The December Challenge Calendar is live for pupils to access on the Whole School Team - Challenge Curriculum Channel, or can be accessed here. I hope pupils enjoy the Christmas themed activities available to them!
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas Season!
Three exciting essay competitions are open and links are available to pupils on the Challenge Curriculum Team.
The Year 9 Competition is run by the Perse school, Cambridge, and is open to any student in Year 9. The Aristotelian Award is open to pupils to submit an essay of 1500 words on one of the 10 essay titles; Five are science based and five are humanities questions. The deadline for submissions is 5.00pm on Monday 13 January. Entries should be submitted on their website which can be accessed by pupils via the links below.
The Young Minds competitions are open to anyone. The Under 14 competition has three possible questions: Should technology have limits? What role should young people play in shaping the future of climate action? Is a world without borders possible, and should it be pursued?
The Senior competition is aimed at Lower Sixth students, but they will accept submissions from other year groups. There are 17 different subjects and each has a choice of three questions. These are particularly good for students who want to pursue one or more of these subjects at university. The deadline for entries in these competitions is 3 March 2025.
Pupils wishing to enter these competitions can see Mrs Lindsay for more details, or the competition websites, also in the links below.
Lower School Competition (Years 7-9)
Senior Competition (Years 10-12)
Please find below details regarding homework expectations over the Christmas break. Christmas is a very important family time, and it follows a long and demanding term. All pupils should make time to rest and recuperate with their family but be prepared for the new year.
Years 7, 8 and 9
No formal homework will be set for completion over the holiday.
Year 10
Homework may be set for all subjects if needed. Pupils may catch up on any missed or incomplete work and sort any files or folders if desired.
Year 11
As pupils have just taken their mock exams, it is important that they have some time to recover and reset. Suggested revision may be set by teachers to support those pupils who wish to undertake some revision. Pupils may catch up on any missed or incomplete work and sort any files or folders if desired.
Sixth Form - Lower Sixth
Homework may be set for all subjects if needed. Students may catch up on any missed or incomplete work and sort any files or folders if desired.
Sixth Form - Upper Sixth
As students have just taken their mock exams, it is important that they have some time to recover and reset. Suggested revision may be set by teachers to support those students who wish to undertake some revision. Pupils may catch up on any missed or incomplete work and sort any files or folders if desired.
Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and a healthy and successful 2025.
Full reports for Year 7 will be published on Friday 17 January 2025, and will be available to view on My School Portal.
Michael Spencer
Deputy Head - Academic
As part of Princethorpe College’s commitment to enhancing literacy and supporting students' vocabulary development, we have partnered with Bedrock Learning, a leading digital literacy platform.
Bedrock Learning is designed by former English teachers and helps learners expand their vocabulary and grammar skills through a rich selection of fiction and non-fiction texts.
By incorporating Bedrock Learning into our Year 8 curriculum, we aim to equip our students with the vocabulary and grammatical understanding necessary for success across all subjects.
Why your support is important:
Parental engagement plays a crucial role in a child's educational success. By actively supporting your child’s learning with Bedrock, you can:
By working together, we can maximise your child’s potential and set them up for success.
How can you get involved:
As Year 8 parents/guardians, you can now access your own Bedrock parent account, which allows you to track and support your child’s progress. Through this account, you can:
What do you need to do:
To get started and create your Bedrock Learning Parent Account, follow these simple steps:
1. Visit app.bedrocklearning.org
2. Click on the ‘Guardian sign-up’ button and select ‘School access code’
3. Complete the Guardian sign-up form and enter your child’s access code (this has been sent in an e-mail to you)
4. Check your email for a password to log in. (Please check your spam/junk folder if the email doesn’t arrive)
For further details about Bedrock Learning and how it supports literacy development, please visit bedrocklearning.org.
We are excited to be working with you to support your child’s literacy development through Bedrock Learning and look forward to seeing their vocabulary grow!
Kind regards,
Tuesday 14 January 2025
Before choosing GCSE Options next year, Year 8 pupils have the opportunity to make some choices about which subjects they study in Year 9. On Tuesday 14 January, we invite all parents of Year 8 to attend a short presentation about this process. This will be held both in person and online simultaneously and should last no more than 30 minutes.
Booking details will be forwarded week commencing Monday 6 January.
Progress Reports for Year 8 will be published on Friday 24 January 2025, and will be available to view on My School Portal.
Michael Spencer
Deputy Head - Academic
Wednesday 29 January 2025 – 5.00pm-8.30pm
The Year 8 Subject Progress Evening will take place on Wednesday 29 January 2025 from 5.00pm to 8.30pm. The evening will be conducted online using SchoolCloud. Details of how to book appointments will be emailed week commencing 20 January 2025.
Thursday 9 January 2025
We warmly invite all parents of Year 9 pupils to join us at Princethorpe for our GCSE Options Evening on Thursday 9 January 2025. 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:
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. Senior staff will also be on hand in the Sixth Form Centre to answer any queries, alongside refreshments.
