The Flagpole

A very Happy New Year to you all, I hope you had a good Christmas break with your families.

We have had a good start to the year and as I write, the Year 11s have just finished the first of two sets of mock GCSE examinations.  It will be another busy term and so I would like to remind you of an important evening entitled: Princethorpe a Vision for the Future at 7.30pm on Thursday 14 March, when I shall be giving a presentation on our plans for development, with the opportunity for Q&As afterwards. Prior to this we will be undertaking another full on-line parental questionnaire which will be emailed to you in the first half of the term; I would be very grateful if you could spend 15 minutes or so completing this.

At the end of last term we said goodbye to Bella Fogarty our GAP student from Downlands, our Missionaries of the Sacred Heart ‘sister school’ in Toowoomba, Australia. We have also said goodbye to pupil hub manager Emma Nobes who takes up a new career opportunity in the business world. Bella and Emma have both been wonderful additions to the staff over the past year, working hard across all areas and lighting up the school with their kindness and good humour. This term, former Head Girl Miriam Isaacs joins our TA support team and in other staffing news, Tomi Owens has stepped down as Head of Mathematics with Karen Bannister and Sharon McBride now leading the department.

As we look forward to our main school production, Little Shop of Horrors and the sixth annual Princethorpe Oscars Ceremony, it was nice to see recent Old Princethorpian Declan Wyer featuring in the new Olivia Coleman film The Favourite – if you see this award-winning film, Dec is the footman who gets a real tongue-lashing from Rachel Weisz’ character, Lady Marlborough, early in the film!

Finally, I wish you all well for the year ahead and thank you for your continued support for the College.

Yours sincerely

Ed Hester
Headmaster

The College was delighted to welcome back, former Director of Ethos, David Hare, on the first day of the Lent Term.  David spoke to pupils from across the College about the important skill of listening in a series of Epiphany services in the Chapel.  David brought with him Minnie, his hearing dog, whose listening skills help him hear.

David retired from Princethorpe College in 2015 after 35 years of teaching in hearing schools, 14 spent happily at Princethorpe.  He describes himself as moderately-profoundly deaf.

In his five talks to pupils David spoke about the differences between hearing and listening and the active concentration required to understand what has been heard.  He explained how tiring listening can be especially for someone with little or no hearing and how important it is to use your eyes as well as your ears when you listen.

David demonstrated how Minnie helps him to hear.  How she alerts him to come if he is being called, if the doorbell goes, if a timer goes off, or an alarm clock and most importantly how she shows him there is danger if a fire alarm sounds.  He explained that Minnie doesn’t just hear, but listens in order to work out the correct alert to use.

The Epiphany services offered College pupils the opportunity to reflect on the coming term. Whilst leading the services Father Alan Whelan MSC encouraged pupils as they settled back down to daily school life to reflect on the skill of listening and to “listen with their ears, but also to listen with their heads and their hearts”.

Our thanks go to David, his wife Anne and to Minnie for taking the time to come into school and for undertaking such a marathon morning of motivational mentoring and to Father Alan for leading the morning’s Epiphany services.

Twenty-two pupils took part in the House Public Speaking competition in the Clarkson theatre at lunchtime on Thursday 13 December.

Each pupil spoke on a subject of their choice for a maximum of two minutes in front of an audience that included both judges and fellow pupils.  In their speech pupils were required to articulate their points and demonstrate a good knowledge of their subject.

Public speaking is a vital life skill that pupils will use in both their careers and everyday lives.  Practising the skills helps to build confidence and also experience in articulating and presenting ideas and sharing them with others, incredibly useful preparation for anyone facing examinations that require persuasive writing.

The competition proved so popular that not everybody had time to speak, so the House Activities Team had to run a second session the following day.

After listening to the competitors the judges praised all of the participants for the quality of their performance.   They decided that four pupils had performed particularly well earning a special mention.  Edward Foster and Chloe O’Carroll Bailey were commended for the content of their speech and Alfie Thomson and Amélie Friess for their style.  Albert Jackson was recognised as best newcomer and Sam Astle, Jens Cowdry and Joseph Newborough all received a special award.

Housepoints were awarded as follows: Benet 310 points, More 243 points, Austin 169 points and Fisher 165 points.

Congratulations to all of the participants who took part.  It was an interesting and enlightening event, very much enjoyed by all.

Five Princethorpe pupils have been selected to play for the Midlands squad in the Independent Schools Football Association’s (ISFA) U13 Regional Festival.   The Year 8 boys Joseph Bird, Alexander Hammond, Barnaby Hammond, Finn Osborn and Jamie Robinson will play in a squad of 16 against teams from across the UK regions in the three day football competition in early April at Shrewsbury School.

The boys earned the opportunity to represent their region in trials over a series of four weekends back in November.

The strength of footballing talent at the school is reflected in Princethorpe’s boys domination of the Midlands ISFA team and underlined by the number of Academy players the school now has.  Year 8 Alexander is the latest to join this elite group having recently been signed for Aston Villa Academy.

PE Teacher, Ross Holtom, commented, “These boys are a talented and committed group.  I know they will relish the opportunity to play against the best players in their age group and will be a credit to their school.  I hope they match the success of last year’s Midlands team in remaining unbeaten in the Regional Representative Festival.  It will be a great experience for them all.”

Following the success of previous Green Team calendars, we are delighted that our pupils have been busy exploring our local environment once again and have produced yet another fantastic Green Team Calendar.  

Stewart Dear, Geography Teacher and Green Team Leader comments, “The photographs in this year’s calendar are once again amazing. It is a true celebration of our wonderful surroundings and a reminder of just how lucky we are to have our historic school embedded in such beautiful countryside.”

The calendar showcases the photography skills of pupils throughout the school from Year 7 to Upper Sixth, capturing a range of seasons and environments and will be a handy addition for any kitchen or office as it also includes the Foundation’s term dates.

The 2019 Green Team Calendar is just £5 and there are a limited number available so make sure you grab yours before the end of term. To purchase a copy, please visit the School Shop or contact Stewart Dear at stewartdear@princethorpe.co.uk.