The Flagpole

Congratulations to Year 7, Andre Onyekwe, and Year 9, Connor Silvester, who both saw success in the Warwickshire County Swimming Championships that took place at the end of January.

Both boys made the final in a number of events achieving times that qualify them to swim at the Midlands Championships.

Andre Onyekwe who swims with Leamington Swimming Club competed in the 12-year-old Boys events, he placed:

1st - 50m Freestyle final in 29.66s

1st - 50m Backstroke final in 34.17s

2nd - 50m Butterfly final in 33.47s

3rd - 100m Freestyle final in 1.07.56s

5th - 100m Butterfly final in 1.21.57s

6th - 100m Breaststroke final in 1.35.19s

Connor Silvester who swims with the Stratford Sharks competed in the 14-year-old Boys events, he placed:

3rd - 50m Breaststroke final in 37.13s

3rd - 100m Breaststroke final in 1.22.13s

Year 10, Jess Mackenzie has also achieved County times this season.  Jess missed the Warwickshire Championships through injury but has achieved qualifying times for the Midlands Championships for both the 50m Freestyle and the 100m Freestyle.  Jess is hoping to qualify in further categories before the window closes.

Many congratulations to them all, a lot of hard work and training will have gone into their achievements.

Despite being just 12-years-old, Year 8 pupil, Alex Beck, regularly plays for Warwickshire for their U14 and U15 badminton teams and before half term, Alex took part in Badminton England’s Bronze Tournament in Warwick.

Alex started playing badminton at a local club, where he was spotted by the Warwickshire coaches when he was just 8-years-old.  He began training with the U12 squad but quickly moved up to the U14 squad based on his performance and ability.  He currently trains twice a week, with a performance coaching group and the county coaches, preparing for County matches and Badminton England tournaments across the country.

Alex plays singles, doubles and mixed doubles and the competitions normally last most of the day. Badminton England tournaments follow the same format but these are more intense and the competition harder depending on the grade of tournament: Bronze, Silver or Gold. Alex is part of a strong Warwickshire team that have won the Shires League and also won the National Midshires Badminton League competition three years in a row.

On Saturday 8 February Alex played in the Warwickshire U15 Bronze tournament in Warwick. He took the Silver medal in the U15 Mixed Doubles with his partner Ella Tandy, made it through to the third round of the U15 Mens Doubles with his partner Alex Yuan, and reached the Quarter Finals in the U15 Mens Singles.

Alexander has achieved a good degree of success over the years, having won gold, silver and bronze medals in a number of competitions and is clearly committed to his sport.

Our PE and Games Department have created a helpful guide for the Lent Term 2020 (click here) which includes: 

• A list of team coaches and how you may contact them
• Instructions on how to access the Princethorpe Sport app
• Information about fixtures, including selection and cancellations
• Postcodes for away fixtures (which can also be found in the Lent Term calendar)

If you have any questions, please direct them to your son/daughter's team coach or email Mr Turns (Acting Head of Boys' Games) or Ms Law (Head of Girls' Games). 

Neil McCollin
Foundation Director of Sport 

We are keen to increase our awareness of different sporting activities pupils are taking part in outside of school. If you are a keen golfer, sailor, martial artist or clay pigeon shooter, we would love to hear more. Please email Neil McCollin, Foundation Director for Sport, at neilmccollin@princethorpe.co.uk to share your experiences. In particular, he would like to hear from any pupils who are interested in or play American Football.