The Flagpole

Time flies when you are having fun, but never have seven weeks flown by so quickly. It is hard to believe we have completed the first half-term and only four school weeks lie between us and the Easter Holidays. This has been a half-term filled with so many exciting highlights.

The Addams Family completed its run of six shows on Saturday evening with another fantastic performance. Special mention must go to Mr Cowlishaw and Ms Newborough who have spent hours with our pupils in rehearsals - a big thank you and well done to every pupil and member of staff who was involved. Seeing the talent on display was inspiring and testament to our performers, as putting on a production of that quality during a remarkably busy term requires dedication, resilience, and a very positive attitude. We are all looking forward to next year.

I passionately believe that the best schools have the best teachers, and this half-term has seen us recruit some very strong new colleagues who will be joining us in September. The mix of experience, expertise, and enthusiasm joining Princethorpe will add a lot of value to our already strong teaching body. I am especially excited to announce that Mrs Pascoe-Williams has been appointed as our new Head of English, following a recruitment process of the highest quality. I would also like to extend our thanks to Mrs Ingram who is leaving us following the return of Mrs Parsons from maternity leave. Her dedication and impact in the classroom will be missed and we wish her well.

Below is a list of colleagues joining this term:

• Head of Finance: Claire Alcock, starts 01.03.23
• Head Librarian: Nicola Treadwell, starts 06.03.23
• Examinations Officer: Sarah Tsang, starts 08.03.23
• Teacher of Mathematics (maternity cover), Alan Harris, starts 24.04.23

And for the new academic year:

• Head of History: Adelaide Fretwell, starts September 2023
• Teachers of English: Jo Evans and Lydia Petrucci, start September 2023 

I have been asked on many occasions what drew me to Princethorpe and I always reference the Heads of School team who interviewed me. The strong characters and well-rounded young people I met made such a good impression. They provided one of the most challenging and enjoyable experiences during the interview process. I loved their insight, enthusiasm, and passion for the College. It was, therefore, a great privilege to appoint my first group of Heads of School, following a comprehensive process led by Mr Collie and the Sixth Form Team. This included letters of application, presentations, a task day, and interviews. This process continues, as we will be interviewing for the remainder of the Prefect Body after half-term. However, I am delighted to formally announce the new team as:

Heads of School:

• Izzy Wright
• Natalya Elden

Deputy Heads of School:

• Tom Lomas
• Connor Silvester
• Alice Whittaker
• Radley Evans

We started this half-term with mock examinations, and it will be the same after the break. With less than forty teaching days left before the end of year exams, we wish all our Year 11 and Upper Sixth pupils the best of luck with their preparations. I would say make every day count and use this opportunity to prepare for the summer. One of the most exciting things I have done this term was to conduct our internal Sixth Form scholarship interviews. I have met with well over forty Year 11 pupils and it was an incredible window into the broad, interesting, and inspiring lives of our Princethorpe students. Please be assured when I say that our future is in safe hands as we have remarkable young people who attend Princethorpe. It was also encouraging to see the strength and number of external candidates who are looking to join our Sixth Form in September 2023.

Personally, I have learnt so much more about Princethorpe College during the past number of weeks. It was good to attend the Catholic Independent School’s Conference with Mr Hester in Harrogate, to better understand the Catholic foundation of the College. We had very positive conversations about Independent Catholic Education and the role we, as a school, can play moving forward. I also want to thank the many parents I have met for your support, kind words, and positivity. My head is spinning a little less and even though I am looking forward to a short break, it will provide a valuable opportunity to take stock and plan ahead. This includes engaging with parental focus groups and acting on feedback from the parental questionnaires which are both in process.

Finally, next half-term is only four weeks, so it will be short and busy. Can I request the normal checks on uniform, ensuring your child is still compliant with all uniform requirements? Can I also request a quick look through the calendar to ensure families are ready for the many events coming up in a short period of time, especially the Careers Fair for those in Years 10 upwards, see the article in the News section and emails sent home today. I hope you all have a restful break.

With my very best wishes.

Grove du Toit
Headmaster

Registrations for the College’s Careers Fair 2023 are now officially open.

The Careers Fair will take place on Saturday 18 March from 9.00am to 1.00pm and will provide a wealth of information, guidance and advice on careers and universities.

OP Felicity Hannah, a financial journalist, currently presenting Radio 4’s Money Box and the Green Money Show and Wake Up To Money on Radio 5 Live, will give two keynote addresses over the course of the morning and in addition to three career/university speaker sessions, attendees will also be able to visit the Exhibition part of the Fair in the Sixth Form Centre.  Light refreshments will be available.

Pupils in Years 10 to Sixth Form should register now and select the three sessions they would like to attend, plus a reserve choice. To help with your decision making you should refer to the Advice For Choosing Talks here and Speakers Biographies and Talk Topics here. We would like pupils and students to be accompanied by a parent or parents to the event, so conversations can continue afterwards. Attendees will receive a personalised timetable upon arrival on the day.

Once you are ready to register click on this link to complete the online booking form. The deadline for registering is Wednesday 1 March 2023.

The format of the day will be as follows:

• 8.30am - 9.00am - Registration in Limes for parents and pupils – refreshments available 
• 9.10am - 9.40am - Session 1 
• Walk
• 9.55am - 10.25am - Session 2 including Keynote
• Walk
• 10.35am - 11.05am - Session 3
• Walk
• 11.20am - 11.50am - Session 4 including Keynote
• Walk
• 12.00pm - 12.30pm - Session 5
• 12.30pm - 1.00pm - Exhibition remains open

A wide range of speakers and organisations will be on hand to offer advice and guidance on careers, universities and apprenticeships. We have representatives from organisations as diverse as the Police and Armed Forces to Price Waterhouse Coopers, Lotus Cars and J P Morgan giving presentations, and universities from across the country, such as Cardiff, Sheffield, Plymouth and nearer to home Warwick, with stalls in the exhibition part of the Fair.

Comments, Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, "The event will be a unique experience and will enable our pupils and students to gain a real insight into the work of work and further study, thus helping them prepare for important decisions that they will need to make over the next few years at Princethorpe and beyond."

For the second year running, College Sixth Formers have won the local Youth Speaks competition, the Rotary Club’s well-respected public speaking challenge. The Princethorpe students, Charlotte Frost, Eloise Keil and Tom Lomas saw off stiff competition from teams of pupils from other local schools in the local round held in Warwick on Wednesday 15 February.

Youth Speaks requires a team of three students to stand up and deliver a speech on a subject of their choice. It provides a great opportunity for young people to develop the ability to speak on a public platform, carry out research and formulate ideas, improve their self-confidence and presentation skills, and work together as a team. The structure of the event makes for an entertaining and diverting session where the students not only have to present clearly, but also spontaneously respond.

The team debated the motion ‘This House believes that Valentine's Day is nothing more than a commercial enterprise.’ Eloise spoke in favour and Tom spoke against while Charlotte acted as Chairman. They were commended for their teamwork as all were equally strong. They received a very warm response from the audience who clearly enjoyed the lighter moments in the debate. They had prepared meticulously so they were able to speak largely from memory and were commended also on their projection and their diction.

The team were helped and supported by Head of English, Chris Kerrigan who commented, “They did extremely well as a result of many hours of dedicated practice in their own time. The organiser said it was one of the strongest teams they had seen. It was a tightly fought competition and they put in an outstanding effort.”

The team thoroughly enjoyed the evening and learned a lot from listening to the other teams who took part. They will now be going on to the next round of the competition in March.

As the construction of Princethorpe’s Science Centre approaches its one-year milestone, new Headmaster, Grove du Toit, visited the site for the first time to check on progress.

Mr du Toit was taken on a tour of the new building by Foundation Assistant Head and Project Manager, Alex Darkes, Trendgrey MD, Nick Henderson, and Trendgrey Site Agent, Kevin Wynne.

They explored the new laboratories, preparation areas, breakout and study spaces across both floors, they saw the main entrance that fronts on to The Lime Walk and the breakthrough points to The Limes building, they also walked up the far side of the building to the site of the new tennis courts. Mr du Toit commented on the space and size of the laboratories and learning areas and their stunning views. He was particularly impressed to see how all the construction work was going on with minimal disruption to the day-to-day life of the school.

Mr du Toit said, “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the construction site today. Our brand new Science Centre is going to be amazing, offering cutting-edge teaching and learning facilities for Princethorpe’s pupils. It will transform the whole campus and put Science study at the heart of our school, and I know it will inspire generations of Princethorpe scientists to come.”

The Science Centre is on schedule to open its doors for teaching in September 2023, it will have 1,800sq m of floor space and 10 laboratories spread over two floors. As work internally moves apace, soon the site office will be relocated and the last remaining portacabin will be removed to allow landscaping in front of the Centre to begin.

Following a rigorous selection process Princethorpe College is delighted to announce that next year’s senior prefects have been chosen. Our congratulations go to Natalya Elden and Izzy Wright who will be Princethorpe’s new Heads of School. Working closely alongside Natalya and Izzy, will be Radley Evans, Tom Lomas, Connor Silvester and Alice Whittaker who have all been appointed as Deputies.

The positions of Heads of School are the most senior student roles in the College, they are the leaders of our pupil community and provide an important link between pupils and staff. Our new senior prefects were appointed after taking part in a series of tasks and presentations and an interview with Headmaster, Grove du Toit, and Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie.

Reacting to the news of their appointment, the Senior Prefects said, "We are thrilled about our appointments and look forward to serving and representing the student body to the greatest of our abilities."

The full Prefect team and Subject Ambassadors will be announced shortly, the Prefect Inauguration will take place on the last day of term, Friday 24 March, and they will begin their new roles after the Easter break.

All our Sixth Formers play an ambassadorial role within the school and at high profile public events such as Open Days and Entrance Exams, led by the Prefect team they act as important role models for the wider school community.

Our College production of The Addams Family - School Edition was just amazing. The Clarkson theatre was filled with humour and haunts galore as our talented cast of pupils, from Year 7 right up to Sixth Form, brought this legendary, quirky family to life.

We met the ultimate princess of darkness Wednesday Addams, all grown up and with a shocking secret that only her father, the suave Gomez, knows. She's fallen in love with a sweet young girl from a very respectable family. With the enchanting Morticia still in the dark, the two families meet for a fateful dinner with hilarious consequences.

For six performances we joined them, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Pugsley and more for a heart-warming story of love, family and friendship in this creepy but charming tale. It was spectacular, full of vibrant energy and enthusiasm and we are all still clicking our fingers and humming along to the songs after what was a most entertaining and enjoyable show.

Congratulations to everyone involved, on stage and behind the scenes and especially to the Directors, Mr Cowlishaw and Ms Newborough. We just can't wait to find out what their plans are for next year!

This term pupils in Year 11 have put their physics skills to the test in the British Physics Olympiad Intermediate Online challenge. Consisting of two sets of multiple-choice questions, the challenge goes well beyond the standard curriculum and is a valuable enrichment experience for pupils.

Alongside over 5,000 pupils from 179 schools, our top Year 11 physicists tackled the online challenge with enthusiasm building their confidence, understanding and problem-solving prowess. Their results were excellent with five pupils awarded Silver, Thomas Smith, Jack Fleming, Connor Smith, Freddie Dalton and Louise Gambling, who achieved the best score. Four pupils received Bronze Awards, Giorgio Kleinmann, Jemima Teeton, Lampros Papadogiannakis and Jack Dando.

Head of Physics, Dan Lee, commented, “The British Physics Olympiad Challenges are well respected tests. They encourage participants to approach problems with an open mind, taking the principles of Physics and applying their learning to the real world. Our pupils all did very well, congratulations to them all.”

The written Physics Challenge for Year 11 takes place later this year, which will allow our top physicists another chance to tackle a challenging written Physics paper.

The College’s Netball teams are having a super season with plenty of high scoring matches across the squads. Their commitment to training is paying dividends and keeping the coaches very happy.

This term the teams have delivered super performances playing with tenacity and drive in their weekly block fixture games. Across the age groups they have racked up win after win against teams from local schools. The girls have taken on Kimbolton School, Lutterworth High, Leicester Grammar, Loughborough High, Kingsley, Bloxham, King Edwards High School and Bablake and King Henry’s, and the results have been good.

The U13s and U14s have also had excellent outings in their recent ISA Midlands tournaments at Loughborough High School.

The U14s got their tournament off to a great start on Friday 27 January, with a 30-0 win in their first game against Highclare School. They went on to beat Stafford Grammar and RGS convincingly before losing to Kings High School 14-7. As group runners up they qualified for the play-offs. There they first faced Kingsley in their semi-final where they won with a big goal difference qualifying for the final against Kings High once again. A resilient Princethorpe team played a much better match despite missing a shooter who had picked up an injury in the semis. In a very tight and fast game the girls played excellent netball only missing out on the top spot by two goals. They finished as overall tournament runners up. Well done to them all.

The U13s ISA tournament took place on Friday 3 February. They worked just as hard and were unbeaten in the group stages, seeing off Stafford Grammar 7-0, Birchfield School 12-0, Highclare School 14-0, Pitsford School 12-0, Tettenhall College 11-1 and Kingsley 9-1. They qualified for the play offs as group winners where the determined team managed to secure wins in the quarter finals against Bedstone 14-1 and in the semi-finals versus Loughborough High 6-2. They also faced King's High in the final where despite communicating and playing well, they went down 10-5 to finish as tournament runners up. Another good result, congratulations to them all.

Head of Girls' Games, Jen Law, said, “Things are looking very strong for Netball this season. Commitment is high across the year groups, the practice courts are full after school and I am delighted that the players’ dedication and hard work is being rewarded.”

Princethorpe College took two teams to compete in the Mid and South Warwickshire SFA U18 Small Sided Cup held at North Leamington School on Wednesday 15 February.

The two teams were a mixture of 1st and 2nd team players but on this occasion, they were separated by age. There was one Sixth Form team and one U16 team who were pitted in two different groups. Both teams won their respective groups and consequently met in the final.

Of course, that meant the final was a full bodied, high intensity game with both sets of players giving their all and playing some superb free flowing football. The decisive and winning goal came from Joel Nicoll and the game ended 1-0, with the U16 team taking the win. Calan Byrne was player of the tournament for the U16 winning team.

It was great to see such fantastic football, well done to them all.

Our U15 and U13 Girls' Football teams have played Kenilworth School in their first competitive matches ever. The U15s played away at Kenilworth last Wednesday 8 February, then this week it was the turn of the U13s to take on Kenilworth’s talented girls.

The players were all delighted to put on their boots and head out to the fields to show off their footballing prowess demonstrating a brilliant attitude throughout and determination and skill as they took their opponents on.

The U15s lost 6-0 to a very good Kenilworth side but hit the post and held their own in the second half after being 5-0 down at half-time. Their ability to bounce back after conceding a goal impressing their coach. Player of the match was Annabel Leigh.

The U13 A and B teams played a mixture of games against Kenilworth’s A, B and C sides and they all did really well. The U13As won one, drew one and lost won with Hattie Sarkies scoring an excellent goal. Player of the day was Darcey Wolsey. The U13B team drew one and lost two, well done to goal scorer Ruth Oritsejafor and player of the day Clea Roach.

All the girls really enjoyed their matches, definitely improving as a team, and they all represented their school fantastically.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, said “Our girls’ football programme began back in the summer when we had coaches from Long Itchington Ladies come into school to deliver sessions to the girls. It is great to now have girls playing competitive fixtures. There is plenty to build on here as we continue to develop our girls' football provision and we look forward to building a fixture programme, entering the local league and then cup competitions.”

Many congratulations to Year 9 pupil, Sophie Henry, who cooked up a storm in the Springboard Futurechef Regional Final on Monday 6 February at Stoke-on-Trent College.

Before the event, Sophie prepared thoroughly putting a lot of time into menu planning and practising her dishes. She was the youngest competitor in the Regional Final and the food she produced was of the highest standard and beautifully presented. Sophie prepared creamy mushroom tagliatelle with a rocket salad and an apricot and almond torte with a cream quenelle.

Teacher of Food Technology, Jacqui Scott, said, “I am extremely proud of Sophie, she did brilliantly. She was awarded a cook book for being the cook’s choice and she received really positive feedback from the judges.”

Sophie also received her own embroidered set of chef’s whites. A huge well done to Sophie, she clearly has the makings of a master chef.

Ten of Princethorpe's finest physicists competed in this year’s online Senior Physics Challenge alongside over 5,500 pupils from 290 schools across the UK.

The Sixth Form students completed two multiple choice tests, each with 20 challenging and diverse questions. Head of Physics, Dan Lee, was delighted with their results commenting, “The British Physics Olympiad Challenges are well respected tests. Our students all did very well, congratulations to them all.”

Well done to Zak Abba, Jack Grindal, Andy Wills, Archy Walker and Jake Lambert for achieving the Bronze Award; Emma Sarkies and Oliver Llewellyn for achieving the Silver Award and a special mention to Chris Lock, Alex Flegg and Joseph Newborough, who all achieved the highest accolade of Gold.

This week, Sixth Form Art and Photography students visited the Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to provide the students with an important opportunity to develop their ideas and inspirations as they start to prepare for their summer A-level examinations.

The students studied a wide-range of contemporary artwork and exhibitions, taking photos and sketching from observation. It was enjoyable and informative day covering many miles of galleries at the museums.

Head of Art, Paul Hubball added, “It was a very productive day out for the students. The trip was stimulating and inspiring, and they all have lots to assimilate now. It was really useful preparation for their upcoming externally set task for their A-level examinations.”

The British Army STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) outreach team visited Princethorpe College again this week to deliver a series of workshops to Year 9 pupils.

The curriculum aligned interactive workshops gave pupils a chance to test their critical thinking, teamwork, perseverance, and leadership skills to overcome real-world challenges.

Pupils participated in ‘Disaster Relief’, the scene was set with a video of the 2005 earthquake that devastated Kathmandu, Nepal. Pupils’ task was to provide much needed humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the natural disaster and required the teams to build a Lego Mindstorms robot (with no instructions) from scratch, programme it and use it to locate people trapped beneath the rubble caused by the earthquake.

The second workshop, ‘Who’s the Hacker?’ challenged pupils to solve a puzzle using mathematical skill and logic. The teams had to plot co-ordinates of mobile phone masts on a map, use the range of each mast to determine who used their phones where and when, decipher codes to read encrypted messages, eliminate suspects and use evidence to deduce who the hacker was.

The third workshop, ‘Rocket Car’ introduced the Bloodhound Land Speed Record attempt, pupils learnt about rocket cars, and the foundational STEM principles behind them before moving on to the challenge of working in teams to design, build and launch their own rocket cars made out of a foam block, axels and wheels. They even assembled the rocket cartridges and were able to record real-time data such as their car's speed for analysis.

Year 9 engaged brilliantly with all the activities, showing their competitive sides whilst being creative and working outside of their comfort zones. Pupils were enthusiastic in the sessions learning a lot. Thank you to British Army STEM team for coming to join us and to all the staff who were involved in the organisation and delivery of the two-day event.

On Tuesday 7 February, Princethorpe College hosted its first successful networking event for families past and present, who work in the farming and agribusiness sector. The evening was designed to bring farming professionals together, foster new connections, exchange ideas, build relationships and allow attendees to explore potential business opportunities.

During the evening the attendees heard from Jules Mold on the diversification of her and husband David’s farming exploits Meadow Field Glamping, as well as from Dr Mathias Foo from the University of Warwick who spoke about his research into the use of light in agricultural practice. Both sessions were fascinating and informing and prompted many conversations.

The evening event was a great success, providing valuable opportunities for attendees to connect and learn from each other.

Steve Kowal, Development Director, said: “We would like to thank all our farming visitors and speakers for their participation and support in making the evening a success. We look forward to continuing to engage with the farming sector and building enduring and mutually beneficial relationships that support both our continued success”.

OP and former Crackley Hall pupil, Toby Lee has been in touch to share the exciting news that he has reached the final five nominees for the 'UK Young Blues Artist Of The Year' in the 2023 UK Blues Awards.

Voting is open for the awards until Sunday 19 February, and it would be wonderful if our Foundation community could support Toby. You can vote for him here: https://www.ukblues.org/. We wish him the very best of luck!

Toby attended Crackley Hall School from 2014 to 2016 and then Princethorpe College until 2017. Dubbed a future superstar of the blues by Joe Bonamassa, Toby boasts an impressive musical CV.

In 2016 he was cast as Zack Mooneyham in the West End production of School of Rock the Musical for which he subsequently won an Olivier Award for 'Outstanding Achievement in Music'.

He has appeared on many TV shows around the world including TFI Friday twice, Little Big Shots USA, Spain and the UK, Comic Relief, Michael McIntyre, The X Factor, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Blue Peter and Tonight at the London Palladium where he performed with McFly.

Toby has shared the stage with a host of stars including Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Peter Frampton, Slash, Lukas Nelson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and has appeared alongside his hero, Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall.

Toby is off on tour soon. He is playing locally in Leamington in March, but the tickets for the gig have sadly already sold out. He is also playing at the UK Blues Awards in London in April.

You can find out more here: www.toby-lee.com

109 Sixth Formers, 19 professionals and one day, Tuesday 7 February, came together to make for a very successful Sixth Form Interview Skills Day. Designed to perfect their interview technique, sharpen communication skills, presentational qualities and the ability to respond to feedback, during the day the College's Lower Sixth students have each taken part in a formal interview.

Taking the role of interviewer were senior professionals from a variety of different business backgrounds. All were past or present parents, or friends of the College, with years of interviewing experience out in the working world.

In readiness for their one-to-one interviews, students had submitted their curriculum vitaes to be scrutinised beforehand. Exactly like in a real interview these documents formed the basis of questions that were discussed. Then at the end of the interview the professionals provided valuable feedback with constructive suggestions for improvement.

Feedback was very positive with many of the interviewers commenting on how impressed they were with the College's Lower Sixth students, and the students equally delighted and impressed with the suggestions and support received.

Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, commented, “Our Lower Sixth were encouraged to prepare well for these interviews. Our aim was to provide them with a head start in developing their interview technique. It was an extremely important day for them all as they face the looming reality of university and workplace interviews. The skills practised today will benefit all of our students and we are immensely grateful to the volunteer interviewers who have given up their time to help us today.”

Individual red and white carnations were distributed to classrooms across the College on Tuesday 14 February in celebration of St Valentine’s Day.

In recent weeks Princethorpe’s Sixth Form students had been busy promoting the charity fundraiser in aid of the MS Society. On Monday afternoon, Princethorpe’s very own Cupids, began preparing the flowers, delicately wrapping and handwriting personal messages for the anonymous gifts, ready for the surprise deliveries. There were red carnations for that special someone and white carnations as a thank you to a great friend.

This year the Sixth Formers have raised over £150, all of which will be donated to support the charity in its work.

We had a great day of swimming at the Warwick School U12 and U13 Swimming Gala on Thursday 2 February, with double gold medals for Charlotte, Issey and Stephanie. The U12 Girls team swam brilliantly to win their competition and the U12 and U13 girls took first place overall in the girls’ competition. A fantastic result. Well done to them all!

The latest issue of The Old Princethorpian, the Princethorpe Foundation’s termly e-newsletter for past pupils, staff and parents, old and new, has just been published and was mailed out over last weekend. 

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.

Coming up soon is our popular Pub Meet at The Royal Pug, in Leamington, on Friday 10 March. Full details of all OP events can be found in the Events section on Princethorpe Connect here: connect.princethorpe.co.uk/events

We hope our alumni enjoy reading the newsletter and finding out what is going on in the alumni community. The next edition will be published in May.

You can read the newsletter here: www.oldprincethorpian.co.uk

Thursday 2 March 2023

To celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 2 March, all classes will be committing to DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). This will take place during Period 6 on that day between 3.15-3.45pm when all pupils and staff will be involved in an active reading activity such as silent personal reading or guided reading as a group. Pupils should therefore bring a reading book into school that day to be ready to take part. 

We know that reading is good for us as it improves our literacy and broadens our knowledge, but it's good for our health and wellbeing too. So, on World Book Day we encourage you all (parents, pupils and staff alike) to pick up a book and read!

Saturday 4 March 2023 - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Crackley Hall and Little Crackers, Princethorpe's prep school and nursery in Kenilworth, are opening their doors for a Spring Open Morning on Saturday 4 March from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Mr Duigan, the Headmaster, will deliver two short presentations at 10.45am and 11.45am, staff will be available to talk to prospective parents, current pupils will be performing music and participating in sports activities. There will also be a fun activity trail through the school for visiting children.

This is a great opportunity for prospective families to look around Little Crackers Nursery and Crackley Hall School and meet key members of staff. The school will come alive with musical performances and sport in action as well as an activity trail around the school for visiting children. 

Come and find out more about what a Crackley education can do for your child book your place here. 

In terms of availability, we have limited places in current Year 4 (Year 5 for September 2023) and we are still accepting registrations for Reception and Year 3 for 2023. 

If you would like more information or details on specific year group availability, please call Jenny Vaughan, our Admissions Secretary on 01926 514410 or email admissions@crackleyhall.co.uk.

For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk.

Friday 10 March 2023- 6.30pm to 10.30pm

The OPs annual Local Meet takes place on Friday 10 March 2023. We are moving back to Leamington Spa and will be meeting in the upstairs function room at The Royal Pug, 141 Regent Street, Leamington Spa, CV32 4NX.

Our local meets are usually very popular, so we are hoping for a really good turnout of OPs from across the decades to attend, plus a few former members of staff.

There will be the customary welcome drink or two and the OPs Commitee will be laying on some delicious food, so do let us know if you would like to attend by going to Princethorpe Connect and clicking on the "Register for the event" button.

Partners and friends are most welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!

Saturday 11 March 2023 - 10.00am to 12.00pm

The Crescent School, Princethorpe's prep school in Rugby, is opening its doors to prospective and current parents and pupils for a Spring Open Morning on Saturday 11 March 2023 from 10.00am to 12.00pm. 

This is a perfect opportunity to come and have a look around the school, meet key members of staff and to find out why the school has been awarded excellent in all areas by the ISI in their recent inspection. 

Families are invited to book on to one of two sessions, 10.00am and 11.00am. After a short welcome presentation by Mr Thackway, Headmaster, you will be guided around the school where you will be able to watch sporting displays and listen to instrumental performances; there will also be the opportunity to visit classrooms and children can participate in an activity trail. 

To book your place please click here.

In terms of availability, Reception and Year 3 for 2023 entry are now full, with a waiting group available. We are also operating waiting groups in most other years apart from our current Year 1 class (Year 2 for September 2023 entry). We are now taking registrations for Reception and Year 3 entry in 2024 and beyond. 

For more information about availability or about the Open Morning please call Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 523851 or email admissions@crescentschool.co.uk.

Alternatively please visit our website www.crescentschool.co.uk for more information.

Tuesday 14 March 2023 - 10.30am to 12.30pm

The College's Open Morning will give prospective families a chance to visit the school on a normal working day, with Year 8 and 9 pupils acting as tour guides. The Leadership and Admissions Teams will be available to answer any questions visitors might have. Light refreshments will be available.

All are welcome, please book your place by clicking here.

Entrance Examinations Day for September 2024 entry will take place on Saturday 11 November 2023 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. The deadline for registrations, scholarship and bursary applications is Friday 29 September 2023.

If you have any questions please contact the Admissions Team on 01926 643201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Tuesday 14 March – 6.15pm

We are delighted to welcome parents and friends to this informal evening where you will have the opportunity to see our more advanced LAMDA students perform some of their examination pieces. Please note that the material is age appropriate and may not be suitable for very young audience members.

Please click here in order to book tickets through My School Portal. Refreshments will be served after the performance when our LAMDA teachers look forward to meeting you.

Individual performers will be contacted directly through their LAMDA teacher. 

Kathy Buckingham-Underhill
LAMDA Co-ordinator

Friday 17 March 2023

Can’t make it to Cheltenham this year? Then the PTA invite you and your friends to come along to school on Friday 17 March at 7.00pm and enjoy the Craic of the races at our inaugural St Patrick’s day Race Night!

Tickets cost £10 each and includes a hearty Irish meal, pudding, and racing slips! As always, our popular bar will be open with a variety of drinks including Guinness!

Please click here to request tickets, the cost of which will be added to the Trinity term bill.

We look forward to see you there!

Wednesday 22 March - 7.00pm

At our January meeting we spoke about both The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje and The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. Certainly it would be hard to find two novels that are more different than these. We all enjoyed The English Patient but agreed this made quite heavy demands upon the reader, with its time shifts, differing perspectives and mysteries – but it is without doubt a highly evocative portrayal of disparate lives and settings that come together in strange and difficult circumstances. The Reading List is a much less ambitious read – quite heartening nevertheless, but perhaps a little glib in its handling of some fairly dark themes.

Our next meeting will be in the library at 7.00pm on Wednesday 22 March. On that occasion we will be discussing Proust and the Squid – the Science of Reading as a non-fiction choice and also The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, a modern classic that inspired a wonderful film. Do join us if you can. We always welcome new faces and are always open to new reading ideas and suggestions. 

Tuesday 28 February - 4.00pm

We warmly welcome you to an informal evening of scripted and devised work from KS4 and KS5 Drama and Theatre Studies pupils.

Our Year 11s are busy in the throes of preparing their two extracts for their GCSE exam the week after and Year 10 and Lower Sixth will be presenting their original devised pieces.

Please come and support them as they would love to hear your feedback.

Please note that this evening is recommended for 14+ as there are themes and language of strong content.

Tickets are not required for this event, but to help us cater efficiently please reserve places by clicking here to book through My School Portal, no later than Friday 24 February.

Aileen Cefaleillo and Vicky Roberts
Joint Heads of Drama

The Year 11 Subject Progress Evening will take place online on Wednesday 15 March 2023 from 5.00pm to 8.30pm. Details of how to book appointments will be emailed week commencing 6 March.

January Exam Season

Exam results for the IGCSE Maths candidates will be distributed to pupils on 2 March 2023 during morning break and will be published to the pupil and parent portals at 12.00 noon.

Exam results for the BTEC Level 3 candidates will be distributed to pupils on 23 March 2023 by the end of morning break and will be published to the pupil and parent portals at 12 noon.

Summer Exam Season

Pupils have confirmed their exam entries for the summer, and these have been forwarded to the exam boards. Pupils have been given their personal exam timetable and a copy of the Candidate Handbook – it is important that they are familiar will all the information it contains; a copy can be viewed here. Timetables and, nearer the time, allocated rooms can be viewed on the pupil and parent portals.

A few pupils have exam clashes, and these will be resolved after the half term break. A clash of exams occurs when two exams for different subjects are timetabled to start at the same time on the same day. Where two exams for the same subject are timetabled to start at the same time on the same day, they will be taken one after the other. This applies to IGCSE French, IGCSE Spanish and A-level Maths.

Shellagh Dodds
Examination and Assessment Manager

As we enter the run up to the second set of mocks and the GCSE exam period, I would like to remind parents that the College subscribes to GCSEPod, an online content and revision provider to support GCSE revision. GCSEPod can support the effort, systems and practice elements of the VESPA model, providing tailored content to help your child revise.

As a subscriber, your child has access to GCSEPod’s library of over 6,000 ‘Pods,’ 3-5 minute videos designed to deliver knowledge in short bursts. GCSEPod makes learning and revision much more manageable: every Pod is mapped to an exam board, and contains all the right facts, quotes, keywords, dates and annotated diagrams that your child needs for GCSE success – all neatly organised into topics and exam playlists.

This short video is a great introduction to the platform for parents. For more ways to support your child using GCSEPod, please visit www.gcsepod.com/parents where you’ll find lots more information and resources. There are also parent and student webinars you can book onto, on revision techniques and exam readiness using GCSEPod, on the link here: GCSEPOD Webinars

One of the best things about GCSEPod is that your child can download any Pod to their mobile device, and then they can watch them at any time, in any place, with or without internet. It’s like they’re carrying a whole set of textbooks in their pocket! Make sure they download the GCSEPod app from the App Store (Apple and Android are supported) to access this feature.

All Year 11 pupils recently had a reminder of how to use GCSEPod as part of their PSHE lessons, but the platform is available to pupils in all year groups. Your child can also access a helpful video on how to use GCSEPod to revise for exams on this link (pupils will need to be logged into their school account to access this video).

All pupils have already been registered with GCSEPod through their school account. If you child has already activated their account they can login using the ‘Sign in with Office365’ button, using their Princethorpe email address and password.

If they haven’t used GCSEPod before they just need to activate their account by going to www.gcsepod.com and clicking “Login” in the top right-hand corner, then following the instructions below:

1)      Click “New here?  Get started.”

2)      Select “Student”

3)      Enter their name, date of birth and the school name.

4)      Create a username, password, and a password hint to help them remember the password.

Once the account is activated they can login using the ‘Sign in with Office365’ button, using their Princethorpe email address and password.

If you have any questions regarding GCSEPod please don’t hesitate to contact me at andycompton@princethorpe.co.uk

Andy Compton
Assistant Head - Director of Digital Strategy

Christians begin their Lenten journey of forty days of prayer and fasting on Ash Wednesday, 22 February. The wearing of ashes, in the sign of the cross on their forehead, is a reminder that repentance is required in this life and to quote Genesis 3: 19 ‘For dust you are and on to dust you shall return.’  May our focus this Lent be a preparation for a refection on the last week in the life of Jesus and the triumph of His resurrection on Easter Sunday.

A prayer for the season of Lent:

Gracious God, as a time of taking stock of my life begins, help me to reflect on Your goodness to me.  May my acts of kindness which I undertake during this Lenten season help me to appreciate what I can so often take for granted: the love and tolerance of family; the joy and challenges of friendships and the knowledge of your abiding presence in my life. 

I remember especially in this season of Lent those known to me by name who have died.  May they now enjoy their eternal reward. 

Amen

Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC would like to invite you to participate in any or all of the services that will take place during the season of Lent.

Wednesday 22 February   
Ash Wednesday Mass            7.00pm St Anne's, Wappenbury

Thursday 6 April               
Maunday Thursday Mass       7.00pm Princethorpe College

Friday 7 April                 
Good Friday Service             3.00pm Princethorpe College

Sunday 9 April             
First Mass of Easter              8.30am St Anne's, Wappenbury
Mass of the Day                   10.30am Princethorpe College

If you would like further information about St Anne's, Wappenbury please use the link here.

The Immunisation Service were recently in school to offer pupils in Year 8 and 9 a HPV vaccination.

If your child missed this and you would like them to have the vaccination, appointments can be booked at a community clinic using the link below

https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/userlogin.php

Any queries please let us know via our email address at pcmatrons@princethorpe.co.uk.

Mrs Paula Greig
Senior Matron 

It is important that all pupils wear the correct uniform to school, which should fit the pupil properly too. Information regarding the College's correct uniform can be found in pupils' homework diaries and in the Information Booklet for Parents. In particular, please can you check your child has the correct footwear - Air Force 1 trainers are not permitted in school. 

Please could you ensure that your child comes to school wearing the correct uniform and games kit when they return after the half term break. Thank you for your continued support with this matter.

Mrs Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Please can I take this opportunity to ask parents, over the holidays, to remind themselves of the school term dates which can be found here.

Parents are strongly discouraged from taking family holidays during term-time. Where prior approval is sought, the Headmaster may consider holiday absence. Parents are requested to apply in writing to the Headmaster for permission to remove children from school for holidays at least one month in advance of any potential trip.

Beth Sharpe  
Deputy Head - Pastoral

UCAS and Careers

Any questions about UCAS or careers related advice please contact Mrs Quinney directly by email at jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk.

Lower Sixth 

Please see the link here for a reminder of the Lower Sixth Journey and key events scheduled for this year, which was emailed to parents in September.

The Oxbridge and Medicine talks were held on Monday 13 February. 

Please follow the links below to view the presentations:

Oxbridge presentation

Medicine presentation

Upper Sixth 

Please see the link here for a reminder of the Upper Sixth Journey and key events scheduled for this year, which was emailed to parents in September.

Key Dates

Saturday 18 March - Careers Fair

Friday 24 March - Prefect Inauguration

Saturday 25 March - Prefect and Subject Ambassadors training

Thursday 29 June - Upper Sixth Thanksgiving Eucharist and Buffet Supper

Wednesday 5 July - Upper Sixth Leavers' Ball 

Best wishes

Ben Collie 
Head of Sixth Form 

As part of the fundraising for the Senior Sports Tour to South Africa this summer we will be selling refreshments on Saturdays before home sports fixtures begin.

Hot drinks and cakes will be available from the Tuckshop so please come and support. 

We are looking forward to reciprocating the fantastic experience our pupils received during our four night stay with the players from Hopbel Hockey club. The return dates are from Saturday 29 April through to Wednesday 3 May.

We are still in need of a number of hosts and would be grateful if you are able to help. Please complete the form here to register your interest in hosting, there is no need to do this again if you have already been in touch with the recruitment team. More information regarding hosting is detailed on the form.

Due to requisite safeguarding checks, all adults (members of the household aged 18 years old and over) within the household must hold an enhanced DBS certificate, to be sent for by the Princethorpe Foundation, even if they currently have a DBS certificate from another employer. If you are subscribed to the DBS Update Service, please do let us know.

Please see the attached document entitled ‘Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks’ for the ID documentation required.

Many thanks for your continued support of Princethorpe Sport and we hope that you can continue this by hosting some Dutch guests in April. 

Lee Cassell, Director of Sport

Please don’t forget that Princethorpe College PTA is registered with easyfundraising. So, even when we are not hosting fundraising events in school, we can still continue to raise free funds, at no extra cost to you.

When you shop via the easyfundraising website or app, with over 4,100 of your favourite retailers, including John Lewis & Partners, eBay, Amazon and many more, you will raise FREE donations for the school.  

If you’re not already registered, please visit our easyfundraising page here:

This will really make a difference to our school! Thank you for your support.

Our friendly PTA here at Princethorpe College are keen to welcome new members. 

By joining our PTA community, you are not committing to volunteer, but just to joining our community and if you do wish to volunteer you will receive emails when we require help to run our events.

For more information about the PTA and how to join please email pta@princethorpe.co.uk

Princethorpe PTA

Timetables for peripatetic music and LAMDA lessons for this term can be found on My School Portal, please follow the link here.

It is always great to hear about our pupils' successes that take place outside of school; please do keep us updated if your son or daughter has won a competition, is performing in a show or competing at a high level with a sporting team outside of school, we would love to hear more. 

We would like to invite parents to submit this information to us via a nomination form by clicking here so we might celebrate these achievements in school too.  Please note the deadline for this term's nominations is Friday, 24 February.

Neil McCollin
Assistant Head - Co-Curricular

Tuesday 28 February 6.15pm

An on-line information evening for parents of pupils going on the Modern Foreign Languages trip to Monpellier at Easter will take place on Tuesday 28 February at 6.15pm.

The link for the evening will be sent out next week.

Bérénice Galano
Trip Co-ordinator

From September 2023 the current Years 7 and 8 girls’ red jumpers will no longer be available in the School Shop as these are being phased out. Girls can continue to wear their red jumpers but green jumpers are now available from the school shop if they need a replacement jumper. 

By September 2024, all girls will be expected to wear a green jumper up to the end of Year 11.

Please note that half a term's notice is required if a pupil no longer needs to use the bus service provided by the school.

Parents wishing to give notice should contact Vectare by email princethorpe@vectare.co.uk.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

Please find below the updated Term Dates for 2022-23 and 2023-24

2022-23 (two page document) -  new Bank Holiday for the King's Coronation

2023 -2024 (two page document) - revised Prize Giving and PTA Christmas Fair dates

We would like to remind parents of some useful contact details.

To report a pupil absence please email attendance@princethorpe.co.uk or telephone the Attendance Line on 01926 634260.

For other enquiries please use the email addresses below:

Bus related queries - princethorpe@vectare.co.uk

School Shop - uniform@princethorpe.co.uk

Medical Centre - pcmatrons@princethorpe.co.uk

School fees -  accounts@princethorpe.co.uk

General enquiries - post@princethorpe.co.uk

Lost property - lostproperty@princethorpe.co.uk

Wisepay catering - cashless@princethorpe.co.uk

Email addresses for members of teaching staff can be found on My School Portal.

Please see below our current vacancies: 

Princethorpe College

• Teacher of PE and Girls' Games (maternity cover)
• Grounds Supervisor
• Admissions and Marketing Administrator
• AV and Theatre Technician

Crackley Hall

•  Aftercare Leader

Full details and how to apply are available via the following link: Join Us

Should you know anyone who might be interested in this post, please do share this information with them.