The Flagpole

Many, many thanks for all your incredible support for our staff and the school at this time. Whilst the last few weeks’ have been busy, stressful and emotional for us all – pupils, parents and staff alike - there have been many uplifting moments and events. The end of the term always finishes with a whole school assembly and this one was no exception. Generally, of course, parents can’t join us for these gatherings, but now you can! Please do feel free to “join” us -  the link is here.  

The other big end of Lent Term celebrations: Prefect Inauguration, the Winter Sports’ Awards and the House Year Review and Trophy will follow a similar method of delivery.

Notwithstanding the early enforced closure, there were many highlights this term as always, not least the great news that three recent Upper Sixth Leavers’, Amy Field, Daisy Vucevic and Lizzie Carr had been awarded unconditional Oxbridge offers. There were many stand out events: the numerous successes on the sports field, the wonderful performances of We Will Rock You and the tremendously enjoyable Oscars ceremony.

Less than three weeks ago (it seems longer!) the last big charity event of the term, the “24/7” walk was a genuine mud bath and a mammoth effort by ninety Sixth Form students and staff to raise money for Mary’s Meals by walking 24 miles in just seven hours. Although not a race as such, the first to finish were jointly: Luke Brotherton, Ellis Chaplow, Louis Coleby, Thomas Crowfoot, William Crowfoot, Sion Murphy and Tomas Wilcox – many congratulation to them all and given the awful underfoot conditions their time of 6 hours 41 minutes for the 24 miles was amazing! Donations are still coming in but we have raised £8,422 this academic year for Mary’s Meals to provide a daily meal in school for the 622 children at Makalanga school, Malawi.

Looking ahead, our Calendar for Trinity Term 2020 can be accessed on My School Portal or the website, although we will not be printing it out and posting as normal. Whilst some events will inevitably not now happen due to the situation we are in, many events will be re-arranged, rescheduled or reconstituted. For example, the other big end of Lent term celebrations: Prefect Inauguration, the Winter Sports’ Awards, the House Year Review and Trophy and the Spring Concert will still take place, albeit in a rather different format.

Home Learning has, of course, changed the pupils’ learning beyond all recognition and huge thanks to all the support that you have been able to give us with this. We have had huge amounts of positive comments flooding in from parent and pupils, but are aware that for some, this experience will have been extremely challenging. We want to hear all your experiences, positive and negative and Dr Pyne has set up a survey form here for you to give us some initial feedback. Staff will be having further training over the Easter break and the next phase will be the ability to increase video and live sessions between teacher, tutors and the pupils. Dr Reddish and the Heads of Departments are planning some on-line assessments in the Trinity Term (details can be found elsewhere in the Flagpole) and we will re-arrange our calendar in the next academic year to ensure pupils have the assessments in school they need at the various Key Stages.

Of course, we are also totally committed to maintaining our excellent pastoral care to our pupils and families. For your reassurance we have reviewed some of our systems to ensure both pupils and parents are able to communicate any worries or concerns directly to key staff. The tutor is the first port of call for any concern, and they can be contacted by email.  All pupils will have daily contact with their tutor during tutor time (10.30am-10.55am). Pupils and parents can also contact their Head of House by email for further support should they need it and a call can be arranged with them if preferred.  Although we are not seeing each other during the day we are still able to maintain regular contact and help and support where it is needed. Our Counsellors and Careers advisors are still offering 1:1 support and Matron is available for any health advice.  Any pupil or parents seeking additional support from the SEND department should contact Ms Prestage directly. 

We are very aware that the current situation has created a great deal of uncertainty for families. The government is taking unprecedented measures to support businesses and employees at this time. Yesterday the Chancellor extended the support to those who are self-employed. Details of government support can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

As you would expect we are doing everything we can to reduce our costs and make whatever savings we can without, of course, adversely affecting the on-going education that we continue to provide. We are conscious that the next fee bill will be due for dispatch shortly.  Our intention is to write to all parents about our plans for the future next week.

Finally, I wish everyone a happy Easter; we send our best wishes to all. Please do keep in your thoughts and prayers all members of the Princethorpe family who are ill or in need of our support.

E D Hester
Headmaster

Congratulations to Upper Sixth Former, James Crabtree, who has fought his way through a tough selection process to be confirmed as part of the 23-man squad to represent England Counties U18 in their two-match series against Ireland.

James was amongst 160 boys who began by playing three inter-County games at Loughborough University, where he represented Warwickshire.  He was one of 40 players picked to go forward to the Midlands squad, next he survived the cut to 30 after the first training session and then made it on to the final Midlands 23-man team. 

James then played in a match against the North and one week later participated in an intensive residential weekend. With the Midlands team he trained at Warwick School, stayed on the Warwick University campus, and on the following day, faced London and the South East.

James was then picked by the selectors to be part of a 23-man squad to represent England Counties U18. So far James has taken part in a residential weekend, completed team building exercises, field sessions and developed playing strategies.  The team also played Worcester Warriors Academy, a great opportunity to gain game practice, and claimed a resounding 66-7 victory.

The original plan was to go on a further residential 10-day camp in April where the team were scheduled to play Ireland twice. Although sadly, due to the Coronavirus, this will now not go ahead.

Head of Rugby, Peter Bucknall commented, “James is an exceptional player and should be incredibly proud of reaching the England Counties U18 team. Pulling on an England shirt is a great honour.  We are all incredibly proud of him.”

Pictured is James, the Midlands players and the England Counties U18 squad.

Huge congratulations to Year 9 pupil Tahlia Collis-Smith who took Gold at the British Schools Judo Championships on Saturday 14 March.

Tahlia, who trains with Nuneaton Judo Club, competed in the Years 8 and 9 age category, representing Princethorpe College, against a field of just over 80 contestants. The Championships took place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Tahlia’s tenacity and determination paid off as she worked her way through the competition beating opponent after opponent in a series of three-minute matches.  Her focus, concentration and sheer hard work helped her come first in her age group and confidently claim the gold medal.

Congratulations Tahila, we are incredibly proud of you.

A few weeks ago our Princethorpe Connect Team embarked upon a huge 'keep in touch' exercise, attempting to track down and reconnect with as many ‘lost’ Old Princethorpians as possible.

This is the first time the College has undertaken such a huge exercise, attempting to contact thousands of former pupils, former parents and former staff. We have received hundreds of replies and have been touched by the many warm and interesting responses from people across the Princethorpe community who we haven’t heard from for many years.

So far, we've had nearly 750 returns and been able to update all of those records.

If you’re the parent of a former pupil, please do encourage them to update their details so we can stay in touch with them. They can do this easily themselves by going online to https://connect.princethorpe.co.uk/

Richard Harcourt has been appointed to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Mr Harcourt lives locally in Stretton on Dunsmore and has three children who all attended Princethorpe College.

After leaving school at the age of 16, Mr Harcourt started an Engineering Apprenticeship at Dunlop Aerospace in Coventry. In a career spanning some 40 years he travelled the world, including a four-year stint based in Canada, before finally retiring in 2018 as the Director of Operations at Rolls Royce. He now splits his time between non-executive work and his hobbies of golf, gardening and travelling.

Mr Harcourt, comments, “My children all attended Princethorpe College and benefitted hugely from the terrific learning environment the Foundation offers. I am therefore thrilled to be asked to join the Board of Trustees and to support the Foundation as it continues to develop and thrive.”

Eddie Tolcher, Foundation Bursar and Clerk to the Trustees said, “Richard will bring a wealth of commercial experience to the Foundation’s Governing Body. His experience, insight and advice will be very much appreciated.”

The new Princethorpe College Prefect Body for 2020-2021 has been announced. They will be formally inaugurated into their roles next term. 

Our Prefects play an ambassadorial role within the school and at high profile public events such as open days and Entrance Exams. Together with the wider Sixth Form they act as role models for the school community and support school events and activities.

We look forward to working with them all.

The roles of office are:

Head Girl
Abbie O'Carroll-Bailey

Head Boy
Jack Neale

Deputy Head Girls
Lauren Mason
Grace McGrory

Deputy Head Boys 
James Gallagher
Prajeet Prabakaran

Pastoral Prefects
Beth Hutcheson
Ross Low
Georgia McCallum
Olivia Rawle
Jess Scott
Elyse Hyland

House Captains
Austin: Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Luke Brotherton
Benet: Gracie Gerrard and Harvey Wells
Fisher: Aimee Llewellyn and Isaac Ryan
More: Kian Mellett and Connor Parris

Social Prefects
Isabella Wardman
Keeley Jarrett

Charity Prefect
James Walker

Chaplaincy Prefects
Elsa Isaacs
Hannah Bryer

Junior Chaplaincy Prefects
Andre Barnett – Year 7 – Austin
Sean Birtley – Year 7 – Fisher
Louis Yuen – Year 7 - Fisher
Thomas Bucknall - Year 8 – Austin
Jemima Teeton – Year 8 – Austin
Zoe Shayler – Year 9 – Benet

Academic Prefects
Zack Ahmed
Amelia Cunnington
Mia Hornett (Transition Prefect)
Daisy Walker

Marketing and Communications Prefect
Will Marshall

Games Prefects
Madeleine Glasspool and Emelia Tubb
Tom Crowfoot and Oli Thomas

The College wishes good luck to the new prefect body for the year ahead and extends warm thanks to the outgoing prefects, they have given great service and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours.

WCS Care, who run a number of local care homes, contacted us this week with a plea for Personal Protective Equipment. Supplies of essentials such as aprons, gloves and masks are running low as demand outstrips supply. Thinking very creatively, WCS Care approached local schools and businesses to see if anyone had any spare equipment they could use.

Of course, the College was only too happy to help and quickly put together 120 or so old but still usable face masks, 4 boxes of nitrile gloves (some 600 brand new gloves) and 30 sets of old but still useable goggles.

Jo Cheshire, Head of Marketing for WCS Care and a Princethorpe parent, said “One of our team had the idea that local school science labs could have equipment we could use - hence my email to Mr Hester. We need to ensure we have what we need to protect our staff, we haven’t had a case in one of our care homes, but we have to ensure staff are as protected as possible.”

“Whilst some of the equipment that you've found is used, it really doesn't matter as goggles can be hot washed and every extra mask or set of goggles we get means we can protect more staff for longer and fulfil our duty of care to our staff and to our residents. We've had a great response, it's lovely to see the best in people at times like this.”

Working together and supporting each other is what really matters and Princethorpe was delighted to help.

In just a matter of weeks the College’s committed teaching and support staff have moved heaven and earth to take lessons completely online. For some engaging in the remote environment has been just one small step but for others it has been more of a giant leap for mankind. Nevertheless, Princethorpe’s focus is to ensure pupils engage and stay focused on their learning and staff have remained resilient and flexible as they continue to look for ways to provide valuable and effective learning experiences.

Pupils and parents have responded magnificently, and feedback has been incredibly positive. There has been some simply amazing learning taking place this week.

Art teacher, Rebecca Blunsom-Washbrook had her Year 7 and Year 8 Art classes Y7R and 8YQ drawing cakes taking inspiration from the famous American artist Wayne Thiebaud. She explains, “The pupils worked brilliantly at home, considering it is a real challenge not being in the art studio with me, they all posted their drawings back to me by the end of the lesson. I was then able to give them feedback through Teams straight away and award merits. It was an excellent start to home learning, even though I missed seeing all their lovely faces in the classroom!”

History teacher, Abi Adams has also shared some super work her Year 7 and Year 8 pupils have been completing.  Her classes have been investigating British History, studying medieval castles, exploring the changes in Britain from the 18th to the 19th Centuries and looking at why British industry was so successful. Working in their books or online pupils have had no problem completing tables and providing excellent written answers to the questions.

MFL teacher, Sarah Duran had her Year 8 pupils investigating the French Revolution, Emily and Eve from 8YQ completed excellent pieces of work. Ms Duran was also very impressed by Jack, also 8YQ, who produced an exceptional piece of work about Dr Doolittle and his favourite pets. In Year 9 Evie Teall was awarded a da Vinci merit by MFL Teacher, Charlotte Verleure, for her first week of home learning. Evie had completed a quiz, culture summaries and produced excecllent written work. Whilst Year 8, Bea Boakes, also received a da Vinci for her French research into World War One.

English teacher, Helen Pascoe-Williams, was impressed with, Year 8 pupils, Ida and Layla's super responses to The Signal-Man, the mystery story by Charles Dickens, and with, Lower Sixth Former, Henri Fuchss' detailed EPQ project work.

Head of Maths, Sharon McBride, was very pleased with, Year 8 pupil, Hattie Underhill who produced an outstanding video explaining how she used bearings and scale drawing to solve a problem.

These are just a few examples of the wonderful work pupils have completed this week.

We have also had lots of positive comments on Home Learning from parents including:

“My girl is being effortlessly taken through every lesson of the school day via Microsoft Teams and her teachers being on line. A normal school day from the comfort of her home."

"I would like to thank you all and the school community for all the hard work in adapting so quickly to forever daily changing news prior to closing the school, for being there for the children and communicating so well with us parents. I myself feel truly grateful for all your hard work and for continuing to rise to the challenge of flexible working and keeping the children involved in their studies during what is a difficult time for them as everyone. We are truly lucky to be part of such a wonderful school with such a kind and caring ethos that Princethorpe has."

"Obviously it is early days, but I would like to let you know how successful the on-line lessons seem to be. I have had conversations with Jack in the last couple of days about proving the formula for volume of a cylinder by integration, the nature of springs that leads to Hookes Law, and the nature of demand-side and supply-side economic shocks. Something must be going well!"

"Congratulations and thanks are certainly due to those who have created the environment, taught everyone to use it, and to the teachers who have generated engaging content for the lessons. Equally, I know that this would not have happened without inspiring leadership to unite everyone around making all this happen."

It has been a completely new way of working, staff will take heart from the feedback so far but will continue to strive to improve the experience for all when Home Learning recommences on Monday 20 April.

Each year Hollywood celebrates their prestigious Academy Awards, but here at Princethorpe College we have our own ‘night of nights’, the Princethorpe Oscars, when the Sixth Form Atrium is transformed and the red carpet is rolled out, to celebrate our very own film stars.

This year 20 films on the theme of the number 7 were up for consideration with 'the best of the best' being awarded much-prized mini Oscars. 

Host and compere for the ceremony was our very own Head of Art and Photography, Mr Paul Hubball, and guests enjoyed a special VIP drinks, popcorn and pick ‘n’ mix reception before the evening’s screenings commenced and the audience sat back and the movies flickered onto the big screen.

The College was also delighted to welcome back a very special guest for the evening's entertainment, former Assistant Head - Co-Curricular, Mr Greg Hunter, who returned to the school especially for the annual Oscars celebrations.

At the end of the evening Headmaster, Ed Hester, handed out the awards and with such a set of stunning entries every entry was awarded a prize. 

Mr Hubball commented, “There has been so much talent and creativity on show tonight and such a wide range of entries. Thanks go to all of our contributors for all of their enthusiasm and gifted work.”

This year’s prize-winning entries included:

• 007 Trailer: Harry Cheshire
• 7 Days To Live: Georgie Pollock, Andrea Zanyi, Andrew Gordon and Charlie Clark
• 7 Most Important Editing Skills: Amy Hogg
• Seven Students, Seven Languages: BHC
• Chernobyl: Josh Tidd
• Deal’s Off: Roualeyn Alford
• Once I Was Seven Years Old: Martha Harris
• Number 7: BRH
• Seven Questions: Mad Lib Theatre: Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Lauren Mason
• Carpool Karaoke: BMO
• Cup Song: MEC
• More House Oscars: More House
• 7 Stunts: BJR
• 00 Year 7: Topsie Egan and Lorna McLoughlin
• Seven For A Devil: Sophie Cheshire
• The Hungry Caterpillar: BHB
• The Hustle: Seb Shaw, Georgie Clark, Tom Crowfoot, Will Crowfoot, Saskia Roy, Jessica Scott, Oli Lyons and Mr Hubball
• The Seven Acts Of Kindness: BFM
• The Seven Sins Of Princethorpe: Liv Fox and Jess Hedgecock
• The Seventh Hour: James Maclean and Isaac White

The main award of the night, Best Movie, proved to be a difficult decision for the judges. In the end the ingenuity of the dialogue and the artistic talent of the pupil participants helped Lower Sixth Formers Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Lauren Mason claim the overall prize.

It was another fabulous evening; thank you to all of the pupils and staff involved.

The termly Celebration of Achievement Lunch recognises pupils from across the College for contributions, commitments and achievements.  This Lent Term, 70 pupils from across the year groups were nominated by members of staff and invited to the College Roundhouse by Assistant Head (Co-Curricular), Neil McCollin, for an informal, celebratory buffet lunch.

All of the pupils had risen to the challenge of the College’s ethos; they had done their best in many different ways, both in and outside of school.  Some had been nominated for academic perseverance; others invited along for their contribution to sport or drama; a number for voluntary and charity work and some for their contributions to their House.

Mr McCollin congratulated every one of them and thanked them for the many ways that they enrich College life.  As always, the pupils seemed surprised by the attention they received and were modest when praised for the commitment, motivation and tenacity of effort - all qualities that the Celebration of Achievement Lunch recognises and rewards.

A list of the pupils and their reason for nomination can be found here.

Congratulations go to all of the following pupils; the College is very proud of you:

From Year 7: Heather Allen, Sean Birtley, Roxy Glenn, Jess Hedgecock, Jessica Lane, Liam Mutukwa, André Onyekwe, Ned Roach and Dylan Williams

From Year 8: Raul Camargo-Jones, Jimmy Frazier, Kate Pomerleau, Rosie Reeve and Ben Smith

From Year 9: Freddie Hadley, Tom Hollis, Matilda Houghton, Grace Isaacs, Tom Lomas, Emma Sarkies, Connor Silvester, Evie Teall, Alice Whittaker and Lottie Wilkins

From Year 10: Roualeyn Alford, Alex Allison, Laurel Arkesden, Leah Burford, Libby Chapman, George Gault, Rupert Hatton, Charlotte Lister, Jessica Mackenzie, James Maclean, Keira MacRae, Freya Mills, Edward Moon, Wilf Sansum, Jamie Smith and Madoc Williams

From Year 11: Harpreet Birdi, Greg Burford, Robyn Field, Paddy Grace, Daniel Hogg, Nell Johnston, Elsie Kelley, Mary Lomas, John Rabeti, Lucy Ratcliffe, Jack Reeve and Ben Scares

From Lower Sixth: Lauren Abba, Luke Brotherton, Charlotte Fitzpatrick, Jack Fletcher, Gracie Gerrard, Evie Headland, Jack Neale, Cameron Taylor and Emelia Tubb

From Upper Sixth: Will Cooper-Harris, James Crabtree, Oscar Doyle, Ciara Hancox, Anthony Lock, Aidan O'Rourke, Fred Self, Isobel Smith and Samuel Wycherley

2019 Upper Sixth leaver, Helena Lintott’s award-winning work ‘The Gift’ has recently been hung in the College’s main reception. Her stunning painting was created for her A-level in Fine Art last summer and subsequently took the top spot in the prestigious Independent Schools’ Association's National Art Competition, in the Over 16 Paintings category.

‘The Gift’ refers to the Three Graces who in Greek mythology are the personifications of beauty, charm, and grace; they were the daughters of Zeus and were given these ‘gifts’ by him to bestow on the world. Her work is a superb, striking painting and was a well-deserving winner.

Once the College is open again, this remarkable piece of work will be on show for all visitors to the College to enjoy.

An amazing legacy to us all from an exceptionally talented young artist.

At the end of last week, Princethorpe was delighted to see its latest advertisement unveiled on the Radford Road in Leamington Spa. The 48 sheet billboard features Old Princethorpian, Murray Wells, and is the next in the series of the College's ‘Princethorpe and Me’ advertising campaign.

Murray left Princethorpe in 2014 and went on to study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire. He always wanted to be an engineer, and when the opportunity arose, he jumped at the chance to work on the Bloodhound Supersonic Car project, working to set a new Land Speed record. There he was lucky enough to work with some of the UK’s very best engineers. After completing his degree Murray then went to work for McLaren Automotive as a Quality Engineer.

Since he left Princethorpe, Murray has returned to the College on several occasions to talk to Sixth Form and Design Technology pupils about his exciting career and he was delighted to feature in the latest advert and play his part in inspiring the next generation of Princethorpians.