The Flagpole

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