The Flagpole

On Friday 9 September at 10.40am, the College community gathered together on the school playground to remember Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Headmaster, Ed Hester, addressed the whole school community, he spoke movingly about the Queen’s early years as a child, her ascension to the throne and her many years of unstinting dedication to her country. He shared his own memories of her Silver Jubilee and reflected on the many changes the world has seen during her long reign.

The Heads of School, Freya Mills and Pratheesh Prabakaran, led the school in prayers for Her Majesty before the school observed a one-minute silence. Following the National Anthem, Mr Hester closed the assembly with a prayer for our new king, His Majesty King Charles III, as he takes up his new duties.

Across the school, the Union Flag is flying at half-mast as a sign of respect for Her Majesty and in the Cloister Corridor, beneath a portrait of the Queen, there is a condolence table with flowers and a prayer.

The College joins the nation in mourning the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and extends its heartfelt condolences and prayers to the Royal Family.

Former Upper Sixth Former, Dan Hatfield, from the Class of 2022, has had his A-level Design and Technology in Product Design project shortlisted for The Furniture Makers’ Company’s School Design Prize.

This prestigious prize is open to gifted young design and technology pupils from across the UK. Now in its seventh year, the prize rewards talented GCSE and A-level students and offers them the opportunity to showcase their work to the industry.

Dan will present his project, the Koko-Accent chair, at the Young Furniture Makers’ Exhibition that is being held in London on Wednesday 12 October. The winner of the award will be announced that evening.

Daniel’s design incorporates all the key features of Scandinavian design, minimalism, clean lines and a combination of function and beauty. Behind the aesthetic is a well crafted piece of furniture incorporating many intricate joinery processes.

A delighted Dan said, "I am so excited that I have been selected, it’s a dream come true, hours of work went into producing the chair and it is a privilege to have been short listed."

Head of Design and Technology, Paul Scopes, commented, "It was clear that this project was a real passion for Daniel, he invested a great deal of time and effort into designing, crafting and producing a visually stunning product and should feel proud of what he has designed and produced. To be shortlisted from all the schools in Britain is an outstanding achievement." 

Dan achieved an A* in his A-level in Design and Technology and this September will move to Loughborough University to study Graphic Design.

Princethorpe congratulates Dan, it is a fantastic achievement to have been shortlisted, we wish him the very best of luck for the final round.

With the new school year now in full swing, members of the Princethorpe community have one last chance to leave their mark on the College's new Science Centre.

This incredible development, due to be ready for teaching in September 2023, will facilitate not only state of the art science education at Princethorpe but also the opportunity to redevelop the existing site for complete cross-curricular enhancement.

This last chance to contribute is available in several different ways:

• By having a name engraved on a wall brick to be displayed in the entrance lobby of the Science Centre (£100)
• By having a name engraved on a chemical element on our Periodic Table display in the Science Centre (£250). As the elements are given on a first come first basis please contact the Development Office to find out what is still available.
• By having a name engraved on a granite paver to be placed outside the entrance to the Science Centre (£500)
• By you or your company sponsoring a display panel featuring the picture and biography of a particular scientist, as well as your name, message and company logo (£1500)

You could also choose to name a specific laboratory or piece of equipment (if you would like to discuss this further, please contact stevekowal@princethorpe.co.uk)

The closing date for donations will be Friday 14 October 2022. Don’t miss out on this final opportunity to ensure your chosen name or message is recorded in perpetuity in the future of the Princethorpe Foundation.

To participate, visit the link below where you can donate online: connect.princethorpe.co.uk/pages/leave-your-mark

So many of our parents, staff and friends have done much already to support the Foundation and we are incredibly appreciative of this.

Our show jumping team of Abigail Gillard on Champagne Traveller, Harriet Boyd on Clonea Daisy, Samantha Borland on Condor Goaviar and Sophie Glover on Cavalier Royal Lad, travelled to Hickstead in the holidays and came an incredible 5th in the NSEA Hickstead Elite Team showjumping Championships.

This was the culmination of months of hard work by the team who qualified earlier in the season for their chance to compete over Hickstead’s famous red planks. As always we are very proud of the girls and would like to thank their families for all of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

Louisa Fielding

From Saturday 10 to Tuesday 13 September, 33 Upper Sixth students visited Swanage in Dorset for this year’s Biology Field Trip. An essential part of their A-level studies, the trip allowed students to complete two required assessed Biology practicals, as well as experiencing a variety of field work techniques.

The group were based at Leeson House Field Studies Centre in Langton Matravers, on the Jurassic Coast. After their journey to Dorset it was straight to work on the Saturday, with students tasked with capturing and recording woodlice populations, a fascinating evening for everyone. Sunday morning it was off to the River Piddle and a comparison between the species found in slow- and fast-moving water. Then it was on to Kimmeridge Bay to undertake work on the rocky shores examining the distribution and morphology of limpets and periwinkles, a perfect opportunity to practice their sampling techniques. Monday’s activities included Studland sand dune succession and surveying of the woodlice populations again, whilst mammal and moth traps were examined before returning to school on Tuesday.

Head of Biology, Catherine Warne, commented, “Our Sixth-Formers made the most the experience, they learnt a lot but had fun too. The weekend’s sunshine was a fantastic welcome bonus to a very successful trip.”

Designed to stretch and challenge students in Chemistry, the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge takes students significantly beyond the syllabus and encourages them to think about Science in the way they would at university. 

This summer, four Lower Sixth students Hannah Lawrence, Freya Mills, William Gibson-Sexton, and Joshua Apaya took part in the Cambridge Chemistry challenge. The four chemists prepared themselves for the competition by taking part in the weekly Cambridge Chemistry challenge co-curricular club to develop their critical problem-solving skills, think creatively, and get a chance to test their knowledge in new, real-world situations. 

All four students who took part in the Cambridge Chemistry challenge achieved a certificate, with Freya Mills and William Gibson-Sexton awarded a Copper certificate. These four chemists faced tough national competition and we congratulate them all on the great resilience they demonstrated.

The College community gathered in the Sports Hall on Wednesday 14 September to celebrate a whole school Eucharist to mark the start of the academic year. Led by Father Alan Whelan MSC, supported by Father Teddy O’Brien MSC, pupils and staff were introduced to the new Chaplaincy school theme for the year of ‘Change’.

Father Alan reminded the school that change is all around us, that we should embrace change, as it is only through change that we grow. Pupils then considered what change they could make to be kind to others, recording their individual thoughts on a card.

Together as a community, pupils and staff prayed for the school, for our families and for all those in the world who need our hopes. During the service pupils and staff received the sacrament or a blessing. It was wonderful to come together as a community and to have the opportunity to reflect and pray.

Our thanks go to the Junior Chaplaincy Prefects and to Father Alan and Father Teddy for leading us in the service.

At the start of the summer holidays, 32 talented tourists from Princethorpe College’s Music department took part in a musical adventure when they embarked on a long-awaited performance tour of Belgium. Pupils from Year 7 all the way up to the Upper Sixth came along for the ride.

Their five-day action-packed itinerary included the chance to perform in three fantastic locations, as well as a visit and audio tour of the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels. They also visited the Menin Gate in Ypres and were honoured to perform at the internationally renowned Last Post Ceremony. Their trip included a day in Bruges and a super visit to a chocolate factory, as well some time to explore the beautiful city of Brussels and take part in an exciting Virtual Reality experience.

Princethorpe’s prodigies were magnificent, confidently performing to appreciative and sizeable audiences in Ostend, Ypres and the Menin Gate. They were all fabulous ambassadors for the College, and had an incredible time into the bargain.

This is the second time that the College has taken its instrumental and choral groups on tour (previously having had a wonderful trip to Vienna in 2019), and the entire trip was a resounding success.

Over the summer holidays five pupils from Princethorpe College were selected to represent the South Midlands region at the England Hockey Challenge Cup Tournament. During the tournament, which took place over a four-day period, at the Nottingham Hockey Centre, pupils played two matches a day against other regional teams from across England.

The pupils were Year 12, Will Antrobus and Year 13s, Evie Phillips and Lara Tripp-Smith, as well as OPs Fin Calder (not pictured) and Tom Hollis. After a fantastic four days of play the girls finished the tournament in overall 2nd place, an incredible achievement against the top players in the country. Special mention to Evie who made it through to the National Age Group Selection process. 

A huge well done to them all, it is a fantastic achievement to be selected to play for your Region and a testament to the commitment and hard work these pupils have put into their hockey over the past few years. 

Friday 30 September 2022

Those wishing to register for Entrance Examinations should do so by the deadline of Friday 30 September to allow for the processing of the application and to facilitate the gathering of references from junior schools.

More information on the admissions process can be found in the recently published Admissions Update newsletter here or on the Foundation website here.

A copy of the registration form can be found here.

Entrance Examinations for Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will take place on Saturday 5 November 2022 from 9.00am to 4.00pm. More information is available in our 2023 Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet available on our website, click here.