The Flagpole

Princethorpe College welcomed a special guest on Monday 15 January when award-winning author Ben Davis visited the school.

Mr Davis spent the day at Princethorpe hosting three creative writing workshops with Year 8 pupils.

The workshops began with Mr Davis reading extracts from his books including My Dad is Definitely not a Crime Lord and My Brilliant Plan to Fix Everything. Pupils then focused on creating their own short stories using Mr Davis’s methodology for creative writing. It included writing a plan before beginning their story and then focusing on bringing their stories to life by using visually descriptive language. Year 8 engaged enthusiastically with the former stand up comedian’s humour led approach with a number enjoying reading out their written work at the end of the workshop.

After the workshop there was also time for a question-and-answer session and for a book signing.

Nicola Treadwell, College Librarian, said:

“It was a real pleasure to welcome Ben to Princethorpe. His books are appealing and engaging, and their humour ensures that they are always popular with our pupils. The workshop was great fun and Year 8 produced some fabulous creative writing under his guidance. I have come across Ben’s books before and I know that his books are fantastic for all sorts of readers. I was delighted when he agreed to visit the school.”

Huge thanks to Ben Davis for visiting Princethorpe College and inspiring the next generation of successful writers and maybe even a future author or two.

All of Ben's books are available for pupils to borrow from the school library. 

Huge congratulations to the Boys U15 Rugby team who are through to the Quarter Final of the Continental Tyres National School Bowl.

The boys faced Gresham’s School at home on Wednesday 24 January and played an excellent tactical game to claim a great 31-12 victory.

They team had a tough first half playing against the wind and uphill, and at half time they were only just ahead, but in the second half they used the conditions to their advantage maximising their opportunities to add points to their score. It was an exciting match full of brave tackling with the team, and notably Josh Baker, playing an impressive game.

The boys now wait to see who they will play in the quarter-final of the Bowl.

A huge well done to them all.

Princethorpe College's U16 Boys Football team were the victors in the Plate after an excellent performance at the Independent Schools Association's (ISA) National Football Championships.

The six-a-side competition took place on Thursday 25 January at Nottingham University. 20 teams travelled from across the country to take part in this year’s prestigious event.

The team played consistently well across the day. In their opening match they faced Quinton House School dispatching them 2-0. They next faced The King Alfred School and held them to a 1-1 draw. They claimed another good win against North Bridge House School 3-0. Their final pool game saw their only loss of the day, 0-1 against Ipswich High School. That placed the team second in their pool and qualified them for the Plate competition.

In the semi-final the boys faced the Duke Of Kent School and capitalised on every opportunity for a super 1-0 win. They then took on Mount House School in the Plate final where their tenacity and resolve helped them to another fantastic 1-0 win.

Foundation Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, was delighted and commented, "The boys had an excellent day and they fully deserved their success."

The Warwickshire Schools County Cross Country Championships took place on Saturday 20 January here at Princethorpe College. 37 Princethorpe runners, drawn from across the school, competed against the best cross-country specialists from 31 schools across the county, in what is always a well contested event.

On hand to oversee the event was former Director of Sport, Gwil Price, and we were delighted as always to welcome him back. A huge well done to everyone who took part. We had nearly 200 runners, and their supporters, here at Princethorpe last Saturday, pitting their cross-country running skills against the College’s tough hilly course.

Upper Sixth Former, Grace Darcy earned herself a Silver medal, while, Year 10, Lily Hunter and, Year 9, William Smith both claimed Bronze. Eight runners finished in the top eight in their race and have qualified for the English Schools National Championships on Saturday 16 March at Pontefract Race Course in Yorkshire or at the National Primary and Year 7 Cross Country Finals on Saturday 3 March at Prestwold Hall in Leicestershire.

In terms of team placings, the Junior Boys and Minor Girls teams both finished in overall second place with the Inter Boys, Junior Girls and Minor Boys claiming fourth.

The Minor Boys ran a steady race, Rufus Jones came home first for Princethorpe in 7th, followed by Austin Higham 23rd, Isaac Fisher 30th, William Shaw 31st and Samuel Barlow 33rd. The Minor Girls ran a determined race with Esme Card finishing 5th, Ellie Gane 8th, Adelaide Teeton 17th, Liv Lamb 19th and Isabella Messenger 20th.

For the Junior Boys, William Smith led the team home in 3rd with James Bostock 9th, Ruben Allen 21st, and Alvin Wamala 24th. In the Junior Girls race, Katherine Lee came 16th, Rosa Davis 18th, Anabel Davis 23rd, Marley Adnitt 24th, Evie Bierton 28th, Jessie Murphy 29th, Ellie Maffey 30th and Dami Ajagunna 33rd.

In the Inter Boys race, Charlie Atkins finished 13th, Jesse Esler 17th, Toby Iley 26th, Mark Message 27th, Eddie Arkesden 29th, Will Gower 30th, Oscar Civzelis 32nd and Soren Wasley 33rd. A good run by cross country stalwart Lily Hunter saw her finish in 3rd place in the Inter Girls race.

Finally for the Senior Boys, Ben Smith and Felix Batty ran strong races to finish in 6th and 7th respectively while for the Senior Girls, Grace Darcy ran an excellent race claiming 2nd place.

Head of Outdoor Education and PE Teacher, Will Bower commented, "It was good to see the College so well represented at the County Championships. Well done to all of our competitors. Huge thanks to Estates, Grounds, current and former staff, parents and the Games Captains for all their help with organising and running the event."

Princethorpe's cross country teams also had a really successful day at Bedstone College on Wednesday 24 January. We are just waiting on confirmation of the team places and will share news of the results in the next Flagpole.

Archers from the College’s club had their first competitive outing last weekend when they took part in the Redhill Archers Novice Portsmouth Tournament on Saturday 21 January. Facing competitors from club teams from across the region, Year 10, Sophie Henry earned herself a first-place finish and a Gold medal in the Barebow Women U18 class. Year 7, Chloe Brosnan also took Gold in the Barebow Women U14 while, Year 8, Grace Symons claimed Gold in the Longbow Women U14. Year 9, Yasmine Edwards and, Year 10, Jessica Johnson did nearly as well, collecting Silver and Bronze respectively in the Barebow Women U16 section. Well done to them all.

It was a great introduction to the world of competitive archery. Many thanks to Redhill Archers for welcoming our pupils so warmly.

Year 9 have been exploring Churchill’s War Rooms this week, in support of their studies of World War Two. 90 pupils visited London on either Monday 22 or Wednesday 24 January. 

The trip provided fantastic enrichment for their history studies, bringing to life the tense days and nights of the Second World War. As well as exploring the underground nerve centre where Churchill and his generals directed the course of the war, pupils also had a tour of Westminster discovering the statues linked to their earlier studies of the Suffragettes as well.

The visit was also excellent preparation for those looking to study History at GCSE, supporting the component that explores the Rise of Hitler.

It was an informative and fascinating day for them all.

On Thursday 25 January, the U14 Girls Netball team took part in the ISA Midlands Netball Tournament at Loughborough Amherst School. They faced 18 teams from across the Midlands region.

Split into pools, Princethorpe flew through their first-round matches against St Dominics, Kingsley School and Twycross House playing an excellent game. In the playoffs, they faced Stafford Grammar and came away with another win, dispatched the hosts Loughborough Amherst in the semi-finals before facing Kings High in the final. Despite being in the lead at half time and communicating and playing well, the girls lost the match to finish second overall.

PE Teacher, Vicky Howell, commented, “We had an excellent tournament, with the girls improving throughout the day. They played with resilience and clearly enjoyed their matches. Well done to them all.”

Princethorpe College was pleased to welcome Sarah Gillard-Falkne who is the CofE Chaplain at Onley Prison on Thursday 18 January to talk to Year 11 pupils about her work. Year 11 study the topic of ‘Good and Evil’ in ‘Component 1: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World’ in their Religious Studies GCSE.

Sarah spoke at length about her work at Onley, the prisoners she meets, the support and counselling she provides and her belief that prisons are places that have to offer hope. Sarah challenged Year 11’s perceptions on prisons and the role that they play in society. Her anecdotes were thought provoking, at times amusing at times stark. An engaged and interested Year 11 audience had plenty of questions for her. There will be much for them to further debate in class.

Many thanks to Sarah for an informative and engaging session.

On Tuesday 16 January, Princethorpe’s GCSE Art pupils visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The trip offered an opportunity to take photos and produce drawings and sketches from first hand observation, all of which could then be used as stimulus for their coursework portfolios.

Full of atmospheric galleries and artefacts from all corners of the world, the complex and diverse collections offered pupils plenty to reflect on. Pupils worked exceptionally hard and came away with plenty of valuable inspiration.

It was an enjoyable and productive day.

Popular Learning Support Assistant, Amanda Kelly, has been honoured for her service as a local GirlGuiding Leader. Amanda is the Brown Owl for the local Coventry St Thomas More’s Brownies.

For 40 years she has volunteered her free time, enjoying the fun and friendship that working with children can bring.

She told us: "There is so much joy in Guiding; giving the girls the opportunity to learn about themselves, their community and the wider world whilst learning important skills such as first aid. Most importantly, they also have lots of fun, playing games and singing campfire songs."

We couldn’t let her milestone pass without applauding her for her amazing service. Many congratulations to Amanda, you are an inspiration to us all.

Aspiring young singers from local primary schools enjoyed a super day of song when they joined Princethorpe's Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, Music Teacher, Alison Wakeley, and Princethorpe College pupils for a fabulous Choral Fun Day.

The Year 5 and 6 pupils tackled a variety of choral pieces including popular favourites Count On Me by Bruno Mars and High Hopes by Jake Sinclair and Jonas Jeberg and even Imagine by John Lennon, as well as a number of traditional and specially arranged choral pieces.

As well as rehearsing furiously, the visiting children took part in a musical team scavenger hunt and enjoyed lunch in the Refectory.

The day culminated in an impressive gala performance of their newly learnt pieces in front of an enthusiastic capacity audience of family and friends in the College's Clarkson theatre, followed by refreshments for all.

Commenting on the day, Gil Cowlishaw said, "We were really impressed by the children. They achieved such a lot in just a few hours, learning so many songs and then taking to the stage to perform in front of an audience is no mean feat, a huge well done to them all!"

And a special thank you to all of the fantastic Princethorpe pupils who came along to support the Choral Fun Day.

19 Sixth Form students have completed a two-day course in Teaching English As A Foreign Language (TEFL). Taught by Nathan Lomax, an experienced TEFL Teacher Trainer, and former Modern Foreign Languages university lecturer, the course took place in school on Saturday 13 and Sunday 20 January. The course covered topics such as teaching English language skills, identifying learning styles and creating learning materials through a series of active, engaging and fun activities.

Princethope’s Sixth Form has offered the TEFL qualification as an extra-curricular option for a number of years as TEFL certification is particularly useful for those students considering a gap year abroad. The qualification offers a good way to help fund travel. Despite giving up two full days of their weekends, all the participants really enjoyed the course.

As an added extra the pupils were also all given access to a TEFL job prospects site set up and run by Mr Lomax that provides details of contacts and opportunities for teaching English abroad.

All the pupils passed with flying colours, congratulations to them all. We wish them all well in their TEFL adventures!

Crescent School warmly welcomed former pupil and teacher, Felicity Furber, and former governor, Mark Furber, back to school on Tuesday 16 January to help celebrate Founder’s Day. The school was marking its 76th birthday and also the publication of its updated A History Of Crescent School.

Mr and Mrs Furber took part in a Founder’s Day Assembly, then answered questions posed by the School Council before enjoying a tour of the school.

During the assembly, six Year 6 pupils shared extracts from the school’s early history. Dressed in original school uniform, they spoke about the experiences of the early pupils when the school was situated in Rugby town centre, on Horton Crescent adjacent to Rugby School.

Mrs Furber is the daughter of the school’s first headmistress, Mrs Eve Mortimer, and has a long and close association with Crescent School. Mr and Mrs Furber were delighted to be able to share new information and anecdotes about the school’s early years, bringing the Founder’s Day celebrations vividly to life for pupils.

During the visit, Crescent School discovered that Mr Furber has his own strong connection to the school’s current Bawnmore Road site. Mr Furber was one of the first pupils to attend the former, St Mark’s School when it opened on the Bilton site back in 1950, prior to its acquisition in 1988 by Crescent School.

Headmaster, Joe Thackway, said: “We were delighted to welcome Mr and Mrs Furber into school. The children had so many questions for them, and it really helped them understand what the school was like in its early years and to appreciate that while many aspects of the school have changed, there is much that remains the same.”

Mrs Furber commented, "It meant a lot to me to see how the school is thriving in every way.”

Copies of the second edition of A History of Crescent School have been shared with parents and contributors and a digital version is available to download for free on the school website here: https://www.theprincethorpefoundation.co.uk/publications-crescent. Printed copies are also freely available for all Old Crescentians and local residents. They can be requested here: https://connect.princethorpe.co.uk/shop (there is a small £2 charge to cover UK postage).