The Flagpole

Our Calendar for Trinity Term 2018 will be in the post shortly. Please remember that any amendments to it will be found on the on-line calendar, accessed via the Parent Portal. 

As we come to the end of another incredibly busy term, I want to thank you for your continued support for the College. There are many highlights as always, but some that stand out for me are: the numerous successes on the sports field, including the U15 netball team winning the county championship; the wonderful performance of Arabian Nights; the tremendously enjoyable Oscars ceremony, the inspiring Careers Fair and of course the mammoth effort by over seventy Sixth Form students and staff to raise money for Mary’s Meals by walking 24 or 40 miles last weekend. Donations are still coming in and we are hoping to raise over £10,000 with your continued support. We are incredibly proud to hold the UK school record for raising money for this wonderful charity. 

As the current prefects and subject ambassadors step down I must, on behalf of the whole Princethorpe community, thank them for all they have done to make Princethorpe a better place. Miriam and Tim have been wonderful heads of school and tremendous role models for us all.  We thank them and all the outgoing prefects and ambassadors for their time, effort and dedication towards making Princethorpe a better place. 

As for our new prefects, we congratulate them for being elected to their roles and ask that they remember there are many fine students who weren’t elected. They have been called upon to serve the school and we wish them all well for their term of office. My challenge to the new prefects is to work together as a team to really make a difference to the pupils at the College. 

Sadly, at our final assembly yesterday, I had to talk to the whole school about a small number of instances of serious, unacceptable antisocial behaviour that we have recently had to deal with both in and out of school. This included a small number of pupils posting defamatory comments and images of staff. Please can I make it clear that anyone posting such comments and images can expect to be expelled from the school.

Over the Easter holiday, please can I ask you to check your child’s uniform; there were a few pupils who were looking a bit ragged or shabby toward the end of term. Children often grow quickly and the summer term is a good time to replace any damaged, missing or ill-fitting items. The list of expected uniform items can be found within the Information Booklet for Parents and Pupils. We are now all ready for our holidays, but as we close the term, our thoughts turn to all those involved in GCSEs and A-levels; on either 16 or 23 August they will pick up an envelope with their results in. There is no doubt that the grades they achieve will inform the direction their lives will take in the future. I am sure that those parents who have children involved in public examinations will help to ensure they use the Easter holiday wisely to achieve a careful balance between work, rest and play.

Over the Easter break, I will be travelling to Australia to visit Downlands, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart school in Toowoomba where we have a reciprocal Gap Student scheme. From there I will be going to Hong Kong to host a fund-raising dinner for a large number of Old Princethorpians, many of them former boarders. Together with the support for Mary’s Meals, this is a reminder that Princethorpe is part of a world-wide community. 

Finally, I wish everyone a happy Easter. We send our best wishes to all, but particularly to those who have only one more term left before they leave the College. Please do also keep in your thoughts and prayers all members of the Princethorpe family who are ill or in need of our support.

E D Hester
Headmaster

The new Princethorpe College Prefect Body for 2018-2019 was formally inaugurated into their roles in an emotional ceremony on the last afternoon of the Lent Term, Wednesday 28 March. Parents and friends of the new prefects were invited to College for a celebratory buffet lunch before joining the afternoon’s formal ceremony.  The outgoing Head Boy, Tim Duffy, and Head Girl, Miriam Isaacs, gave a moving speech reflecting on their year in office and time at Princethorpe before wishing the new Prefect Body well, and handing over the keys of office.  The 2018-19 Prefects smartly attired in their cobalt blue prefect uniform for the first time, spoke to the gathered audience of pupils about their hopes for their new roles.

The roles of office are as follows:

Head Girl
Elizabeth Carr
 
Head Boy
Tom Warne
 
Deputy Head Girls
Georgia Newborough
Cara Wallis
 
Deputy Head Boys
Alexander Meredith
Alfie Thomson

Pastoral Prefects 
Sarah Abrahams
Luke Daniel
Georgie Glasspool
Daniel Hagan
Jasmine Rigg
Jack Saunders

House Captains:
 
Austin
Abbie Baker and Alex Hutcheson
 
Benet  
Lily Dyble and Bryn Lewis
 
Fisher
Freya Barnett and Sam Richards
 
More   
Aimee Sen-Gupta and Tiarnan Wukics 

Social Prefects
Sammy Inskip and Fennah Jones
 
Charity Prefect
Christie Wukics
 
Chaplaincy Prefect        
Meera Chauhan 

Junior Chaplaincy Prefects
Toby Convey – Year 7 - Austin
Conor Fernandez – Year 9 - Austin
Chloe O’Carroll Bailey – Year 7 - More
Zoe Shayler – Year 7 - Benet
 
Academic Prefects
Patrick Carrington
Megan Harcourt
Charlotte Silvester

Marketing and Communications Prefect
Beth Elliott
 
Games Prefects
Molly Geehan and Anna Wells
Ben Brown and Robert Lord

The image shows the new prefect body with Headmaster, Mr Hester, and Head of Sixth Form, Mr Collie.  Unfortunately one prefect was unavailable, so we will be retaking the photo after the Easter holidays. 

The College wishes good luck to the new prefect body for the year ahead and extends warm thanks to the outgoing prefects, they have given great service and we wish them all the best for their upcoming exams and future endeavours.

On Sunday 25 March 70 walkers from Princethorpe College trudged a grand total of 2,131 miles to raise money for the charity Mary’s Meals.  For the tenth consecutive year Sixth Formers, staff and OPs laced up their walking boots and took on the challenge of either walking 24 miles in seven hours or going the extra distance and completing 40 miles in a day.

The route was a big circular loop around Coventry with the 40 milers starting and finishing in Meriden and the 24/7 crew joining them at Ryton.  The route took in varying terrain, making conditions uncomfortable underfoot despite the thankfully clement weather.

Sam Munro was first to finish the 40 miles, romping home in a time of 11 hours and 36 minutes whilst Freya Barnett and Aisling Brennan were first across the line for the 24/7 challenge completing the course in 6 hours and 32 minutes.

They were followed home by a procession of jubilant finishers with the final walker completing the challenge at 8.30pm.

Organiser of the event and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Mr Rod Isaacs, who also completed the 40 mile walk, commented, “As always there was a wonderful spirit of camaraderie along the route. Everyone was helping each other and keeping focused on the aim to raise as much money as possible for impoverished children around the world.  This academic year our fundraising for Mary’s Meals has so far raised over £7,800.”

Sixth Former, Anna Wells, commented, “I found it really hard, much harder than I ever imagined.  I hit the wall at about 19 miles but I just kept thinking of the sponsorship money.  It felt so good when I finally crossed the line, although I am still feeling the pain even now!”

In fact, there were many hobbling teachers and students in College the following Monday - easy to spot by their lurching movements down the corridors. However, a few blisters and aching feet are little price to pay for the money raised to feed and educate children across the globe.

Through the College’s fundraising, 636 children at Makalanga Primary School in Malawi are already receiving a daily meal in school for the first time.

There is still time to support our Sixth Form walkers who would very much like to tip that total over the £8,000 mark.  If you would like to donate please visit:

www.marysmeals.org.uk/princethorpe-4-makalanga

Despite the bitter, cold and wintery weather Headmaster, Ed Hester welcomed a capacity crowd of some 750 pupils, parents, staff and contributors to the College's fourth biennial Careers Fair on Saturday 17 March.

Over forty speakers, including current and former parents and Old Princethorpians, gave their time to present on a wide variety of careers and professions. From Accountancy and Law to Medicine, Engineering, Computing and TV and the Media, individual presentations gave pupil attendees the chance to consider careers, research jobs, listen to advice and ask questions.

The morning began with a keynote speech from guest speaker and Princethorpe parent James Hutcheson, Managing Director Finance and Administration for leading supermarket retailer, Aldi.  Mr Hutcheson’s introduction was full of inspiration and sound advice.  He urged pupils to ‘work out what makes you different’, ‘to prepare for your future’ and ‘to be clear about what you are going to do when you leave here’. He explained how aspirations can change, reassuring them that ‘typically an individual will have 11 different jobs’, often in different companies and different fields. He was full of the sort of sound, insightful and practical advice that only a top three Times 100 graduate employer can provide.  He advised pupils to ‘focus on what you can control’, to identify ‘what is your added value’, and he concluded with a reflection on the quality of a Princethorpe education describing it as ‘an opportunity not to be wasted’.

Thanking Mr Hutcheson, Ed Hester summed up with the hope that the Careers Fair would succeed in ‘getting pupils on the right track’ and with that the attendees were off for a fruitful morning of exploring careers, organisations, universities and life after the classroom.

Princethorpe’s Sixth Form Atrium served as the hub for the morning with an exhibition full of employers, universities and Gap Year companies.  This year the Sixth Form Theatre was a space dedicated to organisations such as IBM, Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls Royce, with representatives on hand to talk to interested pupils and parents about their apprenticeship programmes.

For many this was their first step on the career ladder and it enabled pupils to have a taste of some of the different sorts of career choices available to them.  Feedback has certainly been very positive with parents and pupils commenting on how useful and informative the event was.

We are immensely grateful to all the Old Princethorpians, parents, contributors and staff who supported the Careers Fair and to the Careers Team for their organisation of the event.

Award winning author, Alan Gibbons, visited Princethorpe College on Tuesday 20 March to talk about his life as a writer, his books and to run creative writing workshops for some pupils.  Alan, who was originally a teacher, has been writing books for over 20 years and in that time has penned more than 70 books.  He has won multiple literary awards and been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Prize a number of times.

In the morning Alan spoke to Year 9 pupils about how real-life provides inspiration for his work.  He talked about hate crimes and his novel 'Hate', a hard-hitting, real-life thriller about friendship, courage, loss, forgiveness and a fundamental lack of acceptance within our society.  'Hate' is both tragic and powerful.  It's a remarkably narrated account that is set in a school, so the emotions, controversy and drama that arise are something that every teenager can appreciate.  Pupils were mesmerised by Alan's description of the novel and his passion for the subject. 

After lunch Alan ran creative writing workshops for Year 7 and Year 8 pupils.  His 'write-a-long' approach had the pupils fully engaged as they developed their own horror story.  Full of enthusiasm and encouragement he provided the children with a firm structure on which to base their work, but allowed them the freedom to be creative, to experiment and to personalise their storyline.  His quick wit and pacey style had everybody writing and even those who are normally reluctant found they had easily written a story by the end of the session.

School Librarian, Celia Scott, who had organised the visit, said, "It was fantastic to have Alan visit the school and work with pupils, he was thoroughly entertaining and clearly enjoyed working with our young people.  There has been a lot of positive feedback, he wasn’t at all what they expected and they responded really well.  His visit has inspired, motivated and engaged pupils with many taking his books away to read."

Princethorpe College Sports Scholar, Oscar Kay, was one of ten talented youngsters who were presented with an Excellence in Sports Award at the recent Rugby Sports Awards.  The ceremony took place on Wednesday 28 February at the Benn Hall in Rugby and Oscar received his award in recognition for his hockey achievements during 2017. 

Oscar was presented with his award by guest of honour, Warwickshire and England cricketer, and Old Princethorpian, Ian Bell.  During the evening the former Princethorpe College pupil hosted an enlightening question and answer session about his career, which includes five Ashes Series victories.

Oscar’s Excellence in Sports Award capped off a great year for the 1st XI Princethorpe hockey player, who represented England at the National School Games in September and completed the England Hockey’s AASE (Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence) programme for talented players.

Oscar has been given an unconditional offer to attend Trent University from September, where he will play for the University’s 1XI hockey team.  His sights are also set on achieving inclusion in the England U21 NAGS (National Age Group Squads) training programme.

Congratulations Oscar on your award, a fitting reward and reflection of your dedication and commitment to your sport.

Primary schools from across Warwickshire travelled to Princethorpe College to play in this year’s High 5 Netball Tournament.  Defending champions Ettington Church of England Primary School were joined by Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, Claverdon Primary School, Welford-on-Avon Primary School and first time entrants Bilton Church of England Junior School for an afternoon of competitive fun in the lovely late afternoon sunshine on Monday 26 March.

The teams had the chance to test their skills against their opponents in a round robin of matches on Princethorpe’s hard courts.  With vocal support from the side-lines, the children threw themselves enthusiastically into the matches clearly enjoying the competitive nature of the tournament.

Umpired by Princethorpe’s netball coaches, Head of Girls Games, Debs Brookes and, PE Teacher, Hannah Carminati, you could see the children’s skills developing game by game as they took on board the coaches' feedback and suggestions.

The winners this year were Welford-on-Avon School who played with flair and enthusiasm to finish the competition victorious in all their matches.

Presenting them with the trophy, Debs Brookes commented on the impressive performances she had seen, “I hope the children continue with their netball as there was some real talent on show today.  We saw great ball work, tremendous teamwork and lots of energy and enthusiasm too.’