The Flagpole

The Roman Legionary invaded Princethorpe College on Thursday 13 October armed with swords and scutums (shields) and ready to do battle. It was Year 7 Roman Day, a day when every pupil in the year enjoys lessons full of tales of blood and gore, as they learn about the professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army.

Lucky class ‘volunteers’ dressed up in body armour and handled weapons as Gladiatrix Lisa, captivated the new recruits with fascinating facts about all things Roman. Pupils donned the Roman tunica, lorica (armour) and galea (helmet) and then picked up their gladius (sword) and prepared to march.

Year 7 were treated to lessons in sword skills and battle tactics from the greatest army of the time. They practised marching in the testudo formation adopting the shield wall formation commonly used by the Roman legions in battle.

Get The Specialists brought to life the strategic tactics and organisation of the Roman fighting machine. With replica costumes and equipment their sessions complemented the lessons Year 7 have been studying in History this half term.

History Teacher, Greg Lyttle, said, “The Year 7s have learnt all about the life of a Roman soldier, his training and his clothing and armour, but they have also discovered lots of interesting background information about Roman times. Get The Specialists’ visit has left pupils buzzing with curiosity and keen to find out more, it was a fantastic day of learning for all who took part.”

Princethorpe College was delighted to welcome 175 runners from 12 Warwickshire schools on Monday 10 October for the local qualifying round of the English Schools Athletics Association’s (ESAA) Cross Country Cup.

Runners competed in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Boys and Girls races on a course that led competitors around the College’s playing fields; the autumn sunshine providing good running conditions.

Congratulations to Princethorpe’s Senior Boys and Senior Girls teams who both finished in first place overall. Ava Farren led the girls team home finishing in 2nd place, Kate Pomerleau was just behind in 4nd, Jess Evans 5th, Natasha Thomas 11th, Emma Sarkies 12th and Liv Sarkies 15th. For the Senior Boys, Ben Smith ran a strong race and was first across the line with Felix Batty finishing 3rd, Toby Collett 10th, Guy Dawkins 11th and Albert Jackson-Bettles 14th.

The Intermediate Girls finished in second place overall, with Martina Grace first across the line, hot her heels was Evie Marston in 2nd, with Lily Hunter 6th, Isla Lacey 20th, Sophie Gambling 24th and Delilah Teeton 25th. The Intermediate Boys finished fourth overall with Charlie Atkins finishing 5th, Eddie Arkesden 7th, Toby Iley 16th, Ned Roach 18th, Jamie Capelett 19th and Sam Grindal 22nd.

The Junior Girls finished in fourth place, with Rosa Davis coming 6th, Anabel Davis 15th, Marley Adnitt 19th, Jessie Murphy 23rd, Clea Roach 26th and Charlotte Gower 34th. While the Junior Boys did one better finishing in third place overall with William Smith 4th, Charlie Leech 9th, Louis Reynolds 10th, Ollie Hawkins 12th, Alvin Wamala 15th, Freddie Stephenson 24th.

The Senior Boys, Senior Girls, Inter Girls and Junior Boys have qualified for the Regional Final which will take place on Saturday 12 November.

Well done to all the participants for their excellent efforts and a special thank you to the Games Captains for their support at the event.

Thinking of becoming a teacher? Then why not consider training with the Princethorpe Foundation.

Whether you are a new graduate or contemplating a career change, we have a wide range of opportunities available across the subjects including: Art and Design, Business Studies, Latin, English, Geography, History, Maths, MFL - French and Spanish, PE, Psychology, RE and at Primary.

Though our association with the Lion Alliance, we offer a year’s training as part of the School Direct scheme, leading to Qualified Teacher Status. Placements would be at Princethorpe or Crackley Hall and also at other schools within the Lion Alliance. Our training is supported by Warwick University, Birmingham City University, Coventry University and by our experienced mentors here at the Princethorpe Foundation.

You can preview the courses on offer here: https://www.gov.uk/find-postgraduate-teacher-training-courses by searching the database using the details: 1K1 – The Lion Alliance

Our Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning, Dr Liz Pyne is happy to offer advice about the different routes into teaching and what Princethorpe can offer you. Please email Dr Pyne at lizpyne@princethorpe.co.uk.

Further information about the Lion Alliance can be found at www.thelionalliance.co.uk.

Applications are now open through the DfE portal here: Apply for teacher training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Teams from Paddox Primary School and Grange Farm Primary School finished in joint first place in this year’s Princethorpe College Year 5 Maths Challenge.

The competition took place on Monday 10 October 2022 and was run by Douglas Buchanan of DCBEAGLE Challenges who specialises in organising exciting and innovative maths activities for primary school aged children.

Competing were 38 pairs of enthusiastic and talented mathematicians from 19 schools. The pupils completed a series of puzzles against the clock. In five eight-minute rounds they tackled Tangram Triangles, Broken Calculators, Domino Jigsaws, Make 24, Card Order and Curly’s Cycling Circuits.

Ably supported and marked by a team of Princethorpe Year 10 pupils, the competition stretched and challenged the youngsters with mathematical activities that required both reasoning skills and mathematical knowledge. The event was huge fun for all who took part.

The final results were:

Joint 1st place: Paddox Primary School from Rugby, and Grange Farm Primary School, from Coventry.

Joint 3rd place: Ruckleigh School, from Solihull, Crescent School, from Rugby, and St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, from Kenilworth.

The winning teams all received mathematical prizes presented by Princethorpe College’s Head of Mathematics, Sharon McBride, and everyone who participated received a certificate and a special Princethorpe cookie.

It was a great opportunity for all to put their maths skills to the test and the College was delighted to host the event.

Friday evening saw the unveiling of Princethorpe’s new electronic scoreboard just in time for the Girls First XI Hockey team‘s Friday Night Lights match against RGS Worcester.

The new scoreboard was funded by the PTA so just before the match Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, and Assistant Head Co-Curricular, Neil McCollin, welcomed members of the PTA into school to thank them for their donation and for an official photo to mark the first use of the new high-tech scoreboard.

Situated at the rear of the Astro, the new scoreboard will allow the College to provide live updates to spectators watching matches as well as providing professional facilities to those who hire the school’s facilities.

Of course, the girl’s hockey team celebrated the new scoreboard in the very best way by claiming an excellent 5-1 victory under the floodlights in their Friday night match.

Comments, Lee Cassell, “Many thanks to the PTA for funding the new scoreboard. It’s an excellent addition to the College’s Sports facilities and one that will allow spectating parents to really engage with fixtures.”

The latest issue of The Old Princethorpian, the Princethorpe Foundation’s termly e-newsletter for past pupils, staff and parents, old and new, is out now!

Visit: http://www.oldprincethorpian.co.uk to have a read.

The newsletter aims to keep our alumni in touch with each other and news, developments and events across the Foundation. It includes the latest Foundation and College news, and plenty of news and updates from OPs across the decades.

The next events in the OP calendar include our Prize Giving Drinks Reception for last year's Upper Sixth on Friday 18 November and the College Christmas Fair on Sunday 27 November.

After delays due to COVID and subsequent aborted attempts, last week we finally managed to take a photograph of the whole school. The Princethorpe family was recorded for posterity, a moment in time, that will always remembered. The photograph will, once produced, be hung in the corridor adjacent to the Chapel, alongside the others from over the years.

Of course, the organisation of such a mass event requires military precision, exemplary behaviour and a prayer for fair weather. Sadly Wednesday 5 October dawned windy and wet but the gathering of nearly 1000 souls, as pupils, teachers and support staff assembled, was going ahead whatever the weather and all went smoothly and sensibly.

Then just before the heavens opened there was time for - smiles please – and click, and we were done. Another chapter in Princethorpe’s long history successfully recorded.

Enjoy a time lapse of the whole school photp on our Facebook page here.

Princethorpe College pupils and staff marked World Porridge Day last week by raising money for the Scottish charity Mary’s Meals. Championed by our Sixth Formers and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Rod Isaacs, pupils participated in a posse of Scottish and porridge fundraising fun.

At break time pupils were invited to dig deep and purchase a traditional Scottish breakfast, a pot of porridge, with a selection of luxurious toppings. Queues quickly formed for the steaming pots in the corridor outside the Refectory.

The Scottish theme continued out on the Close where only the brave participated in the annual William Wallace Welly Wanging Challenge. Organised by House, there were plenty of contenders lined up ready to enthusiastically fling, hurl, chuck and toss the wellies across the fields.

Rod Isaacs explains, "Princethorpe College has raised over £110,000 for Mary's Meals in the last 15 years through epic sponsored walks, welly-wanging and cake sales. Last year alone we raised over £10,000 and we are committed to continuing our fundraising for the forthcoming year."

He continued, “Many thanks to all the Sixth Formers and staff who helped to organise the events. We have raised £214.58 that will contribute towards the College’s ongoing feeding programme at Makalanga School.”

World Porridge Day is a fundraising event organised by Mary’s Meals in aid of starving children in the developing world. The charity provides daily meals in a place of learning addressing both the immediate needs of hungry children whilst encouraging them to go to school where they can gain an education that can help them out of poverty. It costs just £15.90 to feed a child for a whole year.

You can find out more about Princethorpe’s fundraising for Mary's Meals or make a donation here. 

Princethorpe’s bees and beekeepers have been busy of late. After a long hot summer, it was time to start collecting the honey.

First the honeycombs were brought down from the hives ready for our beekeepers to extract the honey. Then the frames were prepared, with the wax cap that the bees put on the honey removed. The frames were inserted in a centrifuge and spun to get the honey out and, finally, the beekeepers collected the fruits of their and the bees’ labour! The tub is approximately half the honey which was extracted from one of the hives. All the beekeepers will get a share of the honey and any left over will be sold in support of the school's charities.

Beekeeping Club meets after school on Wednesday, see Mr Vella for more details.

Princethorpe’s pupils joined in the celebration of all things poetical on National Poetry Day. Held this year on Thursday 6 October, the College's English department encouraged everyone to make, experience and share poetry with a series of different activities that allowed pupils to express themselves in rhyme and verse.

Year 7 English classes enjoyed poetry karaoke sessions, writing an extra stanza for the poem We Don’t Have to Give Up Hope by Nicola Davies and then reading their verses out. Tutor groups joined in, with different activities linked to the theme for the day, the Environment. In the Library there was a poetry display and pupils were encouraged to take part in a poetry competition, writing their own poem about the environment.

Poetry can unlock imaginations and help children be creative and here at Princethorpe, on National Poetry Day, everyone joined in and had a little bit of poetry fun.

Every year the PTA organises an event to welcome new parents and their children to the school. This year, due to the event being cancelled last year, both Year 7 and Year 8 parents were warmly welcomed to Princethorpe to take on the Headmaster’s Quiz.

On offer was a challenging mental workout accompanied by a sumptuous curry supper, kindly prepared by the catering team. Both events opened with the very testing question, ‘Which house is your child in?’ and, only when answered correctly, could parents then collect their supper from the kitchen and drinks from the PTA cash and card bar.

Then, while the children enjoyed their social, organised by House Activities Leader, Jess Newborough and her team. Mr Hester put the parents through their paces with rounds including Sport, History, Maths, Films and Celebrities, as well as a special round dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. With all important house points up for grabs each round was hotly contested, though everyone had lots of fun and laughter along the way.

Many thanks to the PTA for organising such successful events, to our Holroyd Howe catering team for the super food, to all the College staff who assisted and to all the parents for participating so enthusiastically. The evenings were both huge successes raising an amazing total of £753.07.

Money raised by the PTA is used for the enrichment of pupils attending Princethorpe College so do look out for their next event! The PTA can now accept payment using a Credit Card.

If you want to support fundraising for the school, please note the PTA is registered with Easy Fundraising, so why not sign up to support the PTA. You can find out more here:

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/princethorpecollegepta

This year's Sixth Form Open Evening took place on Wednesday 12 October. It was an ideal opportunity for Year 11 pupils to discover what Princethorpe’s Sixth Form has to offer. Over the course of the evening some 127 internal and external applicants and their parents toured the school, visiting the various A-level departments, meeting staff and current Sixth Formers and hearing more about subjects and the exciting enrichment and co-curricular opportunities here at Princethorpe. With over 30 different courses available there was plenty to choose from.

Headmaster, Ed Hester, gave a series of short overview presentations and it was great to see the school so full of parents and prospective pupils. Excellent academic results are of course a vital feature of any Sixth Form provision, but Mr Hester talked about the College’s family ethos, the focus on adding value for the individual and supporting students to achieve their personal best. He also spoke about Princethorpe's strengths, such as the dedicated Careers team and the enrichment opportunities, that add so much value to students’ future university, apprenticeship or employment applications.

As always the evening was very busy with plenty of interest being shown across the subjects. Sixth Formers acted as tour guides for our external visitors and talked enthusiastically about their experiences.

Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie reminded everybody, “The next stage is to decide on the subjects you might wish to study, as a rule of thumb you should focus on the subjects you enjoy and are doing well in. Current Year 11s will be well supported throughout the process.”

External candidates now have the opportunity to join us for Sixth Form Taster Days in either December or January. More information on these days is available from the Registrars at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

For anyone who was unable to make Wednesday's Sixth Form Open Evening, information packs and links to recordings of the presentations will be shared.

This year Princethorpe’s Chaplaincy Team has again supported the St Anne's, Wappenbury, Parish Shoe Box Appeal, to provide gifts for children overseas who would not otherwise receive a Christmas present.

A grand total of 101 boxes have been assembled and will be delivered to the local co-ordinator, ready to bring happiness and joy at this special time of the year. They were packed full of little gifts and included educational and hygiene essentials such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, paper and pens, every day, ordinary items to us but of great value to those who receive the gift.

The boxes will be distributed by Teams4U and will be given to a vulnerable child, or family, through schools, nurseries, hospitals and orphanages. T4U share the shoeboxes through relationships with local communities as part of a long-term commitment to their children. They also provide financing for pre-school programmes to support education and development.

Our thanks go to all the pupils, parents and staff who have donated to the appeal and our Year 11 pupils Jack Dando, Louise Gambling, Isaac Kirby, Alex Mold, Genevieve Slater-Tucker, Tom Smith and Jemima Teeton and Year 8 pupils Isabella Kay and Emily Knight for so ably supporting the appeal by assembling, sorting and packing the boxes.