A huge thank you to all the Princethorpe, Crackley Hall and Crescent parents who joined us for Tuesday evening’s Parents’ Online Forum, when we raised awareness of our Annual Fund and the potentially huge positive impact of tax efficient donations on our Foundation schools. 

The Annual Fund has been the cornerstone of our fundraising efforts for some time and a critical part of our long-term strategy to ensure non-fee income plays a more significant role in developing our schools. 

Whilst a complex message to communicate, I hope it came across strongly that the Foundation is in very good shape, and this creative approach will help with the challenges facing us all and further strengthen the Foundation. 

Crucially, funds generated through the Annual Fund will give our Heads additional finance and resources with which they can ensure our schools continue to develop and flourish whilst keeping our schools affordable both now and in the future. Additionally, the Fund will provide financial assistance to families through means-tested bursary and emergency hardship support. 

The feedback to the presentation has been resoundingly positive, there has been a strong interest from parents in donating, (thank you to those parents who have already donated!), along with some very good questions and feedback which we have been following up individually. 

If you weren’t able to join us yesterday evening, or would like to listen to the presentation again, please click here to access the recording. 

In addition, you can access our Annual Fund brochure here, which simply explains how parental or business donations would work and the benefits to the schools within the Foundation. 

We would be extremely grateful for any further feedback to the presentation, so once you have had the chance to review this information please do complete the online form here, so we can take on board your feedback and answer any questions you might have. 

You will have also received today an individual message from the Heads to explain how the Annual Fund will help your school thrive and develop. 

With all best wishes 

Ed Hester 
Foundation Principal 

I hope by now you will have had a chance to watch the presentation that Ed Hester gave to all Foundation parents on Tuesday evening. If you haven’t yet I would certainly urge you to do so, click here to view the presentation.

The Forum was aimed at raising awareness of our Annual Fund and the potentially huge impact of tax efficient donations on our Foundation, as we continue to build on strong pupil recruitment for 2025 and beyond, remain as affordable as possible and increase non-fee income to help our schools continue to develop and thrive.

I have spoken to a number of parents over the last few days, and it has been good to hear their thoughts and ideas around this creative approach and heartening to see donations coming through already.

I have prepared a brief video message, here, to explain what your support for the Annual Fund will mean to Princethorpe and the positive impact it will have on each and every one of our pupils. Please do take the time to watch. We will of course keep you updated on the impact of the donations and our school development plans and projects.

If you have any questions about the Annual Fund, please do get in touch with Steve Kowal, Development Director at stevekowal@princethorpe.co.uk or on 01926 634265, and of course, I would be very happy to meet or arrange a call with any parents who would like to discuss the initiative further.

With all best wishes

Grove du Toit

Princethorpe pupils are celebrating after achieving outstanding results in their London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) examinations. Between them pupils earned nine medals recognising their commitment, diligence and talent in the Performing Arts.

Congratulations go to Ethan Edwards, Alex Mold, Giorgio Kleinmann and Robyn Shaw who all achieved distinction in their Gold Medal Grade 8 Acting examination.  Gold is the highest medal awarded by LAMDA and will have taken years of training to achieve. The four Sixth Formers took their LAMDA Gold medal examinations back in November, at school and received their results at the start of the Lent Term. Achieving their LAMDA Gold Medal examinations means that all four students have now also accrued 30 UCAS points towards their university applications.

Then, well done to Year 11 pupils, Henry Corbin, Josh Gorbutt and Abbas Hazra-Omer who were all awarded distinctions in their Silver Medal Grade 7 Acting and to Lola Foulerton and Charlie Miller who also received distinctions in their Bronze Medal Grade 6 Acting. 

The pupils all study for the LAMDA awards in addition to their school studies taking lessons with Princethorpe’s peripatetic teaching team. Lead LAMDA Teacher, Kathy Buckingham-Underhill, commented, "These amazing results are a testament to the hard work and determination of our pupils and I am delighted to see them receiving recognition for their LAMDA studies. Congratulations to them all. Their perseverance and dedication have been amply rewarded. Their LAMDA teachers are incredibly proud of them."

A huge well done to all the pupils on a really impressive achievement.

If you would be interested in having LAMDA lessons at Princethorpe College, please contact Mrs Felicity Coulson on felicitycoulson@princethorpe.co.uk for more information. 

More were the victors in the College’s annual House University Challenge competition, taking the title for the second year on the run. More House accumulated a super score of 455 points, across their three matches, finishing well ahead of their rivals.

University Challenge is a regular House event, based on the long running TV quiz show. In the College’s competition the teams are required to have representatives from each year group and a staff member, with the team facing questions on a wide range of subjects including Literature, Sport, Science, History, Maths, Art, Film, Technology, Music and Religion. Across two weeks, the House teams play each other in turn in front of an audience of Tutor groups.

Quizmaster for the competition was House Activities Co-ordinator, Meg O’Gorman, who enjoyed asking the infamous starter for 10 and follow up bonus questions.

After the final match Miss O’Gorman commented, “Thank you to all of the pupils who participated in this year’s competition. It is very different being on stage to when you are in the audience or watching at home. The questions were challenging and the matches exciting, it was nail-bitingly close in some rounds. Well done to everyone who took part.”

The final results were as follows: 1st More, 2nd Austin, 3rd Fisher and 4th Benet.
 

Strength and conditioning coach, and Old Princethorpian, Rich Hill, returned to his old school on Wednesday 29 January. Rich left the College back in 2008 and remembers his time at Princethorpe well. He was and still is a Field Hockey enthusiast and he proudly led the College’s First Team as Captain for two years.

Rich went on to study Sport and Exercise Science at Coventry University and made the most of his placement year, after landing a role working with the First Team at Southampton FC. After completing his degree, he undertook a voluntary placement at Coventry United Ladies FC before working as Strength & Conditioning Assistant at Ipswich Town FC while completing an MSc in Strength & Conditioning. It was then the opportunity arose to move to his current role as Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wrexham AFC.

As well as enjoying a tour of his old school, Rich kindly spoke to talented sports players from Years 7 to the Sixth Form. He spoke about his journey to his current role and gave the pupils an insight into his daily life, the science behind his work and the commitment and professionalism required as well as some of the benefits to his job.

Rich then shared his advice for the College’s young athletes and for those interested in practitioner roles to help them get a head start in their future careers. He stressed the importance of a firm foundation in strength and conditioning and how that can help give you an advantage on the pitch. He encouraged them to never say no to an opportunity and to always put in 100% effort as that certainly made the difference for him.

Our thanks go to Rich for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the College and for generously sharing his expertise with pupils and staff. We were delighted to welcome him back to school and hope he enjoyed meeting some of his former teachers as well as revisiting his old haunts.

We are always grateful for the support of our Old Princethorpian community, they are such great role models for our current pupils, inspiring and encouraging them to follow their dreams.
 

The Warwickshire Schools' County Cross Country Championships took place at Princethorpe College on Saturday 18 January. 32 Princethorpe runners competed against the best cross-country specialists from 28 schools across Warwickshire in what is always a well contested event. All the cross-country training paid dividends with another good set of results

Congratulations to Lily Hunter who finished 4th in the Inter Girls, Evie Marston who was 5th in the Senior Girls and Felix Batty and Ben Smith who were 4th and 5th respectively in the Senior Boys race.

In terms of team placings, Princethorpe finished 2nd in the Senior Boys’ race, 4th in the Minor and Junior Girls’ races, 5th in the Junior Boys’ race and 6th in the Minor Boys’ race. A huge well done to everyone who took part.

We had nearly 200 runners and their supporters at Princethorpe on Saturday, and we hope you all enjoyed pitting your cross-country running skills against the College’s tough hilly course.

On Tuesday 28 January, 123 Lower Sixth Formers took part in a very successful Interview Skills Day that was designed to perfect their interview technique, sharpen communication skills, presentational qualities and their ability to respond to feedback. Taking on the role of interviewer were senior professionals from a variety of different business backgrounds. All were past or present parents or friends of the College, with years of interviewing experience out in the working world.

In readiness for their one-to-one interviews, students had submitted their curriculum vitaes to be scrutinised beforehand. Exactly like in a real interview these documents formed the basis of questions that were discussed. Then at the end of the interview the professionals provided valuable feedback with constructive suggestions for improvement.

Feedback was very positive with many of the interviewers commenting on how impressed they were with the College's Lower Sixth Form students, and the students equally delighted and impressed with the suggestions and support received.

Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, commented, “Our Lower Sixth were encouraged to prepare well for these interviews. Our aim was to provide them with a head start in developing their interview technique. It was an extremely important day for them all as they face the looming reality of university and workplace interviews. The skills practised today will benefit all our students and we are immensely grateful to all of the volunteer interviewers who have given up their time to help us today.”

Year 9 explored Churchill’s War Rooms last week, in support of their studies of World War Two. History classes 9L, 9K and 9S travelled to London on Monday 20 January with the remaining classes visiting on the Friday, which co-incidentally was the 60th anniversary of Churchill’s death.

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 had a walking tour of Westminster discovering statues, monuments and landmarks linked to their history studies of the Suffragettes and Suffragists in the Michaelmas Term.

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.

Our Lower Sixth Geographers very much enjoyed their residential field trip. They visited the excellent Cranedale Centre in Kirby Grindalythe in Yorkshire from Tuesday 21 to Friday 24 January, to conduct field studies on costal places and regeneration in urban areas, both key topics for their A-level studies. The weather had its moments but everyone wrapped up well and worked hard to collect and analyse their data. The students gathered data in Scarborough and looked at coastal landforms at Flamborough Head. They also visited Skipsea, Mappleton and Hornsea to witness first hand the brutal power of the sea and the strategies in place to combat it. As always, the trip was an invaluable learning experience that will assist them all in completing their coursework.

Well done to all who ran at the ISA Midlands Cross Country Championships at Bedstone College on Wednesday 22 January. We entered teams in the Minor, Junior and Inter, Boys and Girls' races, running distances from 2.4km to 4.8km. It was a chilly day and the course was uneven and muddy in places but the College’s runners were on top form as always. They delievered another set of excellent results with Princethorpe claiming two team firsts, two team seconds and a team third.

In the Minor Girls race, Jess Parker was first across the line for Princethorpe in 7th place with Mila Foulerton just behind in 8th, Flo Turner was 15th, Jessica Blythe 18th and Eloise Scares 20th. Together they claimed team first place. The Minor Boys also ran well. Isaac Mainwaring had a good run and came home 4th, Ollie Morgan was 13th, Oakley Smith 18th, Jenson Godfrey 25th and Kián Mali 32nd. Their efforts helped Princethorpe claim team third place.

The Junior Boys delivered a strong performance. James Bostock ran well to finish 5th, he was followed over the line by Sidney Penn in 10th, Isaac Fowle 11th, Rufus Jones 12th and Reuben Allen 13th. That delivered another team first for the College. The Junior Girls had a solid run with Esme Card first across the line for Princethorpe in 7th followed by Adelaide Teeton in 12th and Bella Davies 18th.

For the Inter Girls, Delilah Teeton had a good run to finish 3rd, with Anabel Davis 8th, Eve O’Brien 14th, Marley Adnitt 20th and Lola Esler 21st. That gave then a team second place finish. Finally, the Inter Boys saw Charlie Atkins finish 5th, Maxwell Kiely 7th, Freddie Young 23rd and Eddie Hallahan 39th. They also took team second place.

Teacher of PE and Games, James Long, said, “The rough rural terrain at Bedstone College makes it an exciting cross-country event. Our runners faced large fields of competitors but they delivered lots of excellent performances and it was great to see the teams do so well. Many congratulations to all who took part.”

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils from local primary schools enjoyed an introduction to the sport of Rugby when they took part in Princethorpe's Try Tag Rugby event. The after-school session took place on Friday 24 January and was led by the College's Young Sports Leaders.

Working in small groups, with Sixth Form students and PE staff, the children started with some fun warm up activities. They then enjoyed skill building drills before finishing with a mini game played in front of an enthusiastic crowd of parents. Of course, after all that energetic fun the youngsters were sent on their way clutching certificates and a legendary Princethorpe cookie.

The successful workshop was just one of a series of activities and opportunities the College organises for prospective pupils to introduce and familiarise youngsters with the school. Next up on the sporting front is Princethorpe’s High 5 Netball Tournament for local primary schools on Tuesday 11 March.

The latest edition of the College’s magazine, The Tower Review, has just arrived and will be shared with pupils imminently. Telling the story of the last school year, term by term, it celebrates the adventures, achievements and successes of pupils from Year 7 through to Upper Sixth. It includes highlights such as Prize Giving and the College's productions as well as reviews of sporting events and House competitions. 2023/24 was an incredible year filled full of wonderful and memorable moments. We hope our annual souvenir review will be treasured by pupils and parents alike. A keepsake copy of the magazine will sent home to families who had pupils at school last academic year and mailed to the leavers of 2024. You can also read and download The Tower Review here.

We welcomed Alison Coleman MSc CEng FIMechE AFHEA to Princethorpe on Monday for our latest STEAM Lecture. She spoke to pupils attending our weekly STEM club sharing her experiences in the field of engineering.

Alison talked about transferable skills and gave the example of starting out working in the automotive industry on a project to minimise noise and vibration, before applying the same knowledge and expertise in the home appliance industry with washing machines. She brought the concept of engineering to life though a simple demonstration using paper. Identifying the ways paper can be joined together, such as with paper clips, staples, adhesive etc, the advantages and disadvantages of each and the fact that each method was designed and engineered to make it robust, low-cost, ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing. Alison also spent time answering questions from pupils.

Many thanks to Alison for a really engaging and informative session.

We are always on the look out for interesting speakers to inspire our pupils. Do get in touch if you think you can help, email mail@princethorpe.co.uk.

CEO, Adam Shay and, Director of Technical Projects & Head of R&D, Dr Gracy Lebeau from RBT Global returned to Princethorpe College during January to run a series of two Biochemistry Workshops for our Year 9 and Year 10 pupils. 

The workshops included a talk on their business RBT Global, which is a developer, formulator and manufacturer of hygiene and infection control products. Mr Shay related how the business began, how it changed during and now after the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the research and development work that goes on in the company’s laboratories. Dr Lebeau then spoke about the science of some of the products that RBT produce, and the pupils were tasked and supported in a practical lab experience, collecting samples of microbes and incubating them in agar plates to analyse in the subsequent workshop.

RBT Global have kindly facilitated several work experience placements for Princethorpe College pupils, after which pupils expressed how much they had learned and enjoyed working in the laboratories of a real business.

If you are involved in a STEAM industry and would be interested in talking to our pupils, please contact STEAM co-ordinator Dan Lee by email at danlee@princethorpe.co.uk.

Team Super Sports are back this February half-term for an action-packed week for children aged 5 to 16 years. From Monday 17 February to Friday 21 February, our Holiday Camps will run from 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Children aged 7 to 16 can choose from a variety of sports to create their own personalised sports camp! For our younger campers (ages 5 to 7), along with sport we’ve got arts, crafts, and dance activities to keep them engaged and having a blast!

Why Team Super Sports? They’re experts in sport and multi-activity holiday camps, providing top-level coaching for all abilities.

Click here to visit the Team Super Sports website to secure your child’s spot.

Camps are priced at £38 per day. Book before Sunday 2 February to receive an extra 10% off for early booking!

Sibling discounts and flexible booking options available!

Based on the hit film, this hilarious musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into an amazing rock band. While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the school’s beautiful, but straight-laced headmistress.

Performances:
Thursday 6 February, 7.00pm to 9.30pm
Friday 7 February, 7.00pm to 9.30pm
Saturday 8 February, 2.00pm to 4.30pm
Saturday 8 February, 7.00pm to 9.30pm

Tickets for performances may be booked here via Eventbrite. 

The Clarkson Theatre has a limited number of seats, so if you can no longer make the performance you have booked, please cancel your booking through Eventbrite so that other families are able to book.

Accessible seating is available, please book this directly with our main Reception by calling 01926 634200 or email post@princethorpe.co.uk.

Friday 7 February 2025 - 9.00am to 5.00pm

Our final Sixth Form Taster Day for external candidates is on Friday 7 February! 

The Sixth Form Taster Day is an opportunity for a small group of prospective Sixth Formers to visit the College for a selection of A-level and BTEC subject taster lessons, a Q&A session with current Sixth Formers and Year 11, lunch, a tour of school and a chance to meet the Headmaster and Head of Sixth Form.

The day will run from 9.00am to 4.15pm, when parents are invited back to join an informal Sixth Form information session which will finish around 5.00pm.

This event is for external candidates who are interested in attending Princethorpe College Sixth Form. Places are limited. To register your interest in attending our upcoming Sixth Form Taster Day at Princethorpe College, please click here. If you cannot make the Taster Day date, but are interested in finding out more, please speak to the Registrars who will discuss your options, email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call 01926 634201/297.

For more information on Sixth Form admissions please contact the Registrars on 01926 634201 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Friday 14 February 2025 - 6.30pm to 9.30pm

With just two weeks to go until our 2025 Farmers' Networking Supper, we are delighted that a good number of Princethorpe's farming community have signed up, with over 50 guests already confirmed. We still have capacity for more to join us, so do sign up, if you're available, as soon as possible to secure your place and help to make this year's event the best yet.

We are also excited to announce our Guest Speakers for the evening:

Charlie Weetman - Owner of F. Weetman & Son who have run East Chase Farm in Kenilworth for five generations. Charlie is also Director of the Kenilworth Show, and so will be sharing both his insights into running a family farm and his exciting plans for the Kenilworth Show, which takes place this year on Saturday 31 May.

Luke Weetman - Son of Charlie, Luke is co-founder of East Chase Distillery, an independent artisan gin distillery situated on East Chase Farm. Luke will share his story of how the distillery came about and his vision for the future.

The evening is set to be a fantastic chance to socialise and network with fellow farmers, enjoying great food and drinks whilst gaining fresh insights into the sector and celebrating the efforts of this vibrant community. Don't miss out!

The event will take place in the Sixth Form Centre at Princethorpe College, and the dress code is smart-casual.

Secure your spot here by Friday 7 February 2025.

Friday 7 March 2025 - 6.00pm to 10.30pm

Our annual OPs Local Meet is on the horizon, just five weeks away, and this year it's taking place at the cosy and quirky venue, The Micro Pug, Leamington Spa.

It is a popular event, and we are hopeful for a great turnout this year of OPs from across the decades, including members of the OPs Committee plus a few former and long-serving members of staff.

We will be meeting in the 'secret' downstairs room, accessed through a Smeg fridge door, which has its own bar, private garden area, and even a pinball machine!

There will be the customary welcome drink or two, courtesy of the OPs Committee, and included in the ticket price will be a delicious buffet to suit a variety of dietary requirements, along with dedicated bar service by the venue's friendly staff.

Alumni of all our Foundation schools, with their partners and friends, are most welcome. Click here to view the event page on Princethorpe Connect for more info and to sign up.

Saturday 8 March - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Crackley Hall School and Little Crackers Nursery, are holding an Open Morning on Saturday 8 March. The Open Morning is a great opportunity for prospective families considering Crackley Hall School or Little Crackers Nursery to come and have a look around and get a feel for the school and Nursery. There will also be opportunities to speak to pupils, key members of staff and to meet Mr Duigan, Headmaster.

To find out more and to book your visit to Crackley Hall and Little Crackers Nursery visit our website here.

Most of our pupils enter at Nursery and Reception, though pupils are welcome at any age, dependent on a place being available. We are still accepting registrations for entry to Reception in September 2025 and have 2, 3 and 4-year-old places available in Nursery. 
Applications for places in the current Reception to Junior 6 are treated on an individual basis as places are limited. Click here to find out more about mid-year and mid-term admissions. 

If your child is turning two, get in touch and come and take a look around our Nursery or come along to our friendly Stay 'n' Play Toddler Group on Wednesday mornings in term time. Click here to find out more. 

Thursday 13 March 2024 10.30am to 12.30pm

As part of the launch of the 2026 Admissions Cycle, the College's Spring Open Morning will give prospective families a chance to visit the school on a normal working day, with Year 8 and 9 pupils acting as tour guides. The Leadership and Admissions Teams will be available to answer any questions visitors might have. Light refreshments will be available.

All are welcome, please book your place by clicking here.

Entrance Examinations Day for September 2026 entry will take place on Saturday 8 November 2025 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. The deadline for registrations, scholarship and bursary applications is Friday 26 September 2025.

Limited places are also still available for entry to the College in September 2025 in current Years 7 to 10, and a Spring Entrance Exams Session will take place, after the Open Morning on Friday 21 March.

For further information please contact the Admissions Team on 01926 643201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Saturday 15 March - 10.00am to 12.00pm

Crescent School, Princethorpe's prep school in Bilton, Rugby, is holding an Open Morning on Saturday 15 March. It's a great opportunity for prospective families considering Crescent School to have a look around and get a feel for the school. There will also be opportunities to see sport and music in action, speak to pupils, key members of staff and to meet Mr Thackway, Headmaster.

The school will have two Reception Classes in September 2025 and are still accepting registrations for the last few places.

To find out more and to book your visit to Crescent School visit our website here.

Applications for places in the current Reception to Year 6 are treated on an individual basis as there are limited places. Please get in touch with our Registrar, Mrs Becky Witcomb, at admissions@crescentschool.co.uk, regarding availability for September 2025.  To find out more about mid-year and mid-term admissions click here. 

We are now also taking registrations for September 2026 entry to Reception and Year 3. 

The Tale of Peter Rabbit​
Wednesday 9 April, 2.30pm and 4.00pm and Thursday 10 April, 2.30pm and  4.00pm

As part of the Foundation's drive to increase non-fee income, our Commercial Enterprise Team are delighted to be hosting LOL Theatre Company's lovingly adapted production of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in The Clarkson Theatre in the run up to Easter.

When young Peter Rabbit disobeys his mother and enters the forbidden garden belonging to Mr McGreggor, he indulges himself with lettuce, green beans and radishes, however he soon starts to feel sick and goes in search of some parsley to soothe his stomach ache. Who does he encounter when he ventures further into the vegetable patch? None other than Mr McGreggor himself! After a frantic chase, he loses his clothes and his sense of direction. Will Peter Rabbit escape Mr McGreggor's clutches and return home unharmed? More importantly, will he learn his lesson and listen to his mother's warnings next time? Let's hope so!

This 45 minute family friendly production is based on the classic short story by Beatrix Potter and teaches about the importance of listening to warnings, doing the right thing and facing the consequences of your actions. Recommended for ages 4 and above.

This enchanting theatre show brings Beatrix Potter’s beloved characters to life! This is a public performance and all are welcome.

Tickets

• Adult ticket - £10
• Child ticket - £5
• Under 4s go FREE

Click here to book your seats.

Tuesday 11 March 2025 - 4.30pm-6.30pm - Clarkson Theatre

Please come and support the Drama Department's evening of scripted and devised exam work.

We warmly invite our audience to give feedback to our acting candidates on the 11^th hour of their process.  Your critique as ever is invaluable to us! 

Please be aware there are  highly emotive themes and strong language in the evening's work, hence recommended for Year 9 and above. We strongly encourage attendance by future GCSE/ A-level students however!

Aileen Cefaliello and Vicky Roberts
Drama Department

Progress Reports for Year 9 will be published on Friday 7 February, and will be available to view on My School Portal.

Michael Spencer
Deputy Head - Academic

The Year 9 Subject Progress Evening will take place online on Tuesday 11 February from 5.00pm to 8.30pm. Details of how to book appointments will be emailed week commencing Monday 3 February.

Michael Spencer
Deputy Head – Academic

Full reports for Year 10 will be published on Friday 14 February 2025 and will be available to view on My School Portal.

Michael Spencer
Deputy Head - Academic

Please click here to view the Challenge Calendar for February on the theme of love. There is a chance to gain some extra house points with entries for the short story challenge and completing the art survey. Please ensure all entries are submitted to Mrs Lindsay by 28 February. I hope you enjoy exploring these activities. The Ted Talks included also have extra tasks including a quiz and digging deeper links included on the website pages linked to the activity. 

Julia Lindsay
Challenge Curriculum Co-ordinator

We will be celebrating Year Group Eucharist for Years 7 to 10 in the Lent Term 2025.

• Thursday 6 February - Year 8 - 9.40am-10.30am
• Friday 7 February - Year 9 - 9.40am-10.30am
• Tuesday 11 February - Year 7 - 11.20am-12.10pm
• Friday 14 February - Year 10 - 9.40am-10.30am

Family members are invited to join the relevant groups in the College Chapel and to stay afterwards for light refreshments.

Please use the main exterior Chapel entrance. Car parking will be clearly indicated.

If you would like to attend, please click on the relevant year group above to confirm your attendance.

If have any queries, please email Mrs Mary Benham, Chaplaincy Co-ordinator at marybenham@princethorpe.co.uk. 

Mary Benham
Chaplaincy Co-ordinator

As we settle into the new term, I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight a few key areas for our Sixth Form students, with mock exams and important deadlines approaching. The Upper Sixth are turning their attention to the February mock exams, and we are pleased to see their focus and dedication as they continue working diligently in the Sixth Form. Meanwhile, the Lower Sixth are developing essential skills, with a focus on CV writing and taking part in our Interview Skills Day which happened on Tuesday 28 January. This was a really useful and insightful event that gave them the opportunity to be interviewed by external interviewers from local businesses and HR departments. The feedback was really positive from both our students and interviewers and we are committed to supporting them as they pursue their future ambitions and dreams. Your continued encouragement of positive study habits and a balanced approach to learning and well-being remains invaluable.

Medsoc at Princethorpe

Medsoc at Princethorpe is a weekly programme of activities designed to support our aspiring medics, vets and dentists. Our weekly meetings are open to our Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth students with the following purpose.

1. To give our students the best possible chance of getting on to their chosen university course; their application will need to fulfil the rigorous academic requirements and have an "X factor" that will catch the eye of the admissions tutors

2. To provide tips and ideas which will help to make our students stand out from the crowd of applicants who also have a string of 8/9 grades at GCSE and are predicted A/A* at A-level

This half term we have been focussing on interview techniques with our Upper Sixth students. We use the weekly meetings to expose them to past interview questions and analysing the best way to approach phrasing responses. However, it is one thing to know how to answer a question and another to confidently articulate the responses verbally. Our Lower Sixth aspiring medics have become the interview panel, firing a varied range of questions to our Upper Sixth students. They have experienced answering questions on everything from ethical and situational judgements through to questions on current health news and their motivation to read medicine. This was then followed up with mock interviews hosted by past pupil Tobias Lambe (current third year medical student) and Dr Alison Williams. This was a fantastic experience for our students, and all received glowing feedback and some excellent advice to further prepare. Thank you to both Tobias and Alison for generously donating their time to help our students. Our best wishes go out to the students undertaking their university interviews shortly, we look forward to seeing those offers rolling in! In addition to the Lower Sixth students acting as an interview panel, they too have had a wide range of weekly activities this half term, these have included:

1. Researching universities and how their courses run

2. University entrance requirements

3. Current research and health reports in the news

4. The importance of work experience

Pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11 are encouraged to sign up to the Princethorpe MedSoc Team to receive updates regarding advice on work experience, external courses and conferences if they are interested in pursuing a career in medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry.

We have the following exciting events planned for the upcoming weeks:

Freshers Fair - Monday 10 February 2025

An opportunity for the Sixth Form to promote their subjects to our Year 11 pupils.

Blue Day - Friday 14 February 2025

Dress in blue to support prostrate cancer awareness.

Valentines Day - Friday 14 February 2025

In the run up to this event students will be allowed to purchase a red or white carnation and attach a message for a friend or loved one, this will be delivered by hand on the day.

Ben Collie 
Head of Sixth Form

We are introducing a new charitable initiative to support our local foodbank in Leamington starting Thursday 1 and Friday 2 February. 

As you are aware, Pupils are given a date when they are asked to bring in cakes and treats for their form in Tutor Time. We are now asking if an item for the foodbank can be brought in when it is their turn and delivered to the collection point in the Sixth Form Centre. 

 A PowerPoint has been shared with pupils and tutors describing the type of items that can be donated to a food bank, please refer to  https://www.trussell.org.uk/support-us/donate-food for further guidance.  

 Keana Wasley, one of the House Leaders for Benet has introduced this school wide initiative. Donations are only being asked to be bought in when it is your child’s ‘cake week’ i.e. they are on the tutor group rota to bring food in for the form, as the idea is that when you are buying the cakes etc it will be easy/accessible to grab a non-perishable item for the food bank. Allocated days are Thursdays for More, and Fridays for Benet, Austin and Fisher. 

Thank you for your support.

The process of organising the return visit of our Dutch hosts from October 2024 is now well under way. We are looking forward to reciprocating the fantastic experience our pupils received during our four night stay with the players from Hopbel Hockey Club. 

The return dates are from Saturday 26 April through to Wednesday 30 April 2025. These dates are at the start of the Trinity Term to allow all year groups to host if they wish. 

The girls and boys are a variety of ages, between 13 and 16. This may be of interest if your child would like to participate in the Holland visit in October 2025 (current Year 9 boys and girls), however this invitation is open to all families. In order to help, we are looking for families who can offer to host a pair (or more) of Dutch visitors and are willing to entertain and involve them in your family life for either all, or some, of the four nights, we can look at visitors moving between families and are happy to discuss this further.

We will organise an itinerary of fixtures and activities during the school days and a BBQ for our guests with their host families on Sunday 27 April.  Please see the following provisional draft itinerary. We will let you know who the other host families are so that you can organise other events together if you wish. We will supply bus tickets for the Dutch visitors should these be required but they will need to be picked up after fixtures each day from College.

Due to the requisite safeguarding checks, all adults (members of the family over 18-years-old) within the household must hold an enhanced DBS certificate, to be sent for by the Princethorpe Foundation, even if they currently have a DBS certificate from another employer. If you are subscribed to the DBS Update Service, please do let us know. 

Please use our online system here to book an appointment. The DBS check has to be done within the three months prior to the visit. It will only take 15 minutes per person to apply for the DBS certificates, and one person from the household can bring the documentation on behalf of everyone in the household. 

One booking is usually long enough for two applications, if there are more people within  the household requiring checks, please book multiple slots.

If you have any questions, or cannot make any of the allocated appointment slots please do contact Claire Wildsmith or Suz Jeffery on 01926 634269 or by email to recruitment@princethorpe.co.uk 

Bringing the correct documentation is critical to the application process, please see the attached document entitled 'Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks’ for the ID documentation required.

Many thanks for your continued support of Princethorpe Sport and we hope that you can continue this by hosting some Dutch guests in April.

It is always great to hear about our pupils' successes that take place outside of school; please do keep us updated if your son or daughter has won a competition, raised money for charity, is performing in a show or competing at a high level with a sporting team outside of school.

We would like to invite parents to submit this information to us via a nomination form by clicking here so we might celebrate these achievements in school too.  

Neil McCollin
Assistant Head - Co-Curricular and Operations

The most popular books to be borrowed from Princethorpe College library in 2024 has been published. It is great to see Harry Potter is still a firm favourite, along with some newly released books that our library promoted. Adam Kay is another popular non fiction read, along with the biography of the footballer Paul Pogba. A couple of the titles are written in verse such as Crossing The Line, and have gripping story lines to keep you turning the page. To view our top twenty reads please click here.

Nicola Treadwell
Head Librarian

Bronze, Silver and Gold 2023-2024 invitations to the certificate evening on Wednesday 12 February 6.30pm - 7.30pm have now been sent to all those who have completed their awards. We will continue to send invitations at the time any remaining awards are verified . It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our young people. The Princethorpe DofE staff team are working hard to contact all participants that are close to finishing their awards to ensure they are verified in time to receive an invite. Please ask your participant to check their Teams messages for updates on their progress.

Bronze, Silver, and Gold 2024-2025 participants are reminded to check their Teams messages. Please check in with your participant to ensure they are making full use of the support on offer. There is lots of information under the 'Files' tab including a document with links to free online courses that would count towards the Skill or Volunteering sections. 

Bronze participants are in the process of being put into their groups and will be notified via Evolve Consent whether they are in Group A or Group B before half term.

Participants are encouraged to use Teams chats with their Young Leader or individually with Tamsin Frost, Natalie Hardy or Sion Murphy for any extra help.

The presentation, expedition dates and other useful information including the links to online courses is still live on My School Portal under the Co-curricular - Princethorpe page. Link here.

For any Duke of Edinburgh's enquires please use the dedicated email dofe@princethorpe.co.uk with the subject DofE-B, S or G-Surname.

Neil McCollin
Assistant Head (Co-curricular and Operations)

Did you know you can support the Princethorpe PTA online?

Follow, like, and share our social media posts to help us reach a wider audience. The more people who are aware of our fundraising events, the greater impact we can make for the school community! Please see below the links to our social media pages:

Facebook: PTA Princethorpe

Instagram: @princethorpepta

Thank you for your support. 

Princethorpe PTA

The PTA is registered with Easyfundraising. 

When you shop via the Easyfundraising website or app, with over 4,100 of your favourite retailers, including John Lewis & Partners, eBay, Amazon and many more, you will raise FREE donations for the school.  

If you are not already registered, please visit our Easyfundraising page here.

We are hoping with the money raised via Easyfundraising to buy a 3D printer for the Technology Department. This will really make a difference to the department and students! 

Thank you for your support.

The PTA support the school with many events throughout the year and we are looking for volunteers to help. Any help you can offer would be gratefully received. 

If you can spare some time, please fill in the form linked here.

Our PTA secretary, Melanie Flegg, will email you closer to the time with further details of events we need help at.

Please feel free to share this plea for help with any other members of the school community  that may also be able to help. 

The next events that we need help running the bar at are:

School of Rock performances:

Friday 7 February 7.00pm

Saturday 8 February 2.00pm

Saturday 8 February 7.00pm

Peter Rabbit performances:

Wednesday 9 April 1.30pm

Wednesday 9 April 4.00pm

Thursday 10 April 1.30pm

Thursday 10  April 4.00pm

We are excited to launch our events for the coming year! The PTA along with the school are planning an exciting calendar of events, so make sure to follow us on social media to keep up to date.

Save the date:

Summer Fest - Sunday 29 June - more details coming soon, so watch this space!

Please find below the Term Dates for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

2024-2025 (two page document) - revised Sixth Form Open Evening and Christmas Fair dates. Updated June 2024

2025-2026 (two page document) - revised Sixth Form Open Evening and Christmas Fair dates. Updated December 2024

The College's new cashless catering payment system, +Pay, has been live since the start of term, allowing parents to pay via mobile app and also via Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Parents can also see an itemised breakdown of all their child's purchases in +Pay, helping them to track spending and support their child with making healthy choices.

If you want to see what your child has purchased each day, follow the below instructions.

1. Log into +Pay
2. Open 'Accounts'
3. Click on Dinner Topup
4. Click on 'Statements' (at the bottom of the screen)
5. Click on the month to see how much has been spent each day
6. Click on a specific date to see the items purchased on that date

Did you know you can also setup Automatic Top-up, so that +Pay automatically takes a payment when the balance drops below a certain value, saving you the time and effort of logging in and topping up the account? More information on this can be found here:  Automatic Top-ups

Should you have any further questions regarding +Pay, or require any assistance, please email cashless@princethorpe.co.uk.

Andy Compton
Foundation Director of Digital Strategy

We would like to remind parents of some useful contact details.

To report a pupil absence please do so on My School Portal.

For other enquiries please use the email addresses below:

Bus related queries - princethorpe@vectare.co.uk

School Shop - uniform@princethorpe.co.uk

Medical Centre - pcmatrons@princethorpe.co.uk

School fees -  accounts@princethorpe.co.uk

General enquiries - post@princethorpe.co.uk

Lost property - lostproperty@princethorpe.co.uk

+Pay catering - cashless@princethorpe.co.uk

Email addresses for members of teaching staff can be found on My School Portal.

Holroyd Howe have launched themed Spring Promotions from January to March to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and further enhance the weekly menus, these range from Chinese New Year, to Valentine's Day, the ever popular Pancake Day, plus new Pop Ups featuring Hot Chocolate, Mac 'n' Cheese and Proper Burgers.

The promotions started this week with Chinese New Year and a Hot Chocolate Pop Up and have been well received by the pupils.  

We look forward to getting feedback on these with a view to introducing more promotions in the Trinity Term.