The Flagpole

The Princethorpe Foundation is delighted to announce that two new senior members of staff will be joining its Leadership Team in September.

Dr Liz Pyne, joins Princethorpe College from Finham Park School in Coventry, in the new role of Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning). Dr Pyne is an outstanding History teacher, who has had a wealth of strategic leadership and training experience in Teaching and Learning at her current school. An experienced practitioner, Liz is a Professional Mentor for Warwick University and has been rewarded with an Honorary Fellowship. She regularly shares best practice and the latest developments in pedagogy with colleagues from other schools.

Her role will be to inspire, support and develop pupils and staff to achieve the highest possible standards in teaching and learning.

Liz already has a close connection with the Foundation, as her two daughters attended the Crescent School. Outside of school Liz’s interests include reading, visiting historical sites and eating out at local restaurants.

Joining her is Andy Compton, who takes on the new role of Foundation Assistant Head (Director of Digital Strategy). Andy is an experienced Spanish and French teacher who has had responsibility for leading on new technologies and championing digital learning at his current school, Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry. A passionate advocate of the power of digital technology on teaching and learning, he will draw on these experiences to develop strategies to use technology to its full potential, improving the ICT, learning and teaching across the whole Foundation, including the College and its two junior schools, Crackley Hall in Kenilworth and the Crescent School in Rugby.

Away from the classroom, Andy is also a keen sportsman, who runs and regularly plays and coaches football.

Comments, Headmaster, Ed Hester, “The Foundation is moving forward in very exciting ways and it is so important for us to have first class staff in leadership positions. We are therefore delighted to welcome Liz and Andy and wish them both well in their new roles.”

Mrs Caroline McGrory was appointed to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees at the beginning of December 2017.  Mrs McGrory is a qualified solicitor with over 20 years’ experience who has worked in private practice in London and Birmingham and then in house as Director of Legal and Commercial Affairs for the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team.  In 2016 she was appointed as General Counsel for Leicester City Football Club.  She has extensive experience of commercial law.

Mrs McGrory has close connections with the Foundation, her three children attend Foundation schools and she married her husband and had her children christened in the Princethorpe College Chapel.

Mrs McGrory is enjoying working with fellow Trustees overseeing the overall management and strategic direction of the Foundation.  She comments, “It is a real privilege to be a Princethorpe Foundation Trustee and I am really enjoying this new involvement.”

Eddie Tolcher, Foundation Bursar and Clerk to the Trustees said, “Caroline has already brought a wealth of commercial experience to the Foundation’s Governing Body.  Her insights and advice are very much appreciated.”

On Wednesday 6 June Princethorpe welcomed prospective parents and pupils into school for the College’s flagship Summer Open Evening.

Bathed in sunshine the school and grounds were at their sparkling best, a well organised hive of activity; departments had prepared informative displays and had plenty of exemplar work on show, staff and present pupils were on hand to take questions and talk with parents and of course there were plenty of fun subject-related activities for younger (and older) visitors to enjoy.  Rewards were on offer for all those who ‘had a go’ with stickers to collect and a choice of snazzy prizes for the children on their way home.  

Outside many chose to try their hand at archery, explore the outdoor classroom, watch the tennis display or visit the Catteralls school bus.  In the Sports Centre the climbing wall was a popular attraction, as was the bustling Limes atrium with its da Vinci display. Elsewhere the classrooms were abuzz with parents and children exploring subjects such as  IT, Maths, English and Languages.

Music echoed around the Roundhouse, buskers and performers entertained in the corridors and drama rehearsals attracted audiences to the newly refurbished Clarkson Theatre.  Through the length and breadth of the school, visitors were invited to attempt a dissection in Biology, to control robots in Technology, to test their strength in Physics, to watch explosive Chemistry experiments and to delve into the archives in the Library.  

Ed Hester, Headmaster, welcomed parents with an inspiring address in the Chapel, talking about the school, its plans for the future and the ‘Spirit of Family’ ethos that allows Princethorpe to help every child to succeed.

Some 172 families attended the evening, many completely new to the school.  For all it was a great chance to soak up the special Princethorpe atmosphere and to get a flavour of day-to-day life.  The sun shone brightly all evening and everywhere enthusiastic staff and pupils extolled the virtues of Princethorpe’s tailored individual approach.

A huge thank you to all the staff, pupils, prefects and parents who helped on the evening and to those involved in the preparations.  The school looked amazing and the feedback from our visitors as they left was very positive.

Year 10 pupil Ben Abrahamson has qualified for CyberStart Elite the final stage of the UK Government’s Cyber Schools Programme, Cyber Discovery.  From the 23,663 participants that started the extra-curricular learning programme Ben is one of only 100 pupils from Years 10-13 that has made it through to the fourth and final stage.

The Cyber Discovery Programme aims to give young people the opportunity to learn the skills needed to enter in to the cyber security profession and has been designed to grow the UK’s cyber capable workforce.  Created by world-leading experts, the programme aims to identify cyber talent early and teaches exciting topics such as ethical hacking, penetration testing and digital forensics.

Mrs Ryalls’ Year 10 GCSE Computer Science class took the initial assessments for the programme, CyberStart Assess, in their lessons back in November.   From there Ben has progressed through CyberStart Game and Cyber Start Essentials before being selected for CyberStart Elite.

Ben will attend a two-day face-to-face camp in August where he will get the chance to compete in a live Capture the Flag competition, meet some of the industry’s top experts, test his skills by working on a hackable robot arm and learn what a career in cyber security could be like.

Ben commented, “I have really enjoyed the challenges the programme offers, at the Elite Camp we will have to hack into a server to get information, it sounds like a lot of fun and I am really excited.”

Jan Ryalls, Computer Science Teacher, said, “This is an incredible achievement and a testament to Ben’s problem solving, hard work and determination. Cyber security is now more than ever a careers area with huge potential and this experience will give him a head start if he chooses to progress into that line of work. “

Invited guests from seven local care homes and elderly members of the local parish, were welcomed into school for a special Summer Tea Party on Thursday 6 June.  Hosted by Sixth Form prefects and volunteers the tea party was held in the airy atrium of the Sixth Form Centre.

Guests were served a delightful selection of scrumptious sandwiches, sausage rolls and tasty cakes, together with a choice of drinks. Everyone clearly enjoyed the chance to linger over lunch and chat with the younger generation.  For all it was a lovely opportunity to share stories, find out about school life, enjoy a change of scenery and savour some top class refreshments.

Excellent background musical accompaniment was provided by Sixth Formers Kate Palmer and Charlotte Pagan on piano and members of Princethorpe’s Choir entertained the gathering with a lively Beatles medley.

The event is a great example of Princethorpe’s ‘spirit of family’ and is one of a series of community events the College’s Sixth Formers support.

Our thanks go to Mrs McKenzie for organising the party; the new prefect body and Sixth Form volunteers for generously hosting our guests, the musicians and choir for performing and to our fantastic catering team for the fabulous food.

Congratulations to Year 7 pupil, Oliver Pendleton who finished in sixth place in the Tumbling Spring Event Series competition that took place on Saturday 2 June at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Competing in the Tumbling FIG (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique) Men 11-12 years category, Oliver executed two powerful and explosive runs each made up of five separate elements to score a total of 55.7 points.  His stunning performance proves Oliver is one of the best tumblers in Great Britain and having achieved above the British Qualifying Score he has also secured himself a place at the British National Tumbling Championships which will take place in Birmingham in September.

The event was a superb spectacle with competitors demonstrating awe-inspiring all action skills on the tumble track, trampoline and double mini trampoline.

Director of Sport, Neil McCollin, commented, “Oliver is a talented gymnast and this is an amazing achievement, we are delighted for him and wish him well for the National Championships.”

The College has also awarded Oliver a da Vinci award to recognise his extraordinary performance. 

Friday 8 June was an important day for six Crackley pupils as they celebrated their first Holy Communion Mass.  Sam Bearman-Henderson, Saffron Hall, Amelia Hunt, Seamus Meakins-Owens, Francesca Voisey and Thomas Zanyi gathered together excitedly with friends, family and the whole Crackley Hall school community at St Francis of Assisi Church in Kenilworth.

Father Kevin Hooper began by commending Crackley Hall’s long and strong association with the parish.  He then led a joyful and celebratory Eucharist beautifully supported by the Altar Servers and Chamber Choir.  He spoke about the nourishing love of God that would sustain the young communicants throughout their lives. The communicants then received the sacrament with the utmost sincerity and reverence and were a credit to their families and their school. 

Special thanks were given to Mrs Jackson-Mayne and Mrs Simmonds who have supported the children in their journey this year and to Mrs Olden and the choir.  It was a wonderful occasion bringing together pupils, teachers, family and friends from across the Princethorpe Foundation.  Crackley Hall was delighted to welcome Ed Hester, Princethorpe Headmaster, and Trustees Mrs Griffin, Mrs O’Farrell, Mrs Lane and Commodore Warner to the service along with Sixth Form prefects, Molly Geehan, Jasmine Rigg, Aimee Sen-Gupta and Meera Chauhan.

After the service parents, family and guests were invited to share in the special buffet lunch laid on for the communicants in the adjacent church hall.   There the prefects helped to serve guests and enjoyed chatting with the clearly delighted six boys and girls.

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend, Saturday 26 to Sunday 27 May, Princethorpe College played host to the 2018 National Schools Two-Day Event.

Run in conjunction with Stoneleigh Riding Club a record 250 plus competitors took part in the two-day event, the only ‘long format’ competition open to schools and riding clubs in the UK.  It included dressage and show-jumping on the Saturday and roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross country on the Sunday.

This was the fourth year running that the event was hosted on the Princethorpe estate and the course looked magnificent against the backdrop of the Princethorpe Tower.  This year there was a challenging new addition to the cross country course, a new permanent water jump generously built by the event’s main sponsors, The Wigley Group, who have strong connections to the College.  As well as being a fantastic enhancement to the course, the deep pools within the water jump will be used by pupils year round supporting environmental and wildlife studies.

The competition takes a huge amount of organisation and our thanks go to the school staff and Stoneleigh Riding Club who, together with an army of volunteers and some beautiful British weather, ensured the event was a such a success.

Princethorpe’s riders rode magnificently and we were incredibly proud to see them taking part.  Competing in the 80cm class, Year 7 pupil Sophie Glover was part of a local schools’ team placed third in the ISA 80cm competition, riding her horse Dolly at her very first cross country event. Sophie also picked up best Warwickshire school competitor.  Year 8s Lottie Paybody and Libby Chapman and Year 9 Robyn Field have all represented Princethorpe before and this year finished in a respectable sixth place in the ISA 90cm team competition and came top in the Novice ISA competition winning the ISA Shield. Lottie Paybody also won best Warwickshire school individual in the 90cm section 6 and Libby Chapman picked up the same prize in the 90cm section 7.

Assistant Head, Alex Darkes, Princethorpe’s equestrian event organiser, said, “This has been our biggest two-day event ever at Princethorpe and it was really good to see a strong presence of school participants once again. The new water jump was an exciting addition to the cross country course.  Our thanks go to members of Stoneleigh Riding Club, key sponsors The Wigley Group, Howkins & Harrison and Listers Group, our Grounds and Estates Teams and all the volunteers, without whom we would have been unable to stage such a busy event.”

There will be more equestrian action taking place at Princethorpe shortly - the Inter-Schools’ Dressage Competition is scheduled for Saturday 30 June and spectators are most welcome.

Summer Fete and 23rd Annual Motor Festival - Sunday 24 June 2018, 2.00pm to 4.30pm

Our Summer Fete is fast approaching and this year has a Royal Wedding Theme. There'll be Zorbing and countless other fun games and activities and entertainment for all ages, including our “Food and Fodder” competition. Categories include:

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

Entries should be brought on the day and don’t forget to make sure your name and contact number are clearly marked on your entry.

There will be the traditional array of school supported charity stalls, and external stalls selling a range of high quality crafts, cakes and jewellery. We'll be firing up the BBQ, and 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 selection of soft drinks.

The Princethorpe Art, Photography and Design Exhibition will be open to all our visitors and, for those not wanting to miss the big sporting event of the day, we’ll be showing the England World Cup match.

As always we will be holding a raffle, this year with a 1st Prize of £250, 2nd Prize of a Fortnum and Mason Hamper, 3rd Prize of £100 and many more fabulous items to be won. You can return your completed tickets (and any unsold tickets) with payment in an envelope marked ‘FAO Anne O’Rourke, PTA Treasurer’, to the special PTA Post Box at the Student Hub. Cheques should be made out to "Princethorpe College PTA". Further tickets are also available from Mrs Satchwell if required. We would also be grateful for any donations of bottles for our tombolas, again to be delivered to the Student Hub.

We are always on the lookout for volunteers, so if you can help in any way on the day, even for half an hour, we would really like to hear from you! Please email us at pta@princethorpe.co.uk.

We do hope that you are able to come along to this fun, family event.

Many thanks,

Princethorpe PTA