News

Letter From The Headmaster - July 2018

As we reach the end of another busy school year, I would like to thank you all for your support for the College. As ever, the summer term is dominated by the public examinations; we hope and pray that all our pupils did justice to themselves and the work that they have put in over the years. After the exams finished it was so good to see the Year 11s and Upper Sixth return to the College with their parents for their thanksgiving services in the Chapel followed by the Year 11 prom at Warwick Castle and the Upper Sixth Leavers’ Ball at Coombe Abbey; both of which were lovely celebrations in truly stunning venues.

This year we have created more pupil leadership opportunities and raised the profile of pupil voice with our student and school councils and other feedback via questionnaires. We want to extend the opportunity for pupil voice further and to do this, need all pupils to be regularly accessing their school email account. For pupils with smartphones we would like the pupils to have direct and easy access to their email via the phone and therefore ask if you could encourage your child to download and install Outlook on their device at home please. Full instructions for Android and iPhones can be found here. In the event of any technical difficulties, please contact our ICT support, amraizeajaib@Princethorpe.co.uk

The year has again been packed with a range of activities, trips and expeditions. We know that residential trips make a huge impact on our students in so many areas and are often a highlight of the year.  This year they have had so many opportunities: the History and Politics trip to Moscow and St Petersburg; the Holland Hockey exchange; the Year 7 trip to the Pioneer Centre; the Year 8 trip to Whitemoor Lakes; the Lower Sixth trip to Marle Hall; the Ski trip; the Spanish trip; the Dubai Football tour and the recent Year 8 trip to the World War One battlefields sites. Within the next few days we will have 16 pupils and staff undertaking the 200-mile cycling trip from Chepstow to Caernarfon, 19 pupils and staff on the retreat to Taizé and shortly we will have 77 pupils and staff depart for Costa Rica for the biennial Camps International expedition. We wish them well and hope that their experiences are rewarding, enjoyable and also open their eyes to new horizons and opportunities. We will keep them in our thoughts and prayers and thank all the staff who give their precious holiday time to benefit the pupils. Of course, the planning for next year’s trips, which include the Geography trip to Sicily and the Senior Sports Tour to South Africa, are already well under way.

It was tremendous to see that within the past few weeks 173 pupils managed to get through the various Bronze (113), Silver (40) and Gold (20) Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. There is a large team of staff involved to thank, but special thanks must go to Will Bower for his leadership of this key pillar of our co-curricular programme. Thanks too must go to Greg Hunter for all his work ensuring we offer a wide range of educational trips that go smoothly, as well as his superb organisation of Activities Week, which is always a highlight of the year.

As you will be aware, we are constantly looking to make improvements to the campus and facilities for our pupils. Last summer one of our major building projects was the complete refurbishment of the Clarkson Theatre. This super facility with high quality sound and lighting has been a real boon for the school and we have been treated to some notable productions already: Kindertransport, Arabian Nights, Loserville and the Lost Girls. Special thanks must go to our pupil theatre technical team who have mastered the hi-tech sound and lighting equipment, ably led by parent Dave Lomas and our own Pete Wilkes. The Clarkson refurbishment was a project which received major support from our Parent Teacher Association and I would like to record my thanks to all parents and staff who have given their time and energy here. They support so many of our events in a variety of ways, not least by providing hospitality, but of course they also raise large sums of money for projects and equipment to benefit the education of all our pupils.

This summer holidays our staff again will be working exceptionally hard to prepare for the new academic year. In addition to the annual programme of redecoration and refurbishment of our accommodation, there will be some major work going on to improve the College; this will include the complete refitting and facelift of our Art Corridor, as well as the creation of a new careers office and library in the Sixth Form Centre.

With the school now at its optimum size and oversubscribed, we will not grow our pupil numbers but we will continue to develop our campus. Our next major project will be the building of a completely new Science wing. Within the next few months we will be seeking planning permission for a new 10-laboratory Science building, which will accommodate our Physics, Chemistry and Biology departments under one roof in state-of-the-art-accommodation. For more details of this exciting project please see the article below titled Science At The Forefront Of Princethorpe’s Vision For The Future.

There is so much that goes on in school and I am sure you will all have your own personal highlights of the year. There are so many times when the pupils inspire us with their creativity, hard work and perseverance: the House Talent Show; Arabian Nights; the Spring Concert; the Summer GCSE and A-level Art, Photography and Design Show; seeing the inspirational work produced for da Vinci projects and The Pinnacle; the Princethorpe Oscar Awards; and of course the wide variety of sports teams and fixtures throughout the year. It’s hard to single-out individuals but it was certainly a major achievement for the girls’ U13A Hockey team to win the 7 and 11-aside county hockey titles and qualify for the nationals. The multitude of House events at all levels are also inspiring, giving each pupil the opportunity to contribute and represent their houses. The pinnacle of these events is of course the tremendous House Activity Day where every single member of the College is involved. With this year’s theme being Disney, staff and pupils had nine amazing tasks to tackle including dancing to High School Musical, drumming, singing and dancing à la Lion King, designing a new movie and shooting arrows with Robin Hood… all in all a really wonderful day. Huge thanks to all the House Activity Co-ordinators and prefects and particularly to Matt Parsons for his leadership of the House programme this year. We wish Jess Newborough well as she takes over the House Activity Leader’s role next year.

Some of the most memorable and special moments are when the whole school community comes together. This is often by giving both time and energy to some wonderful charitable causes and living out the ethos of the school by showing kindness, compassion and love for others. This has been another bumper year for projects and activities run with the sole aim of helping other people, not just by raising money but also by giving of time. We have had cake sales, ice-lolly sales, pancake races, 24 and 40 mile walks, non-uniform days, pink days, blue days, Valentine’s flowers, car boot sales, visits to the Leamington Night Shelter, lunches and social events. Some of the charities we have been involved with are local, other are national or international. Mary’s Meals, CAFOD, Breast Cancer, UNICEF, Prostate and Testicular Cancer, Father Hudson’s Society, British Heart Foundation and Warwickshire Young Carers, our House charity, have all benefited.

The money is still coming in but the total raised by the Princethorpe Community so far this year is just under £20,000 which is a tremendous achievement and it is worth noting that over the past eight years we have raised over £83,000 for Mary’s Meals. The £11,680 raised this year will feed 840 children at the Makalanga School in Malawi every day for a year.  Many thanks to all staff and pupils who have been involved in these events, but a special mention must go to Mary Benham, our Chaplaincy Co-ordinator, who also co-ordinates our charity events; Rod Isaacs who leads our Youth SVP and Sixth Form community outreach programme; and our House Teams who have been championing the cause of Headway, which has so far raised £3,806.24

We have been pleased by the response from the Princethorpe community to the launch of our 50 + 10 Bursary Fund. As you will recall, we have created the Fund to provide an additional ten full bursary places for deserving pupils who would otherwise be unable to attend the College. An increasing number of families are choosing to support this Fund by making a small monthly donation and I would like to reiterate my thanks to these families whose contributions make such a difference. As a result of their generosity, we are already able to fully support one pupil though the school.

If you are in a position to do so and would like to join the growing number of our community who support the Fund in this way, please consider making a regular donation of any size; we value a gift of a few pounds, as much as a large donation. The easiest way to donate is through the Virgin Money Giving link which can be found on the College website under the ‘Support Us’ tab.

A school, of course, is only as good as its staff and we are tremendously fortunate to have such a large number of hard-working, caring and dedicated professionals; I would like to thank them again for all that they do for the pupils in so many ways. I would like to say a personal thank you to Digby Carrington-Howell who steps down as Deputy Head after nine very successful years as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team; his patience, wisdom and good humour will be sorely missed, though we are delighted to be retaining his services in the Biology department.

As always, we have a number of staff changes for the new academic year. Our longest-serving leaver is Fen Whittle who retires from the Mathematics department after 25 years of loyal service.  Also in the Mathematics department, Sarah McKeever leaves to take up a post at Warwickshire College. Karen Bannister steps down from Head of Department as she moves to become part-time and we welcome Tomi Owens, currently of Jersey College for Girls, to run the department next term.

Sarah Sellars, a stalwart of the Design Technology and Textiles department for the past 16 years leaves us to move with her family to Shanghai. Miranda Porter from Malcolm Arnold Academy in Northampton joins us to fill Sarah’s shoes.

Gill Smith our Head of Science and Chemistry retires this year, having been with us for over 13 years. We have appointed Emma Cooper, from North Leamington School, as our new Head of Science and Chemistry. We also say “au revoir” to Faye Roberts, Head of Biology, as she takes a one-year sabbatical to undertake voluntary charity work in Africa. Francesca Wright joins the Science department from Trinity School and Catherine Warne becomes acting Head of Biology whilst Faye is away.

In the PE department, Debs Brookes, Head of Girls’ Games retires after over 13 years of excellent service at the College; we have appointed Jennifer Law, currently a teacher at the United World College in Singapore, to take over the running of the department in September.  Louise Harrison returns to us from maternity leave and we say goodbye to Kat Berns who has been covering for Louise this year.

Lil Gane, Head of Economics and Business, has also returned from maternity leave this term and is joined by Louisa Fielding in September.  Louisa is currently at Campion School, Northamptonshire and will teach both Economics and Business.  We also say goodbye to Kate Limb from our History department at the end of the year.

Patrick Higgins leaves us following his temporary assignment with the English department as Nicola Borman, joins us from Akeley Wood. Loretta Jones, who has a wealth of knowledge, joins the new, but expanding, Law Department.

We also have a number of moves within the support staff: Becky Underhill moves from the Sixth Form Resource Centre to the new post of Academic Secretary supporting Michael Reddish; Marion Mitchell, takes up the job share post of Sixth Form Administrator to work alongside Amanda McKenzie; Carmel Hopkins, my PA, becomes part-time as from September when she will job share with Keren Andrews, and Claire Lloyd joins us to work together with Keren as Recruitment Co-ordinator.

As you will be aware, we have a number of teaching assistants and language assistants who have helped out in a variety of ways round the College – in the Chaplaincy, Food Technology, Games, Administration and Learning Support to name but a few. You will have seen them at parent interviews, tutor evenings and on the games fields and they play an essential role in oiling the parts of the school which many don’t see. Taylor Vaughan, Nick Bonsall and Libby Williams made a real impact and we wish them all well in the next phase of their lives. Our new Teaching Assistants for September are Upper Sixth leavers Ben Haden and Luke Tallis, along with Ford Callum, who joins us from Downlands School in Australia, where Upper Sixth leavers Alex Tubb and Emilli Thornton will be working next year.

We thank all our leavers for all they have done at Princethorpe and wish them all well in their retirement or future careers.

For the summer holidays, we will cross our fingers that England can reach the World Cup Final in Moscow and I say to all pupils “Carpe Diem” – seize the day. Enjoy a good rest and break, but don’t let the time disappear without setting yourself some tangible goals for your free time.

I hope you and your families have a safe, happy and relaxing summer holiday.

Ed Hester
Headmaster 

 

Super Summer Fete Raises Stunning Sum

The College’s annual Summer Fete and Motoring Festival is always a delightful afternoon with plenty for families to see and do. So much hard work goes into organising the event and the College is hugely grateful to our dedicated PTA who do such an excellent job every year.

This year's event on Sunday 24 June was no exception. The Orchard was transformed thanks to plenty of enthusiasm, gazebos and bunting and the British weather blessed us with superb sunshine, allowing organisers and visitors to relax and enjoy themselves and their ice creams.

A new attraction this year was a Human Fruit Machine in the shape of enthusiastic Princethorpe staff, Lisa Gardner, Julie Aldridge and Bella Fogarty, who wandered the site, encouraging visitors to try their hand at matching three fruits from their pocketed aprons, they were hilarious! 

At the bottom of the Orchard there was line upon line of classic and unusual cars on show.  Polished to perfection by loving owners, proud to show off their much loved vehicles, Hillman Imps sat alongside Morris Minors, Maseratis and TVRs and visitors wandered slowly in between, stopping to ask questions and admire their favourites.

An array of over 30 stalls offered all sorts of entertainment, goods and services, including homemade food, arts and crafts, gifts, fundraising activities, second hand uniform and book stalls, tombolas, raffles and so much more.  And around the perimeter there was a whole lot of fun to be had in the shape of inflatables, games and archery.

With a crucial England World Cup game scheduled for the afternoon the organisers had thoughtfully provided a large screen and dedicated marquee for the footie fans amongst the crowd, and thankfully they were not disappointed.

Over the course of the afternoon a monumental number of burgers and sausages were barbequed and jugs full of Pimms poured by our trusty PTA helpers. 

The Fete was a wonderful entertaining family event, a great British way to spend a Sunday afternoon and best of all, on the day, it also raised an outstanding £2,500, money that will be spent improving the learning of every pupil in the school.  What can we say except thank you to all the organisers and visitors alike!

 

 

View Gallery

Science At The Forefront Of Princethorpe’s Vision For The Future

Princethorpe is putting Science at the forefront of its vision for the future, with the announcement of plans for a new state-of-the-art Science building. Planning will be submitted in September for the two-storey, £8 million building, which will see Biology, Chemistry and Physics sited together in one dedicated location. It is hoped that construction will start on the project within the next three years.

This is the latest in a programme of capital investment in the infrastructure of the College, including recent projects such as the refurbishment of the Clarkson Theatre and the Roundhouse for the Performing Arts, the Limes Building for Modern Foreign Languages, English and ICT and restoration of the wooded lake area known as Switzerland for outdoor education.

At just over 1,600 sq metres, the building will provide contemporary, spacious and well-equipped accommodation for the three Sciences including ten new laboratories, preparation areas, staff bases and toilets.

Comments, Headmaster, Ed Hester, “In a demanding world, where scientific progress is essential across the spheres of discovery, development and innovation, we need to provide the very best facilities for teaching and learning to stimulate the intellect, ambition and creativity of our pupils. This tremendous new building will enable us to do just that.”

The main entrance of the new block will face the Lime Walk and the side of the building will abut the existing Limes Building at the top of the North Lawn. The two buildings will be connected on both floors creating free flow for pupils and staff between them. The area in front of the new building will be attractively landscaped with a central square feature.

The project will also enable the College to redevelop and cluster other departments, providing permanent homes for Economics, Business Studies, Geography and Classics and dedicated laboratory areas for Academic PE. Plans are also afoot to provide additional catering and seated dining facilities. This last major phase of the upgrading of the school’s accommodation will benefit all of the College’s 900 plus pupils.

The project has been designed in collaboration with Leamington-based AT Architects.

View Gallery

Seven Year 7 Teaching Groups For September

Princethorpe will move to seven teaching groups in Year 7 for the first time this September when 143 new pupils join the school.

Headmaster, Ed Hester, comments, “We have had a high level of interest in Year 7 and each of these groups will start with around 20 pupils, enabling us to give those children the very best start to their senior school education, both inside and outside the classroom.”

He continues, “We are now oversubscribed in most year groups and this move will enable us to maintain the school community at an optimum size of around 900 pupils. Competition for places was high and we are excited to have such a fine and talented group of children joining us in September.”

For those interested in entry to the school in September 2019 the College will be holding an Open Morning for prospective pupils and parents on Thursday 27 September 2018, along with a number of Year 6 Taster Days in September.

Entrance exams for September 2019 entry will take place on Saturday 10 November 2018, early registration is advised. For more information, click here or call the Registrars on 01926 634201.

Image shows seven of the incoming Year 7 pupils with Headmaster, Ed Hester.

Old Princethorpians Launch Friendly Faces Scheme

The Old Princethorpians have launched a new scheme, OP Friendly Faces, which it is hoped will benefit many of our students as they leave the College and move on to university.

OP Friendly Faces aims to link past pupils established at university with first year OP students. Providing a friendly, familiar face to meet up with over a coffee (compliments of the OPs) or having someone to call in their new uni town or city will, we hope, make for a smoother experience in those first few weeks away from home and help establish a support network of OPs in universities across the country.

The Upper Sixth leavers received information on the scheme at their Thanksgiving Eucharist and more information will be available on A-level Results Day.

Comments OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler, "We are delighted to have already got a number of OPs signed up to take part in the scheme. Universities represented so far include Liverpool, Glasgow, Southampton, Lougborough, UCL, Nottingham Trent and Brighton.

She continues, "Our aim is to have OP Friendly Faces in at least 20 university towns and cities in time for the start of the new academic year in September."

The scheme will go live in September when we have had time to match Friendly Faces with the leavers of 2018.

If you would like to find out more and get involved (either as a Friendly Face or a new undergraduate) please email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

 

Upper Sixth Say Farewell With A Thanksgiving Eucharist And Fabulous Ball

Princethorpe’s Upper Sixth celebrated the end of the examination season and their time at Princethorpe with a beautiful Thanksgiving Eucharist and a fabulous farewell Ball.  It was one last chance for them to gather together to reminisce over their time at the College, the friends they have made and the many adventures they have had along the way.

Parents and students enjoyed a moving Eucharist service and delicious buffet supper that took place on Tuesday 26 June in the Chapel at school and then afterwards on the Sixth Form lawn.  The Upper Sixth Ball followed one day later on Wednesday 27 June at a former royal residence, the beautiful and historical Coombe Abbey.

The students smartly attired in black tie and ball gowns enjoyed a sparkling reception, followed by a delicious sit-down dinner, much anticipated speeches and then dancing until dark. As is traditional, the event was superbly organised by the outgoing Head Girl, Miriam Isaacs, and Head Boy, Tim Duffy, with subtle touches evoking memories of the year group’s fun-filled time at the College.

It was a joyous occasion with lots of laughter, shared memories and plans for the future. Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie said, “We wish all the Upper Sixth the very best as they move on from Princethorpe.  We very much hope that they all keep in touch and come back to tell their teachers and future pupils all about their fascinating endeavours and achievements. They have been a delightful year group, have worked hard and we are confident they will be rewarded with success when the A-level results are published in August.”

173 Princethorpe Pupils Complete Their Duke Of Edinburgh Expeditions

Congratulations to all the Princethorpe pupils who have completed their Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Expeditions in the last few weeks.  An amazing achievement by all especially in the baking hot sunshine.

Unaccompanied and self-sufficient they have trekked and camped their way across Snowdonia (20 pupils for Gold), the Dark Peak (40 pupils for Silver) and the Cotswolds (113 for Bronze), working together in teams to achieve their expedition objectives.

The Duke of Edinburgh Awards are recognised as the world’s leading youth achievement award. They provide young people with the opportunity to get involved, explore new interests, discover talents and make new friends.

Will Bower, Head of Outdoor Education, commented, “Record numbers of Princethorpe pupils have embraced the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.  They have taken the opportunity to develop skills and try new experiences, pushing themselves both mentally and physically to be the best they can be. We are delighted with their commitment and enthusiasm, and very proud that so many have completed their expeditions.  Pupils coped very well with hot conditions and the challenges they faced along the way.”

He continued, “We will be holding a celebration evening next year when pupils who have completed all of the sections of their Award will be presented with their certificates.  Pupils should make sure they get all of their paperwork submitted as soon as possible.”

The Gold Award winners (pictured above) will also receive an invitation to visit St James Palace, in London, for an official presentation.

Princethorpe College has excellent completion rates for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and is currently ranked third in Warwickshire in terms of completed participants.

View Gallery

Once Upon A Time In Princethorpe World

A long time ago - and yet perhaps it wasn't such a very long time ago – House Activity Day (HAD) appeared over the hills and far away on Wednesday 4 July and what a day it was!  

Princethorpe pupils stepped into a magical Disney-themed ‘Princethorpe World’ for HAD 2018. There was lots of fun and adventures to explore around school with some amazing costumes on display.

With a carousel of activities to enjoy, House Tutor Groups set to work taking on various challenges including; The Labours of Hercules in the Orchard featuring an unusual taste and smell test and inflatable obstacle course; escaping Aladdin's cave; giving Robin Hood and his Merry Men a run for their money with archery in Switzerland; creating stop-animation Lego stories; building 2D snowmen and putting their vocal chords to the test with renditions of Let it Go from Frozen and not to mention the fabulous Lion King inspired African Music and Drama workshop led by ACD Arts.      

Year 10 pupil Max Bishop said, “The day was really enjoyable. I loved the African drumming and had loads of fun doing the Hercules challenges!”

Year 9 pupil Izzy Dardis agreed, commenting, “The Lion King session was my favourite too and the Disney-theme was really good.”

Lucy Gribben, Year 9, added, “The day is great as it’s good to work together as a Tutor Group.”

As ever, many of Princethorpe’s teaching and support staff embraced HAD with gusto and there was a fine assortment of Disney-inspired costumes! We extend our thanks to everyone who made the day possible and a special thanks goes to House Activity Leader Matt Parsons, the House Activities Co-ordinators; Charlotte Verleure, Hannah Carminati, Katharine Darwood-Bredin and Julia Landon and our stalwart Sixth Formers.

House Activity Leader, Matt Parsons, commented, “The day was fantastic. There was an amazing atmosphere from start to finish and it was brilliant to see everyone get involved.” He continued, “We were incredibly grateful to welcome ACD Arts to the school to deliver some fun and interactive sessions for our pupils and the day wouldn’t have been possible without the hard-work and support of the HACs and Sixth Form.”

Well done to all for taking part – we can reveal the final results were:

First – Benet
Second – More
Third – Austin
Fourth – Fisher

Have a great summer!

 

View Gallery

Pupils Relish Their Culinary Trip To Borough Market And Camden Lock

Nine Year 9 pupils enjoyed a culinary day trip to London to visit Borough Market and Camden Lock on Tuesday 26 June.  The curriculum-themed visit was in preparation for their GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition course which starts when they return to school in September.  

The day began at Borough Market where pupils explored the huge selection of different foods on offer, they were amazed at the variety and choice available that even included a fresh fish counter with live lobsters.

They then visited Bread Ahead Bakery for a workshop on how to make sourdough bread.  There pupils made a loaf and a wild yeast starter which they took home to feed and will use to produce their own loaves over the holidays.

After that they visited Neal’s Yard Dairy for a talk on cheese production.  Pupils learnt about the different kinds of cheeses and tasted four very different British produced cheeses.

Then it was on to buzzy Camden Lock to experience ‘street foods’ and to investigate foods from around the world.  Pupils were able to explore and buy their choice of food for lunch - Dutch pancakes and wood-fired sourdough pizzas proved hot favourites .

Organiser of the trip, Food Technology teacher, Jacqui Scott, commented, “It was an incredibly hot and busy day, with a lot of walking, but very motivating for the pupils.  They learnt about how food is produced, about the provenance of food and how important it is to use quality ingredients when cooking.  It was super inspiration and preparation for their future studies.”

View Gallery

Year 10 Get A Taste Of Sixth Form Life

The Trinity Term has been hectic for Year 10 pupils, filled full of revision and internal examinations as they prepare for Year 11 and the run up to their GCSEs. So on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 June they all enjoyed the chance to step back from their studies and to think about the future as they sampled life in the Sixth Form and considered the subjects they might choose to study at A-level.

This was the first time that the College has organised a Year 10 Sixth Form Taster Experience and the timetable was action-packed.  Pupils attended five different subject-based lessons that provided an insight into potential A-level choices and the different approach to teaching at this level. It was pleasing to see how engaged the potential Sixth Formers were.

Then there were informative sessions on the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) and Careers support in Sixth Form, plus an Activities Afternoon led by Youth Leaders from Rugby Borough Council that focused on interpersonal skills and development.

Everyone clearly enjoyed trying out the Sixth Form dress code and looked incredibly smart in their business attire and the potential students also enjoyed a lunchtime BBQ with some younger Old Princethorpians which provided another good opportunity to ask questions.

Feedback has been very positive, with many pupils commenting on how much they enjoyed the Taster Days. For many it really was the first time they have thought about life post-GCSEs.

Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, was very pleased, commenting, “The Taster Days were a great success, the Sixth Form team really enjoyed working with the Year 10s.  They asked a range of good questions that will have very much helped with their decision making and we are looking forward to meeting them again with their parents at our Sixth Form Open Evening which takes place in the Michaelmas Term on Wednesday 17 October.”

The Pinnacle - Issue 24 - Be Inspired!

The latest issue of The Pinnacle, out in time for the end of term, showcases yet more of our pupils' excellent work.  

This edition includes updates on our da Vinci programme and showcases flair across many subjects and year groups including English, Music, History, Geography and Computer Science. There’s also coverage of some of the wonderful GCSE and A-level Art and Photography, which appeared in our Summer Art, Photography and Design Show in June.

A double-sized Minnacle is included too, with equally impressive work by Crackley Hall pupils from Nursery to Junior 6 and Crescent pupils from Reception to Class VI. It's super to showcase their talents too!!

Copies were distributed to all pupils via their Form Tutors today.

Click here if you would like to download a copy of The Pinnacle and here if you would like to see The Minnacle.

Helen Pascoe-Williams
Co-ordinator of the da Vinci Programme

 

Etone Jaguars Run American Football Session At Princethorpe

Huge thanks to the Etone Jaguars American Football Academy who ran two American Football taster sessions in school on Monday 2 July.  Based in Nuneaton, the club trains on Etone College’s Sports Field every Saturday morning and play in the British American Football Association’s U17 and U12 leagues.

As part of the College’s end of year off timetable Activity Week, the coaches ran a skill based session that introduced Princethorpe pupils to the American game.  In three groups pupils focused on ball handling skills, agility and then tried their hand at a series of set moves.  It wasn’t long before all had got to grips with the basics of the sport and in the American Football kit, the coaches had brought along with them, they really looked the part.

Princethorpe College Sixth Former, Luke Daniel plays for Etone Jaguars and after only one season with the club has already been selected to train with the U17 GB team, whilst eight of the academy’s players will be travelling to Vienna this summer to take part in a coaching camp that American College Scouts will be at. 

Both boys and girls train with the Etone Jaguars and pupils interested in the sport should have a look at their Facebook page https://en-gb.facebook.com/etonejaguars/

Director of Sport, Neil McCollin, said, "Amercian Football was just one of a number of different sports that pupils have had the chance to try in Activities Week this year.  Pupils clearly enjoyed the coaching session, participating with plenty of enthusiasm and quickly grasping the techniques."   

View Gallery

New Year 7s Enjoy An Action Packed Induction Day

Wednesday 27 June was an exciting day for the 143 Year 6 pupils who will be joining Princethorpe College in Year 7, in September 2018.

For this new generation of Princethorpians, the Induction Day was a chance for them to meet their new classmates, familiarise themselves with the layout of the school, get a feel for the sorts of lessons they can expect and generally to ask questions, allay any fears and ease the transition from primary to secondary school.

Our incoming Year 7s arrived looking excited and a little bit nervous in readiness for an action-packed day. Head of Transition, Susan Harris greeted them warmly and soon had them organised into their teaching groups before their friendly Sixth Form helpers led them off to try a variety of sample lessons. They learnt songs in Spanish, delved into castle construction in History, explored compasses and map reading in Geography and practised performance skills in Drama.

They also met their new Vertical Tutor Groups, got to grips with the lunch queue and the dining room, talked to their Heads of House and enjoyed some fun team building activities. There was lots of excellent advice on offer from staff and current pupils and no Induction Day would be complete without that special treat, a legendary Princethorpe cookie!

During the day we saw plenty of smiling faces and it was clear that everyone was enjoying making new friends. We look forward to welcoming them all back again just before the start of the Michaelmas Term for the Year 7 Activity Day on Friday 31 August.

View Gallery