The Flagpole

Princethorpe College pupils and staff conquered the 30-metre-high Chapel tower in an epic fundraising abseil challenge on Wednesday 19 April. As part of a drive to raise funds to support their summer 2023 South Africa sporting tour, the pupils from Year 11 and the Sixth Form enthusiastically took on the once in a lifetime challenge.

In light wind and with the sunshine breaking through, there was nothing to hold back the 60 dare devil students and staff from tackling the descent. Under the supervision of outdoor education specialists, 10:10 Ventures, participants were kitted up in helmets and harnesses before being given their safety briefing. First over the top were Sixth Formers, Evie Phillips and Millie Giffin, who led the way effortlessly abseiling the 100-foot drop to cheers from waiting classmates on the ground below.

The last to descend were Headmaster, Grove du Toit, and Deputy Head Pastoral, Beth Sharpe, who ascended the tower at 5.30pm for their turn to climb over the parapets.

Head of Girls' Games, Jen Law, commented, “The South Africa tour is a major event in the Princethorpe Sporting calendar. We expect pupils to take responsibility for raising funds for the trip to support the community activities pupils participate in while on tour. The total raised will need to be tallied up but huge congratulations to all who braved the drop from Princethorpe's mighty tower.”

Designed to challenge and inspire, the UK Chemistry Olympiad is a national chemistry competition run by the Royal Society Of Chemistry. Hosted annually, it is aimed at students in the Sixth Form and offers a unique opportunity for chemistry students to develop their thinking and problem-solving skills and test their existing knowledge of chemistry in situations from the real-world.

The results of this year’s competition have now been received and our two Upper Sixth students who took part in the 2023 Chemistry Olympiad have both achieved certificates. William Gibson-Sexton was awarded a Silver certificate. Joshua Apaya was awarded a Bronze certificate (he was just three marks off a Silver). They faced tough national competition and we congratulate the Princethorpe pair on their excellent results.

The Easter holidays saw the successful start of this year’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition season with Princethorpe’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Group A participants completing their practice expeditions. Bronze Group B have their first taste of self-sufficient walking this weekend. Always a key part of the Award, the expeditions provide an unforgettable experience that develops team and leadership skills and builds independence and confidence.

From Tuesday 28 to Friday 31 March, 18 Gold students braved wet conditions in the Lake District spending three days of walking and camping. In teams they walked circular routes from Braithwaite to finish in Keswick camping at Borrowdale and Buttermere. Between them, along the way, they enjoyed the stunning views of fells such as Ard Crags, Knott Rigg, Rannerdale Knotts, Haystacks and Catbells.

Then at the end of the Easter holidays, Friday 14 to Sunday 16 April, 50 Silver pupils travelled to the White Peak, where they completed two days of walking and two nights of camping. They trekked from Mandale Farm near Bakewell following routes through beautiful Dovedale, the Manifold Way and along the Tissington Trail to Ilam Hall near Ashbourne and they all successfully completed their practice expedition.

To cap off this mammoth DofE effort, the same weekend the first of the group of 52 Bronze Award pupils also completed their practice expeditions in the local Princethorpe countryside, undertaking two days of walking and one night of camping, walking down to Long Itchington and back. Let’s hope they enjoyed their first expeditions, carrying all their own food and tents and getting to grips with the challenge of cooking your tea on a trangia!

Will Bower, Head of Outdoor Education, said, “Pupils worked hard showing good navigation and camp-craft skills and despite the sometimes challenging weather we had plenty of happy, tired faces at the end.”

All the pupils now need to start planning for their qualifying expeditions that take place later in the term; Gold in Snowdonia, Silver in the Dark Peak and Bronze in the Cotswolds.

And the very best of luck to the 48 Bronze Group B pupils on their practice expeditions.

Princethorpe College came together today, Friday 21 April to celebrate a School Eucharist. We gave thanks as we began the Trinity Term and reflected on the school Chaplaincy theme for the year of ‘Change’.

We remembered that the gift of Easter is one of ‘new life’ and of ‘the Resurrection of Jesus’ and learned how early Christians’ small acts of faith brought about a big change. We listened to readings from the Easter story and the Resurrection and joined together in prayers.

Father Alan Whelan MSC reminded us that as we all head into the Trinity Term, the small changes we make in how we work now can support our future success. Pupils then considered what one small change they could make that would make a big difference, recording their thoughts on a card.

Together as a community we prayed for the school, for our families and for all those in the world who need our prayers.

The Junior Ethos Prefects were presented with their badges by the Headmaster.

With thanks to Father Alan Whelan MSC and Father Teddy O’Brien MSC for leading us in our service.

On Sunday 2 April, a small group of Sixth Form students and staff took on the Coventry Way Challenge and walked an amazing 40 miles in just one day.

Their route circumnavigated the city of Coventry, starting in Meriden at 6.00am and walking through Kenilworth, Stoneleigh, Wolston, Brinklow, Bedworth and Corley Moor before finally returning to Meriden. After heavy rain the walking conditions were at times challenging, but they resiliently continued to put one foot in front of the other.

The superhuman team of walkers were raising funds to support our longstanding commitment to providing a daily meal in school to the children at Makalanga School in Malawi.

First over the line were Sam Allen and Ed Mitchell who completed the challenge in 12 hours and 20 minutes.

We are incredibly proud of them all. Please do consider supporting them. You can find out more information and donate here.

Huge thanks to all who walked or who was involved in supporting the walkers on the day.

During March, Princethorpe’s Lower Sixth physicists had their second opportunity to take part in the British Physics Olympiad Year 12 Senior Physics Challenge. Competing against over 6,000 pupils from almost 400 schools nationwide, the students sat a gruelling one hour long written paper, where none of the marks were easy to get.

Head of Physics, Dan Lee, was delighted with the results, commenting, “Congratulations to all, it is great to see our students succeeding in the toughest school-level Physics competition there is.”

Special mentions go to Alex Flegg who was awarded a Silver certificate and was just two marks off a Gold, and to Joseph Newborough, who is the first Princethorpe College pupil to achieve Gold in the Year 12 Senior Challenge. Joseph has now been entered into a ballot to win a visit to the Royal Society in London later this year.

Congratulations also to Jack Grindal and Chris Lock who were awarded Bronze 1 certificates, to Zak Abba, Louis Harper, Emma Sarkies and Andy Wills who received Bronze 2 certificates and to Jake Lambert who received a Commendation certificate.

Wondering just how difficult the competition is? Then have a go at two of the multiple choice questions here (only the first four marks in the paper are multiple choice).

Planet Princethorpe, the College’s environmental team, met on Thursday 16 March to say farewell and thank you to Environmental Prefect,Tom Paling. Tom was coming to the end of his year of office and was handing on the environmental baton to incoming prefect George Wild.

Tom was presented with a hand crafted trophy to recognise his inspirational work over the last year, a year which has been Planet Princethorpe’s most successful year to date. His message to the pupil body and to George was to stay focused and to remember that every small step counts. Asked about his highlights of the year, Tom spoke with pride about the success of Green Week and about the work done with Foundation Assistant Head Mr Darkes on the school’s carbon footprint. On behalf of the group George thanked Tom for his dedication and commitment to the environmental cause. The group will also be planting a tree in recognition of Tom’s work.

Planet Princethorpe meets every two weeks at Tutor Time and is open to all pupils. The group suggests and investigates ideas and opportunities to improve the College’s environmental credentials. 

77 Year 10 pupils visited the traditional Italian ski resort of Val di Fiemme during the Easter holidays where excellent conditions made for plenty of super skiing during their stay.

The party travelled by coach over to Italy and stayed at a friendly well-located hotel where the helpful local staff ensured everything ran smoothly. Accommodation was good and the hotel worked hard to feed our hungry après ski teenagers. On the Monday, the group had a great evening out at a local pizza restaurant where everyone enjoyed the local speciality.

But it was the skiing that everyone was interested in. Beginners, intermediates and advanced, every group benefited from a dedicated ski instructor who coached and fine-tuned their skills and took them out into the resorts. There was a wide choice of runs, from greens up to blacks, so Princethorpe’s downhillers were spoilt for choice. During the week progress was excellent, so much so that the final day’s downhill races were hotly contested; the winners were delighted with the medals awarded at the presentation evening.

Other entertainment included a disco night in the local night club and lots of exquisite Italian ice cream.

All in all the Princethorpe party had a spectacular time with the 2023 Ski Trip providing a memorable end to a busy Lent Term.

Year 9 and 10 pupils enjoyed a French study trip to Montpellier during the Easter holidays, getting to grips with the language while seeing all the sights. Their visit combined language lessons with sightseeing and activities, allowing pupils to put their developing language skills to good use.

In a busy cultural programme pupils explored the city, tried their hand at the traditional game of pétanque and enjoyed plenty of French food. The pupils particularly impressed Ms Galano and Mrs Duran when they went on a treasure hunt across Montpellier, looking for landmarks, answering questions and taking pictures. Perhaps their best challenge though, was learning how to make crêpes from scratch. A lot of pancake flipping was involved as well as discovering all the possible French fillings. Caramel beurre salé proved a particular hit!

It was a fantastic opportunity for the pupils to experience the language and culture of France. Many thanks to all the staff involved in supporting the trip.

Read a review of the trip by Year 9, Jonjo Boyle hereand by Year 10, Jess Lane, here.

Two Princethorpe Year 7 pupils travelled to Prestwold Hall in Leicestershire before Easter, to compete in the National Primary School and Year 7 Cross Country Championships. The event took place on Saturday 25 March, with competitors from across the country taking part. It was a great opportunity for the young runners to gain experience against some of the UK’s top young athletes.

Representing Warwickshire, the runners faced a traditional undulating course and with average fields of over 100 runners in each race, pupils needed their wits about them as they pushed and jostled to gain positions at the start.

James Bostock was seventh home for the Warwickshire team placing 116th in a time of 13 minutes and 28 seconds, while Alvin Wamala finished ninth for Warwickshire in 137th place, running the course in 13.55.

PE Teacher, Will Bower, was pleased with their performance saying, “It was fantastic to see the College represented at the UK National Championships. This was a really good experience for these young runners who were up against club teams. A huge well done to them both.”

Princethorpe College’s Winter Sports Awards took place on the last day of the Lent Term. It was an opportunity to recognise the achievements of the College’s young sportsmen and sportswomen at all levels and across all sports.

The award ceremony began with the awarding of sporting colours recognising pupils’ commitment to sport. That was followed by a summary of the performances of the College’s teams, with awards recognising endeavour, progress, coach's player and most valuable player. The wide range of sports and the sheer numbers of pupils involved a testament to the importance of sport to life at the College.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, Head of Girls' Games, Jen Law, and Head of Boys’ Games, Joe Jackson, then went on to announce the teams of the season for which there were many contenders. The Girls Sports Team Of The Year was awarded to the U14A Girls Hockey Team recognising their success across the year, including finishing as runners up in the Tier 2 England Hockey Schools Midlands Championships and taking the Warwickshire County Championship title. For the Boys Sports Team Of The Year, the award went to the U14A Boys Hockey team, they won the Tier 2 England Hockey Schools Midlands Championships and also took the Warwickshire County Championship title.

Then it was time for the individual awards they included:

Junior Sports Girl Of The Year – Grace McCollin

Junior Sports Boy Of The Year – James Wright

Senior Sports Girl Of The Year – Evie Marston

Senior Sports Boy Of The Year – Alastair Clifford

Sixth Form Sports Girls Of The Year – Evie Phillips

Sixth Form Sports Boy Of The Year – Edward Sharpe

Mr Cassell commented, “Congratulations to all the award winners, it has been another very successful season for the College with plenty to celebrate across the school. Huge thanks to all the pupils for their commitment and effort and to the coaching staff and parents for their dedication to school sport.”

More House is celebrating after winning the most hotly contested competition in school, the House Cup. Their victory was announced by House Activities Leader, Jess Newborough, in the Prefect Inauguration ceremony at the end of the Lent Term. The House Cup was presented to the outgoing More House Captains, Evie Phillips and Lara Tripp-Smith, and More House Activities Co-ordinator, Megan O’Gorman, as jubilant More pupils cheered across the school.

Before announcing the result, Mrs Newborough shared some of her highlights of the year, speaking of her delight at how Princethorpe pupils respond and the camaraderie and sense of community that the House activities provides. She spoke of the importance of taking part, of standing up to be counted, reminding us all that whether it is the regular weekly fun of the Friday quizzes or the big events such as House Activities Day, every single point contributes.

Across the year it was a steady and consistent performance that helped More pupils amass their huge total of points and finish first across the line but well done to all pupils across the school who participated in the events so enthusiastically. The final results this year were: 1st More, 2nd Benet, 3rd Austin and 4th Fisher.

Huge thanks go to all the House team, including the House Activities Co-ordinators and House Captains for all they do to organise and run House events.