The Flagpole

On Saturday 9 September we were delighted to welcome to the College some of the ‘old girls’ from St Mary’s Priory, the school on the site before Princethorpe College was founded. The group are known to us as ‘Very Special Old Princethorpians (VSOPs).

The informal get-together, allowed for plenty of time to chat, reminisce and to look around the College and see how it has changed over the last sixty or seventy years.

The day started with coffee and pastries, and plenty of time to catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances. The Development Office had set up a fascinating display of memorabilia, and our VSOPs took great delight in browsing through it all. They also enjoyed recording their memories of St Mary’s Priory, in a special audio recording booth, adding their fascinating spoken history to the Foundation’s archives.

We were overwhelmed by the warmth and regard the VSOPs showed the College, and it was lovely to spend time with the ‘old girls’, hearing of their school days here. For us, it was a further opportunity to cement friendships and to learn more about the history of the place which we all love so much.

At coffee time we heard from VSOP Sr Monica Lewis who shared her calling with the group speaking of her life in a Benedictine community in Germany. We then made time for a quick group photograph, then after a delicious buffet lunch we hosted a Zoom call to allow the more distant VSOPs including Sr Mary Bernard to join in the reunion.

Headmaster, Grove du Toit, popped in to welcome the VSOPs back to Princethorpe before Foundation Assistant Head, Alex Darkes, took our guests on a tour of the College, taking in the latest addition to the College’s facilities, the new Science Centre, as well as the original chapel, now a library, and ending in the church for a short service given by Father Teddy O’Brien, MSC, with the organ played by organist Tim Campain. Following the service, our guests were treated to afternoon tea, and a final chance to look at the archives, speak with current members of staff and exchange farewells.

Designed to stretch and test students in Chemistry, the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge takes sixth formers significantly beyond the syllabus and encourages them to think about science in the way they would at university. 

This summer, our Lower Sixth chemists took part in this well-respected Challenge. They prepared themselves for the competition by attending a weekly Cambridge Chemistry Challenge co-curricular club to develop their critical problem-solving skills, creative thinking, and to test their knowledge in real-world situations. 

All the students who took part were awarded certificates. Special mentions go to Joseph Newborough who was awarded a Gold certificate and Amy Hogg and Rahul Samra who both received Silver certificates. Congratulations also go to Emma Sarkies, Carys Nicolle, Radley Evans, Lola Ashley, Guy Dawkins and Arjay Tejura who were awarded Copper, Merit and Participation certificates. All our College chemists faced tough national competition and we congratulate them on the great resilience they demonstrated.

Princethorpe’s Sixth Form students put their culinary skills under the spotlight when they took on the annual House Ready Steady Cook challenge.

Always a popular event, held at the start of the academic year, this year's competition took place at lunchtime on Thursday 14 September. Teams of four Sixth Formers donned their aprons and lined up to prepare a student staple in the Food Technology suite.

The teams were presented with a set of ingredients and challenged to produce a risotto in just 20 minutes. What’s more they had to cook, clean and tidy their workstation before presenting their dish. There were knives chopping, spoons stirring and pans sizzling as the House teams went to work. Onlookers encouraged from the side as the judges, led by Headmaster Mr du Toit, surveyed the proceedings.

The finished plates of food were lined up along the table and, under the watchful eyes of the competitors and their supporters, the judges carefully taste-tested the dishes. The results were close with just a few points separating all. This year first place went to Austin, closely followed by More and then Benet and Fisher.

Huge thanks to all of the competitors for their enthusiastic efforts, to our judges who braved the tasting and to the House teams for organising and supporting the event.

Huge thanks to OP and current parent Ian Vincent, who works at Jaguar Land Rover, for helping the College to procure this super display of an electronic drive unit from a Jaguar I-Pace as a scientific artefact for the College’s new Science Centre.

Depicting the motor, gearbox, transmission, battery and inverter, that turns DC into AC, along with assisting with the regenerative braking system, it’s an absolutely fantastic piece that showcases leading edge sustainability technology and is just perfect to act as inspiration for Princethorpe’s young scientists and engineers.

A Jaguar I-Pace Electric Powertrain, sourced by current parent Stefan Fuchss, will also go on display in the entrance to the Science Centre as part of the College’s commitment to providing the very best learning environment, one that nurtures young minds and fosters a deep appreciation and passion for science.

We are most grateful to Ian, and also to Princethorpe parents, Oliver Boakes and Stefan Fuchss, and to Nikola Uminska, all from JLR, for their support in arranging for the College to have these wonderful display items.

Ian visited the College to assemble the unit ready to be displayed and is pictured here with Sixth Form prefects, Amy Hogg, Chris Lock and Joseph Newborough.

Many congratulations to Year 11, Freddie Knott, who is the U18 European Mounted Games Champion after winning the individual title at the IMGA European Championships in August.

Riding against competitors from across Europe, in this fast, furious and challenging sport, Freddie made his way through four days of intense competition to reach the final on his fabulous pony Elle.

Mounted Games is an equestrian event involving speed, accuracy and agility and takes years of training for both pony and rider. Freddie was one of two English riders who made it through to the final and after a demanding and thrilling competition, he claimed the coveted title of Individual U18 European Champion.

It’s an incredible achievement, the result of many years of hard work and hours of blood, sweat and tears on the training ground. Freddie’s focus, calmness and exceptional horsemanship ultimately making the difference on the day.

An amazing effort, a huge well done from us all here at Princethorpe to Freddie.

Congratulations to Year 9 William Harvey who reached the quarter finals in the Fred Perry Tennis Championships at The Brentham Club in Ealing last weekend. The competition is a youth tennis tournament for up-and-coming national level tennis players held at the home club of Fred Perry.

William worked his way through one of three regional qualifiers to be one of six players to join the top 10 players from over 300 entrants in the main draw of the championships. Over the weekend, in what was an amazing experience for him, William saw off the older number 3 seed who is ranked 30th in the UK to make it through the final eight and enjoyed a coaching session with Wimbledon head coach Dan Bloxham.

William has had a busy summer of tennis, placing in numerous events. He won the Charnwood Grade 4 U14 singles as well as the Stourbridge U14 Summer Open Grade 3 singles and doubles, despite starting unseeded. He came second in the Warwickshire County championship Grade 3 singles and doubles, narrowly missing out in the singles final in a tie break and finished third in the Warwickshire County Grade 3 U16 competition. He also enjoyed a weeklong tennis camp in Spain where he was kept busy playing for five hours a day on clay courts in 37˚ heat.

Going forward, over the next year, William is looking to enter UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) ranking tournaments and as well as working hard on his tactical, technical and physical tennis he will also be developing his strategic mental abilities to ensure he continues to progress.

William has had an amazing summer of tennis, working with determination to make the most of every opportunity and we are all delighted to congratulate him on his success.

Princethorpe College was delighted to take part in the 2023 Heritage Open Days festival on Sunday 10 September. England's largest community led festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Day, runs annually celebrating local history by giving access to thousands of places usually closed to the public.

The College has taken part in the festival for many years and on the day welcomed over 50 visitors through its doors. They came from near and far, including local neighbours as well as parents of pupils and those interested in local history. All were made welcome and enjoyed a fascinating tour that took in Pugin’s magnificent Chapel, the Cloisters, Nuns’ Cells, Library (formerly a church) and the unique Roundhouse.

Foundation Assistant Head Alex Darkes and former staff member and new OP Loretta Curtis acted as tour leaders sharing wonderful insights into the history of the magnificent building and the amazing people that made it the place it is today.

A huge thank you to all who kindly organised and supported this super community event.

The College community gathered in the Sports Hall on Thursday 7 September to celebrate a Eucharist to mark the start of the academic year. Led by Father Alan Whelan MSC, pupils and staff were introduced to the new Chaplaincy school theme for the year of ‘Resilience’.

The service began with the school singing the College hymn, Here I Am Lord. Then Father Alan spoke to pupils explaining how important resilience is and how we all need the ability to withstand adversity and to bounce back from difficulties. Pupils considered how they could be resilient, recording their individual thoughts on a card.

Together as a community, pupils and staff prayed for the school, for our families and for all those in the world who need our hopes. During the service pupils and staff received the sacrament or a blessing. It was wonderful to come together as a community at the start of the school year and to have the opportunity to reflect and pray.

Our thanks go to Father Alan for leading us in the service.

It was amazing to have the OPs vs College Sports Day back in full swing and to see so many familiar faces on Saturday 2 September. This popular annual fixture traditionally kicks off the College’s sporting calendar for the year ahead.

Many of the OPs playing this year had just recently returned from the summer South Africa Sports Tour and it was great to see them catching up with pupils.

The Staff Football Team started the morning in good spirits but the younger OPs team took control late in the second half to gain a close victory.

Next up was the first ever mixed hockey game and it was fabulous to see full teams playing in the spirt of the game with the more experienced OPs taking the victory while the College pupils got some valuable game time in before their season starts.

Moving on to Netball, the College's team secured their first victory of the day with an outstanding performance against an experienced OPs team, the win showed that this team could be set for success this year.

The OPs v College 1st XV John Shinkwin Trophy match produced an entertaining match with a strong OPs team made up from leavers from 2022 and 2023 taking the victory. The young College team showed promise for what could be a good season ahead.

The results of the matches were as follows:

• Football – Staff 3 v OPs 5
• Netball – College 40 v OPs 13
• Mixed Hockey – College 3 v OPs 6
• Rugby – College 17 v OPs 41

At the After Match Awards, the OPs proudly raised both the Alex Wallis Memorial Shield and the John Shinkwin Cup.

Lee Cassell, Foundation Director of Sport, commented, "It was fantastic to see so many OPs returning to play in some very competitive games against our College teams. It showed the true spirt of the Princethorpe community and gave staff, pupils, OPs and parents the opportunity to watch entertaining matches over the course of the day and all while enjoying some fabulous food."

"A huge well done to all those who played and made the day so special. I look forward to seeing them all again next year on Saturday 31 August 2024 for the next OPs vs College Sports Day."

Thanks to all the players, supporters, organisers and caterers for making the day such a lovely, relaxed affair and to BTEC Music student Noah Kemp, Year 9 Jasper Nicholls and OP Bowen Kent for performing live during the day.

Find more photos from the day on Princethorpe Connect. 

Here at Princethorpe we are delighted to announce three new roles which are going to continue to develop and enhance teaching and learning for our pupils.

Julia Lindsay has taken on the new role of Challenge Curriculum Co-ordinator and has responsibility for developing and implementing a creative and inclusive Challenge Curriculum that affords all students the opportunity to develop their academic and creative talents. The primary focus will be the da Vinci Programme and running the EPQ level 1 and Level 2 for our younger scholars in Year 8 and Year 9. In addition, Mrs Lindsay will be promoting interdisciplinary thinking across all subjects to create dynamic and engaging experiences for our pupils. Please do look out for guest speakers who will be coming into school to enrich the curriculum and for the wider opportunities to enrich pupils’ development.

Jo Evans is taking the helm as our new Whole School Language for Learning Lead and VESPA Co-ordinator. Mrs Evans has responsibility for promoting and developing literacy, oracy and study skills across the curriculum. Many of our pupils already understand the importance of these skills to academic progress, but as a college we want to develop a community in which pupils are excited and enthused by literature by holding promotional events and competitions throughout the year. Alongside this, we will be seeking to develop our work about VESPA study skills. 

Sarah Duran has taken on the very relevant role as Digital Learning Leader and has the responsibility of supporting teachers using technology in the classroom. Via the use of laptops, teachers now have many opportunities to make learning more engaging and relevant for the pupils. Sarah will collaborate with our teachers to make sure they know how to use Microsoft tools like Teams and OneNote to enhance the learning experience. She will also make sure our teachers stay up to date with technological advancements such as AI so that our students receive the best education possible in an ever-changing digital world.

Friday 29 September 2023

Those wishing to register for Entrance Examinations should do so by the deadline of Friday 29 September please to allow for the processing of the application and to facilitate the gathering of confidential references from junior schools.

More information on the admissions process can be found in the recently published Admissions Update newsletter here or on the Foundation website here.

You can register for the Entrance Examinations by filling out our online registration form here. Or download a copy of the registration form here.

Entrance Examinations for Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will take place on Saturday 11 November 2023 from 9.00am to 4.00pm. More information is available in our 2024 Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet available on our website, click here.