The Flagpole

Our biennial Careers Fair returns on Saturday 21 March 2020. Open to all Princethorpe pupils from Year 10 to Sixth Form, this year's fair is set to be our biggest one yet!

With a wide range of speakers and organisations on hand to offer advice and guidance on careers, universities and gap year options, there really will be something for everyone! If you haven’t registered yet, don’t miss out – registration has been extended to Monday 2 March.

There will be over 40 speakers covering a whole wealth of careers from accountancy to engineering, psychology to cyber security, architecture to law, retail to the music industry, design to entrepreneurship and many, many more. We'll also have 21 universities from across the country, including Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Loughborough, Leeds and Surrey, all three Armed Forces, large employers including JLR, National Grid and Deloitte, plus two NHS Trusts in the exhibition part of the Fair.

Pupils and families are asked to register in advance, choosing three workshop sessions they would like to attend (in order of preference), plus one reserve choice. Based on this information, personalised timetables will be created and be ready to collect on the day. Please note, sessions are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Parents of pupils in Years 10 to Upper Sixth have been emailed more information on the various speakers and the registration link, which can also be found here.

Princethorpe’s Science+ Campaign has appointed an expert fundraising board to drive its fundraising objectives and facilitate achieving the goal of opening our brand-new, £8 million, Science Centre in September 2022. The project would benefit every current Princethorpe pupil from Year 10 down.

The Science Campaign Board, chaired by the Headmaster, Ed Hester, is made up friends from within the Princethorpe community who have the influence, gravitas, business acumen and enthusiasm to drive the Science+ Campaign forward and ensure a successful outcome. The board consists of current parents, past parents, Old Princethorpians, staff and trustees.

Our board volunteers include: James Hutcheson (current parent and Manging Director (Finance), Aldi Supermarkets), Rachel Jeffries (current parent and Director of Newbold Ltd and JF Ltd), Rowland Johnson (current parent and CEO of Nettitude), Phil Popham (former parent and CEO of Lotus Cars), Timothy Douglas (Old Princethorpian and Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer, Propertymark), Mary Wheildon (Former Pupil of St Mary’s Priory) and Quintin Cornforth (Trustee).

Within the next two weeks the College will also be opening applications to recruit callers for our first ever ‘phonathon’, which will run in August this year. The caller roles, which would be ideally suited to current Upper Sixth Formers and recent Old Princethorpians, will offer a competitive rate of pay and brilliant work-experience in the field of fundraising. The phonathon will also be supporting our Science+ Campaign. Those interested in applying should contact the Development Director by Friday 27 March.

The Development Team are already taking donations for items from the Menu of Giving, many of which are personalised, limited options. If you want to know more please visit the website here or come and see the paver, element and wall brick engraved samples which are sited in the main school Reception, or contact the Development office on makingadifference@princethorpe.co.uk

Comments, Ed Hester, Headmaster, “We’re unbelievably fortunate to have such a dedicated, talented and professional Campaign Board who are working incredibly hard to ensure that we reach our fundraising objectives for our Science+ Campaign."

“Our Campaign Board volunteer their time, not just for our meetings, but also by attending school events as ambassadors. James Hutcheson and Rachel Jeffries, our parent ambassadors, will both be speaking at our Year 9 and 10 Academic Review Evening on Monday evening."

“It’s exciting that we’ll also be shortly recruiting our callers for our phonathon in August. I know we have some incredibly talented communicators amongst our current Upper Sixth and recent leavers and I hope many of them will apply for these roles."

“Periodic table elements and other engraved donation options are already generating interest, so I hope all parents get involved soon to avoid disappointment.”

Over 240 pupils, parents, invited guests and staff gathered together on Tuesday 11 February for the College’s third annual Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Certificate Presentation Evening.  2018-19 was another exciting year, including orienteering, climbing, cycling plus a record ten Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.

Of the 170 pupils who completed their qualifying expedition last summer, so far 80% have signed off their whole award. Completing a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a big undertaking, with Gold taking at least 450 hours of commitment.  The Princethorpe pupils involved have all shown initiative, personal discipline and good humour in order to get to the finish line.

The College was delighted to welcome special guest, mountaineer Jon Gupta, as our speaker, Richard Lea from our expedition partners, Peak Pursuits, and Princethorpe Trustee Mike Fletcher. They were all pleased to join us to help celebrate pupils’ achievements.  The evening also offered a chance to thank all the staff whose commitment make Outdoor Education here at Princethorpe such a success, including Tamsin Frost, Duke of Edinburgh Award Verifier, Jan Ryalls, Bronze Award Co-ordinator and Julia Lindsay, Silver Award Co-ordinator.

Will Bower, Head of Outdoor Education, began by summarising the year before speaking briefly about the positive impact exposure to the outdoors has on us all.  Following that the Bronze Certificates were distributed.

In an inspirational speech, Jon spoke about his involvement in the famous Project 7 in 4 as guide to Steve Plain, who beat the world record to climb the highest mountain in seven continents in under four months.  It was fascinating to learn of the incredible determination, physical effort, knowledge, skill and sense of fun involved in achieving a world record.  It was amazing to learn what’s required to achieve such a ground breaking feat.

After Jon had finished his talk he completed a question and answer session. Following this the Silver and Gold Awards were presented, before the evening came to a close with a prize draw and photographs.

All in all it was a fun evening and a fitting way to mark the outstanding achievement of pupils in Outdoor Education.  There is still time for anyone who has not quite completed their award to get it finished!  Pupils are encouraged to attend the lunchtime eDofE drop-in clinics to get things sorted.

A reminder that the admissions deadline for 2020 entry to the College is fast approaching. Families have until Thursday 5 March to accept their offered place at the College.

If you wish to secure your child's place please ensure we receive your signed Confirmation of Acceptance form and £300 deposit by this deadline.

We can only guarantee places which are accepted by the above deadline date.

Many thanks.

The Admissions Team

Princethorpe College pupils and staff were invited to mark the beginning of Lent in a series of Ash Wednesday services, on Wednesday 26 February.  Held in the Chapel during Tutor Time and then at lunchtime, the services offered an opportunity for contemplation and reflection.

Father Alan Whelan, MSC led the services, with the message that Lent is a time to give and through giving each one of us has the power to build a better world.

Together pupils and staff watched a short film about the work of CAFOD (The Catholic Agency For Overseas Development), one of the charities the College is supporting this year. The film asked us to reflect on those who defend the defenders using the example of individuals who work relentlessly to support remote communities in the Amazon, protecting their land and their homes.

In response to the story, and to Father Alan’s message, everyone wrote on a paper hand how they would individually give to make a difference during Lent.

Year 7 and 8 pupils, Jemima Teeton, Louis Yuen, Andre Barnett and Sean Birtley, helped Junior Chaplaincy Prefect, Zoe Shayler, to peg the hands on the net attached to the cross whilst Sixth Former, Elsa Isaacs, helped to distribute the ashes.

The latest edition of The Pinnacle has just been published, showcasing yet more of our pupils' exceptional work. This latest edition includes plenty of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) related stories, with wonderful work on neuropsychology, a report on work experience at CERN and the Year 7 Solar System Challenge to highlight just a few. It also showcases flair across a range of subjects and year groups including Languages, Art, History and creative writing. 

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 Year 6. It's wonderful to showcase their talents too!!

Copies were distributed to all pupils via their Form Tutors this week.

To view an electronic version of The Pinnacle click here and for The Minnacle here.

Why not enjoy a few minutes browsing through the inspirational work our children do.

Following the half term break we wanted to share with you the actions we have taken and are taking to ensure our school community is well informed about the Coronavirus and how to slow the spread of germs, as well as the latest government advice.

Good hygiene practices

Posters have been displayed around all schools, highlighting the importance of basic hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands, using and binning tissues and avoiding touching mouth, nose or eyes with unwashed hands. This has been reinforced with all pupils by their class teachers or tutors.

Latest advice states that pupils, students, staff and visitors should wash their hands:
• before leaving home
• on arrival at school
• after using the toilet
• after breaks and sporting activities
• before food preparation
• before eating any food, including snacks
• before leaving school
• avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands

In addition, we have installed extra hand sanitiser dispensers in all dining areas and we are promoting their use to pupils, staff and visitors.

We would recommend that all pupils bring in individual hand sanitiser and tissues into school, so they have them at their disposal as and when they need them.

We would appreciate your help in promoting these good practices at home. To that end, our senior matron, Paula Greig, recommends sharing the following video about thorough hand-washing (20 seconds handwashing to the tune of Happy Birthday twice) with all members of your family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGJNspLRdrc

Latest NHS information about how you can reduce the possible spread of infection can be found here, please check regularly for updates.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

General advice

The health and wellbeing of our community is of paramount importance to the Foundation. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow advice from Public Health England (PHE) and the Department for Education.

The risk to individuals in the UK remains low. The government stance is that you should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus. There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.

Latest information and advice can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Returning travellers

Some families and members of staff may have taken advantage of the half term break to travel outside the UK or have family members who have travelled overseas on business.

It is imperative that all families and staff adhere to the government’s guidelines for returning travellers and also alert the school office immediately if you have returned from an area of concern:

The government is giving the following advice to returning travellers:

Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people immediately if you’ve travelled to the UK from:

• Hubei province in China in the last 14 days, even if you do not have symptoms
• Iran, lockdown areas in northern Italy or special care zones in South Korea since 19 February, even if you do not have symptoms
• other parts of mainland China or South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan or Thailand in the last 14 days and have a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath (even if your symptoms are mild)
• other parts of northern Italy (anywhere north of Pisa, Florence and Rimini), Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar or Vietnam since 19 February and have a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath (even if your symptoms are mild

Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next.

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

Lockdown areas in northern Italy:

• in Lombardy: Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano
• in Veneto: Vo’ Euganeo

Special care zones in South Korea:

• Daegu
• Cheongdo

This guidance is based on the recommendations of the UK Chief Medical officers. These areas have been identified because of the volume of air travel from affected areas, understanding of other travel routes and number of reported cases. This list will be kept under review.

For areas with direct flights to the UK we are carrying out enhanced monitoring. Passengers will be told how to report any symptoms they develop during the flight, at the time of arrival, or after leaving the airport.

School trips

All school trips including the planned Princethorpe College Austria Ski Trip over Easter will go ahead, unless the situation changes significantly and the Foreign Office or Public Health England advises against travel.

We will continue to keep you informed if the situation and official advice changes. Should you wish to discuss any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact school.

Plans for the Malawi 2020 expedition are well underway and before half term, on Saturday 8 February, the pupils and staff taking part in the expedition enjoyed a team-building training walk up in the Peak District.

It was a glorious day and the 18 pupils and five staff walked a demanding 18km route through the picturesque Vale of Edale, accompanied by Head of Outdoor Education, Will Bower.

The walk was a small taste of the two-day hike the expedition participants will take part in on Mount Mulanje, in Malawi this summer, just one of the adventures pupils will experience during the expedition. The main challenge for the Malawian travellers will be refurbishing a classroom for some of the 2,800 primary school children at Lauderdale School.

The trip participants are continuing to work to fundraise for the trip and together have now raised £7,833.24, just over 50% of their £15,000 target.

Fundraising continues with the Irish Night coming up on Saturday 14 March. There are a few tickets  still available, and bidding remains open for the auction prizes, including a signed London Irish Rugby Shirt and Riverdance memorabilia, contact Amanda McKenzie for more details.

To support the Classrooms For Malawi project please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/malawi2020

Congratulations to the U15 Girls’ Netball team who were runners-up in the Warwickshire County Netball Tournament that took place this week on Tuesday 25 February.

Their coach, PE teacher Louise Harrison, was pleased with their performance.  She commented, “The girls worked very well together, putting into practise all their training, bringing the ball down the court for plenty of goal opportunities.”

The County tournament took place at Kingsley School in Leamington Spa. In the group stage, the team won three fast paced and tight matches where they were able to stretch out the lead, 8-5 against Rugby School, 8-1 against Kingsley School and 8-5 against Stratford Grammar School.

In the semi-final they faced Alcester Grammar School where more super netball helped them to another 7-1 win. The final was a more challenging match against King's High, tough opponents, and the girls struggled to make headway eventually losing 1-6 to finish the tournament as County Runners-Up.

Mrs Harrison continued, “The squad were great they worked hard in freezing and wet conditions, playing with commitment and composure, I look forward to what they and the U15B team can achieve at the Uppingham Invitational Tournament this weekend"

Playing for Princethorpe were Years 10s, Issy Bunting, Eve Farquharson, Millie Giffin, Ruby Harris, Mia Johnson (Captain), Evie Phillips, Rosie Pritchard-Jeffs, Lara Tripp-Smith, Holly Waterfield and Molly Wincott-Thomas.

On Monday 10 February the U15 Boys Hockey team travelled to King Edward VI School in Birmingham to play in the Warwickshire Schools County Championship.

Facing teams from Bablake School, Warwick School and King Edward VI School Birmingham, the boys played fantastic hockey, their accurate and slick passing and strong defence taking them all the way through to the final.  That proved to be a far closer match against Solihull School but the team held their own to finish with a draw. Very disappointingly Princethorpe then lost out on penalty flicks.

Team Coach Rachel Mack, commented, “The boys played a smooth and flowing game.  I was impressed by their tenacity and resilience on the pitch.  They were really unlucky to lose out on penalties at the end.”

Playing for the team were Year 10s: Joshua Apaya, William Gibson-Sexton, Toby Gorbutt, Ben Hardy, Will Hawkins, Jody Hollingsworth, Harry King, Tom Knight, George Landreth, Adam Ledbrook, Edward Mitchell, Evan Ridd, Jamie Smith, Samuel Tubb and Madoc Williams

Individual red and white carnations were hand delivered by Sixth Formers to classrooms across the College on Thursday 13 February, in celebration of St Valentine’s Day.

In the preceding weeks Princethorpe’s Sixth Form students had been busy promoting the charity fundraiser in aid of the British Heart Foundation.  Late on the Wednesday afternoon, Princethorpe’s very own Cupids, began preparing the flowers, delicately wrapping and handwriting personal messages for the anonymous gifts, ready for their surprise deliveries. There were red carnations for that special someone and white carnations as a thank you to a great friend.

This year there were a lucky 136 recipients helping the Sixth Formers to raise £272 all of which will be donated to help the British Heart Foundation in their mission to ‘beat heartbreak forever’.

Having read their exciting new Bookbuzz books, our Year 7 pupils have really enjoyed discussing them with each other.  Before Half Term, on Wednesday 12 February, Mrs Moon and Mrs Borman’s English groups joined forces to create ‘Book Club’ groups.  Pupils who had read the same titles pondered probing questions that encouraged them to think in greater depth about what the stories they had read.

Some of the pupils volunteered to take on the role of group leaders, preparing the questions and managing the discussions; all pupils enjoyed the chance to share their views.  Jess said, "I like the fact that we all had different ideas and so we could have a huge discussion and then merge our opinions"; Andrea and Amelia’s conversation led them to conclude that "Sometimes children can be smarter than adults – it just takes courage!"; Jesse’s group found that their book was a springboard for thinking about wider issues, reporting that "We came to the realisation that once the world had changed, there is no going back". 

Reading is usually a solitary activity, but there are real benefits to talking with other people about books.  Year 7s have been learning to formulate their own opinions, consider alternative interpretations, and think more actively about the writer’s craft. Of course, they have also experienced the joy of sharing a good story.

Saturday 28 March 2020 - Arrive from 6.30pm - Walk from 9.00pm 
 
You can join over 500 fundraisers who have already signed up to support this amazing local charity in what Myton Hospice is describing as its biggest and best Glow fundraiser ever and all Princethorpe pupils, staff and families are eligible for a £5 discount, making the registration price just £15 for adults and £10 for children to participate.  
 
Princethorpe is hosting this major fundraising event for the charity Myton Hospice on Saturday 28 March 2020 and we are asking our wonderful Princethorpe Community to get involved.  Glow For Myton - Around The World In 5km is a night walk that will wind its way through the beautiful grounds of the College campus, taking in the sights and sounds of some of the world’s best celebrations along the way. 
 
The walk will start and finish in the Orchard where there will be entertainment and food available. Following a Zumba warm up, the walkers will head off around the College grounds. There will be plenty of volunteer marshals to cheer them on and along the way will be exciting zones showcasing festivals and cultural celebrations from around the world including Oktoberfest, Chinese New Year, Full Moon Party and the Holi Colour Festival. The event isn’t timed, instead it is all about enjoying the experience and the sights and sounds laid on for the event. 
 
Comments Rebecca Richards, Myton’s Assistant Events Manager, “We are hoping to raise £60,000 from this event and are really looking forward to holding it at Princethorpe.” 
 
The event is sure to be great fun for a good cause so we are really hoping lots of families and friends of the Foundation will get involved. 

Enter the discount code 'princethorpe' to receive a £5 reduction on the standard registration price.
 
Glow For Myton - Around The World In 5km is open to all and pupils, parents, staff, OPs, friends and neighbours are all encouraged to sign up for the event on the charity’s website here. 
 
Children of all ages are welcome but under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. 

Click here to access the thirty-third issue of the Old Princethorpian e-newsletter which was published on Friday 14 February.

This issue includes the latest Foundation and College news, including news of our STEAM campaign and of our online alumni community, Princethorpe Connect, plus plenty of 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 May please email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk by early May.

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