The Flagpole

Princethorpe College is delighted to be partnering with Team Super Sports to offer Holiday Camps to children aged 5 to 16 years for six weeks this July and August. 
 
The initiative is part of the Foundation’s new Commercial Enterprise activity aimed at generating additional sources of income and is in response to feedback and demand from parents. 
 
The Summer Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday from 15 July to 23 August and are open to all. They will offer a wide variety of sporting activities, taking advantage of the College’s extensive grounds and sporting facilities. Youngsters aged 7 to 16 can take their pick of rugby, cricket, football, gymnastics, netball, hockey and tennis and create their very own sports camp. In addition to sports, dance and games there will also be optional arts and crafts activities for younger children aged 5 to 7. 
 
Comments, Gemma Cullinane, Princethorpe Commercial Enterprise Manager, “Team Super Sports are an experienced provider of sport and multi-activity holiday camps with a fantastic reputation for top-level coaching for children of all abilities. We are very excited to be joining forces with them for the first of many holiday camps to come. 
 
Dan Super, Founder of Team Super Sports, added, “Princethorpe’s beautiful campus is the perfect setting for a holiday camp. We are expecting it to be a very popular choice for many families in the local area.” 
 
For more information and to book your child’s place simply visit the Team Super Sports website here. The camps are priced at £37 a day. Bookings before the early bird deadline of Sunday 9 June attract an extra 10% discount and there are further discounts available for siblings and four and five-day bookings. Childcare vouchers are also accepted. 
 
Team Super Sports will be on hand at the College’s Open Evening on Wednesday 5 June and at Induction Day on Wednesday 26 June to answer any questions families may have or you can contact them at info@teamsupersports.co.uk or call 01675 448494. 
 
Crackley Hall’s Holiday Club will continue to run as normal. 

We have just heard that Season 3 of The Sister Boniface Mysteries, the spin-off of the popular Father Brown series, will be aired on UKTV’s Drama channel from Friday 7 June.

The show follows the adventures of Sister Boniface, a Vespa-driving, crime solving, Cotswold-dwelling nun and scenes from the murder mystery were filmed at Princethorpe last summer holidays. According to UKTV this latest series includes the story of a famous organist murdered mid tune in the Chapel (we wonder where that might be) as well as story lines of mysterious kidnappings and stolen precious jewels.

UKTV Drama’s channel can be found on Sky on channel 143, Virgin on channel 130, Freeview on channel 20 and Freesat on channel 158.

We can’t wait to see Princethorpe transported back in time.

18 Princethorpians were invited to Buckingham Palace in London to recognise their achievement of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award. Across four very special events, they joined thousands of young people and their families celebrating their success.

Many were invited on Friday 10 May, when the charity’s Patron, His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, a Gold Award achiever himself, congratulated all who had completed the challenging award, commending them on their perseverance, creativity and resilience.

Head of Outdoor Education, Will Bower, commented, “Completing your Gold Duke of Edinburgh takes real commitment and resolve, and the skills developed along the way benefit both the individual and their local community. All of these young people showed dedication and perseverance and their final expedition to Buckingham Palace is a really wonderful reward.”

Receiving their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award in ceremonies this year are: Amberquay Alford, Joshua Apaya, Dawson Barnett, Frederick Boyd, Thomas Dodsley, Eve Farquharson, Eloise Gray, Molly Harper, Ruby Harris, Evie Headland, Harry Hewitt, Lucy Hurworth, Noah Kemp, Niall Meades, Rahul Samra, Edward Sharpe, Tom Spencer and Charlotte Wildey.

We look forward to news of further awards presentations and don’t forget that the maximum age limit for completing your awards is 25 years.

At the end of April, Princethorpe College took a team of golfers to compete in the Warwickshire Schools Boys Amateur Championships at Coventry Hearsall Golf Club. It was the first competition for Princethorpe’s golf team, although the boys all play regularly outside of school.

Princethorpe finished fourth, an excellent result for the school on its first time out. Year 9, James Sinclair fended off stiff competition to finish individually second overall (across all age categories). While, Year 7, Isaac Fisher was 9th, Year 10, Oscar Robbins 10th, Year 8, Bobby Emmerson 29th and Year 9 Theo Clegg 34th.

Princethorpe has been offering pupils co-curricular golf sessions after school on a Friday for several years so, it was fantastic to offer the boys the opportunity to play in a schools’ competition.

Princethorpe’s team impressed us all, and we are now looking for more competitions for them to enter. It is great to have pupils representing Princethorpe in yet another sport.

Over 30 Princethorpe pupils performed at Thursday night's Peripatetic Recital Evening. The Clarkson was packed out with supportive friends and family to watch a broad range of performances on piano, woodwind, strings, brass, guitar and drums. Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, was thrilled to see so many pupils performing, saying, "There were some phenomenal performances tonight from some of our most experienced performers, and also very excitingly, there were some pupils performing for the very first time, at the start of their musical journey." As well as soloists, there were also some chamber music performances, with pupils on different instruments brought together by their peripatetic instrumental teachers. The evening came to a close with a stunning performance from music scholar Henry Corbin, after which Mr Cowlishaw encouraged a final show of appreciation for all the pupil performers and pupil theatre technicians.

If you would like more information about peripatetic music lessons, please contact our Peripatetic Co-ordinator for Music and LAMDA, Felicity Coulson at felicitycoulson@princethorpe.co.uk

House Bake Off is always a popular competition and this year we had another tantalising display of 26 creative entries. The ‘Sounds of the Summer’ theme producing an incredible array of cakes with festival camps, records and even beach themed bakes featuring among the many different designs.

At lunchtime on Wednesday 15 May, Miss O’Gorman, Mr Cowlishaw, Mrs Wilford and Mme Galano, with support from expert judge Ms Scott, took on the arduous job of judging all the entries, considering taste, decoration and relevance to the theme. Staff and pupils had crowded in at break time to admire all the amazing cakes and vote for their favourites.

House Activities Leader, Meg O’Gorman, said, “Our House bakers are just incredible, the effort and creativity put into making these cakes was fantastic. House Bake Off is always a super competition. Well done to everyone who took part.”

The results were:

Pupil Decoration

1st Harriet Reynolds (Fisher)
2nd Luke Foster (Austin)
3rd Robyn Shaw (Fisher)

Staff Decoration

1st Mrs Cowan (Benet)
2nd Ms Roberts (Benet)
3rd Ms Scott (More)

Taste

=1st Lauren Dent (Benet)
=1st Mrs White (Benet)
2nd Bella Cunnington (Austin)
3rd Amy Flegg and Hannah Atkinson (Austin)

All entries earned were awarded house-points and the final House placings were:

1st Benet
2nd Austin
3rd Fisher
4th More

This year's OPs Bluebells and Brunch was a real family affair, with past pupils accompanied by spouses, partners, their parents, children, a bump (and even the odd pet pooch!). It was a real pleasure to have past pupils attending from the very earliest days of the College right up to a leaver of 2023.

All enjoyed a friendly catch up with former and current staff over a delicious brunch, a tour of the school, including spotting themselves in the whole school photos, followed by a leisurely stroll around the Mile Walk. To top it all, the weather couldn't have been kinder to us!

All former pupils, staff and parents are welcome to attend our alumni events, find out more on Princethorpe Connect.

Princethorpe’s U10s football tournament was well attended with eight teams from local primary schools taking part. The youngsters all more than delighted to play friendly 5-aside football on the College’s astro-turf.

Primary School Sport Liaison Teacher, Ellie Callan, masterminded the event which had all the teams out on four pitches playing a round robin of 12-minute, one-way matches.  Refereed by Princethorpe Sixth Formers, Lottie Hunter, Jacob Iley, Blessing Katanda, Vincent McNevin and Oscar Reynolds, the mixed teams of girls and boys threw themselves into each game enjoying the opportunity of putting their skills into practice in a competitive environment.  

The coaches gave good side line support shouting advice to their players whose enthusiasm was clear to see. Matches were fast paced and the teams focused. The ball was moved skilfully up and down the pitch and there were some excellent shots at goal.

Congratulations go to overall winners Crescent School who were unbeaten throughout, playing smart, quick and skilful football. Well done also to runners up Grange Farm Primary School and to Milverton Primary School who finished third.

Miss Callan enjoyed seeing all the talent on display, saying “I thought the event was a real success. It was lovely to see the children having so much fun; they all deserve huge congratulations for their energy and enthusiasm.”

Taking part in the tournament this year were teams from Bilton CofE Junior School, Crackley Hall School, Crescent School, Dunchurch Boughton CofE Junior School, Grange Farm Primary School, Knightlow CofE Primary School, Milverton Primary School and Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School.

Our thanks go to all of the staff and pupils involved in the organising and running of the tournament and to the many parents who turned up to support the children.

Princethorpe welcomed OP Tesni Shemilt (Class of 2016) to school on Wednesday 8 May to talk to Year 10 about life as a prison officer and its challenges and rewards. Year 10 study ‘Good and Evil’ in their module on Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World in their Religious Studies GCSE.

Tesni last visited Princethorpe on her A-level results day so, before her talk, Head of Religious Studies, Cyp Vella, gave her a quick tour of the College to bring back memories of her school days.

Tesni told Year 10 about her journey to becoming a prison officer and then talked about the skills she needs to do the job and the challenges she faces. She spoke about being a key worker and problem solver and her work to support and help the inmates she works with break the cycle of reoffending.

Tesni gave Year 10 plenty to think about and reflect on as they study the concepts of good and evil and we thank her for delivering such an interesting and informative session. It was great to welcome her back to Princethorpe and to hear all about her career.

College athletes put in super performances in the first round of the English School Track and Field Cup to claim top spot in the Junior Girls competition. The Inter Girls did nearly as well finishing second overall, while the Junior Boys finished third and the Inter Boys team was sixth. The event took place at Rugby Athletics Track on Tuesday 7 May with teams from 13 local independent and state schools taking part.

The English Schools Track and Field Cup is a competition for school teams, pupils score points based on their individual performances, with their scores contributing to the team total. It’s all about the combined team effort and Princethorpe’s athletes certainly performed, a testament to the strength of sports here at the school!

The Junior Girls (Years 7 and 8) delivered a high scoring performance. Their best results came from Ellie Gane who ran the 800m in 2.42.4 minutes to earn 23 points, while Issey Cleary and Dami Ajagunna earned 20 points each for their respective performances, running the 1500m in 5.58.7 minutes and jumping 1.38m in the High Jump. The 10-strong Junior Girls team amassed an overall score of 318 points to claim their first place.

Then for the Junior Boys, their top scores came in the 1500m. James Bostock ran 5.01.6 minutes earning 21 points while Isaac Fowle finished just behind in 5.07.3 minutes to earn another 20 points. The 14-strong boys team together earned Princethorpe 286 points and a third-place team finish.

For the Inter Girls (Years 9 and 10) Grace McCollin was outstanding in the Hurdles, finishing in 12 seconds and scoring 27 points and then earning a further 20 points jumping 1.47m in the High Jump. Lily Hunter did not disappoint earning 24 points after a super 5.16.1 minute run in the 1500m, while Penelope Jones ran the Hurdles in 12.7 seconds to earn 23 points and Lauren Tebbatt threw 25.21m in the Javelin to earn another 20 points. Super performances across all the events by the 13-strong team accumulated a final overall total of 358 points and a second-place team finish.

Best point scorer for the Inter Boys was Will Smith who collected 19 points for a 4.55 minute run in the 1500m. Together the team amassed a score of 303 points to finish sixth overall.

Director of Sport, Lee Cassell, said, “It was a very good day for Princethorpe with outstanding performances across the school years. Everyone worked hard for their team, showing determination and resilience as every single point counted. We look forward to seeing the Junior Girls compete in the regional finals.”

On Saturday 11 May, Princethorpe College hosted its popular ‘Say Hello to Hockey’ taster session. In glorious sunshine, pupils from local primary schools, enjoyed a fun introduction to this exciting field game.

Rotating through different training drills, the children learned about the key skills of dribbling, passing, tackling and shooting. They quickly got to grips with the fast-paced sport and the morning finished with a mini-tournament in front of a crowd of enthusiastic parents.

Princethorpe College Games Teacher, Rachael Mack, was impressed at how well the children took to the sport commenting, “Some children were nervous at the beginning, having never been to Princethorpe or ever held a hockey stick before but everyone soon settled, and they were all chatting like old friends by the end of the morning. They progressed enormously and the standard of hockey played in the mini-tournament was really very good.”

At the end of the session, Princethorpe’s Headmaster, Grove du Toit, spoke to the children and their parents before everyone was sent on their way clutching a legendary Princethorpe cookie.

A big thank you to all the staff and Sixth Formers who gave up their morning to run the event.

Following on from a super visit to Sixth Form earlier this term, on Tuesday 14 May Loudmouth Education and Training Theatre Company visited Year 10 pupils in their PSHE Lesson. Through a series of excellent drama performances, they educated the pupils about the risks of exploitation and grooming, and of county lines and knife crime. The pupils responded positively to the performances, engaging in a question-and-answer session afterwards with the actors, who stayed in character to talk further about their experiences. The session also raised awareness of the wide range of further information and places of support which are available. These are listed here on the pupil pages of the Loudmouth website.

As part of their Science studies, Year 10 were visited by Beth Parker from Severn Trent Water’s Education Team on Monday 12 May. Beth spoke to pupils on the Science of Sewers, taking Year 10 through the water cycle and explaining the journey water makes to and from our homes.

As well as explaining how Severn Trent deliver fresh clean water to our taps, pupils also discovered how dirty water is treated and recycled and some of the problems and strange items that Severn Trent regularly encounter in the sewers (everything from mobiles to false teeth).

She also shared how Severn Trent’s sludge scientists and their sustainability work is helping to harness the power of poo.

The enrichment talk supports pupils’ studies on potable water, one of the topics they cover in their AQA GCSE Chemistry studies.

Beth also spoke about career opportunities at Severn Trent, including apprenticeships and graduate placements and encouraged pupils to visit the Severn Trent website to find out more.

Many thanks to Severn Trent and to Beth for delivering such a fascinating session.