Friday 1 March 2019 - 6.30pm to 10.30pm
The OPs annual Leamington Pub Meet takes place at the Royal Pug pub on Regent Street.
We will be meeting in the upstairs Function Room which has its own bar. The OPs Commitee will be laying on a delicious hot and cold buffet, so do let us know by emailing oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk if you are able to attend so we can cater for you.
Partners and friends are most welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!
Monday 4 March 2019 - 6.00pm
We warmly welcome you to an informal evening of scripted and devised work from KS4 Drama pupils.
Our Year 11s are busy in the throes of preparing their two extracts for their GCSE exam and Year 10 will be presenting their original pieces.
Please come and support them as they would love to hear your feedback.
Please note that this evening is recommended for 14+ as there are themes and language of strong content.
Tickets are not required for this event, but to help us cater efficiently please reserve places by clicking here no later than Thursday 28 February.
Aileen Cefaleillo and Vicky Roberts
Joint Heads of Drama
Wednesday 6 March 2019 - 7.30pm
Our February read was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The book offers a good mix of both comic and tragic themes, with a love story thrown is as well. The background to the German occupation of Guernsey had clearly been carefully researched with the hard lives and deprivations of the Todt workers depicted quite graphically. We were interested to see that there is certainly more to the novel than the film.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 6 March in the Library at 7.30pm. We have opted for non-fiction this time and will be discussing The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane, a very engaging writer who celebrates the wildness that remains in our over-populated islands. The book comes highly recommended and we look forward to some no-fiction for a change. We always welcome new readers so please join us whether or not you have read this book, either to share your own reading enthusiasms with us or to get a few recommendations for future reads.
Chris Kerrigan
Head of English
Friday 8 March 2019 - 7.30pm to 10.00pm
Please note this is an amendment to the previously advertised date of 22 March.
Tickets for the quiz, including a fish and chip supper followed by an infamous Princethorpe Cookie, are £7.50 per head. The PTA will be running a raffle and a paying bar on the night and the quiz will be hosted by our very own quizmaster Mr Ed Hester.
It will be an enjoyable evening for all and an opportunity to test your wits with any points awarded on the night going towards the final tally for your child’s House.
You are welcome to put together your own House team, but this is not essential as they can be created on the night.
To purchase/reserve tickets please click here to complete the form and return to the Student Hub for the attention of Anne O’Rourke, PTA Treasurer, via your child, by Friday 1 March in order to enable us to plan our catering.
Whilst tickets must be reserved in advance for catering purposes, payment can be made on the night or by sending cash or cheques (payable to Princethorpe College PTA) into school for the attention of Anne O'Rourke, PTA Treasurer.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Spring Open Morning
Saturday 10 March 2019 - 10.30am to 12.30pm
Crackley Hall and Little Crackers, Princethorpe's junior school and nursery in Kenilworth, is opening its doors for a Spring Open Morning on Saturday 9 March from 10.30am to 12.30pm.
This is a great chance to look around the school and nursery at the weekend and to chat to staff and pupils. Junior 5 and 6 pupils will act as tour guides and there will be music and sport activities on display. Light refreshments will be available.
Registrations are now being taken for Nursery, Reception and Year 3 for September 2019 admissions, limited places are available in other Years. The nursery is open 51 weeks a year and is carefully structured for two-year olds, three-year olds and pre-school.
All are welcome to look round the school, and to meet staff and pupils. No need to book.
Please email Mrs Jenny Vaughan, Admissions Secretary at jennyvaughan@crackleyhall.co.uk or call her on 01926 514410 for more information on the Open Morning and admissions process.
For more information visit www.crackleyhall.co.uk.
Thursday 14 March 2019 - 12.15pm
On behalf of Benet House, it is my pleasure to invite you to our House Eucharist, which takes place on Thursday 14 March in the College Chapel.
The service will be a celebration of our House community and will begin at 12.15pm. If you are able to join us, I would recommend you aim to arrive at midday to be seated in the Chapel before the arrival of the pupils.
There will be signage to indicate where to park on the day.
We would be delighted if you could also stay at College after the service to join us for lunch. So that we can cater efficiently, please reserve places by completing the form here no later than Tuesday 12 March 2019.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Ms Lisa Challinor
Head of House – Benet
Thursday 14 March 2019 - 12.15pm
On behalf of Benet House, it is my pleasure to invite you to our House Eucharist, which takes place on Thursday 14 March in the College Chapel.
The service will be a celebration of our House community and will begin at 12.15pm. If you are able to join us, I would recommend you aim to arrive at midday to be seated in the Chapel before the arrival of the pupils.
There will be signage to indicate where to park on the day.
We would be delighted if you could also stay at College after the service to join us for lunch. So that we can cater efficiently, please reserve places by completing the form here no later than Tuesday 12 March 2019.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Ms Lisa Challinor
Head of House – Benet
Thursday 14 March 2019 - 7.30pm
Foundation parents, staff, past pupils and friends are all cordially invited to attend Princethorpe - A Vision For The Future, a presentation by Ed Hester, Head of the Foundation on Thursday 14 March at 7.30pm in the College's Clarkson theatre.
The presentation will outline the Foundation's vision for the next five to ten years, and provide more detailed information on the College's new Science Building and campus improvements, including an interactive walk through of the Science facility. Mr Hester will also feedback highlights from the College's parental questionnaire, unveil the Foundation's new website and outline plans for a new, improved Foundation parent portal. There will be the opportunity for Q&As afterwards.
Refreshments will be served after the presentation in the Sixth Form Centre.
The event is aimed at adults, although pupils are welcome to attend if accompanied by an adult.
Please click on this link to let us know if you would like to attend by Monday 4 March 2019.
Letters to Mother - Tuesday 19 March 2019
Former Princethorpe Deputy-Head, Margaret Louise O’Keeffe, returns by popular request, to present an illustrated talk Letters to Mother on Tuesday 19 March 2019 at 7.30pm.
As Mothering Sunday falls on the last day of March this year, it seemed a fitting tribute to mothers to reflect on their sacrifice during the First World War. Some mothers lost all their sons in the conflict; all mothers were affected by what their beloved sons had endured.
For many soldiers dying in hospital or on the battlefields, their last words concerned their mothers. Men relied on supportive letters from their families and found solace in memories of maternal love, warmth and protection as they faced the horrors of industrialised warfare.
In their letters home, they usually presented a positive image of life on active service to avoid causing anxiety. Poignantly, before a major battle when the chances of survival were slim, many wrote touching farewell notes expressing gratitude and love.
This illustrated talk will focus on eleven people whose letters provide a moving insight into the enduring power and comfort of love.
Please click here for a booking form.
Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856-1925) - Tuesday 21 May 2019
On Tuesday 21 May at 7.30pm former Princethorpe Foundation Archivist, Dr Nick Baker, returns to present another illustrated talk Sir Henry Rider Haggard: Storyteller, Politician and Country Gentleman.
Sir Henry Rider Haggard was only one of many extraordinary Victorians who straddled many different lives. Inspired by his first-hand experiences of Africa, he went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time, specialising in ‘Lost World’ literature. Works such as King Solomon’s Mines and She communicated stories of lost civilisations in far off lands, and brought much needed escapism to a reading public. He did not limit himself to tales set in Africa, but also wrote about the Vikings in Iceland. Many of these stories have since been transformed into successful films. Who can forget Ursula Andress as ‘She who must be obeyed’ in the Hammer film of the same name? Haggard did more than simply feed the popular imagination. He was deeply concerned with the countryside, especially the farming communities in Norfolk, and argued for a more serious approach to Britain’s agriculture as the clouds of the First World War appeared on the horizon.
This illustrated talk will examine Haggard’s early life in Africa, and loves lost, to show how they shaped his literary output. We will also consider his close friendships with other notable individuals, such as Rudyard Kipling. A display of first editions and signed material will also be on display.
Please click here for booking form.
Organ Recital - Tuesday 2 July 2019
Once again on Tuesday 2 July 2019 at 7.30pm in the Chapel Tim Campain will play a wide variety of pieces from various genres on the renowned Princethorpe Binns’ organ of 1901. This year promises a special programme to mark twenty-five years of the popular Hugh Page Memorial Organ Recitals.
Please click here for a booking form.
Tickets - £5.00 for each of the events including refreshments. All Foundation pupils free of charge.
View Gallery
Sunday 24 March 2019 - 2.00pm to 5.00pm
The College will be holding a Spring Open Afternoon on Sunday 24 March from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. All are welcome to visit the College and younger visitors are encouraged to participate in the many fun subject related activities around the various departments.
The Headmaster will address visitors during the afternoon and refreshments will be available.
As usual we'll be looking for help from pupils to help around school, talking to visitors and taking part in activities around the various departments.
For more information on admissions and entry to the College in 2020 please visit our website or speak to the Admissions Team on 01926 634201/634262.
Tuesday 2 April 2019
We are very pleased indeed to have a very popular writer Frank Cottrell Boyce visiting the school on 2 April. We are linking up with the Stratford Literary Festival to facilitate this visit and he will be speaking to all Year 7 on that occasion about his work.
In preparation for this visit, I’d like to encourage your children to read one of his books, which are usually very much enjoyed by this age group. My suggestion would be Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth although there are many other titles which might go down well and which are available in the school library. These include Million, Cosmic, Framed, Astounding Broccoli Boy and Desirable.
I certainly hope that the children will get a lot out of this visit, particularly if they have been able to enjoy some of Frank Cottrell Boyce’s writing in advance.
Chris Kerrigan
Head of English
