The Flagpole

Following a very successful Year 9 and 10 Academic Review Evening yesterday and several discussions I had with parents, I would like to remind you, if you haven't yet had a chance to do so, to watch the video by our expert guest speaker, Paul Hay on digital parenting, the internet and e-safety.

Paul visited us back in February and gave parents some excellent advice and pointers as to how to manage technology and e-safety issues in the home.

You can watch Paul's talk by clicking on the link here. I thoroughly recommend this talk to all parents (you can skip the first three minutes, which is my introduction) as it is full of wise, practical advice.

Paul also very kindly took time after he left to answer some of the specific questions that parents had posed – these questions and answers can be found here. He also offered to answer further questions or give advice to parents; his website which contains useful resources and links can be found here and his email address should you wish to contact him is paul.hay@pclstraining.com

Again, many thanks for all your support in these key areas and please do contact us at school if you have any concerns. 

Ed Hester

The College is delighted to announce that Cyp Vella has been appointed to the role of Assistant Head of Sixth Form, with effect from September.  Cyp is the latest addition to the College’s dedicated Sixth Form team, which is led by Ben Collie Head of Sixth Form and comprises Assistant Heads of Sixth Form, Anne Allen and Rod Isaacs, Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney and Extended Project Qualification Co-ordinator, Helen Pascoe-Williams, supported by the Sixth Form Tutors and two administrators, Becky Underhill and Amanda MacKenzie.

Religious Studies Teacher, Cyp, has worked at Princethorpe for seven years and has most recently held the additional roles of Oxbridge Co-ordinator and Primary School Liaison Teacher for the College.

Headmaster, Ed Hester, comments, “Cyp will bring a wealth of skills and enthusiasm to his new role. He will play an instrumental part in helping our current Year 11s make a smooth transition into Sixth Form and adjust well to the demands of A-levels and life as a young adult.”

Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, has overall responsibility for all Sixth Form students, their academic progress and performance. Cyp will work alongside Anne Allen and Rod Isaacs to deliver the day to day pastoral care and enrichment programmes that nurture and develop all Princethorpe Sixth Formers.  He will have particular pastoral responsibility for the Lower Sixth, whilst Anne Allen will provide pastoral care and support to the current Lower Sixth as they move on to Upper Sixth. 

In addition, Anne Allen retains responsibility for the varied Sixth Form visiting speaker programme and social events, Cyp Vella will continue as Oxbridge co-ordinator, and Rod Isaacs will continue to oversee the inspirational Sixth Form CORE enrichment programme.

Ed Hester continues, “The Sixth Form represents a very significant time in the development of our students. I’m delighted that we have such an excellent team to guide and support them in all respects as they grow as individuals.”

Princethorpe College Upper Sixth Former, Michael Gucluer, is celebrating after receiving a Bright Sparks 2018 Award.  Michael was presented with the award on Thursday 3 May in the Maxwell Library at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, in London.

Run by Electronics Weekly in partnership with RS Components, with support from Harting and the IET, the Bright Sparks Awards are presented annually to the 30 brightest and most talented young electronics engineers in the UK.  Judged by a respected panel of industry experts, the awards recognise outstanding performance in the field of electronics. 

To qualify for the award students must be aged 30 and under, so at only eighteen-years-old Michael was this year’s youngest recipient, with the majority of the awards being presented for university projects.

The award recognises work undertaken by Michael for his GCSE Electronics and Control Project, which has subsequently been developed further with support from the UK Young Engineers Mentoring Programme.

Michael commented, “The electronic product I’ve been developing is a multi-purpose, modular control system which can be re-programmed for industrial applications. It includes a range of optoelectronic components (electronic devices and systems that source, detect and control light) so that data related to important processes can be displayed simultaneously in real-time and recorded for future use.”  He continued, “The judging panel were particularly interested in the details of the design, they wanted to see innovation, creative problem solving and thorough technical electrical knowledge.”

A previous winner of the UK Young Engineers National Award for Engineering Excellence Michael is currently studying for A-Levels in Chemistry, Physics and Maths and plans to go on to Warwick University to study Electronic Engineering.

Sunday 24 June 2018

This year's Fete has a Royal Wedding theme and as well as the usual array of school supported charity stalls and external stalls we have the "Food and Fodder" Competition. Categories include:

• Wedding theme cupcake
• Red, white & blue flower arrangement in a jam-jar
• Royal wedding look-a-like scarecrow
• Preserve, jam or chutney
• Bread - White or wholemeal 1lb tin loaf

There'll be countless fun games and activities, live music and we'll be firing up the BBQ. For those of you who find days like this thirsty work we'll be providing an array of drinks in the refreshment tent including Gin, Prosecco, Beer and a variety of soft drinks.

We are once again running the popular ‘Pre-loved Uniform Stall’ and if you have any uniform which is no longer required this can be passed onto Julie Satchwell at the Student Hub.  School blazers, ties, skirts, jumpers, PE kits and PE bags are always welcomed, with proceeds of this stall going directly back to the PTA and the pupils of the College.

If you've ever wondered what the PTA does with the money raised take a look at our Twitter page, using the link below, for photographs of the projects we have supported in the past few years, including the refurbishment of the school Quad.

We are always seeking new supporters for this event so if you could help us out for an hour at the fete, at future events, or you have any ideas or queries regarding the fete or the PTA, please do contact us via Twitter, message us on Facebook or email us at pta@princethorpe.co.uk.

Many thanks

Princethorpe PTA

Pupils at Princethorpe College were thrilled to meet Performance Poet Richard Grant, also known as the Dreadlock Alien, on Wednesday 25 April.  Richard visited the school to host an inspirational poetry workshop for Year 7 pupils.

Working in the new Clarkson Theatre Richard quickly captured the pupils’ attention using beat boxing and rhyming games to bring poetry to life.  His love of language and poetry was infectious and inspiring and it was fascinating to watch him work.

School Librarian, Celia Scott, said, “I don’t think Year 7 knew what to expect but as soon the Dreadlock Alien started performing the pupils were engaged, laughing and learning.  Richard helped pupils see poetry differently and to treat the creation of poetry as a fun challenge. Pupils were encouraged to try and play with rhymes and extend their writing on unusual topics.  They enjoyed a brilliant workshop which culminated in the pupils performing their own poems to a panel of judges.”

The day included a number of mini performances of the Dreadlock Alien’s own inimitable poetry and plenty of word challenges, including as a finale a mini rap battle which saw staff and pupils being put ‘on the spot’ to test their word power and rhyming skills.

Celia Scott continued, "The poetry workshop was incredible.  The Dreadlock Alien brought poetry to life and he was fantastic at getting the best out of the children.  We have had a lot of really positive feedback from both pupils and staff.”

There were 74 entries for our House Bake Off competition and what a tantalising display they made all lined up in the Food Technology Room ready for judging. The ‘British’ theme had produced an incredible array of entries from right royal crowns, to the great British cuppa, bright red pillar boxes, plates piled high with full English breakfasts and cakes and flags of every shape and form.

The excitement was palatable as pupils and staff crowded in for the lunchtime viewing session with everyone marking their favourites with a sticker.  There were gasps and exclamations over the creativity and talent exhibited.

House Activity Co-ordinator, Matt Parsons, the House Activity Leaders, Katharine Darwood-Bredin, Charlotte Verleure, Julia Landon and Hannah Carminati and Food Tech Teacher, Jaqui Scott, deliberated long and hard judging all the entries on taste, decoration and relevance to category. 

Matt Parsons commented, “Our House Bakers were all incredible, the effort and creativity that had gone into the cakes was just amazing and with almost double the number of entries this year, the judging and tasting was an enjoyable challenge. There was a superb atmosphere during the day and lots of energy surrounding the competition.  Well done to everyone who took part.”

The final overall house placings were:

1st - Benet

2nd - More

3rd - Fisher

4th - Austin

Individual prizes were awarded to the winning pupils during assemblies:

First Place: Lottie Paybody for her ‘Breakfast’ cake

Second Place: MJN for their ‘We All Make Britain Great’ cake

Third Place: Amelia Greig for her ‘Stonehenge’ cake

Pupils’ Choice Award: Freya Barnett for her ‘Crown’ cake.

All entries to the competition were awarded house points.

The Duke of Edinburgh expedition season has successfully kicked off again.  A key part of the Award, the expeditions provide an unforgettable experience that develops team and leadership skills and builds independence and confidence.

Princethorpe’s Gold and Silver participants ventured out on their practice expeditions at the end of the Easter holidays whilst the Year 9 pupils, who are undertaking the Bronze Award this year, have had their first taste of self-sufficient walking over recent weekends.

From Friday 13 to Monday 16 April 20 Gold students travelled to the Lake District for three days of walking and camping.  In three teams they walked from Keswick to Buttermere and on to Borrowdale via the Honister Pass and then to Castlerigg Stone Circle to the east of Keswick and Derwent Water, encountering difficult and challenging terrain.  Between them, along the way, the students bagged a grand total of 15 Wainwrights (one of 214 fells in the Lake District named after Alfred Wainwright) enjoying the stunning views the summits of fells offer.

The same weekend 40 Silver pupils travelled to the White Peak, where they trekked through beautiful Dovedale and along the Manifold Way navigating unfamiliar terrain and completing two days of walking and two nights camping.  In total they walked some 30km.  The pupils were split into six teams and they all successfully completed their practice expedition. 

To cap off this mammoth DofE effort, no less than 120 Bronze Award pupils have just completed their practice expeditions in the local Princethorpe countryside, undertaking two days of walking and one night of camping.  Let’s hope they enjoyed their first expeditions, carrying all their own food and tents and getting to grips with the challenge of cooking your tea on a trangia!

Will Bower, Head of Outdoor Education, said, “I was really pleased with how all the expeditions went.  Our pupils had to cope with all the extremes the weather could throw at them, from torrential storms to baking hot heat.  They certainly all worked hard showing good navigation and camp-craft skills and we had plenty of happy, tired faces at the end.”

All the pupils now need to start planning for their qualifying expeditions that take place later in the term; Gold in Snowdonia, Silver in the Dark Peak and Bronze in the Cotswolds.

Princethorpe College was again pleased to host the local regional round of the Catenian Association's Public Speaking Competition for Young People from Catholic schools.  The event took place at the end of the Easter holidays, on Sunday 15 April, and the competition involved thirteen speakers from Catholic schools from all across the Midlands. 

Speaking on a choice of ten topics the competitors gave a four-minute presentation.  Competitors were marked by the judging panel on a variety of criteria from content, delivery, elocution and appearance.  Points were deducted for excessive use of notes and over or under running.

Competing for Princethorpe was Lower Sixth, Alfie Thomson, who spoke on the topic ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’, his premise that imagination encapsulated the individual was thought provoking and his performance impressed the judges enough to earn him fourth place.   Alfie said, “It was a great experience and I would certainly encourage other pupils to get involved.  Public speaking skills help equip you for life.”  

There were many fine performances so the judges had a difficult decision to make.  The winner this year was Huda Daghem from Blessed William Howard School in Stafford, in second place was Jordan Ewane from Bishop Milner in Dudley and taking third place was Louis Griffin from Hagley Catholic High School.

Rod Isaacs, Assistant Head of Sixth Form, commented, “All the competitors gave incredible performances.  It was fantastic to see so many schools competing and to welcome them, and the Catenian Association, to Princethorpe once again.  It was a lovely occasion and there were well over 100 guests to listen to the students speaking, including some Old Princethorpian Catenian members who we were delighted to see back at the College.”

On Saturday 28 April Princethorpe College was delighted to welcome local pupils from primary school Years 4 and 5 to a ‘Say Hello to Hockey’ taster session. The 58 youngsters, from surrounding primary schools, were introduced to the game by members of Princethorpe’s coaching staff and College Sixth Formers.

Rotating through four different training drills, the children learned about dribbling, passing, tackling and shooting. Skills were honed as children, some holding a hockey stick for the first time, got to grips with this exciting and fast-paced sport.

It was hard work so mid-morning everyone was treated to a legendary Princethorpe cookie, helping to restore energy levels, before they played in a mini-tournament where the children’s newly learnt skills were put into practice. In competitive matches, played in front of a crowd of parents, it was gratifying to see the skills which had been taught in training, being used effectively.

Rachael Mack, a Princethorpe College hockey coach, was impressed at the speed with which the children took to the sport: “Everyone progressed enormously over the course of the morning; the hard work paid off and the standard of hockey played in the mini-tournament was fantastic.”

Parental feedback on the taster session has been very positive with comments that include ‘thank you, my daughter came home with a big smile on her face’, ‘my son enjoyed it immensely and is now keen to give hockey a try’ and ‘thank you for putting on such a good event, my daughter loved it’.

Thank you to all the staff and sixth formers who gave up their morning to run the event.