The Flagpole

Thursday 22 June from 6.00pm to 8.30pm and Sunday 25 June from 2.00pm to 4.30pm

A celebration of our pupils' GCSE and A-level Art, Photography and Design work will take place in the Sports Hall on Thursday 22 June from 6.00pm to 8.30pm and on Sunday 25 June from 2.00pm to 4.30pm.

A range of design and technology projects, from resistant materials to textiles, will be showcased alongside the stunning art and photography work the College is renowned for.

Comments, Paul Hubball, Head of Art, "This is a great opportunity to share our pupils' fantastic creativity with a wider audience and to welcome more art and design lovers to Princethorpe."

Adds Head of Design and Technology, Paul Scopes, "We look forward to welcoming all the exam pupils and their families from across Design, Art and Photography to enjoy the fruit of their labours."

All are welcome. On Thursday evening admission is free, on the Sunday admission will be £2 per car including entry to the College's Summer Fête and Motoring Festival. Light refreshments will be available.

Sunday 25 June 2023 - 2.00pm to 4.30pm

As the College enters the Trinity Term the PTA focus our attentions on the highlight of summer – the PTA Summer Fête and 26th Annual Motoring Festival.

There will be the usual array of stalls including our school supported charity stalls; countless fun games and activities. We'll be firing up the BBQ and for those of you who find days like this thirsty work we'll be providing an array of drinks in the refreshment tent.

We are always seeking new supporters for this event so if you could help us out for an hour at the Fête or at future events, please do contact us at pta@princethorpe.co.uk or via Twitter@PrincethorpePTA.

We are once again running the popular ‘Pre-loved Uniform Stall’ and if you have any uniform which is no longer required this can be given in at the Student Hub. School blazers, ties, skirts, jumpers, PE kits and PE bags are always welcome, with proceeds of this stall going directly back to the PTA and the pupils of the College.

Should you have any ideas or queries regarding the Fête or the PTA, please contact us at the above email address.

Many thanks

Princethorpe PTA

Wednesday 28 June 2023 - 7.30pm

On Wednesday 28 June at 7.30pm in the Chapel, organist Tim Campain,will play a wide variety of pieces celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. 

The renowned Princethorpe Binns’ organ of 1901 was built by James J Binns, Bramley Organ Works, Leeds. It was restored by Hugh Page in 1984.

From our archives we have a fascinating insight into the numerous letters that were written between Peter Paul Pugin and Sister Procurator of the Priory regarding the organ and the delay in placing the organ. An extract from one of the letters:

March 30th 1901 

...."it is all nonsense Binns saying the organ would be finished long ago if he had has a design for case. I sent him the design for case with full working drawings which he never acknowledged. He could have worked on it at once. The console is quite a separate affair. When I see Binns I will give him a bit of my mind. I was not at all extravagant in the design for the case and a tracing of it is now enclosed which you will kindly return after M Prioress has seen it. I will send on details of console as soon as I can!"

Please click here to reserve your place

Tickets - £5.00 including refreshments. All Foundation pupils free of charge.

The main image shows the original position of the organ console - it was moved to the gallery in approximately 1908 to make way for a statue of St Peter. This statue was taken by the nuns to Fernham when they left St Mary's Priory in 1965. 

Saturday 2 September 2023

We are gearing up for the 12th annual Old Princethorpians vs College Sports Day (and 14th John Shinkwin Trophy Match) on Saturday 2 September 2023. 

We are planning to repeat our previous format with a relaxing day that mixes sporting matches with music, a complimentary BBQ and ice cream van and a subsidised bar.

As before points will be accumulated throughout the day, with the Alex Wallis Memorial Shield being awarded to the victors at the end of the day.

Format of day:

• 10.15am to 11.30am Football OPs vs Staff
• 11.30am to 12.30pm Hockey Princethorpe College Mixed Team vs OPs XI
• 12.30pm to 1.30pm Netball Princethorpe College 1st VII Girls vs OPs VII
• 1.45pm to 3.15pm Rugby - John Shinkwin Trophy - Princethorpe College 1st XV Boys vs OPs XV (leavers of 2023 and 2022)
• 3.30pm - After Match Awards by the BBQ

Excitingly this will be the first time the new Netball Courts by the Science Centre will be used competitively and we hope to be able to allow visits into the Science Centre during the course of the day.

We are keen to get as many leavers of 2023 and OPs from across the generations participating. If you are interested in playing in any of the sports please complete the short online form here asap or by Tuesday 29 August at the latest. 

Wednesday 13 September 2023 - 7.00pm

It was an absolute pleasure to see so many people at the last Reading Group session this term, which was sadly the final one for me. I must extend my thanks to old friends and new for the little party we held, for the cards, the good wishes and for all the very special gifts of books. I will be reading every one of them in the holiday – a real treat to enjoy all these recommendations from others. I’ve even got a couple of much loved titles to share with my grandsons as I nurture their love of books. We barely found time to discuss The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde but I would thoroughly recommend this as a superbly inventive book fed by an anarchic imagination which gives us a scenario where people are able to enter the world of a novel and change its course. Very cleverly written, it almost defies description, but it was refreshing to read a comic novel written with such flair.

I want to thank all who have made running this Reading Group such a real pleasure for the last fifteen years or so. There is something special about a forum where parents and staff can meet as people and connect over something as simple as a mutual love of books. It is great that the Reading Group will continue and I’d like to thank Jess Newborough for offering to take it on. The first session of next year will be on Wednesday 13 September in the library at 7.00pm. The first book on the agenda will be Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, an Irish writer who is building up a great reputation for herself. This book takes us back to the troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and is written with great sensitivity. It was recommended to me by Jess herself; I’ve dipped into it but will be reading it myself over the summer.

We’ll hope to recruit some new readers for next year and those who have enjoyed the Reading Group this year will be spreading the word. Please give it a go next year. There’s no commitment to attending every session, of course, but you’ll certainly be guaranteed a warm welcome from a wonderful body of parents and friends.