The Flagpole

From 15-18 September 29 Upper Sixth students visited the Isle of Wight for this year’s Biology Field Trip.  An essential part of their A-level studies, the trip allowed students to complete two required assessed Biology practicals, as well as getting hands on experience of field work.

The group’s first stop off the ferry was to Monkey Haven, an Owl and Monkey rescue sanctuary, in Newport, where the students enjoyed learning about ex-situ conservation.  The next few days were spent at the Medina Valley Outdoor Education Centre.  There they completed predator and prey studies, dissecting owl pellets for skull remains and other bones to identify what the owls had been eating.  They also visited St Helens to explore the saltmarsh and study succession and then went on to Bembridge to undertake work on the rocky shores examining limpets and population interactions and practicing their sampling techniques.  They even had the time to enjoy some crabbing and an ice cream on the sunny beach.

Biology teacher, Catherine Warne, commented, “Our Sixth-Formers made the most of every experience, they learnt a lot but had fun too. The weekend’s sunshine was a fantastic welcome bonus to a very successful trip.”

The Royal Marines returned to Princethorpe last Wednesday 19 September to run a training session for the College’s Year 11 Rugby players. The Marines are well known for their arduous fitness programmes, so Princethorpe’s pupils had to show both their strength and stamina as they were put through their paces.

Disappointingly, extreme winds forced the training session to be relocated inside but the Marines adapted their programmes and all who took part had a fun, if exhausting, time.

The boys started with a warm up and quickly realised that they did not want to be the last to finish. They then moved on to team building exercises that challenged them to complete tasks using their initiative as much as their physical fitness. They took part in physical exercises such as a tug-of-war, as well as problem solving tasks including how to get your team from one side of the gym to the other without touching the floor. They threw themselves into every challenge with enthusiasm and good humour, quickly grasping that they had to push themselves beyond where they thought they could go, so as not to let down their team mates.

The visiting Marines, Tyler Jones and Marc Fernandez, commented, “The boys have worked well together, throwing themselves fully into the tasks.”

The training session gave a great insight into how teamwork and commitment are important for all walks of life. The boys had a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans, of all ages, are encouraged to learn more languages, in and out of school. Incredibly, across the continent, there are some 24 official languages and over 200 different spoken dialects. Back here in the UK four out of five adults regret not having learned another language, but that is something no Princethorpe pupil will ever be able to say!

At the College there are many opportunities to get excited about languages and a whole week celebrating European Languages was just one of them. Set up by the Council of Europe in 2001, Journée Européenne Des Langues promotes the importance of language learning and the cultural diversity that Europe provides.

Championed by the MFL team, who are convinced that linguistic diversity enables intercultural understanding, Princethorpe organised a week full of all sorts of language activities: trivia quizzes in the refectory, European language film showings, international snacks and of course the renowned MFL photo booth, all running alongside pupils usual MFL lessons.

Mademoiselle Charlotte Verleure’s enthusiasm for languages is evident and contagious “Through the lessons we teach and pupils’ day to day life they are encountering different European influences on a regular basis. I hope the events that have taken place in schoolthis week have been enjoyable for everyone and will help inspire all our pupils with the languages they learn.”

MFL Department

A huge thank you to everyone that has watched, liked and shared our new school film Princethorpe College – What’s It All About? online over the past two weeks.

It has been very well received and we’re delighted by some of the responses and messages that have been shared with us since going live, some of which we’ve included below:

“Great video. What I love about it is that having worked there in the past, this is actually real! Lovely filming and editing.”

“Love this! Such a fantastic video. My boys are having the best time at this school. Well done Princethorpe.”

“Princethorpe is the place I spent my first three years in UK from 1978-1981, and it definitely nurtured me for the rest of my life.”

In just 14 days, Princethorpe College – What’s It All About? has been watched 11,220 times, reached just shy of 14,000 people and has seen almost 800 reactions, comments and shares.

The film, produced by the Foundation Marketing Team and award-winning Affixxius Films, was shot over the Lent and Trinity Terms and aims to communicate the all-embracing nature of Princethorpe, the wealth of opportunities on offer and the individuals who make up our community. It also celebrates the College's beautiful setting.

Its September launch has been timed to coincide with the College's admissions for 2019 and the lead up to entrance exams in November.

Thanks again to all the pupils and staff who helped and took part in the film - what stars you are!

If you are yet to see it, please click here to view the film and please do like and share it on social media! #princethorpeandme

143 parents new to the College enjoyed a challenging mental workout accompanied by a warming curry supper at this year’s Headmaster’s Quiz. The Quiz took place on the evening of Friday 21 September in the Main Refectory. It opened with the very testing question of, ‘Which house is your child in?’ Once answered parents then collected their supper from the kitchen and drinks from the PTA bar.

The questions were certainly varied and included rounds on Sport, Capital Cities, Music and Languages, as well as some extra table challenges with dingbats and guess who photos to solve. Although each round was hotly contested everyone had lots of fun and laughter along the way. All the parents who participated earnt their child’s House a house-point.

Congratulations to the winning teams - 1st: 'Sienna' (More), 2nd: 'Twelve Ugly Parents' (Benet) and joint 3rd: 'Austin Powers' (Austin) and 'Gordon Benet' (Benet)

Running concurrently in the Sixth Form Centre the Year 7 Social, organised by Jessica Newborough, House Activities Leader, and the House Activities Co-ordinators, also proved very popular with our newest pupils who all enjoyed the chance to mix with their new friends.

Many thanks go to the PTA for organising such a successful event, to our Holroyd Howe Catering team for the super food, to all the College staff involved in organising the event and to all the new parents for participating so enthusiastically.

Huge congratulations to Year 8’s Jake Lambert, who came second in the National Field Archery Championships that took place at Cornbury Park Estate in Oxfordshire on 14-15 September. Competing in the Junior Boys U16 Barebow category, 12-year-old Jake was one of some 370 archers who travelled from across England to take part in the national event.

Field archery takes place in woodland and at the National Championships competitors shoot at 80 two dimensional targets over two days. Spread across the woodland, targets are set at varying distances and often have branches and trees partially obscuring them. The targets are made of paper and are shaped as animals and the scoring zones are very small. This was Jake’s first two day shoot and he had early 5.30am starts and six hours out in the field but his final score of 992 points was enough to earn him second place.

Jake is a regular member of Princethorpe’s Archery Club and was competing using a recurve bow. He first picked up a bow when he started at Princethorpe College last year, and with his steady aim and commitment he has made rapid progress. He practises as much and as often as he can.

Princethorpe’s Archey Club leader Rob Southern explained, “Jake is incredibly committed to the sport and to the club and I think this is shown by his progress. He attends every session, listens well to instructions and has even helped out with the Summer Fete Archery and Open Event have-a-go sessions. Princethorpe Archery are very proud of his achievement and we hope to build on this success in the future.”

Jake added, “I was competing for hours against people from across the country, it was tiring but I was really pleased to finish second.”

And at only 12-years-old that really was a fantastic achievement!

Princethorpe’s primary school sport programme kicked off early this year with a well-attended U10s football tournament in only the third week of term.  Taking part were ten teams from local primary schools, who were all more than delighted to get out in the glorious autumn sunshine and enjoy the chance to play football on the College’s pristine, playing fields

Princethorpe’s new Primary School Sport Liaison Teacher, Hannah Carminati, masterminded the first event and had the teams straight out on to four pitches playing 12 minute, one-way matches.  Split into two pools the teams started with a round-robin of four games.  Refereed by Princethorpe Sixth Formers, Rob Lord, Ollie Coupland, Dan Hagan and Jack Bent, the mixed teams of girls and boys threw themselves into each game enjoying the opportunity of putting their skills into practice in a competitive environment.   

The coaches gave good side line support shouting advice to their players whose enthusiasm was clear to see. Matches were fast paced and the teams focused. The ball was moved skilfully up and down the pitch and there were some excellent shots at goal. At the end of the pool round the scores were added up and the teams then all finished with one final game playing their matching placing from the other pool.

Congratulations go to overall winners Crackley Hall School whose super speedy golden goal claimed overall first place 17 seconds into extra time just pipping Cawston Grange Primary into second place. 

Miss Carminati enjoyed seeing all the talent on display, saying “I thought the event was a real success.  It was lovely to see the children having so much fun; they all deserve huge congratulations for their energy and enthusiasm.  It was fantastic to have 10 schools participating and to see everyone with a smile on their face.”

Taking part in the tournament this year were teams from Crackley Hall School, Crescent School, The Croft Prep School, St John’s Priory School, Cawston Grange Primary School, Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, The Revel Church of England Primary School and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School.

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

This month Princethorpe College was delighted to hear that one of the Camps International projects supported by Princethorpe pupils back in July 2016 has now been completed.

The Year 11 and Lower Sixth pupils who travelled with Head of Biology, Faye Roberts, worked on three projects that summer in Ecuadorian communities in Amazonia, Kurikatchi and in Esmeraldas.  In early 2016, the River Esmeraldas had burst its banks, destroying many local homes and badly damaging the only medical centre in the area, leaving the entire community of more than 5,000 people without access to medical facilities.

The government of Ecuador provided some labour and building materials, but much of the physical work to rebuild the medical centre was undertaken by volunteer groups organised by Camps International.  Princethorpe’s pupils were in right at the start helping to dig the foundations.  “It was tough manual labour, real back breaking work,” remembers Biology Teacher and Head of More House, Simon Robertson.

Two years later the medical centre is now complete and was officially opened with an inauguration ceremony led by Edison Molina, the President of the local community.  He said, “Without the help of Camps International this wouldn’t have been possible. Having the support of volunteers from a country as important as the United Kingdom is a source of pride for the community.”

Amy Lacey from Camps International added, “Our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in this project, especially the Camps International worldwide volunteers that worked so hard, digging, building, plastering, painting and constructing furniture for this essential community facility.”

The College was delighted to hear the news too – a real example of our College ethos at work. 

For more information on the project please see here.

Click on the attachment below to download the latest ‘In the News’ posters featuring some of the Foundation's recent media coverage.

In the News

In the last few months we have had stories in the local press including the Leamington Courier, Kenilworth News, Rugby Advertiser, Leamington Observer, Rugby and Lutterworth Observer and the Coventry and Warwickshire Telegraph.  The Foundation has also been featured in Catholic Today and the Independent Schools’ magazine Attain.