The Flagpole

It is my absolute pleasure to welcome all the Princethorpe community back to this new academic year. I trust the summer break was restful and filled with family time and relaxation. We all know that Princethorpe never stands still, therefore, having the opportunity to step away and switch off is necessary and one I hope all families made the most of. Having said that, we have been busy this last week getting ready for the start of term and there is real excitement amongst my colleagues. We were once again extremely proud of our pupils’ exam results and the fantastic atmosphere on both Results Days was testament to the hard work of both pupils and staff. We are starting the year with the successes of both our Upper Sixth and Year 11 pupils as motivation – our pupils deserve the very best we can offer, and we are ready to go!

Those of you who follow our social media channels, would have seen that our A-level results achieved a 100% pass rate with 35% of all grades being A*-A. 65% of all grades were A*-B. However, they do not represent many of the individual success stories which included 99% of our pupils achieving their choice of next step – this included one pupil who was accepted to study Medicine through clearing. We are very proud of all our leavers. Our Year 11 results were just as good with 27% of all results being grade 8-9, and 44% of all grades being 7-9. Our pupils achieved a third of a grade better, across the board, than predicted. This is obviously down to the hard work and effort of our pupils, but I must thank our staff for all they have done. The best schools have the best teachers, and we are right up there!

In my last Flagpole letter, we said farewell to colleagues moving on from Princethorpe. It is now also my pleasure to welcome some new staff who are joining us from September.

• Katy Burrows joins Modern Foreign Languages as teacher of Spanish and French
• Lynsey Dixon joins as Head of Psychology and Sociology
• Rachel Fox joins as teacher of Dance, with the introduction of the subject to the curriculum from September
• David Leach joins the English department as teacher of English
• James Long joins as teacher of PE and Games, he will also be looking after our Hockey programme
• Joanna Turner also joins the English department as teacher of English

In addition, we welcome our new Graduate Teaching Assistants, Tiegan McCann and Sion Murphy (OP), who I am sure you will meet when you collect your child from Prep. Hannah Thomas, Gemma Tilley, Holly Summers and Graham Burden also join the College in various roles across the support functions. Last but by no means least, we are also welcoming just over 170 new pupils across all years, and we wish them all the best as they begin their Princethorpe journey.

In terms of campus development, our Estates team has been very busy, and you will notice several essential upgrades across the site. The most noticeable will be “The Bourse” which is our newly developed and upgraded tuck shop, funded by our caterers, Holroyd Howe. We hope this will offer improved services to both parents and pupils in due course with details to follow.

On the academic front, all pupils should now have access to their timetables through the My School Portal. We are taking a slightly different approach to homework in Key Stage 3, and I request that you read Mr Spencer’s communication explaining the changes. The hope is that we are creating more time for our younger pupils to engage with all that is on offer outside of the classroom. When our pupils are in lessons, we work hard and fast, therefore, allowing some time to engage with other interests and being more flexible with how we set homework, should lead to better engagement when we need it most. To further build on the importance of lessons, I wish to issue a plea regarding attendance. There is no substitute for receiving good teaching from an expert teacher. As a school, we are placing a real emphasis on attendance this year and we will be critically evaluating any need that requires the missing of lessons. School trips and sport fixtures add crucial value to any educational experience, and they will continue. However, we want our pupils in class as much as possible and we need your support. We request that you avoid any requests that may involve your child missing school unless absolutely necessary or unforeseen. As per last year, we must be notified of any school absence as early as possible, using the absence form on My School Portal. A reminder that the My School Portal is the most important channel of communication, and you should be able to access all information you need from there. Your child’s tutor remains the first port of call if you need to send in a communication as they would be able to assist with most queries. You will also note that we have changed the name of the “Wellbeing Notification” to “Parent Notification”. This is to reflect what we use the system for – passing on a notification about your child for information.

We placed a lot of emphasis on standards and expectations during last year and this had a noticeable, positive impact on the experience of everybody within the Princethorpe community. It will come as no surprise that we are building on those foundations from day one and staff will expect nothing but the very best in terms of behaviour and standards. Can I request that uniform meets expectations and that all pupils come to school ready with the correct kit and equipment as needed? As I have outlined previously, if we don’t have to worry about the little things, we can throw all our efforts into the big things – teaching and learning. Two of the best ways our school rules of being kind and working hard find their feet, are through good manners and positive engagement. If any family needs last minute uniform, please get in touch with the Uniform Shop Team who will be able to assist.

Over the holidays, I read a thought-provoking book called The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. It was excellent in exploring how we are a risk averse society and how we do everything possible to keep our children away from activities that may be “dangerous”. However, he then juxtaposes this with our children having free reign in a digital world where the risks are often much higher and the consequences much more harmful. One wonders how many parents criticising Kirstie Allsopp for her actions when she allowed her 15-year-old son to go Interrailing, for example, have no controls on the social media usage of their children? The crux of Haidt’s argument is that mobile phones are having a demonstrable effect on the development of our children as their worlds are now only 7.5 inches in diameter and 12 inches in front of them. Children don’t want to take risks because they are anxious and feel perceived safety and control on the other side of a screen. Society is aiding in this as we don’t provide learning opportunities where they can take chances as we deem it high risk. I was inspired by the youngest and oldest Olympians in Paris. They were 11 and 65 years of age respectively. Both competed in sports (skateboarding and equestrian) that have an element of risk involving trial and error (pain). The challenge is for our pupils to discover their “skateboards” or “horses” by engaging with the wider world outside of social media. To further encourage this approach with our pupils, we have updated our mobile phone policy for pupils. This will be shared with pupils next week and again, we would appreciate your support no matter how big your child’s moans or groans may be.

Finally, it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention VAT on fees following the announcement by the Government that it will become policy in January. I hope the Foundation’s response has shown a clear strategy and understanding of how important it is to support our families. The key message from my desk is that we will be very mindful of how we approach our finances, and you will notice small changes moving forward. However, our number one priority is to continue to provide the quality and breadth of education Princethorpe is known for. In my start of term address to staff, I highlighted that Princethorpe is a very good school in a very good place, despite the challenges that may come down the line. We are excited about this year and the future of the College, and I hope you share this sentiment. In a thank you note from one of our pupils following their exam results, they called us “the best school in the world”. If we are or not does not matter. What is important is that we helped that pupil achieve their best and we will continue to do this for all our pupils.

I look forward to catching up with you next to the touchline and at social events, starting with the OPs vs College Sports Day tomorrow and the Headmaster’s Quiz for all new parents later in the term. Do come and say hello and remember our door is always open.

With my very best wishes,

Grove du Toit
Headmaster