The Flagpole

As we come to the end of the Advent term, I write to wish you all well for the Christmas period.  
 
Looking forward to the New Year, we will be publishing two key documents in January:

1. Princethorpe Foundation Strategic Plan – this aims to give you a “behind the scenes” look at the more business-related aspects of the Foundation which support the education of all our pupils.
     
2. Princethorpe Foundation Sustainability Plan – which will highlight where we are with our work on sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint and our future aspirations and targets.

I hope that both plans will be of interest and I will be seeking feedback. One section of the sustainability plan looks at our transport to/from our schools and the associated carbon footprint. We have undertaken a huge amount of work on this, much of which was based on surveys which many of you completed – thank you! 
 
I recently shared some of the results of these transport surveys with pupils so I would like to share these with you here.  
 
In all, we had 651 responses from pupils, parents and staff. This gave us a massive amount of data regards:

• General habits of our community when travelling to/from our schools;
• Distances of car and bus journeys to/from school;
• Types of cars used to drive to/from school. 

By processing all this information we have been able to calculate a good estimate of the overall carbon footprint due to travel to/from school in 2023 which was 885 tonnes of CO₂. 
 
This equates to 0.65 tonnes CO₂ per pupil over the course of the year. 
 
Our aim will be to reduce our global carbon footprint in a variety of ways over the year/s ahead and there are a few observations from the travel survey: 

• At Princethorpe College, around 60% of pupils are regular bus users. 
• The total carbon footprint of the regular bus users is roughly 30 tonnes of CO₂ per year less than regular car users.
• A 10% swing from cars users to buses would reduce the carbon footprint by roughly 75 tonnes of CO₂ per year. 
• Lift-sharing can have a big effect in reducing the overall carbon footprint.
• There has been a move away from diesel (35%) and petrol engines (36%) towards electric and hybrid cars (29%). 

Clearly getting our baselines data is only a first step and we will be saying more about our plans next term, but I hope this is of interest to us all. 
 
Finally, I wish all families a peaceful Christmas and ask that you keep in your thoughts and prayers all members of our community, and communities across the world, who have very difficult circumstances to cope with as we enter the festive period. 
 
Ed Hester 

With the first Christmas songs hitting the airwaves back in November, we are now only five days away from celebrating a most joyous event. It feels as if “time flies” is becoming a constant theme in my communications to you as parents, but I think this is down to how busy the College feels and is.

In the past term, there has been a non-stop stream of highlights that has reflected the breadth of what Princethorpe is all about. A select few includes the Year 7 Whitmoor Lakes Trip, the opening of the Science Centre, Prize Giving, trips to Europe and America, pupils receiving national honours in Art and Hockey, A Monster Calls, Digital days, Charity days, Mock exams, Concerts, and almost 200 boxes donated for the shoebox appeal. On the sporting front, 600 pupils represented 58 different teams in 320 fixtures – just incredible! Today marks the final day of my first year at Princethorpe and I am humbled by the passion, commitment, engagement, and love of life our pupils show every day. This will obviously continue next term and I invite you to browse the electronic copy of the Lent Term calendar. We will post a hard copy during the first week in January.

Princethorpe is very lucky to have a committed and caring staff body. Without my colleagues, all of the above would not be possible. They work very hard for our pupils and a special thanks must go to all for their efforts this term. Unfortunately, we are saying goodbye to three members of staff who are moving on at the end of this term. Aimee Brookes, one of our GTAs is off to Switzerland to study a Master's degree, Kate Ingram is finishing her second stint as a cover teacher in the MFL department, and Will Cooper-Harris (an OP) is leaving the Estates department to focus on his studies. Our sincerest thanks to these colleagues for all they have done at the College.

There will be various updates in this Flagpole that are worth reading, especially the information on School Mobile that we as a school have signed up to. Please have a look at what it involves as we feel it is an excellent tool to assist parents with managing your child's online activity. I appreciate there might not currently be the capacity to digest everything within the Flagpole as Christmas shopping lists take priority, however, do take some time over Christmas to make sure you as a family can hit the ground running in terms of what is happening at Princethorpe in the new year. I will write to all parents in January with an update on the College’s priorities and what the focus will be for Lent Term.

Finally, I would like to wish every member of the Princethorpe community a blessed and restful Christmas. I hope you all have time to switch off and forget about those things that make life so busy. May the themes of peace, hope, and joy that is the foundation of this holiday, resonate with you and all your loved ones.  

With my very best wishes,

Grove du Toit
Headmaster

Five Princethorpe pupils have been selected for the Independent Schools Football Association’s (ISFA) U13 Midlands squad. The Year 8 boys, Emmanuel Ravu, James Bostock, Jack McKay, Sid Penn and Jenson Lee will face regional representative teams in the ISFA U13 Regional Representative Festival that takes place next year in April at Shrewsbury School.

The boys were nominated by the College and earned the opportunity to represent their region in trials over a series of three weekends. The strength of footballing talent here at the College reflected in the Princethorpe domination of the Midlands ISFA team.

The College has a strong U13 team who are progressing well in the ISFA Trophy. The team are down to the last eight, reaching the Quarter Finals after beating Wetherby Preparatory School 4-2. They will next face Trinity School, Croydon, in late January.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, commented, “These boys are talented and committed. I know they will relish the opportunity to play against the best players in their age group and will be a credit to their school. This is a great opportunity to showcase their talents on an excellent pathway. We have had previous boys be part of the ISFA programme and it has only added to their footballing journey. It will be a great experience for them all.”

This year at Princethorpe College we hosted a whole school Christmas book swap in honour of the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, in which families all exchange books on Christmas Eve. It took place in the Limes building at lunchtime on Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 December. The book swap was very popular, and the books just flew off the table as pupils jumped at the opportunity of taking a new book home for Christmas. For a special treat there was also a cup of hot chocolate on offer for which there was no shortage of takers too. We hope you enjoy your reading everyone.

Strength and conditioning coach, and Old Princethorpian, Tom Tombleson, returned to his old school, Princethorpe College, on Monday 18 December.

Tom left the College back in 2001 and after studying Sport Science and Management at Loughborough University pursued a career advising and coaching professional sports players. He played Rugby at a high level including representing England in Rugby Sevens. He has worked with a number of international rugby players and is currently the strength and conditioning coach for the England Rugby national team.

As well as enjoying a tour of his old school, Tom spoke to talented sports players from Years 8 to the Sixth Form, talking about the fitness and endurance required to successfully compete. He answered pupils’ questions with generosity and candour helping them to understand the preparation, practise, determination and resilience required to be successful in their chosen sport.

Our thanks go to Tom for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the College and for generously sharing his expertise with pupils and staff. We were delighted to welcome him back to school and hope he enjoyed revisiting his old haunts. We are always grateful for the support of our Old Princethorpian community, they are such great role models for our current pupils, inspiring and encouraging them to follow their dreams.

Princethorpe College’s U13A Netball team have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Sisters n Sport Plate after beating Bablake School 23-14.

In the previous round, back in November, the girls had seen off The Crypt Grammar School by just one point, 22-21. Last week, on Monday 11 December, they faced Bablake School away and in a hard-fought game, they played superbly demonstrating excellent physicality and skill to win against a very competitive and well drilled opponent.

Head of Girls’ Games, Carly Walton, was delighted commenting, “The girls gave 100% showing both determination and tenacity. I was really proud of them all and I am looking forward to the next round which will take place after Christmas against Nottingham Girls’ High School.”

The College's Feast Day took place on Friday 8 December. The annual celebration involving the whole of the College community, marks the day back in 1854 that the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart were founded.

Feast Day is an important day in the Princethorpe calendar, one where we all take time to give thanks to our community’s founders and celebrate Princethorpe’s special ethos and spirit of family.

As part of the celebrations, the school came together at lunchtime to hand out awards to pupils receiving House Prizes. Pupils had been nominated by their Head of House as a reward for the progress they had shown during last academic year or for the excellent and sustained high standard of achievement displayed throughout last year. You can find details of the award winners here. A super huge well done to everyone involved.

Scroll through the gallery to see photos of the award winners.

Christmas has come early for OP, Steve Dade (1986 -1990), as he is the lucky recipient of this year's Princethorpe Connect Christmas Hamper Prize Draw.

Steve who lives in Coventry, with his wife of 23 years, Becky, and teenage daughter, Charly, works in behaviour management at Evergreen School in Warwick, a 4-19 school for children and young people with Special Educational Needs.

Steve will be receiving his prize from OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler, who is hand delivering it to his home in Coventry this week.

Commented Steve, “I was delighted to hear of my win, it will be lovely to share with the family over Christmas!”

Steve is still great friends with fellow OP, Richard Williams. Remembering his time at Princethorpe, Steve commented “I have some great memories from my time at Princethorpe, I was in More House and my form tutors were Paul Adams, Frank McGreevy and John Miller. I have particularly fond memories of playing for the school Rugby team as we were very good!”

We wish Steve and family a very happy Christmas indeed!

Thanks to all those who engaged with Princethorpe Connect in the run up to the prize draw, we are nearly at 1,500 online members and look forward to building on this in 2024!

Our 2024 Princethorpe College Calendar, featuring 12 superb images of the College and its grounds is available to purchase through our online shop.

Priced at £6, visit Princethorpe Connect to get your order in today and enjoy fabulous photos of Princethorpe throughout 2024.

The Christmas tree in the College Chapel has been lovingly decorated with twinkling lights and carefully hand cut stars. In what has become an important tradition here at Princethorpe, the College community were invited to write the names of those who have touched their lives with love on a star. Each individual handwritten star was then carefully positioned on the tree.

The message of Christmas is one of love and the decorated Christmas tree in the Chapel is our College’s symbolic representation of that message. The many stars on the tree a testament to the presence of love in the world.

Standing alongside this year’s Chapel Christmas tree is our ‘Tree of Resilience’ which has also been decorated beautifully with brightly coloured paper chains. In their Advent Reflection, pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 were encouraged to share how they are living up to this year’s Chaplaincy theme of ‘Resilience’ by writing an example of how they have shown resilience this term on a strip of paper. Their thoughts were then joined together in a paper chain.

Our thanks go to Year 7 pupils, Gwenan Roberts, Dylan Llewellyn, Sophie Crawford and Max Wither, who, alongside their peers, have helped with decorating our trees.

We hosted our Christmas Science Lecture on Tuesday 12 December. As a warm-up, families 'mulled' over a Science and Christmas themed quiz with a glass of hot spiced wine and a mince pie, whilst our Lower Sixth Formers carried out close-up demonstrations that included extinguishing candles with carbon dioxide and the human-powered electricity generator.

The lecture itself explored having a sustainable Christmas, discussing food waste, carbon footprint and the sustainability of gifts and Christmas trees. It included the ‘Gift Wrap Challenge’ and had plenty of ideas on how to care for the planet by taking an eco-friendly approach to Christmas.

The evening concluded with an audience participation online quiz which was closely contended and tested our guests on the content of the lecture. Prizes went to the Cowlishaw, Lloyd and Wilcox-Smith families.

We would like to thank parents and pupils for attending the evening and the staff and STEAM Ambassadors who made it possible.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Princethorpe College Science Department.

Princethorpe College pupils, parents and staff have once again responded generously to the seasonal Food Bank appeal. The school community was asked to bring in items of non-perishable food and they did not disappoint, showing a sense of empathy, generosity and solidarity. All the donations have been passed on to the St Vincent de Paul Society, to be packed into hampers and given to local families in need.

Mary Benham, Chaplaincy Coordinator, said, “The level of enthusiasm and support shown for our appeal was wonderful, affirming the school’s spirit of family ethos and showing that pupils embrace the communities they live in and are willing to help those who are less fortunate than themselves.” She continued, “It is easy to sometimes think that one person alone cannot make a big impact, but by bringing all of those individual small acts of kindness together we have been able to show how we care.”

A special thank you to the PTA who donated a whole box of Selection Boxes that will be sure to provide Christmas joy.

Thank you to all the pupils that helped with organising the donations, some of which you can see in the photo.

The latest edition of the College’s magazine, The Tower Review, will be mailed to parents over the Christmas holidays.

It tells the story of the school year, term by term, reflecting on the whole host of activities, achievements and successes that pupils from Year 7 through to Upper Sixth took part in. It includes highlights such as Prize Giving and the College production as well as reviews of sporting events and House competitions.

2022/23 was another amazing year filled full of wonderful and memorable moments to reflect on. We hope that our annual souvenir review will be treasured by pupils and parents alike.

The magazine will be mailed to parents with the Lent Term 2024 calendar and the Leavers of 2023 will be sent a hard copy in the post. 

You can also read a copy here.

If you would like to receive an additional copy please email marketing@princethorpe.co.uk with your name and address.

Princethorpe’s popular PTA Christmas Fair took place on Sunday 10 December and hundreds of visitors descended on a College resplendent in decorations.

There were plenty of stalls selling a range of artisan products and gifts and an array of seasonal activities for all ages to partake in. Father Christmas and his elves made their usual stop off at the Fair, delighting children of all ages. The crowds enjoyed musical entertainment with a range of traditional melodies to get everyone in the Christmas spirit and in the Sixth Form Dining Room, families gathered to enjoy warming hot drinks and delicious mince pies.

Our huge thanks go out to the many helpers, supporters and workers who worked all weekend to make the event such a success. It is one of the PTA’s main fundraising events and they are delighted to report that this year the fair and Christmas raffle have so far raised a superb £4,933.89.

It won't be long before planning for the Summer Fete on Sunday 30 June begins in earnest. If you fancy getting involved, then do email the PTA at pta@princethorpe.co.uk.

Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC, the Parish Priest for St Anne's Catholic Church, Wappenbury and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, Princethorpe College, warmly invites you to attend any or all of the services over the Christmas season at the churches indicated below:

Sunday 24 December 2023
5.00pm      Family Mass
9.00pm      First Mass of Christmas
                 Princethorpe Chapel

Monday 25 December 2023  
9.30am      Christmas Day Mass
                 St Anne's, Wappenbury, CV33 9DW  
 
Sunday 31 December 2023
8.30am      Mass
10.30am    Mass 
                 St Anne's, Wappenbury, CV33 9DW

Sunday 7 January 2024          
8.30am      Mass
10.30am    Mass
                 St Anne's, Wappenbury, CV33 9DW

For any further information or to read the Parish newsletter please visit the link to St Anne's website here

Thank you
 
 

Monday 15 January 2024

We are excited to announce that the author, Ben Davis, will be visiting our College on Monday 15 January to give a talk and run some workshops with our Year 8 pupils throughout the day. Ben has written lots of books, including The Private Blog of Joe Cowley series. There will be the opportunity for our pupils to purchase a book from a selection of titles and he will happily sign it for them. More details about this exciting event will be sent out in the New Year.

Early in the New Year, the Admissions Team will be turning its attention to entry to the College in September 2025. There are two themed taster activities planned in January aimed at current Year 5 pupils, who do not attend a Princethorpe Foundation school.

Choral Fun Day – Saturday 20 January 2024 – 9.30am to 5.00pm

A day of free musical activities, singing tuition and team-building skills ending with a gala performance for family and friends. Light refreshments will be available for parents and children on collection.

Try Tag Rugby – Friday 26 January 2023– 4.15pm to 6.00pm

An afternoon of free tag rugby training for boys and girls on our astro, learning new skills and making friends before a mini tournament. Beginners welcome. Light refreshments will be available for spectators.

Places for both events are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Please click here to book a place. 

Thursday 25 January - 7.30pm onwards

Don’t miss this fabulous night out in support of our Malawi 2024 project.

Celebrate Burns Night with a traditional Burns three course meal whilst enjoying live music from Knitter’s Jig Ceilidh Band.

Individual tickets are priced at £40, two tickets for £70 or book a table of ten for the incredible price of £300.

Please click here to secure tickets.

Ben Collie
Head of Sixth Form

As we approach the Lent Term, there have been a small number of timetable changes. Some Year 7 and 8 pupils have one or two lessons swapping times in the week and there are a few room changes coming into effect. Please can all pupils check their online timetable before returning to school in January.

This week Edexcel shared the pre-release material for the A-level Business 2024 summer exam.

The pre-release gives the students advance knowledge of the industry that exam questions will based upon. This year the context is the Global Clothing Industry and businesses operating in that market.

The Business department would be delighted to ask for any volunteer guest speakers who work in the UK Clothing industry to come and support students with their studies.

Please contact me at elizabethgane@princethorpe.co.uk if you are able to, or have some contacts within the industry that we could ask to speak with the students. 

Thank you.

Thursday 11 January 2024

We warmly invite all parents of Year 9 pupils to join us at Princethorpe for our GCSE Options Evening on Thursday 11 January 2024. This event will be held in person in the main college building and will run from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. Further details will be emailed out just before the start of the Lent Term.

There will be a presentation to explain the options process, in the Clarkson theatre; this will run at 6.00pm and again at 7.00pm and will last approximately 25 minutes, with time for questions. We request that all parents attend one of these presentations. Please book onto one of these talks using the following links.

● 6.00pm Presentation

● 7.00pm Presentation

Optional subjects will be based in nearby classrooms and will deliver short presentations and answer questions throughout the evening. Parents and pupils are advised to visit as many departments as possible in order to explore the available options. Staff representing the compulsory core subjects will also be available to answer any questions you may have and will be based in the Sixth Form Centre, where refreshments will be available.

Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and a healthy and successful 2024.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head – Teaching and Learning

As we enter the run up to the second set of mocks and the GCSE exam period beyond, 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

The Year 11 Online Subject Progress Evening will take place online on Wednesday 17 January from 5.00pm to 8.30pm. Details of how to book appointments will be emailed week commencing 8 January 2024.

We know that for parents it is a challenge to know what children should be accessing online, how much time they should be spending on devices, and in particular how to go about keeping them safe and supporting their wellbeing. As such, we are pleased to announce that Princethorpe College is partnering with Schools Mobile, who have developed a system to add ready-made, age appropriate settings and filtering to your child's device. This can be added to each of your child's devices in just 90 seconds, making it easy for parents to be confident that their child is safe from harmful content and to manage their screen time easily. Our Wi-Fi connection in school is filtered and monitored, but Schools Mobile can provide this for your child's devices at all times, whether on home Wi-Fi, public Wi-Fi or on mobile data.

We will be running a three month free trial of Schools Mobile from January to March, which we would encourage all parents to use. Schools Mobile can be added to any device, including, iPhone/iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows and Mac.

Following the free trial we will be working with Schools Mobile to provide the best price for parents to continue using the service. Prices will be confirmed once we have a clearer idea of the number of users, but this will be significantly less than competing software already offering this service, and with full support available both from Schools Mobile and the College.

You will be sent a licence code to sign-up for your free trial with more information, so please look out for this.

Kind regards

As we sit around our dinner table this Christmas Day, let us remember the true meaning of Christmas: a time to be with family and friends; a time to appreciate all that we can take for granted and a time to rejoice in the miracle of the birth of Jesus into our world and our lives.

A Christmas prayer:

Round this table, here we pray,
First to thank you for this day.
For family and friends,
And their gift of love that never ends.
Living water, daily bread,
And countless blessings that our God sends.
Thank you, Jesus, for them all,
You that were born in a stable stall.

Amen

(Adapted from a prayer by Mary Fairchild)

Fr Alan Whelan MSC and Mrs Mary Benham

At the start of the academic year our school photographers, Gillman and Soame, with whom we have an excellent and longstanding relationship, came to school to take the start of year photographs.

Photographs were taken of pupils in Years 7, 10, 11 and Lower Sixth, as well as of all pupils new to the College in Years 8 and 9. Further photographs of Year 11 and Upper Sixth were taken by Gillman and Soame just before October half term.

You are now able to create an online account with Gillman and Soame, which will allow you to view and order prints directly online, with email notifications when new photos are available to view. 

Photographs are available for purchase now. Please refer to the link sent to you via iSAMS by Louise Eaton (Foundation Data Manager) and register with Gillman and Soame as soon as possible. 

If you have any problems with registering your child’s account, please email action@gillmanandsoame.co.uk and they will be happy to assist you. 

Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

HPV Vaccine 

On Thursday 18 January 2024 the Immunisation Team will be in school to offer all Year 8 pupils a Humanpapilloma vaccine (HPV). The link to the consent form and further information has been emailed to all Year 8 parents recently. 

Please note the link to the electronic consent form expires on 24 December 2023.

Flu Vaccine

If any pupil in Years 7 – 11 missed the flu vaccination in school last week and would like to book one, please follow the link here to book into a local clinic.

Please contact pcmatrons@princethorpe.co.uk if you have any questions or queries.

The Medical Centre Team would like to wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas break.

Mrs Paula Greig
Senior Matron

It is truly gratifying to acknowledge the noteworthy efforts and unwavering dedication demonstrated by our Sixth Form students. Heartfelt congratulations are extended to them for their commendable academic accomplishments and their steadfast commitment to the diverse array of events that have characterised this term.

The remarkable diligence exhibited by the students, both academically and in their participation in various activities throughout this term, serves as a testament to their exceptional work ethic. As we approach the conclusion of this period, it is an opportune moment for both the students and us to pause and reflect upon the multitude of achievements, both collective and personal, that have transpired.

In extending our warmest wishes, I hope that the forthcoming Christmas holiday provides a well-deserved opportunity for rest and rejuvenation. May it be a time marked by relaxation, joy, and the prospect of recharging for the challenges and opportunities that await in the upcoming term. 

Burns Night for Malawi - Thursday 25 January 2024

We are thrilled to invite you to our upcoming Burns Night event!

For full details and to book your place please see the article under Events.

UCAS and Careers - Reminder 

This can be an overwhelming and confusing time for Sixth Form students (and their parents) when faced with the huge choice of university courses and apprenticeships available. The Careers and Sixth Form teams are available to help and advise students on all aspects of these decisions, but we are also here for parents too. Below is some information that may help but please do get in touch if you any specific queries that are not answered.  
Feel free to contact Jacqui Quinney by email jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk
 
University Applications 

All applications to university are made through UCAS.com which produces a very comprehensive Parents Guide.  
 
Parent guide to UCAS (ucas.com)
 
Students will receive comprehensive guidance this half term on all aspects of the UCAS application.  

Apprenticeships

Students interested in applying for apprenticeships can find lots of information both on Unifrog and also UCAS.com. Applications are made directly to the employer and many larger schemes open for applications from November onwards. However, many smaller employers will continue to recruit throughout the year. Due to the competitive nature of many degree apprenticeship schemes, students may want to consider applying to university too, as a back-up.   

Key Dates

Friday 12 January - Freshers' Fair

Saturday 13 and Saturday 20 January - TEFL Course

Thursday 18 January - Sixth Form Taster Day (external candidates)

Thursday 25 January - Burns Night for Malawi

Tuesday 30 January - Lower Sixth Mock Interviews

Friday 22 March - Sixth Form Leadership Inauguration and Award Ceremony

Sunday 7 April - 40 Mile Walk 

Tuesday 2 July - Upper Sixth Leaver's Ball 

Ben Collie 
Head of Sixth Form 

We look forward to welcoming pupils back after Christmas for the Lent Term programme of Physical Education and Games at Princethorpe College. 

Our PE and Games Department have created a helpful guide for pupils and parents ahead of the Lent Term 2024 which includes further information about: 

• Team coaches and how you may contact them
• Instructions on how to access the Sports homepage and teamsheets
• Information about fixtures, including selection and cancellations
• Sports kit expectations
• Postcodes for away fixtures 

Please click the link here to view the guide. 

If you have any questions, please direct them to your son/daughter's team coach, or email me at leecassell@princethorpe.co.uk.

Lee Cassell
Foundation Director of Sport 

Please don’t forget that Princethorpe College PTA is registered with easyfundraising. 

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 ptassociation@princethorpe.co.uk or visit MySchoolPortal.

Princethorpe PTA

Did you know that we subscribe to a number of digital resources that our pupils can access via My School Portal? These can help with their day to day learning, research, homework, EPQ and general questions. Please click here for further information.

In the New Year we will be introducing the digital resources in more detail via the Flagpole and Pupil Briefing, so you can see how these excellent resources can be used for homework, research, extra reading and general interest. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions please email nicolatreadwell@princethorpe.co.uk.

Pupils can log into Oliver via My School Portal in the Library section and click on the News menu at the top of the page to see a host of activities to take part in. There are festive online games and an escape room, information about celebrations that take place around the world, Christmas craft ideas as well as all our Christmassy books that are available in the school library.

Online eDofE accounts have been created and you have been sent an email with the login details. Please sign in as soon as possible. The DofE will then send a participant handbook directly to your home address.

Further course materials were distributed at the DofE Start Up Meetings.

The deadline for bronze, silver and gold participants to complete the steps listed below is today (Wednesday 20 December). If you have yet to submit information, please do so as soon as possible. 

• Download the DofE app or find www.edofe.org
• Login using the username and password sticker on your folder
• Update your personal details
• Set timescales (for example at bronze physical 6, volunteering 3 and skill 3 months)
• Complete the programme planners for the physical, volunteering and skill sections. This includes selecting the activity, inputting start dates, setting a goal to achieve and recording your assessor details (please speak to your potential assessor to ask permission before you upload the details)
• Submit your programme planners online to your DofE Leader for approval. Once approved you can start your award.                                                                     

Please could participants spend some time reading through this information with their parents. The relevant resources will also be uploaded onto MySchoolPortal.

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education

Whilst the enrolment deadline for new starters has passed, there is still time to complete your award.

Please continue to prioritise signing off your volunteering, physical and skill sections. Guidance can be found on a DofE Completion email sent to pupils and parents, the advice documents are also available on MySchoolPortal.  Lunchtime drop-in clinic takes place every Tuesday 1.05pm in LG02.

The Certificate Presentation Evening takes place on Thursday 8 February 2024. Please prioritise signing off your sections before the Christmas break so they can be processed in time to receive an invite to the evening. Invitations will be distributed in the new year.

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education

It is always great to be able to share news of pupils' co-curricular successes outside of school.

Princethorpe College pupils Esme Card and Isla Edwards, who are in Year 7 and Year 8 respectively, are currently performing in Nativity The Musical at the Bridge House Theatre in Warwick. The show opened on 8 December and runs through to 28 December.

Esme and Isla are working alongside a cast of professionals and are thrilled to be a part of this modern musical classic based on the popular film from 2009.

We say ‘break-a-leg’ to the girls, we hope they are enjoying being part of such a special show!

Please click on the link here to see the Christmas TV guide that is created each year by the Librarian at Eckington School in Sheffield. It contains TV programmes and films that are showing over the Christmas period that originally started out as a book. Helen shares her list via the School Library Association for us to share with our pupils, so a huge thank you her for the work that is put in to create this.

Best wishes,

As it is the time of year when there is the threat of snow, it might be helpful for everyone to be familiar with the arrangements should there be significant snowfall. Where possible and if it’s safe to do so, we always remain open, even if we have to end the school day earlier than usual.

Should there be bad weather overnight, we talk to the bus companies a little before 6.00am and they brief us about their ability to operate our services. The Headmaster then makes a decision about whether the school will open.

Information will be available via the channels detailed below:

The home page of the website www.princethorpe.co.uk will normally be updated shortly after 6.00am.

• We will also post on the College Twitter page @PrincethorpeCol and Facebook Page www.facebook.com/PrincethorpeCollege shortly after 6.00am.
• If there is likely to be disruption we will send text messages to parents’ mobiles and the mobiles of pupils who use the buses, usually by 6.30am. Please note that we are not able to receive text replies on this service. 

The Estates team will respond to the severe weather with appropriate actions in line with our policies to keep the site as safe as possible. This may result in areas being closed or restricted and normal operations being adapted. We kindly request your support in adhering to any restrictions and taking extreme care whilst on site. In the case of flooding, then www.environment-agency.gov.uk is also useful. If you look under Flood and then use the river search word Leam, that will give you a good idea of the conditions around Princethorpe and the surrounding villages.

Should we have to close during the course of the day we will send text messages to let you know the arrangements. In such circumstances we will publish regular updates on the website. Where possible, we will make sure that our main number 01926 634200 is staffed during our school office hours, from 8.00am to 5.00pm. 

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

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

To report a pupil absence please do so on My School Portal.

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 find below the updated Term Dates for 2023-24 and 2024-25.

2023 -2024 (two page document) - revised Open Morning and Christmas Fair dates

2024-2025 (two page document) - revised Sixth Form Open Evening and Christmas Fair dates

Please see below our current vacancies: 

Princethorpe College/Foundation

• Digital Transformation Leader
• IT Engineer
• Estates Assistant
• Estates Weekend Caretaker
• Casual Estates Assistant
• Casual Security Officer

Crescent School

• School Registrar and Marketing Secretary

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.