The Flagpole

Last Monday 13 May 12 current Sixth Formers and 9 Old Princethorpians, were invited to Buckingham Palace in London to be presented with the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.  They joined 3,500 young people in a special ceremony in glorious sunshine, in the gardens of the Palace. 

It will have taken over five years and 450 hours to have earned the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, progressing first through Bronze and then Silver until they finally achieved the challenging Gold.  Along the way they have volunteered, learned new skills, taken part in physical activity, and for the Gold undertaken a week long residential, as well as planning and completing self-sufficient expeditions.

In turn the 21 were presented with their awards by explorer and adventurer Andy Bartlet who urged them to be proud and to keep making life memorable.  After receiving their awards, the group then had the chance to meet and talk with Sophie, Countess of Wessex. 

Head of Outdoor Education, Will Bower, was very proud, commenting, “Completing your Gold Duke of Edinburgh takes real commitment and resolve, and the skills developed along the way benefit both the individual and their local community.  All of these young people showed dedication and perseverance and their final expedition to Buckingham Palace was a wonderful reward.”

Receiving their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award were:

Upper Sixth Formers

Imogen Blackhall
Meera Chauhan
Megan Harcourt
Alex Hutcheson
Eleanor Jennings
Megan Jones
Alexander Mackinnon
Aimee Sen-Gupta
Charlotte Silvester
Tom Warne
Christie Wukics
Tiarnan Wukics

Old Princethorpians

Georgina Bannister
Joseph Berry
Helen Busfield
Nathan Golsby-Taylor
Imogen Hornsby
Jessica Hornsby
Megan Lewis
James Tolcher
Edward Williamson

Huge congratulations to Princethorpe College Year 8 pupil, Molly McGrory who is Irish World Dancing Champion. 

Molly joined thousands of elite competitors from across the world who descended on Greensboro in North Carolina, USA for the sport's pre-eminent event, the annual Irish Dancing World Championships.  She stomped the floorboards and leapt into the air through a series of heats to get through to the final 50 and be acclaimed as the best in her age group in the world.

This was not the first time that Molly has entered the competition as she was also World Champion two years ago.  This time dancing in the 12-13 age group, she was competing against dancers from across Ireland, the USA and even as far afield as Australia. 

The competition took place from 14-21 April, and over a series of days each of the competitors initially performed two dances, the Hornpipe and the Reel, and were called back to perform their dances again, before the top 50 were called back for a third final performance, a set dance to their choice of music.

Molly’s Mum and Foundation Trustee, Mrs Caroline McGrory says, “It was an absolutely fabulous week and we are so incredibly proud of Molly.” 

Molly, who trains at the Turley Duggan Academy of Irish Dancing in Birmingham, has been dancing since she was three-years-old and practices four days a week.

Molly said, “It was amazing when they announced ‘and the World Champion is…’ my heart leapt as I heard my name.  I was so pleased to win; I train so hard, it takes so much dedication, so it really is fantastic to be World Champion again.”

Ed Hester, Headmaster at Princethorpe College said, “It takes talent and huge dedication to become a world champion. We encourage all our pupils to work hard and do their best, Molly has taken this to the highest level and we are delighted to hear about her success.”

Following its successful launch last summer, we are looking to get more OP Friendly Faces on board to widen the support network of OPs in universities across the country for the leavers of 2019.

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, does, we know, make for a smoother experience in those first few weeks away from home. 

We are hoping that many of those who were helped last year will be prepared to be a Friendly Face this year, and that many of those already signed up to help will also be prepared to continue. 

Laurence Chapman, who is finishing his first year at the University of Leicester studying Law and benefited from the initiative is keen to take up the challenge, he comments, "I was given an Old Princethorpian contact, Melissa Scott, who is now leaving the university. It was great to have a friendly face and she has been very helpful this year, so I would like to do the same for another Princethorpe student."

Comments OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler, " We have OP Friendly Faces in around 30 university towns and cities and would like to expand on that significantly this year and get more of our leavers matched up for the new academic year."

The Upper Sixth have been emailed with a link to enable them to sign up for OP Friendly Faces and to be added to our database to receive our termly OP e-newsletter.  The link can also be found here.

All leavers and their parents are automatically given free membership of the OP Association and are welcome at all of our events.

For more information call 01926 634284 or email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

Year 10 and Year 9 pupils who are (or will be) studying Computer Science GCSE visited the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park on Thursday 9 May.

The museum traces the history of computing and includes working reconstructions of the Turing-Welchman Bombe that broke the Enigma code and Tommy Flowers' Colossus that broke the Lorenz cipher, used by Hitler to communicate messages with his High Command in World War II.  It charts the development of computing from these ultra-secret pioneering efforts through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, on to the rise of personal computing in the 1980s and up to the present day.

Head of Computer Science, Adam Depledge, explained, “Pupils have been learning about the history of computers in Computer Science lessons and so the opportunity to see original computers like the “WITCH” (Guinness World Record holder for oldest surviving computer!) was a real treat.”

As well as learning about the invention of the cipher breaking machines and seeing the oldest working computer in the world, pupils learned how a mechanical calculator worked and explored early programming languages. They also toured the museum with all its artefacts to see how, in such a relatively short time since the Second World War, technology has progressed.

The trip also included a trip down memory lane exploring early computer games in the retro gaming room of PC and Console games.

The pupils found the museum fascinating, Joe Glover commented, “It was interesting to see how computers and gaming has evolved over time.”  Tom Knight added, “I really enjoyed the trip and am looking forward to Computer Science lessons next year.”  Joshua Apaya said, “It was an amazing trip, I saw a lot of things that I am sure that I won’t forget any time soon.  We were introduced to the Turing Test, which blew my mind to say the least. Finally we coded and created our own games which was one of my favourite parts!”  Alex Allison, added, “I learnt about the programming language used by the early machines and how different it is compared to our current languages like Python and C++.”

Mr Depledge continued, “It was clear the museum really brought the topic alive for the pupils and the opportunity to play some classic games was a real highlight for everyone too!”

Crackley Hall’s Junior 4 pupils and Crescent School’s Class IV enjoyed a half-day music technology workshop hosted by Princethorpe College on Thursday 9 May.  The workshop was run by Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, ably assisted by Music Teacher, Alison Wakeley, and took place in the College’s dedicated Music Technology suite. The children were introduced to computer music production concepts such as sequencing and arrangement and then encouraged to experiment.  Using the technology software Band Lab, the children enjoyed creating music in a completely new way. Starting with drum machine patterns and loops and adding texture through the addition of bass, keyboard and even vocal lines the children each created their own unique piece.

After a short break and a Princethorpe cookie, the children moved on to explore the concept of harmony.  This time using online song writing software Hookpad, the children built a pattern of major and minor chords and overlaid their own melodies.  Finally, the children listened to their music in a variety of music styles including rock, pop, jazz and even reggae.

The Year 4s clearly enjoyed the workshop and exploring music in a new way and everyone was able to save their Band Lab creations on a memory stick to take home to share with their families.

Mr Cowlishaw, commented, “We had lots of fun in our music technology taster, the children were all fantastic to work with and created some amazing pieces.  The online software we used can be found at www.hooktheory.com if anyone wants to carry on creating.”

A-level French students enjoyed a language practical with a difference when they took to the kitchens on Friday 3 May.  The extra after-school session had them testing both their language and culinary skills as Miss Verleure challenged them to make two traditional French recipes.

Under the watchful eyes of Food and Nutrition Teacher, Jacqui Scott, the girls worked in pairs, carefully following the step-by-step instructions which were in French.  The girls made the classic thin crispy French biscuits, Langues de Chat and the ever-popular rich, creamy Mousse Au Chocolat.

French Teacher, Miss Verleure, said, “The girls have had lots of fun putting their French skills to the test. Langues de Chat translates as cat’s tongues, a reference to the long, thin shape of the biscuit. Whereas mousse is the French word for ‘foam’, referring to the light consistency of Mousse au Chocolat which is made from foamy whipped egg whites.  Our French cookery session went brilliantly and the end results were délicieux!”

Sixth Formers were given an insight into the world of social media when they were visited by Old Princethorpian, Nico McKenzie.

Nico returned to Princethorpe on Thursday 2 May to recount his experiences since leaving the College in 2011.  His talk was thought-provoking and at time humorous as he shared the highs and lows of being a social media influencer, a career path he never foresaw, and the effect of social media on mental health today.

After A-levels Nico went on to study Geography at Newcastle University, followed by a Masters in International Business Management before setting up his own company.  He talked to students about the many different social media platforms and the increasing importance of digital marketing.  He explained how he became interested in social media at university and how this developed into a role as a ‘social media influencer’ and the work his company now does for celebrity and corporate customers.

Nico shared statistics on social media usage and showed examples of fake social media posts.  He talked about the benefits of his work, the free trips and products, but also about the isolation and loneliness inherent in social media.  He reminded students to always be careful with their settings and permissions and stressed how important it is, if you are feeling isolated, to just talk to other people.  He finished his talk with a list of dos and don’ts to help students get the most out of social media.

Thank you Nico for giving Princethorpe’s students an insightful look at the minefield of social media. 

An intrepid band of Princethorpe College staff, parents and former pupils are to take on an epic challenge over the May half term holiday when they cycle 110 miles between the French towns of Saumur and Amboise in the Loire Valley, in aid of Mary's Meals.

This is the second Cycling Pilgrimage undertaken by the College, the last being part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2017. The 20 cyclists and their supporters will travel to France by coach and cycle 110 miles over two days, with a rest day in between in the beautiful chateau town of Azay-le-Rideau.

Comments, Headmaster, Ed Hester, “110 miles in two days is no mean feat and all the pilgrims deserve to be encouraged. Many of the cycling pilgrims are taking part for a second time and we are expecting once again for there to be fantastic camaraderie on the trip. With pilgrims aged from under 20 to in their 70s this really epitomises Princethorpe’s spirit of family.” 

The cyclists will once again be raising money for the College's chosen charity, Mary's Meals and have set a target of £2,000, enough to feed 143 children at Makalunga Primary School in Malawi for a year. 

If you would like to support them please go to their fundraising page here.

Follow their journey on Twitter - @PC_Pilgrimage

Click here to access the thirty-first issue of the Old Princethorpian which was published on Friday 10 May.

This issue includes the latest Foundation and College news plus plenty of news and updates from OPs across the decades.

If you are an OP or know an OP who would like to share their news or pictures with us for the next issue due out in mid October please email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk by the end of September.

If you would like to be added to the distribution list please email Old Princethorpians' Secretary Melanie Butler.

On Saturday 11 May Princethorpe College hosted its popular annual ‘Say Hello to Hockey’ taster session.  52 Year 4 and 5 pupils, from surrounding primary schools, enjoyed a fun introduction to this exciting field game.

Rotating through four different training drills, the children learned about the key skills of dribbling, passing, tackling and shooting. They quickly got to grips with the fast-paced sport.

Everyone worked hard so mid-morning that they were treated to one of Princethorpe’s legendary cookies.  The children then took part in a mini-tournament in front of a crowd of enthusiastic parents, it was great to see their new hockey skills being used so effectively.

Princethorpe College PE Teacher, Hannah Carminati, was impressed at how well the children took to the sport commenting, “Some of the children were nervous at the beginning, having never been to Princethorpe or ever held a hockey stick before. To see how they blossomed on the Astro was fantastic. Everyone was working together and chatting like old friends by the end of the morning.  They progressed enormously and the standard of hockey played in the mini-tournament was really very good.”

A big thank you to all the staff and Sixth Formers who gave up their morning to run the event.