with a small backpack, our group led by Mrs Rose with support from Mr Lee spent the first day sightseeing on a self-guided walking tour, taking in the United Nations, Botanical Garden, Lake Geneva where the standard in stone skimming varied from novice to expert, the Science Museum that included a number of hands-on exhibits (comes highly recommended and free entry too!). Then after a few hours downtime at the Geneva Youth Hostel and a hot meal the day concluded with a walking tour of another section of the Lake that was lit up with over 30 installations as part of the Geneva Lux festival, including a variety of lights, lasers and music. From there we ventured into the old town where we explored the architecture laid out along cobbled streets. Day one clocked up 30,000 steps and 20km of distance covered.

The next morning the hostel breakfast set us up well for the day and we travelled by tram to CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) and spent the morning on two tours, the first with a physicist Malik who explained what CERN was trying to achieve, how the particle detector worked and some of the successes such as the invention of the World Wide Web, particle accelerators that are used in medicine and the discovery of the Higgs Boson (an elusive subatomic particle that was predicted, but had not yet been detected). The second tour was to the Cryogenic Research Facility, where we were introduced to how the beams of charged particles were accelerated and steered around the 27km long ring which lies 100m below the city of Geneva, using extremely strong superconducting magnets achieved by supercooling them down to less than -271˚C (below 2 kelvin). The power required by the particle accelerator is equivalent to one third of that consumed by the entire city of Geneva, which we discovered means that experimentation can only be carried out in the warmer months as power is needed for heating over the winter.

A Warwick University PhD student met us for lunch in the refectory and talked to us about his research looking into the W and Z particles, giving an inside perspective on what it is like to work at CERN, some of the challenges he has faced and the excitement of being part of a continuously evolving experiment (a new 100km circumference accelerator is planned to discover even heavier particles in the future).

A second contact also gave us a brief idea of his job – piloting the beams of particles moving at 99.99999% the speed of light in opposite directions around the 27km ring tens of thousands of times per second in order to collide as many of them together as possible over a 24 hour period.

The CERN visit finished with 45 minutes in the brand new exhibition centre, which included a plethora of hands-on demonstrations and interactive sections which brought the physics behind the experiment alive.

A quick stop at Ikea on the way to the airport afforded ourgroup with a decent meal (Geneva was expensive!) and the opportunity to purchase large stuffed animals, before a smooth flight back to the UK and a precision arrival back at school at 11.00pm."

The physicists at CERN remarked on how engaged Princethorpe's Sixth Form students were and Mrs Rose and Mr Lee were certainly impressed with their positive attitude, organisation and willingness to participate.

More information about visiting CERN can be found here: Welcome | Visit CERN Science Gateway tours are free, but often need to be booked in advance.

Comments from the students included:

Oliver: I was fascinated by the CERN exhibition and guided tour, and was especially impressed by the fact that the large hadron collider is so long that it was built with tolerance to compress and expand by 18m in length due to difference in ambient and operational temperatures (a range of 300˚C!).

Alex: I enjoyed the CERN trip and I learnt a lot about the standard model and particle physics, which will help my studies in physics.

Louis: I really enjoyed the night life of Genève, walking past the very aesthetically pleasing buildings with large colourful branding and also the strange yet wonderful little artistic structures adorning the streets.

Many thanks to Melody Hossaini, Founder and CEO of InspirEngage International, for delivering a fascinating ‘Interview’ Masterclass on Monday 29 January to our Lower Sixth Form students.

Melody shared mindset techniques and top interview tips to help Princethorpe’s Sixth Formers prepare for their Interview Skills day. She stressed the importance of hunger, passion and charisma, reminding them that you get to the interview with what is written on your CV but it’s your personality and performance in the interview that is the key to success. She encouraged them to bring the best of themselves to the table.

She brought a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm to the discussion, creating an engaging and empowering atmosphere for our students and shared experiences and examples to bring her top tips to life, including the challenging interview process she went through to gain her place on the seventh series of the BBC’s The Apprentice.

Melody rounded off her inspirational talk by answering questions from her audience before sending the students on their way with her final advice ringing in their ears, “Don’t overthink, don’t worry, and most importantly, don’t waste it!” Sound interview advice indeed.

The latest issue of The Old Princethorpian, the Princethorpe Foundation’s termly e-newsletter for past pupils, staff and parents is out now. Click here to have a read.

Our newsletter aims to keep our alumni in touch with one another and news, developments and events across the Foundation.

The next event on the OP calendar is our Leamington Pub Meet which takes place on Friday 8 March at the Fox and Vivian in Leamington Spa. For more details of all our alumni events please visit Princethorpe Connect.

If you have any comments on the e-newsletter or news to share then please do get in touch, email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

Individual red and white carnations have been distributed to classrooms across the College in readiness for Saint Valentine’s Day.

Over the last few weeks, Princethorpe’s Sixth Formers have been busy promoting a charity fundraiser in aid of the British Heart Foundation. Selling red carnations for that special someone and white carnations as a thank you to a great friend.

Led by Charity Prefects, Chloe and Grace, the College’s Cupids, have carefully prepared the flowers, delicately wrapping them and handwriting personal messages for the anonymous gifts.

This year, nearly 100 lucky recipients received a special delivery – we hope everyone enjoyed their St Valentine’s Day surprise.

CEO, Adam Shay and, Director of Technical Projects & Head of R&D, Dr Gracy Lebeau from RBT Global (Residual Barrier Technology) visited Princethorpe on Tuesday 23 and Tuesday 30 January to run a Biochemistry Workshop on the ‘Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases’ for 24 Year 10 pupils.

Mr Shay and Dr Lebeau provided an introduction to the concept of pathogens, infections and the control of them and then supported pupils in a practical lab experience where they ran agar plates to test the effectiveness of RBT's products, with successful results. The Year 10 pupils also worked through some business challenges, considering how to brand a new product they are bringing to the market.

RBT Global kindly offered to host two or three pupils for a site visit to the RBT lab and for work experience, with the pupils eager to take up the generous offer.

Many thanks to RBT Global for providing such a fascinating experience for our pupils.

The College’s Cross Country runners travelled to Coventry War Memorial Park on Wednesday 31 January to compete for the first time in the King Henry VIII School Relay Race, a national event, recognised as one of the largest schools’ cross country relays in England, attracting specialists from across the country.

The Relay races are for teams of four girls and six boys, with each athlete running 2.3 miles. There are no age groups so it was just the top cross country runners from across the school.

Both teams had a really good outing on what was in places a crowded, muddy course. The Girls finished 11th overall out of 28 teams while the boys placed 28th out of 56, both excellent results for their first time.

For the Girls, Lily Huter ran first and finished the course in 14.58 placing her 24th overall. Natasha Evans was second out and ran her leg in 17.06, then came Jess Evans who delivered a steady 15.51 with Grace Darcy completing the Girls’ team powering home in 14.32 to finish 13th overall.

Not to be outdone, the Boys team were able to compete with the best teams. Felix Batty ran first running a super 12.46 for individual 66th place. Next was Will Harrison in 14.02, Charlie Atkins, 13.42, Will Smith, 14.11 and Guy Dawkins, 15.47. Ben Smith ran the final leg finishing fast in 12.54, to take 76th place. 

Congratulations to all the runners for an excellent day of racing at an exciting new event.

Some photos courtesy of King Henry VII School.

On Monday 29 January, A-level English Literature students joined other A-level classes around the country for a conference organised by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust on the playwright’s tragedy Othello.

The week before, students listened to a pre-recorded talk and two extract analyses before joining experts and other schools live online. Students were able to put their questions to Shakespeare experts, Dr Darren Freebury-Jones and Dr Nick Walton, and discover what other students wanted to know about the set-text.

Our students thoroughly enjoyed the event and the ideas discussed certainly enriched their appreciation of the play.

More were the victors in the College’s annual House University Challenge competition, after achieving a super score of 245 across their three matches.

University Challenge is a regular House event, based on the long running TV quiz show. In the College’s competition the teams are required to have representatives from each year group and the pupils face questions on a wide range of subjects including Literature, Sport, Science, History, Maths, Art, Film, Technology, Music and Religion. Across two weeks the House teams faced each other in turn in front of an audience of Tutor groups.

Quizmaster for the competition was House Activities Leader, Meg O’Gorman, who enjoyed asking the infamous starter for 10 and follow up bonus questions.

Playing for More this year were: Year 7 pupils: Austin Newbold and Sofia Papadogiannakis, Year 8s: Oliver Quinn and Harry Ratchford, Year 9s: Elwin Williams and Jacob George, Year 10s: Abbas Hazra-Omer and Jonjo Boyle, Year 11s: Jack Mills and Dylan Willliams, Lower Sixth Formers: Giorgio Kleinmann, Toby Wollaston and Abi Gillard and Upper Sixth Formers: George Wild and Joseph Newborough

After the final match Miss O’Gorman commented, “Thank you to all of the pupils who participated in this year’s competition. It is very different being on stage to when you are in the audience or watching at home. The questions were challenging, and the matches were all exciting. Well done to everyone who took part.”

The final results were as follows: 1st More, 2nd Fisher, 3rd Austin and 4th Benet.

Princethorpe’s runners had an excellent outing at the Midlands Regional ISA Cross Country at Bedstone College on Wednesday 24 January. Princethorpe traditionally does well at this event and once again there were lots of top 10 finishes for the College.

For the U16 Girls, Lily Hunter put in a strong performance for Princethorpe and came storming home to finish in 1st place overall. The U16 Boys also ran well with Charlie Atkins finishing 5th, Jesse Esler hot on his heels in 6th, Soren Wasley 11th and Mark Message 13th.

In the U14 Girls race Issey Cleary had a good run to finish 4th with Marley Adnitt 10th and Rosa Davis just behind in 12th. For the U14 Boys Will Smith ran well to finish in 2nd place with James Bostock just behind in 3rd and Max Kiely finishing 16th.

Then in the U12 Girls race Esme Card was first across the line for Princethorpe in 4th place closely followed by Ellie Gane in 9th and Grace Crowfoot in 14th while in the U12 Boys race Rufus Jones came 2nd and Austin Higham 14th.

Overall, the Junior Boys and Inter Boys teams took first place while the Junior Girls, Minor Girls and Minor Boys teams placed second.

Head of Outdoor Education and PE Teacher, Will Bower, said, “The rough rural terrain at Bedstone College makes it one of our favourite cross-country events. As usual there were lots of excellent performances and it was great to see the teams do so well. Many congratulations to all who took part.”

The National Championships take place at Worksop College on Saturday 2 March.  All those who finished top 10 will be selected for the Midlands Team.  Sixth Formers are also eligible to run in the National event.

109 Sixth Formers, 22 professionals and one day, Tuesday 30 January, came together to make a very successful Sixth Form Interview Skills Day. Designed to perfect their interview technique, sharpen communication skills, presentational qualities and the ability to respond to feedback, during the day the College's Lower Sixth students each took part in a formal interview. Taking the role of interviewer were senior professionals from a variety of different business backgrounds. All were past or present parents, or friends of the College, with years of interviewing experience out in the working world.

In readiness for their one-to-one interviews, students had submitted their curriculum vitaes to be scrutinised beforehand. Exactly like in a real interview these documents formed the basis of questions that were discussed. Then at the end of the interview the professionals provided valuable feedback with constructive suggestions for improvement.

Feedback was very positive with many of the interviewers commenting on how impressed they were with the College's Lower Sixth students, and the students equally delighted and impressed with the suggestions and support received.

Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, commented, “Our Lower Sixth were encouraged to prepare well for these interviews. Our aim was to provide them with a head start in developing their interview technique. It was an extremely important day for them all as they face the looming reality of university and workplace interviews. The skills practised today will benefit all of our students and we are immensely grateful to all of the volunteer interviewers who have given up their time to help us today.”

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils from local primary schools enjoyed an introduction to the sport of Rugby when they took part in Princethorpe's Try Tag Rugby event. The after-school session took place on Friday 26 January and was organised by the College's PE team on a cold but dry all-weather pitch.

Working in small groups, with Sixth Form students and PE staff, the children started with some fun warm up activities. They then enjoyed skill building drills before finishing with a mini game played in front of an enthusiastic crowd of parents. Of course, after all that energetic fun the youngsters were sent on their way clutching certificates and a legendary Princethorpe cookie.

The successful workshop was just one of a series of activities and opportunities the College organises for prospective pupils to introduce and familiarise youngsters with the school. Next up on the sporting front is Princethorpe’s High 5 Netball Tournament for local primary schools on Tuesday 5 March.

Our Lower Sixth Geographers very much enjoyed their residential field trip last week. They visited the excellent Cranedale Centre at Kirby Grindalythe near Malton, in Yorkshire, from Tuesday 23 to Friday 26 January to conduct field studies on costal places, including measuring beach profiles, as well as exercises in planning and carrying out small scale projects and investigating housing and land use, all important for their A-level studies.

In addition to working in and around the Field Centre, they visited Flamborough Head, the Holderness Coast and Scarborough Town. The weather had its moments but everyone wrapped up well and worked hard to collect and analyse their data. As always, the trip was an invaluable learning experience that will assist them all in completing their important NEA coursework.

To mark National Storytelling Week, Princethorpe College pupils were delighted to share the wonder of stories with pupils at local primary school, Our Lady's Primary School, Princethorpe.

On Monday 29 January, Year 5 and 6 pupils visited the College Library to hear pupils from the College’s Book Club read them a story. Year 8 pupils Dami, Lauren and Isaac read Anne Frank, A Retelling. While reading the story they also asked questions to engage and support the younger pupils in understanding the story.

Then on Tuesday 30 January, Years 3 and 4 were welcomed to the College for another story telling session. Year 8 pupils, Liv and Cora and Year 7 Scarlett shared two books with the youngsters, Small In The City and If All The World Were.

To round off the week on Friday 2 February, four pupils, Year 10s, Megan and Jess, Year 8, Dami and, Year7, Scarlett were excited to go down to Our Lady’s to read to their Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children. They shared The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson and If All The World Were by Joseph Coelho.

Year 8 Dami commented, “We were warmly welcomed by both classes we visited, and they were a fantastic audience. We read the Reception class the story of The Magic Paintbrush, while we read If All The World Were to the Year 1 and 2 class. I found it lovely looking at their excited little faces as we read them the stories, and they really engaged when we asked them about their favourite books. I think that the books themselves were incredible both with beautiful illustrations and powerful morals.”

Stories allow you to escape and imagine, they tell you about the world, allow you to step into someone else’s shoes and all while developing essential literacy skills. National Storytelling Week provided an amazing opportunity for Princethorpe’s story lovers to shine the spotlight on the magical power of stories.