The Flagpole

Princethorpe is celebrating after bringing home a huge haul of medals from the Independent Schools Association’s (ISA) Midlands Track and Field Athletics.

The event took place at Saffron Lane Athletics Stadium in Leicester on Wednesday 3 May with College athletes joining competitors from across the Midlands region all aiming to quality for the National Finals later in June.

In a dominant display, Princethorpe’s medal haul included 35 Gold Medals, 14 Silvers and 11 Bronzes, an amazing achievement for the College’s young athletes.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, was delighted commenting, “A huge well done to all of our athletes for an excellent performance. They responded so well to the competition they faced. It looks like we will have 24 athletes going forward to the Nationals, we are just waiting to have that confirmed. Pupils are encouraged to keep training as there are lots of upcoming events for them to represent the College at this term.”

It was fantastic to see pupils performing to such a high standard of competition so early in the summer and it has laid the foundations for a successful athletics season. 

In the 100m sprint:

Year 7 Girls – Lillibee Harris took Bronze

Year 8/9 Girls – Penelope Jones took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Josh Harris took Bronze

Year 10/11 Girls – Olivia Monk took Gold

Year 10/11 Boys – Freddie Knott took Bronze

In the 200m sprint:

Year 7 Girls – Lillibee Harris took Silver

Year 7 Boys – George Knott took Silver

Year 8/9 Girls – Grace McCollin took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Dan Tomlinson took Bronze

Year 10/11 Girls – Olivia Monk took Gold

Year 10/11 Boys – Max Phillips-Gore took Bronze

In the 300m sprint:

Year 8/9 Girls – Lauren Tebbatt took Bronze

In the 400m sprint:

Year 8/9 Boys – Hunter Staveley took Gold

Year 10/11 Boys – Oscar Civzelis took Gold

In the 800m race:

Year 7 Boys – Charlie Leech took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Mark Message took Silver

Year 10/11 Boys – Jesse Esler took Silver

In the 1500m race:

Year 7 Girls – Issey Cleary took Gold

Year 7 Boys – James Bostock took Gold

Year 8/9 Girls – Lily Hunter took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Charlie Atkins took Gold

Year 10/11 Girls – Martina Grace took Silver

Year 10/11 Boys - Ben Smith took Gold

In the Hurdles:

Year 7 Girls – Stephanie Bolton took Bronze

Year 7 Boys – George Knott took Gold

Year 8/9 Girls - Grace McCollin took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Conor Horan took Silver

Year 10/11Girls – Emily Evans took Gold

Year 10/11 Boys – Ben Smith took Gold

In the 4x100m Relay:

Year 7 Girls – Issey Cleary, Lillibee Harris, Stephanie Bolton and Dami Ajagunna took Gold

Year 7 Boys – James Bostock, George Knott, Henry Sims and Alvin Wamala took Silver

Year 8/9 Girls - Grace McCollin, Penelope Jones, Lauren Tebbatt and Skye Rotherham took Silver

Year 8/9 Boys – Hunter Staveley, Dan Tomlinson, James Wright and Josh Harris took Gold

Year 10/11 Girls – Olivia Monk, Kate Pomerleau, Martina Grace and Lim Self took Gold

Year 10/11 Boys – André Onyekwe, Freddie Knott, Max Phillips-Gore and Ben Smith took Gold

In the Long Jump:

Year 7 Girls – Issey Cleary took Gold

Year 7 Boys – Henry Sims took Bronze

Year 8/9 Girls - Penelope Jones took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Dan Tomlinson took Gold

Year 10/11 Girls – Lim Self took Bronze

Year 10/11 Boys – Freddie Knott took Gold

In the High Jump:

Year 7 Girls – Dami Ajagunna took Silver

Year 7 Boys – Henry Sims took Gold

Year 8/9 Boys – Dan Tomlinson took Gold

Year 10/11 Girls – Emily Evans took Gold

Year 10/11 Boys – André Onyekwe took Gold

In the Triple Jump:

Year 8/9 Boys – Josh Harris took Gold

Year 10/11 Girls – Lim Self took Silver

Year 10/11 Boys – André Onyekwe took Gold

In the Shot Put:

Year 7 Girls – Olivia Burley took Silver

Year 8/9 Boys – Hunter Staveley took Gold

Year 10/11 Girls – Frankie Kelly took Bronze

Year 10/11 Boys – Max Black took Silver

In the Discus:

Year 7 Girls – Olivia Burley took Silver

Year 10/11 Boys – Oscar Civzelis took Bronze

In the Javelin:

Year 7 Girls – Dami Ajagunna took Gold

Year 7 Boys – Olly Moore took Gold

Year 8/9 Girls – Lauren Tebbatt took Gold

Year 10/11 – Sam Divers took Silver

The thud of ball on bat, followed by shouts from excited fielders and screams of encouragement for the batters was once again heard up on Switzerland this week as for the first time in over 10 years cricket returned to the very top field. The Year 8 boys U13C team faced Bablake and King Henry VIII School yesterday afternoon and much to the delight of us all, they won their match by 34 runs.

Thanks to the sterling work of the Grounds team, Princethorpe now has six cricket match pitches as our facilities team respond to the growing interest in the sport especially from our girls’ teams.

The College has a busy cricket fixture list for the Trinity Term, with matches planned across the year groups and even for our staff team. Yesterday alone the school fielded 11 teams!

We are looking forward to a super summer season.

Four Princethorpe College pupils, Alexandra Bonsall, Mitchell Endenburg, Grace Isaacs and James Maclean, have all achieved distinction in their London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) Grade 8 Gold Medal examinations.

Year 11 pupil, Alexandra Bonsall, Lower Sixth Form student, Grace Isaacs, and Upper Sixth Form student, James Maclean, all sat the LAMDA Grade 8 Acting examination while Upper Sixth Form student, Mitchell Endenburg took his Grade 8 Public Speaking examination.

Gold is the highest medal awarded by LAMDA and takes years of training to achieve, and receiving a distinction in their LAMDA Gold Medal examinations also means that all four pupils have now accrued 30 extra UCAS points towards their university applications.

Lead LAMDA Teacher, Kathy Buckingham-Underhill, commented, "I am delighted to see these four young people completing their LAMDA studies on such a high. Congratulations to them all. Their hard work, diligence, perseverance and commitment have been amply rewarded. Their LAMDA teachers are incredibly proud of them all."

A huge well done to all four pupils on a really impressive achievement.

The College was once again delighted to welcome Dutch hockey club, De Hopbel to Princethorpe for the return leg of our long-standing exchange programme. Organised by the Sports department, over the last 15 years hundreds of pupils have participated in the hockey training camp and enjoyed the opportunity to experience another country and culture.

This latest six-day tour, from Friday 28 April to Wednesday 3 May, saw our visitors enjoy plenty sightseeing alongside all their hockey training and matches. Amongst their trips out our guests enjoyed the sights of Stratford-upon-Avon and the thrills of Drayton Manor Theme Park as well as enjoying a tour barbeque on the Sixth Form Lawn on Sunday evening.

This year’s tour saw 45 girls and boys enjoying life with their Princethorpe host families reciprocating the bonhomie and generosity our pupils received back in October 2022.

De Hopbel played a total of nine matches against various Princethorpe teams while they were with us, and the College was delighted that Princethorpe's girls were victorious this time round claiming back the coveted Tour Cup.

Summing up the visit, Head of Girls’ Games, Jen Law, said, “Our annual hockey exchange is a great experience for us all, we make so many friends, learn about each other’s cultures and get a fantastic insight into the way that another country plays our favourite game!”

Huge thanks to all the host families who welcomed our Dutch visitors into their homes and to all the staff involved in organising and supporting the trip.

Work on the College’s new Science Centre continues to progress well across the site. Next week Foundation Assistant Head, Alex Darkes, who is overseeing the project, will be taking more of the Science staff to visit the building to get a feel for the new facilities and to see for themselves how the construction work is progressing.

Inside, the internal partition walls are now in place and the flooring is down, both ceramic and vinyl. All the doors have also been fitted. The downstairs labs now have much of their furniture in place. The staff bases have been decorated and will soon have their furniture fitted. The mechanical and engineering work is well advanced. The lift is in, the boilers are in, and the plant rooms are nearing completion. The washroom fit out has started.

Outside, most of the cladding on the front of the building has been completed and some of the scaffolding will shortly be coming down. Landscaping has started, although it will pause for the examination season, and the construction team is back working on the new courts.

The Science Centre remains on schedule to open its doors for teaching in September 2023, it will have 1,800sqm of floor space and 10 laboratories spread over two floors. The building’s location at the top of The Lime Walk places it central to the College’s campus and the views from the laboratories are stunning, it is all very exciting for us here at Princethorpe!

Have a look at the latest photos of the progress of the project.

As part of their Science studies, Year 10 were visited by Beth Parker from Severn Trent Water’s Education Team on Thursday 4 May. Beth gave a series of talks on the Science of Sewers, taking pupils through the water cycle and explaining the journey water makes to and from our homes.

As well as explaining how Severn Trent deliver fresh clean water to our taps, pupils also discovered how dirty water is treated and recycled and some of the problems and strange items that Severn Trent regularly encounter in the sewers (everything from mobiles to false teeth).

She also shared how Severn Trent’s sludge scientists and their sustainability work is helping to harness the power of poo.

The enrichment talks support pupils’ studies on potable water, one of the topics they will cover in their AQA GCSE Chemistry studies in Year 11.

At the end of the session Beth also spoke about career opportunities at Severn Trent, including apprenticeships and graduate placements and encouraged pupils to visit the Severn Trent website to find out more.

Many thanks to Severn Trent and to Beth for delivering such a fascinating session.

Many congratulations to, Lower Sixth Former, Finn Osborn who played in the Coventry Telegraph Cup Final at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Tuesday evening. Finn is goal keeper for local team Kenilworth Sporting FC and kept a clean sheet on the night to help his side win 4-0 in the cup final match against Folly Lane. To top a successful evening off, Finn was also awarded Man of the Match. All in all a fantastic result – a huge well done to Finn!