The Flagpole

Our PE and Games Department have created a helpful new guide for pupils and parents ahead of the Michaelmas Term 2019 (click here), which includes further information about: 

• List of team coaches and how you may contact them
• Instructions on how to access the Princethorpe Sport app
• Information about fixtures, including selection and cancellations
• Sports kit expectations
• Postcodes for away fixtures (which can also be found in the Michaelmas Termly Calendar)

If you have any questions, please direct them to your son/daughter's team coach or email Mr Turns (Acting Head of Boys' Games) or Ms Law (Head of Girls' Games). 

Neil McCollin
Foundation Director of Sport 

The Warwickshire Schools Inter Area Cross Country took place on Saturday 19 October at Stratford-upon-Avon School.  20 Princethorpe runners took part from Years 7 to 11 competing against runners from local schools in Minor (Year 7), Junior (Years 8 and 9) and Inter (Years 10 and 11) events.

Despite having many regulars out on sports tours, Princethorpe still had the largest team of competitors and for a significant number of the College’s runners this was their first race.  Cross country running has always been a strength of the school so it was great to see so many new faces upholding the tradition.

It was another set of good running results for the College and we now have eight girls who have qualified to represent the County in the Inter Area Championships in mid-November.

In the Minor Girls race, Year 7, Caitlin Horan ran well and was delighted to finish first.  Hannah Wildey came in just behind in 3rd, Olivia Bacon in 8th and Pip Evans in 12th.  All the girls qualified for the County team.  For the Minor Boys, Year 7 Jesse Estler placed 15th, Jamie Capelett was next over the line for Princethorpe in 25th then Eddie Arkesden 30th, Andre Barnett 32nd and Sean Birtley 40th.

Ava Farren finished in 5th in the Junior Girls race and Molly Minshull in 11th in the Inter Girls race, both girls also qualified for the County team. In the Junior Boys race Oscar Reynolds finished 15th closely followed by Ben Smith in 18th, Alex Matheson in 19th, Luc Sen-Gupta 25th, Ollie Farquharson 26th, Albert Jackson-Bettle 30th, Thomas Windley 33rd and Edward Twyman 37th.  In the Inter Boys Ed Mitchell finished in 21st.

Kate Pomerleau and Grace Darcy have, based on past performances, also both been selected to run for the County team.

Head of Outdoor Education, Will Bower commented, "Well done to all of our runners, there were some fantastic performances against strong competition and I am very pleased with the results.  And a huge thank you to all the parents who took the runners to the race on what was the first Saturday of the half term when the PE staff were all away with the sports tours.”

Good luck to all of the runners selected to represent the Warwickshire County team at the Inter Area Championships in Shropshire on Saturday 16 November.

Over the Michaelmas half term 35 pupils from the U15 Boys and U14 Girls hockey teams travelled to the Netherlands for the first leg of this year’s annual Hopbel Hockey Tour. The exchange trip, organised by Princethorpe’s Sports department, is a regular in the school’s calendar, and over the years hundreds of pupils have participated in the training camp and enjoyed the opportunity to experience life abroad.

The five-day tour had an early start on Saturday 19 October so when the group finally arrived at De Hopbel Hockey Club everyone was delighted to be greeted warmly and whisked away by their host families.

Over the following three days there was a busy schedule of training and tour matches but pupils also found time for plenty of fun; they enjoyed a trip to Rotterdam with a really entertaining cycling tour, a fantastic BBQ with all their host families and the chance to explore the cobbled streets of local town, Den Bosch.

The girls team played a series of matches against De Hopbel teams whilst the boys faced De Hopel, Map and Den Bosch.  All the matches and the extra coaching and practice provided good development for everyone.

The girls had a great tour, they started with a fantastic 3-2 victory, followed by a 4-0 win, then lost a very close game 1-3 before coming back to win 5-1. In their final match they faced very strong opponents who put them under constant pressure, after the game team coach, Dr Dominic Phelps, commented, “I am so proud of my U14 Princethorpe girls. They have been brilliant all tour and worked very hard in this last match with an immense defensive effort against an excellent Hopbel HC team.”

The boys had challenging opponents but that provided progression for all. In their first match against Map HC they lost 0-6 but the team stayed focused and were pleased to then beat Hopbel HC 7-1. On day two they faced Den Bosch away and appreciated the opportunity to play on their first team pitch under lights, although they lost the series of mini-matches they learnt a huge amount about the core skills needed to be successful in hockey. In their final match the boys determinedly fought back from 3-1 down to finish with a 4-4 in an exciting and really entertaining game.

Acting Assistant Head, Neil McCollin, commented, “We have had another very successful hockey tour and I am very proud of all our pupils.  They made the most of the intensive coaching sessions, played skilfully and gained a good insight into how another country plays the game. And of course they represented the College superbly.”

Princethorpe now looks forward to welcoming our Dutch friends back once again in the Trinity Term for the return leg of the tour.

As always we give our thanks to all the staff involved in supporting and running the hockey tour: Jen Law, Neil McCollin, Dominic Phelps and Paul Whitehead.

Over the half term holidays Princethorpe College took 39 pupils on a four-day sports tour along the south coast. Now in its fifteenth year the netball and rugby tour included, as always, three matches interspersed with plenty of off-pitch activities and fun.

Playing unfamiliar opponents, the tour provided the opportunity for all to hone skills and practise techniques against friendly but super-competitive opponents.

The Year 9 boys had a good start winning a well matched, physical game against Portsmouth Rugby Club 21-26. They then faced the excellent and well-drilled Dauntsey’s School, despite working hard and being disciplined in defence Dauntsey’s proved just too strong and the match went against the boys 29-19.  Nevertheless, it was a really good game and Dauntsey’s coach was very complimentary about Princethorpe’s boys. The team’s last match against Poole Grammar proved another close affair. Carrying some injuries, the boys had to work hard, and there was just one point in it at the end, with Princethorpe pleased to get the win 28-29. 

The Year 8 netball girls battled with their own set of tough matches and learned plenty to take forward to future games. What was most pleasing to see was their positive attitude and mental resilience throughout the tour. Fielding two teams, the girls first played Portsmouth High School. There, the A team faced a team full of club players who were fast and slick, they had most of the possession and our girls went down 16-48. The B team also had a hard time and, despite their enthusiasm, were overwhelmed 5-22. Up next was New Forest Netball Club and a couple of action-packed games. Both of the girls’ teams took on board their coaches’ suggestions with evident improvements to their game. The matches were competitive but fun throughout and the girls were pleased to get two good wins, U13A – 27-8 and U13B – 23-12. Their final matches were against old adversaries Talbot Heath. It has been a few years since we last played them but they made us most welcome. The U13As faced a seasoned championship team who played an accomplished game, they were tough opponents and deserved their 9-35 win.  The B team worked very hard, and in an absorbing game play went end to end. The girls worked really hard and were delighted with an 11-6 win.  

On tour, off the pitch is always a great chance to build team spirit through lots of different activities. This year pupils visited Splashdown, the all-action, flume filled waterpark in Poole, went ten pin bowling, had time for shopping at Gunwharf Quays and of course enjoyed a competitive morning of games on the beach.

Tour leader, Hannah Carminati, commented, “There was plenty of learning for our sports teams this year and pupils made a lot of progress as they wound their way along the south coast. They were a really good group, impeccably behaved, they mixed well with their opponents and with each other, but what pleased us most was how enthusiastic our pupils all were. It made for a very successful tour.”

Huge thanks go to the dedicated sports staff who accompanied this year’s tour - Hannah Carminati, Mike Turns, Will Bower and Ellie Callan. And a big thank you of course to all the schools and sports clubs that hosted us; their hospitality was outstanding.

Princethorpe College Year 10 pupil, Molly Wincott-Thomas, had a busy half term training with the Independent Schools Football Association’s U16 Squad.  Molly took part in a two-day development camp in Cambridge and enjoyed a successful outing with the team.  They faced a fiercely competitive Cambridge City but pulled together well to claim a super 6-0 victory.

Next up for Molly is a visit to the English FA’s national football centre, St George’s Park, in December for further training, followed by international fixtures against teams from the English Colleges, Scotland Independent Schools, the English Schools FA and the Welsh Schools.

Well done Molly it is great to hear of your success!

Well done to the College’s Equestrian team, Harriet Boyd, Lottie Paybody and Lucy Watts, on an excellent performance in a very competitive National Schools Equestrian Association Eventers Challenge Qualifier at Washbrook Farm in Aston le Walls on Sunday 13 October.

College competitors also had individual success with Harriet Boyd securing a super 6th place in the 90cm class after jumping clear on Clonea Daisy and Grace Paybody placing 9th on Extravagant Edition with a clear round in the 70cm class.

The girls were all a credit to the school and stood out for their excellent teamwork. We would like to thank the very supportive parents who got the riders and ponies to Aston Le Walls in such awful weather.

Congratulations to Year 9 Sophie Glover who took her pony Dolly to Arena UK in Grantham for the four day show over half term.  Sophie did an incredible job in the Junior Halloween Spooktacular with not one, but two wins in a class of over 120 entries. Their speedy time around a very technical course certainly gave everyone ‘pumpkin’ to talk about! They had a fabulous result in the Pumpkin Pairs too placing third out of over 90 competitors.

Well done Sophie and Dolly of course!