The Flagpole

Monday 16 September - 6.30pm to 7.30pm

The College's Admissions Team will be holding a Year 6 Parents' Q and A session on Monday 16 September from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in the Sixth Form Lecture Theatre.

This is a chance for Year 6 parents’ to ask our Admissions Team questions relating to the admissions process and Entrance Examinations Day in an informal forum before the registration deadline of Friday 4 October.

If you would like to attend please click on this link by 1.00pm on Monday 16 September.

Friday 20 September 7.00pm – 9.00pm

Parents of pupils new to the school this year are invited to the Headmaster's Quiz and Curry Evening, which will take place in the College Dining Room on Friday 20 September from 7.00pm to 9.00pm.  Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.  Tickets for the Parents’ Quiz, including the curry supper, are £10 per head.

The PTA will be running a paying bar and Mr Hester’s quiz will hopefully not be too testing! 

It should be a very enjoyable evening for all and enable you to meet a number of other parents new to the College, as well as some staff and members of the PTA.  

If you would like to reserve your place, and to enable us to plan our catering, please click here to complete and submit a brief form by 9.00am, Wednesday 18 September.

Year 7 Social

At the same time, there will also be a Year 7 Social organised by the PTA and school prefects in the Sixth Form Centre.  A fun evening for our newest pupils, which will include a disco and a ‘chill out’ area.

Tickets for the Year 7 Social are free of charge but you do need to reserve a place; to do so, please follow the link above.  Children can attend the Year 7 Social without their parents attending the Quiz, however parents are required to sign them in and sign them out. Drop off is at 7.00pm and collection no later than 9.00pm.

We recommend children bring approximately £3 pocket money with them to purchase drinks and treats. Children should have eaten their evening meal before attending. 

I very much hope you are able to attend and I look forward to meeting you on Friday 20 September; if you have any queries please email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call 01926 634201

Ed Hester
Headmaster

Sunday 22 September 2019 2.00pm - 4.00pm

Built in 1832, St Mary's Priory was one of the first Catholic buildings in England built after the reformation. Everyone is welcome to come for a tour of the magnificent building and to learn all about its history, including the amazing women that made it the place it is today.

From 1833 until 1966, St Mary's Priory was home to a congregation of Benedictine nuns who ran a boarding school for girls. This community sold the priory in 1966 and a new school was established by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, who had previously run a boys' school in Leamington Spa. Princethorpe College is now a fully co-educational Catholic independent day school.

Our archive team will be conducting free tours of the College on Sunday 22 September from 2.00pm - 4.00pm. Areas open include Pugin’s magnificent chapel, the cloisters, nuns’ cells, library (former church) and roundhouse.

No booking is required; just turn up and join the next available tour. Entrance is via the glazed link off the North Car Park.

Admission is free and there is complimentary tea and coffee available. We would be delighted to see you!

Thursday 26 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm

The College Open Morning will take place on Thursday 26 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm. This is a chance to look around the school on a normal working day, prior to Entrance Examinations Day on Saturday 9 November 2019.  Year 8 and 9 pupils will act as tour guides and light refreshments will be available.

Those wishing to register for Entrance Examinations should do so by the deadline of Friday 4 October to facilitate the gathering of references from junior schools. Registration forms are available from the Registrar, Mrs Vanessa Rooney on 01926 634201 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Entrance Examinations for Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will take place on Saturday 9 November 2019 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. More information is available in our 2020 Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet available on our website, click here.

Tuesday 1 October 2019 - 10.00am to 3.00pm

Crackley Hall, Princethorpe's junior school and nursery in Kenilworth, is opening its doors for an Open Day on Tuesday 1 October 2019 from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This is an opportunity to look around the school and to meet staff and pupils on a normal working day. All are welcome, no need to book.

There are some places available across the school and they are recruiting for places in Reception 2020. Please speak to their Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan for availability.

If you can't make the Open Day but would like to look around the school, please call their Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514410 or email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk and come on a day to suit you.

For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk

Friday 4 October 2019 - 10.00am to 3.00pm

The Crescent School, the Foundation's junior school for 4 to 11 year olds in Bilton, Rugby, is opening its doors for an Open Day on Friday 4 October from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This is an opportunity to look around the school and to meet staff and pupils on a normal working day. All are welcome, no need to book.

They have a limited number of places available and are now accepting registrations for admission to Reception in September 2020.

If you can't make the Open Day but would like to visit the school, please call their Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 521595 or email admissions@crescentschool.co.uk and come on a day to suit you.

For more information visit www.crescentschool.co.uk

Wednesday 9 October 2019 - 7.30pm

Our Parents’ Book Club got off to a great start this term and it was a pleasure to welcome new members.  We discussed Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, an entirely different book from the dystopian fiction she is most well-known for, and Force of Nature by Jane Harper.  These are two very different books, of course.  Alias Grace can be a little difficult to get into, but is totally gripping once the voice of Grace emerges as we speculate to what extent she is guilty of the murder for which she has been incarcerated, in this imaginative reconstruction of the events surrounding a real nineteenth century case.  Force of Nature is a lighter read, a crime novel of a very different sort, engaging enough and with some depths which some readers were able to explore. 

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 9 October.  We will be discussing The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton, the latest novel by an author we have enjoyed in the past.  We meet at 7.30pm in the library and would very much like to see some more new faces if you are able to join us.

Chris Kerrigan
Head of English

Thursday 10 October 2019 - 12.15pm

On behalf of Austin House, it is my pleasure to invite you to our House Eucharist which takes place on Thursday 10 October in the College Chapel.

The service will be a celebration of our House community and will begin at 12.15pm.  If you are able to join us, I would recommend you aim to arrive at midday to be seated in the Chapel before the arrival of the pupils.

There will be signage to indicate where to park on the day.

We would be delighted if you could also stay at College after the service to join us for lunch. So that we can cater efficiently, please reserve places here by no later than Wednesday 9 October 2019.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Mr Adam Rickart
Head of House – Austin

Who Was Dante Anyway?

In advance of the 700th anniversary in 2021 of Dante’s death in exile, this illustrated talk, by Margaret Louise O'Keeffe, which is the first of three lectures, will provide an introduction to Dante Alighieri, the greatest Italian writer of them all, an extraordinary personality who lived a remarkable life in particularly turbulent times.

Dante was a passionate human being who can inspire, entertain, educate and profoundly move us with the beauty of his language and imagery, the power of his imagination, the control of his material, the intensity of his emotions and the magnificent array of his characters and stories.

Active in the literary and political life of his beloved home city of Florence, Dante's heart was captured by Beatrice Portinari who died young in 1290. His enduring love for Beatrice became the bedrock of La Vita Nuova, (The New Life), and perhaps the main inspiration for his masterpiece La Commedia, (now known as The Divine Comedy).

The talk will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday 15 October 2019 in the Sixth Form Lecture Theatre followed by wine and light refreshments in The Atrium.

Tickets may also be purchased at the door; but advance notice helps catering, please. Princethorpe, Crackley Hall and Crescent School pupils free of charge. We are happy to receive provisional bookings by e-mail, please, at alexdarkes@princethorpe.co.uk

For a booking form please click here

The other illustrated talks will take place on Tuesday 21 January 2020 and Tuesday 12 May 2020 - please save the dates.