The Flagpole

Many, many thanks for all your incredible support for our staff and the school at this time. Whilst the last few weeks’ have been busy, stressful and emotional for us all – pupils, parents and staff alike - there have been many uplifting moments and events. The end of the term always finishes with a whole school assembly and this one was no exception. Generally, of course, parents can’t join us for these gatherings, but now you can! Please do feel free to “join” us -  the link is here.  

The other big end of Lent Term celebrations: Prefect Inauguration, the Winter Sports’ Awards and the House Year Review and Trophy will follow a similar method of delivery.

Notwithstanding the early enforced closure, there were many highlights this term as always, not least the great news that three recent Upper Sixth Leavers’, Amy Field, Daisy Vucevic and Lizzie Carr had been awarded unconditional Oxbridge offers. There were many stand out events: the numerous successes on the sports field, the wonderful performances of We Will Rock You and the tremendously enjoyable Oscars ceremony.

Less than three weeks ago (it seems longer!) the last big charity event of the term, the “24/7” walk was a genuine mud bath and a mammoth effort by ninety Sixth Form students and staff to raise money for Mary’s Meals by walking 24 miles in just seven hours. Although not a race as such, the first to finish were jointly: Luke Brotherton, Ellis Chaplow, Louis Coleby, Thomas Crowfoot, William Crowfoot, Sion Murphy and Tomas Wilcox – many congratulation to them all and given the awful underfoot conditions their time of 6 hours 41 minutes for the 24 miles was amazing! Donations are still coming in but we have raised £8,422 this academic year for Mary’s Meals to provide a daily meal in school for the 622 children at Makalanga school, Malawi.

Looking ahead, our Calendar for Trinity Term 2020 can be accessed on My School Portal or the website, although we will not be printing it out and posting as normal. Whilst some events will inevitably not now happen due to the situation we are in, many events will be re-arranged, rescheduled or reconstituted. For example, the other big end of Lent term celebrations: Prefect Inauguration, the Winter Sports’ Awards, the House Year Review and Trophy and the Spring Concert will still take place, albeit in a rather different format.

Home Learning has, of course, changed the pupils’ learning beyond all recognition and huge thanks to all the support that you have been able to give us with this. We have had huge amounts of positive comments flooding in from parent and pupils, but are aware that for some, this experience will have been extremely challenging. We want to hear all your experiences, positive and negative and Dr Pyne has set up a survey form here for you to give us some initial feedback. Staff will be having further training over the Easter break and the next phase will be the ability to increase video and live sessions between teacher, tutors and the pupils. Dr Reddish and the Heads of Departments are planning some on-line assessments in the Trinity Term (details can be found elsewhere in the Flagpole) and we will re-arrange our calendar in the next academic year to ensure pupils have the assessments in school they need at the various Key Stages.

Of course, we are also totally committed to maintaining our excellent pastoral care to our pupils and families. For your reassurance we have reviewed some of our systems to ensure both pupils and parents are able to communicate any worries or concerns directly to key staff. The tutor is the first port of call for any concern, and they can be contacted by email.  All pupils will have daily contact with their tutor during tutor time (10.30am-10.55am). Pupils and parents can also contact their Head of House by email for further support should they need it and a call can be arranged with them if preferred.  Although we are not seeing each other during the day we are still able to maintain regular contact and help and support where it is needed. Our Counsellors and Careers advisors are still offering 1:1 support and Matron is available for any health advice.  Any pupil or parents seeking additional support from the SEND department should contact Ms Prestage directly. 

We are very aware that the current situation has created a great deal of uncertainty for families. The government is taking unprecedented measures to support businesses and employees at this time. Yesterday the Chancellor extended the support to those who are self-employed. Details of government support can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

As you would expect we are doing everything we can to reduce our costs and make whatever savings we can without, of course, adversely affecting the on-going education that we continue to provide. We are conscious that the next fee bill will be due for dispatch shortly.  Our intention is to write to all parents about our plans for the future next week.

Finally, I wish everyone a happy Easter; we send our best wishes to all. Please do keep in your thoughts and prayers all members of the Princethorpe family who are ill or in need of our support.

E D Hester
Headmaster

Congratulations to Upper Sixth Former, James Crabtree, who has fought his way through a tough selection process to be confirmed as part of the 23-man squad to represent England Counties U18 in their two-match series against Ireland.

James was amongst 160 boys who began by playing three inter-County games at Loughborough University, where he represented Warwickshire.  He was one of 40 players picked to go forward to the Midlands squad, next he survived the cut to 30 after the first training session and then made it on to the final Midlands 23-man team. 

James then played in a match against the North and one week later participated in an intensive residential weekend. With the Midlands team he trained at Warwick School, stayed on the Warwick University campus, and on the following day, faced London and the South East.

James was then picked by the selectors to be part of a 23-man squad to represent England Counties U18. So far James has taken part in a residential weekend, completed team building exercises, field sessions and developed playing strategies.  The team also played Worcester Warriors Academy, a great opportunity to gain game practice, and claimed a resounding 66-7 victory.

The original plan was to go on a further residential 10-day camp in April where the team were scheduled to play Ireland twice. Although sadly, due to the Coronavirus, this will now not go ahead.

Head of Rugby, Peter Bucknall commented, “James is an exceptional player and should be incredibly proud of reaching the England Counties U18 team. Pulling on an England shirt is a great honour.  We are all incredibly proud of him.”

Pictured is James, the Midlands players and the England Counties U18 squad.

Huge congratulations to Year 9 pupil Tahlia Collis-Smith who took Gold at the British Schools Judo Championships on Saturday 14 March.

Tahlia, who trains with Nuneaton Judo Club, competed in the Years 8 and 9 age category, representing Princethorpe College, against a field of just over 80 contestants. The Championships took place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Tahlia’s tenacity and determination paid off as she worked her way through the competition beating opponent after opponent in a series of three-minute matches.  Her focus, concentration and sheer hard work helped her come first in her age group and confidently claim the gold medal.

Congratulations Tahila, we are incredibly proud of you.

A few weeks ago our Princethorpe Connect Team embarked upon a huge 'keep in touch' exercise, attempting to track down and reconnect with as many ‘lost’ Old Princethorpians as possible.

This is the first time the College has undertaken such a huge exercise, attempting to contact thousands of former pupils, former parents and former staff. We have received hundreds of replies and have been touched by the many warm and interesting responses from people across the Princethorpe community who we haven’t heard from for many years.

So far, we've had nearly 750 returns and been able to update all of those records.

If you’re the parent of a former pupil, please do encourage them to update their details so we can stay in touch with them. They can do this easily themselves by going online to https://connect.princethorpe.co.uk/

Richard Harcourt has been appointed to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Mr Harcourt lives locally in Stretton on Dunsmore and has three children who all attended Princethorpe College.

After leaving school at the age of 16, Mr Harcourt started an Engineering Apprenticeship at Dunlop Aerospace in Coventry. In a career spanning some 40 years he travelled the world, including a four-year stint based in Canada, before finally retiring in 2018 as the Director of Operations at Rolls Royce. He now splits his time between non-executive work and his hobbies of golf, gardening and travelling.

Mr Harcourt, comments, “My children all attended Princethorpe College and benefitted hugely from the terrific learning environment the Foundation offers. I am therefore thrilled to be asked to join the Board of Trustees and to support the Foundation as it continues to develop and thrive.”

Eddie Tolcher, Foundation Bursar and Clerk to the Trustees said, “Richard will bring a wealth of commercial experience to the Foundation’s Governing Body. His experience, insight and advice will be very much appreciated.”

The new Princethorpe College Prefect Body for 2020-2021 has been announced. They will be formally inaugurated into their roles next term. 

Our Prefects play an ambassadorial role within the school and at high profile public events such as open days and Entrance Exams. Together with the wider Sixth Form they act as role models for the school community and support school events and activities.

We look forward to working with them all.

The roles of office are:

Head Girl
Abbie O'Carroll-Bailey

Head Boy
Jack Neale

Deputy Head Girls
Lauren Mason
Grace McGrory

Deputy Head Boys 
James Gallagher
Prajeet Prabakaran

Pastoral Prefects
Beth Hutcheson
Ross Low
Georgia McCallum
Olivia Rawle
Jess Scott
Elyse Hyland

House Captains
Austin: Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Luke Brotherton
Benet: Gracie Gerrard and Harvey Wells
Fisher: Aimee Llewellyn and Isaac Ryan
More: Kian Mellett and Connor Parris

Social Prefects
Isabella Wardman
Keeley Jarrett

Charity Prefect
James Walker

Chaplaincy Prefects
Elsa Isaacs
Hannah Bryer

Junior Chaplaincy Prefects
Andre Barnett – Year 7 – Austin
Sean Birtley – Year 7 – Fisher
Louis Yuen – Year 7 - Fisher
Thomas Bucknall - Year 8 – Austin
Jemima Teeton – Year 8 – Austin
Zoe Shayler – Year 9 – Benet

Academic Prefects
Zack Ahmed
Amelia Cunnington
Mia Hornett (Transition Prefect)
Daisy Walker

Marketing and Communications Prefect
Will Marshall

Games Prefects
Madeleine Glasspool and Emelia Tubb
Tom Crowfoot and Oli Thomas

The College wishes good luck to the new prefect body for the year ahead and extends warm thanks to the outgoing prefects, they have given great service and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours.

WCS Care, who run a number of local care homes, contacted us this week with a plea for Personal Protective Equipment. Supplies of essentials such as aprons, gloves and masks are running low as demand outstrips supply. Thinking very creatively, WCS Care approached local schools and businesses to see if anyone had any spare equipment they could use.

Of course, the College was only too happy to help and quickly put together 120 or so old but still usable face masks, 4 boxes of nitrile gloves (some 600 brand new gloves) and 30 sets of old but still useable goggles.

Jo Cheshire, Head of Marketing for WCS Care and a Princethorpe parent, said “One of our team had the idea that local school science labs could have equipment we could use - hence my email to Mr Hester. We need to ensure we have what we need to protect our staff, we haven’t had a case in one of our care homes, but we have to ensure staff are as protected as possible.”

“Whilst some of the equipment that you've found is used, it really doesn't matter as goggles can be hot washed and every extra mask or set of goggles we get means we can protect more staff for longer and fulfil our duty of care to our staff and to our residents. We've had a great response, it's lovely to see the best in people at times like this.”

Working together and supporting each other is what really matters and Princethorpe was delighted to help.

In just a matter of weeks the College’s committed teaching and support staff have moved heaven and earth to take lessons completely online. For some engaging in the remote environment has been just one small step but for others it has been more of a giant leap for mankind. Nevertheless, Princethorpe’s focus is to ensure pupils engage and stay focused on their learning and staff have remained resilient and flexible as they continue to look for ways to provide valuable and effective learning experiences.

Pupils and parents have responded magnificently, and feedback has been incredibly positive. There has been some simply amazing learning taking place this week.

Art teacher, Rebecca Blunsom-Washbrook had her Year 7 and Year 8 Art classes Y7R and 8YQ drawing cakes taking inspiration from the famous American artist Wayne Thiebaud. She explains, “The pupils worked brilliantly at home, considering it is a real challenge not being in the art studio with me, they all posted their drawings back to me by the end of the lesson. I was then able to give them feedback through Teams straight away and award merits. It was an excellent start to home learning, even though I missed seeing all their lovely faces in the classroom!”

History teacher, Abi Adams has also shared some super work her Year 7 and Year 8 pupils have been completing.  Her classes have been investigating British History, studying medieval castles, exploring the changes in Britain from the 18th to the 19th Centuries and looking at why British industry was so successful. Working in their books or online pupils have had no problem completing tables and providing excellent written answers to the questions.

MFL teacher, Sarah Duran had her Year 8 pupils investigating the French Revolution, Emily and Eve from 8YQ completed excellent pieces of work. Ms Duran was also very impressed by Jack, also 8YQ, who produced an exceptional piece of work about Dr Doolittle and his favourite pets. In Year 9 Evie Teall was awarded a da Vinci merit by MFL Teacher, Charlotte Verleure, for her first week of home learning. Evie had completed a quiz, culture summaries and produced excecllent written work. Whilst Year 8, Bea Boakes, also received a da Vinci for her French research into World War One.

English teacher, Helen Pascoe-Williams, was impressed with, Year 8 pupils, Ida and Layla's super responses to The Signal-Man, the mystery story by Charles Dickens, and with, Lower Sixth Former, Henri Fuchss' detailed EPQ project work.

Head of Maths, Sharon McBride, was very pleased with, Year 8 pupil, Hattie Underhill who produced an outstanding video explaining how she used bearings and scale drawing to solve a problem.

These are just a few examples of the wonderful work pupils have completed this week.

We have also had lots of positive comments on Home Learning from parents including:

“My girl is being effortlessly taken through every lesson of the school day via Microsoft Teams and her teachers being on line. A normal school day from the comfort of her home."

"I would like to thank you all and the school community for all the hard work in adapting so quickly to forever daily changing news prior to closing the school, for being there for the children and communicating so well with us parents. I myself feel truly grateful for all your hard work and for continuing to rise to the challenge of flexible working and keeping the children involved in their studies during what is a difficult time for them as everyone. We are truly lucky to be part of such a wonderful school with such a kind and caring ethos that Princethorpe has."

"Obviously it is early days, but I would like to let you know how successful the on-line lessons seem to be. I have had conversations with Jack in the last couple of days about proving the formula for volume of a cylinder by integration, the nature of springs that leads to Hookes Law, and the nature of demand-side and supply-side economic shocks. Something must be going well!"

"Congratulations and thanks are certainly due to those who have created the environment, taught everyone to use it, and to the teachers who have generated engaging content for the lessons. Equally, I know that this would not have happened without inspiring leadership to unite everyone around making all this happen."

It has been a completely new way of working, staff will take heart from the feedback so far but will continue to strive to improve the experience for all when Home Learning recommences on Monday 20 April.

Each year Hollywood celebrates their prestigious Academy Awards, but here at Princethorpe College we have our own ‘night of nights’, the Princethorpe Oscars, when the Sixth Form Atrium is transformed and the red carpet is rolled out, to celebrate our very own film stars.

This year 20 films on the theme of the number 7 were up for consideration with 'the best of the best' being awarded much-prized mini Oscars. 

Host and compere for the ceremony was our very own Head of Art and Photography, Mr Paul Hubball, and guests enjoyed a special VIP drinks, popcorn and pick ‘n’ mix reception before the evening’s screenings commenced and the audience sat back and the movies flickered onto the big screen.

The College was also delighted to welcome back a very special guest for the evening's entertainment, former Assistant Head - Co-Curricular, Mr Greg Hunter, who returned to the school especially for the annual Oscars celebrations.

At the end of the evening Headmaster, Ed Hester, handed out the awards and with such a set of stunning entries every entry was awarded a prize. 

Mr Hubball commented, “There has been so much talent and creativity on show tonight and such a wide range of entries. Thanks go to all of our contributors for all of their enthusiasm and gifted work.”

This year’s prize-winning entries included:

• 007 Trailer: Harry Cheshire
• 7 Days To Live: Georgie Pollock, Andrea Zanyi, Andrew Gordon and Charlie Clark
• 7 Most Important Editing Skills: Amy Hogg
• Seven Students, Seven Languages: BHC
• Chernobyl: Josh Tidd
• Deal’s Off: Roualeyn Alford
• Once I Was Seven Years Old: Martha Harris
• Number 7: BRH
• Seven Questions: Mad Lib Theatre: Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Lauren Mason
• Carpool Karaoke: BMO
• Cup Song: MEC
• More House Oscars: More House
• 7 Stunts: BJR
• 00 Year 7: Topsie Egan and Lorna McLoughlin
• Seven For A Devil: Sophie Cheshire
• The Hungry Caterpillar: BHB
• The Hustle: Seb Shaw, Georgie Clark, Tom Crowfoot, Will Crowfoot, Saskia Roy, Jessica Scott, Oli Lyons and Mr Hubball
• The Seven Acts Of Kindness: BFM
• The Seven Sins Of Princethorpe: Liv Fox and Jess Hedgecock
• The Seventh Hour: James Maclean and Isaac White

The main award of the night, Best Movie, proved to be a difficult decision for the judges. In the end the ingenuity of the dialogue and the artistic talent of the pupil participants helped Lower Sixth Formers Charlotte Fitzpatrick and Lauren Mason claim the overall prize.

It was another fabulous evening; thank you to all of the pupils and staff involved.

The termly Celebration of Achievement Lunch recognises pupils from across the College for contributions, commitments and achievements.  This Lent Term, 70 pupils from across the year groups were nominated by members of staff and invited to the College Roundhouse by Assistant Head (Co-Curricular), Neil McCollin, for an informal, celebratory buffet lunch.

All of the pupils had risen to the challenge of the College’s ethos; they had done their best in many different ways, both in and outside of school.  Some had been nominated for academic perseverance; others invited along for their contribution to sport or drama; a number for voluntary and charity work and some for their contributions to their House.

Mr McCollin congratulated every one of them and thanked them for the many ways that they enrich College life.  As always, the pupils seemed surprised by the attention they received and were modest when praised for the commitment, motivation and tenacity of effort - all qualities that the Celebration of Achievement Lunch recognises and rewards.

A list of the pupils and their reason for nomination can be found here.

Congratulations go to all of the following pupils; the College is very proud of you:

From Year 7: Heather Allen, Sean Birtley, Roxy Glenn, Jess Hedgecock, Jessica Lane, Liam Mutukwa, André Onyekwe, Ned Roach and Dylan Williams

From Year 8: Raul Camargo-Jones, Jimmy Frazier, Kate Pomerleau, Rosie Reeve and Ben Smith

From Year 9: Freddie Hadley, Tom Hollis, Matilda Houghton, Grace Isaacs, Tom Lomas, Emma Sarkies, Connor Silvester, Evie Teall, Alice Whittaker and Lottie Wilkins

From Year 10: Roualeyn Alford, Alex Allison, Laurel Arkesden, Leah Burford, Libby Chapman, George Gault, Rupert Hatton, Charlotte Lister, Jessica Mackenzie, James Maclean, Keira MacRae, Freya Mills, Edward Moon, Wilf Sansum, Jamie Smith and Madoc Williams

From Year 11: Harpreet Birdi, Greg Burford, Robyn Field, Paddy Grace, Daniel Hogg, Nell Johnston, Elsie Kelley, Mary Lomas, John Rabeti, Lucy Ratcliffe, Jack Reeve and Ben Scares

From Lower Sixth: Lauren Abba, Luke Brotherton, Charlotte Fitzpatrick, Jack Fletcher, Gracie Gerrard, Evie Headland, Jack Neale, Cameron Taylor and Emelia Tubb

From Upper Sixth: Will Cooper-Harris, James Crabtree, Oscar Doyle, Ciara Hancox, Anthony Lock, Aidan O'Rourke, Fred Self, Isobel Smith and Samuel Wycherley

2019 Upper Sixth leaver, Helena Lintott’s award-winning work ‘The Gift’ has recently been hung in the College’s main reception. Her stunning painting was created for her A-level in Fine Art last summer and subsequently took the top spot in the prestigious Independent Schools’ Association's National Art Competition, in the Over 16 Paintings category.

‘The Gift’ refers to the Three Graces who in Greek mythology are the personifications of beauty, charm, and grace; they were the daughters of Zeus and were given these ‘gifts’ by him to bestow on the world. Her work is a superb, striking painting and was a well-deserving winner.

Once the College is open again, this remarkable piece of work will be on show for all visitors to the College to enjoy.

An amazing legacy to us all from an exceptionally talented young artist.

At the end of last week, Princethorpe was delighted to see its latest advertisement unveiled on the Radford Road in Leamington Spa. The 48 sheet billboard features Old Princethorpian, Murray Wells, and is the next in the series of the College's ‘Princethorpe and Me’ advertising campaign.

Murray left Princethorpe in 2014 and went on to study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire. He always wanted to be an engineer, and when the opportunity arose, he jumped at the chance to work on the Bloodhound Supersonic Car project, working to set a new Land Speed record. There he was lucky enough to work with some of the UK’s very best engineers. After completing his degree Murray then went to work for McLaren Automotive as a Quality Engineer.

Since he left Princethorpe, Murray has returned to the College on several occasions to talk to Sixth Form and Design Technology pupils about his exciting career and he was delighted to feature in the latest advert and play his part in inspiring the next generation of Princethorpians. 

With the the school currently closed for all apart from the children of workers critical to the COVID-19 response, our usual calendar of events is sadly suspended until further notice.

We have been working hard on the Trinity Term calendar and you can see what is planned on the College website or My School Portal.

However we are looking at ways that we can stage some events online including:

• The Year 11 Parents’ Q and A Session will go ahead as an online event. More details will be emailed to Year 11 parents early next week.
  
  
• The Spring Concert on Friday 24 April, more details of which will be shared after Easter.

Saturday 17 October 2020

Myton Hospice have postponed their upcoming Glow For Myton event until the start of October half term.

The fundraising walk was due to take place on Saturday 28 March but due to the uncertainty of the Coronavirus outbreak the Hospice decided earlier this month that it was in the best interest of all their supporters, volunteers, suppliers and staff to postpone the event until later this year.

Myton Hospice needs to raise £9.2 million to continue providing their services free of charge to terminally ill patients and their families. Glow for Myton is their largest fundraising event and was set to raise at least £60,000 so Princethorpe College has offered a new date for the event in the autumn and is now looking forward to hosting the Glow fundraiser on Saturday 17 October.

Rebecca Richards from Myton Hospice comments, “We understand that fundraisers will be disappointed, as are we, and we are really sorry for any inconvenience caused. We hope that they appreciate that this decision has not been an easy one for us, but we do believe it is the right one in light of the current and rapidly-changing situation.”

Myton Hospice will be discussing with fundraisers whether they wish for their registration to be carried forward, converted to a donation or request a refund.

In these uncertain times, many of us may find more time than usual for reading.  Although the Reading Group will not be able to meet in the circumstances, please keep in touch via email regarding book recommendations which might be of interest to others - hopefully something warm and upbeat which is what we possibly need right now.  

If any new parents would like to join please email me at chriskerrigan@princethorpe.co.uk

Chris Kerrigan
Head of English

As I mentioned in today's End of Term Assembly video and Mr Hester's referenced in his Flagpole message we are aiming to be able to provide at least some end of year assessments for the pupils. We think it is important that there is something for pupils to aim for at the end of the academic year but we are also very mindful of the pressures placed upon everyone due to the current situation. We will therefore put in place rather different assessments compared to previous years.

All the assessments will be distributed online via the class Teams and most, though not all, will take the form of a Quiz assignment which will contain both multiple-choice questions and some free text questions. The staff are already hard at work getting these prepared in these new formats.

For pupils in Years 7 to 9, the number of assessments that they sit will be considerably reduced compared to usual:

• Year 7 pupils will sit one test in each of the following subjects: English, Maths, Science, Spanish.
  
  
• Year 8 pupils will sit one test in each of the following subjects: English, Maths, Science, and their elected Year 9 language.
  
  
• Year 9 pupils will sit one test in each of the following subjects: English, Maths, Science, their elected GCSE options (except for those subjects which are new in Year 10)

Year 10 and Lower Sixth Pupils are of course already well into their GCSE and A-level courses and it is very important that they maintain their momentum ready to enter Year 11 and the Upper Sixth in a position of strength. These pupils will have one test for each of their subjects.

The teachers will outline for the pupils the rough content and format of the tests so that they know exactly what to expect. They are also being supported by our excellent Learning Support department to help make sure that the tests are as accessible as possible. The built-in accessibility tools of Office 365 are a great help in that regard.

I hope you agree that this strikes the right balance and supports the pupils, maintaining their focus and drive without adding undue pressure or concern.

Some of you may be aware that end of year tests have in previous years been helpful evidence when deciding on setting for the following year. Please be reassured that the outcomes of these tests will not carry the same weight that they normally would in that regard. We have extensive data about the pupils’ progress in all their subjects through the year so teachers will be in a strong position to make good professional judgements in that regard. We are already planning the curriculum model next year to allow us the flexibility to move pupils around a little if it looks like they aren’t quite in the optimal position by the end of September of October.

We are also mindful of the fact that some families with multiple children at Princethorpe may not have the IT equipment at home to be able to support a number of siblings all taking tests at the same time. We are currently working on a timetable to spread the tests out between year groups in such a way as to absolutely minimise any overlap. We hope that this will be helpful.

The tests are scheduled to take place in the usual week: from Monday 18 May.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic

Back in February pupils from Princethorpe College took part in the 2020 UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Intermediate Challenge, a prestigious national problem-solving competition that recognises the best young mathematicians in the country. The Challenge involves answering multiple choice questions and is sat under normal school exam conditions. The papers are then sent away to be marked by UKMT and the best pupils in the country are awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold Certificates.

The competition is aimed at pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11 and 67 Princethorpe mathematicians were selected to take part. It is a demanding exercise designed to stretch and test pupils’ mathematical skills, so the College is delighted that this year, Princethorpe’s mathematicians achieved exceptional results.

Congratulations to Ben Scares in Year 11 and Rahul Samra in Year 9, who were awarded a Gold certificate, and took the joint award for best performing pupil in school. Both boys performed so well that they also qualified for the follow-on round, the Intermediate Kangaroo challenge.

Silver certificates were awarded to: Ben Shipton, Ed Sharpe, Ciaran Smith, Joshua Rawlings, Aryan Chima, William Hawkins.

Bronze certificates to: Mary Lomas, William Gibson-Sexton, Anthony Convey, Ben Stitson, Carys Burchell, Rory Draper, Madoc Williams, Amy Hogg, Caitlin Mason, Eleanor Page, Joseph Newborough, Zak Abba, Harry King, Pratheesh Prabakaran, Alex Allison, Jack Grindal, Lucy Gribben, Molly Minshull, Remo Volpe, Daniel Webb, Seb Dibb, Zak Johnson, Dominic Lee, Jack Henderson, Oscar Page, Amelia Burgess, Ella Dunkley, Harry Horsley, Molly Wincott-Thomas.

Then on Tuesday 3 March, Princethorpe Year 9 and Year 8 pupils, Ben Smith, Ed Twyman, Emma Sarkies and Rahul Samra, took part in the Regional Final of the AMSP (Advanced Mathematics Support Programme) Team Maths Challenge.

Run in conjunction with the UK Mathematics Trust, the Team Maths Challenge is another prestigious problem-solving competition for the best Year 9 and Year 8 mathematicians.

The pupils took part in an intense four hours of problem-solving, progressing through a series of rounds that tested their mathematical, communication and team-working skills.

Princethorpe’s team did very well and were pleased to finish eighth overall.

Mathematics Teacher, Theo Scoutas, said, "Many congratulations to all of the pupils who represented the College in both of these testing competitions. Pupils achieved a fantastic set of results and we are very proud of your achievements.”

Well done and many thanks to all of the pupils who so enthusiastically took part in both of the competitions, we hope you enjoyed the challenge.

Please click for here the Easter holiday homework expectations.

Thank you 

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

Whilst we are all on a steep learning curve, we hope that your experience of home learning has been positive this week. Teachers and pupils have found the week challenging in different ways and we all are adapting the way we work to maintain the progress of all individuals. I have heard many positive comments about home learning this week but there are still some issues to rectify. In that light, a parental survey will be issued to canvass opinions.

However, the most important outcome of this experience, is that families are spending more time together than ever before. Home learning is providing the opportunity for siblings and parents to talk about their learning. This is vital to ensure that our pupils can articulate their ideas; being able to explain what has been learned is a key skill that shows understanding. Discussions at the end of the day may provide some interesting topics and conversations. Young people’s learning is very diverse!

As a reminder, please encourage your child/children to complete their ‘log’ of their learning each day. This is important for our tutors to check if pupils need additional support but also for the pupils to realise that their learning and the school continues as normal.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

On Wednesday 18 March our Year 11 pupils were able to collect their hoodies and they were all quick to put them on. Now a tradition for most schools, we know that the hoodies will always be a tangible memory of their time at Princethorpe and their fellow pupils. They provide a sense of belonging and of community and in the long distant future we hope they will prompt wonderful memories of their Princethorpe school days.

Princethorpe College has set up a Twitter account to provide helpful advice and guidance to parents of pupils at the school.   

Run by Princethorpe College’s Deputy Head - Pastoral, Mrs Beth Sharpe, it is sharing information and links from a variety of official sources and includes useful learning resources as well as advice to keep us all mentally well and safe.

Click here to visit the Parenting@Princethorpe Twitter account.

As you are aware our recent Immunisation Session had to be postponed. For Year 9 girls who were due to have their second dose of HPV the guidelines state that this should be given 6-24 months after the first dose, so there is still plenty of time for the course to be completed. 

I am liaising with the Immunisation Team to ensure we can re-schedule the vaccinations once schools re-open.

If anyone has any queries please contact me via email at pcmatrons@princethorpe.co.uk

My best wishes to everyone at this challenging time.

Paula Greig
Senior Matron

Mass at Our Lady of the Angels, Princethorpe and St Anne's, Wappenbury is suspended until further notice. The celebration of the Mass is under constant review following the Government and Archdiocese guidelines.

For updates regarding the resumption of Mass at both churches please use the parish website, see below.

For those Sundays when you are not be able to attend Mass, I encourage setting aside the same time as if you were at Mass and using the Missal to pray together (if there is more than one family member in the house) or alone in some quiet space in your home.

I will try to upload some relevant material for us, as parishioners and friends, to reflect upon. You can also find a lot of relevant material on line.

It is my hope to upload a homily reflection for each Sunday.

Throughout the weeks, I will celebrate Mass alone each day at about 9.00am. If you can find a little quiet time then, please join with me in prayer.

Let us use our social media to keep in touch during these times, especially with our elderly and unwell parishioners and friends. You are welcome to contact me at any time during this difficult time - there will always be time! My contact details are listed on the parish website.

If you would like further information about St Anne's, Wappenbury please use the link here.

You also have the opportunity of joining the celebration of Mass from some local churches live using the following link

Please note both churches are now closed until further notice.

My prayers and blessings are with the parish community and all those connected to the Princethorpe Foundation.

Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC

Tuesday 13 October 2020

Our Confirmation Programme will begin on Tuesday 13 October 2020.

Father Alan Whelan MSC will celebrate Mass in the College Chapel at 6.30pm for pupils wishing to be confirmed and their parents or guardians.

This will be followed by an introduction to the course followed by tea/coffee.

The provisional date for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation is Friday 19 March 2021 at 7.00pm in the College Chapel. (The Bishop will confirm this in June.)

The preparation takes place over the lunch break.

Each 20-minute session will be offered twice in order to avoid clashes with other activities.

Confirmation Preparation:  

Michaelmas Term 2020

Tuesday 3 November    or     Friday 6 November

Tuesday 10 November  or     Friday 13 November

Tuesday 17 November  or     Friday 20 November

Tuesday 24 November  or     Friday 27 November

Lent Term 2021

Tuesday 26 January      or      Friday 29 January

Tuesday 2 February      or      Friday 5 February

Tuesday 23 February    or      Friday 26 February

Tuesday 2 March          or      Friday 5 March

Tuesday 9 March          or      Friday 12 March

Thursday 18 March everyone

If you would like further information please email marybenham@princethorpe.co.uk

Please complete the enrolment form here if you would like to register a candidate for Confirmation.

Mary Benham
Chaplaincy Co-ordinator

Whilst the College is closed, our Careers Team of Jacqui Quinney and Kerry Low will still be providing the following services remotely:

Year 10

Careers Interviews will continue by phone during the school day. Interview times will be emailed directly to pupils on their school email and pupils will be phoned at home at the allocated time. They will need access to the internet preferably using a computer or tablet (not a phone) during the call.

Year 11

Any careers related queries, please email jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk 

Lower Sixth

Students will still be supported as they prepare to make university applications or apply to higher level and degree apprenticeships.

One-to-one interviews will continue by phone – times will be emailed to individual students.

Resources relating to personal statements, choosing universities, choosing a course etc will be sent to students as appropriate, using Teams.

Upper Sixth

Please email any queries regarding university or jobs to jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk

Student Finance applications for students starting their university study later this year are open now.

Please see below some top application tips.

Gather together the right information
To apply, students will need to gather the following information:

·         Passport (or original birth/adoption certificate)

·         University and course details

·         National Insurance number

·         Bank details

Parents who are supporting the application may find it helpful to have their P60 for 2018/19 and any other income information to hand.

Apply early
Students should apply as soon as they can by 

Apply early (before the end of May) to ensure that you receive your loan payments in time for the start of the university term. You can do this by visiting www.gov.uk/student-finance

If you are planning to take a gap year, then you don’t need to apply now; you will need to make your application at this time next year.

Apply even if you don’t have a confirmed place
It doesn’t matter if you haven't yet decided where it is you want to study. Just apply using your current first choice and this can be updated easily later through your online account.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers

The College has completed another super year of fundraising for Mary’s Meals, finishing Year 3 of the Makalanga project at £8,442 - fully funding the feeding programme for 622 children at Makalanga school for the year.

Over another amazing year the project has received donations from pupils, staff, parents and friends of the Foundation across a range of fundraising events that have included the Cycling Pilgrimage #2, World Porridge Day and in particular the recent 24 miles in 7 hours sponsored walk. Some 169 individual online donations have been received ranging in size from £5 to £500 which together with the in-school collections have helped the College top its fundraising target for the year.

Huge thanks to all involved in supporting the project, together you have helped Princethorpe College become one of the top school fundraisers for charity Mary’s Meals.

The extra sponsorship money and donations have now been rolled into Year 4 of the project taking the balance to a very healthy £1,572.91.

What a wonderful achievement by all.

If you would like to support Year 4 of the project or find out more, please click here. 

With assemblies cancelled, last week pupils in Benet House used their Tutor Time to write letters and emails to the residents of Low Furlong Residential Home for the elderly. Low Furlong in Shipston-on-Stour is on lockdown due to COVID-19 and the residents were very much missing visits from family and friends.

Benet’s pupils wrote beautifully empathetic emails and handwritten letters, reaching out to the residents in this time of isolation and loneliness. They wrote about their hobbies and interests; the subjects they are studying; what they want to do when they are older and why; their ambitions and hopes for the future; they offered messages of comfort and encouragement; asked questions about what life was like when the residents were younger and the memories they have of being at school and they even shared jokes.

The residents loved receiving the letters and emails and finding out what is happening in the wider world. The thoughtfulness of Benet's pupils brought a little joy at a much-needed time. 

What a wonderful example of kindness from all those involved.

Princethorpe pupils have helped Rugby and East Warwickshire's U14 hockey team qualify for the Regional Finals in the England Hockey Tier 1 Championship.

No fewer than six pupils were part of the squad that took Rugby and East Warwickshire through to the next round of the competition earlier this month.

Four victories against Bromsgrove 3-2, Beeston 4-2, Leicester 8-0 and a superb away win against Repton 8-2 on Sunday 8 March, helped the team finish joint top of table alongside Sutton Coldfield qualifying them for the Regional Finals.

The team's senior players have showed a great level of maturity throughout whilst the younger players have developed quickly, and together they have made a strong and cohesive passing team.

Unfortunately, as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, the competition has been suspended. Nevertheless, this was a great achievement against the top clubs in the Midlands region. Tier 1 is the highest level of hockey a junior player can compete at.

Well done to Will Antrobus, Tom Hollis, James Robinson, Jamie Carr, Matthew Carr and Ben Smith. Definitely players to look out for in the future.

The Year 9 girls finished the season off with a friendly inter-house netball competition on Tuesday 17 March.

The girls have worked incredibly hard this year, so it was fantastic to get them out on the courts one last time to enjoy a final fun game. Of course, there was still plenty of great play with slick interceptions and tight defence but also plenty of light-hearted banter and amiable rivalry from all of the players.

The final results were 1st Fisher, 2nd More, 3rd Benet and 4th Austin.

Well played everybody, you have made great progress this year!

Inter House sporting activities kept all our spirits high last week and were a great way to finish the term. Well done to Benet House who took first place in a very competitive Senior Boys Football competition.

Final placings were 1st Benet, 2nd Fisher, 3rd More and 4th Austin.

Regrettably, we have had to postpone all the Duke of Edinburgh practice expeditions that were due to take place in March and April 2020 – Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Participants will still need to complete a practice and qualifying trip in order to meet the conditions of the award. So we are currently putting plans in place to get these into the school calendar. Once there is more clarity with regards to return dates to school, we will be able to confirm details.

In the meantime I recommend the following:

If you can continue with your physical, volunteering or skill sections, keep doing them!

Should your activity have been stopped for now, are there any tasks you can complete at home to count as your hours? If this isn’t possible but you have completed lots of hours I would wait until the activity resumes rather than starting a new one.

If you have finished a section email your assessor requesting that they please complete your assessor report.  Please refer to the attached template explaining the process.

If you haven’t started a section please select one from the attached programme ideas.  I have also added some volunteering and skill ideas kindly provided by Mrs Ryalls.

There are lots of activities that can be completed from home.  You will, of course, need to ask someone to be your assessor who isn’t a parent, this could be done via email.

Finally, please click here for a link from the DofE with some suggestions to help you to continue working on your award.

My aim remains for all Bronze and Silver participants to have completed all of the award sectionos by October half term 2020.  For Golds, with your longer timescales, you may need until February 2021.  

I am confident that with time, we will be able to come to a solution that will allow you all to complete your award.

Will Bower                                
Head of Outdoor Education, DofE Manager

Every year the Performing Arts Department at Princethorpe College works tirelessly to stage a superb musical production. Who can forget the success of We Will Rock You, Little Shop of Horrors and Arabian Nights to name just a few.

Trailed on the department’s Instagram last week, Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, has now announced that the College’s 2021 production will be the fantastic 1970s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.

It promises to be a highly entertaining show, featuring a number of classic rock musical numbers including Gethsemane, I Don’t Know How To Love Him, Everything’s Alright and of course the powerful anthem Superstar.

The team are planning to cast the show before September and pupils are encouraged to get involved. So whilst pupils are learning from home why not encourage them to warm up their vocal cords and try something new.

Pupils can use the code fnram84 to join the Jesus Christ Superstar group on Teams.

We can't wait!!

Many of the Princethorpe community will be aiming to spend more time in the garden over the coming weeks, improving their outdoor space, planting fruit and vegetable patches, and enjoying the positive physical and mental health benefits of nature.

To aid us in these endeavours we're delighted that Princethorpe's very own 'Gardening Guru', Head of Grounds, Edd Robertson, has agreed to share his gardening expertise with us in the Flagpole.

Here are some jobs he thinks you could be doing over the next four weeks.

Lawns

Here at school we are now seeing signs of the lawn and sports fields recovering after a long period of wet weather, below are some tasks you can do to help your lawn recover and look its best.

• Walk over your lawn to see if the area is dry enough for you to work on (if not be patient).
• Collect any debris from the lawn, hand pick the sticks (keep these for supporting your herbaceous perennials) or rake your lawn lightly, we like to use a plastic leaf rake at this time of year as it is not as aggressive.
• If you have any divots these should be levelled out with top soil and seeded (mix the seed and top soil together in a bucket pick out any big stones, as you don’t want to hit these with your mower or have children falling onto these).
• The fun bit, if you have not already cut you lawn yet, is checking your mower over.

1. Give it a clean, making sure you isolate the power before turning upside down, if you have a rotary mower check the blade is secure and not dented and also sharp enough to cut the lawn without tearing the grass.
2. Height of cut is very important, you need to just make sure you don’t scalp the lawn; otherwise the mower will struggle, and you can damage the grass plants.
3. If you have cylinder mower the same rules apply, just setting the blade is a bit trickier.
4. Let the grass plant dry out and you are ready to go don’t forget PPE.

Once you have mowed your lawn you may see areas that need attention, moss and wet areas or just areas where the grass is not looking healthy.

1. Moss will always appear to be worse just after winter and all the rain we have had, you can apply a lawn sand (follow instructions on the bag) or just rake this out with a metal spring rake, the lawn need to be growing so this may need to wait for a few weeks yet depending on your soil type and location.
2. Make holes in your lawn this is very labour intensive and hard work (if you are using a hand fork) this will allow air to get into the roots system and the roots also grow in the air pockets, you can leave the holes open no need to fill these as long as they are small and tidy.
3. In the next few weeks keep mowing your lawn ideally 2-3 time a week this will encourage growth, so many of my friends ask about how they can improve their lawn. I ask them when they cut it and they answer once a week.  When I tell them it should be 2-3 times a week, they are shocked,
4. Now you should be thinking of applying seed to the lawn. There is lots of choice here, for a general lawn I would recommend a general purpose Ryegrass mix (this is a fast germinating seed and can start to germinate in 5-7 days) some of the other fine lawn seeds can take up to 20 days to germinate. Most will recommend 35 grams per square metre. You can work this out lay canes over the lawn each 1m length in a square then apply the seed this will then give you an idea of the coverage (no need to use the canes again). You need to make sure the seed is in contact with the soil, use a light roller or a piece of wood and tap with hammer, it needs to have contact with the soil so it germinates and will not blow away with hover mowers.  You can keep mowing over the seed it will not damage it.
5. Once the seed has germinated do not let it dry out as the plant will die, watering when required (always try to water as late as you can in the evening this will again stop moisture loss) with a fine rose sprinkler so as not to disturb the plant in the soil.

Finally half-moon the edges of your lawns you can do this with a string line pulled tight at each end, or if it curves use a hose.  Make sure the half moon lawn edger is sharp then spade the excess soil away.

Other jobs

• Mulch flower beds after weeding this will retain moisture and prevent weed coming back (it needs to be 4-inch layer of material)
• Fruits trees pruning should already be done, just make sure you tie the new growth in if grown up a wall or fence, if you have not done any work to these just go through them and remember the three Ds:

1. Any branches that are Dead remove with pruning saw.
2. Any branches that are Dying again remove.
3. Any branches that are Diseased again remove.

• There is lots you can do to add colour to gaps and pots, just be aware of the frost if thinking of tender plants, think about the summer plants you can fill the gaps with and prepare the soil, give these room to grow and think about what conditions these will need in your garden (full sun, shade, wet or dry)
• It’s a great time of year also to feed the birds or make bird boxes, there is plenty of info on the web about how to build and where to site these.
• Ponds are starting to show signs of life, even frog spawn and water margins plants are starting to come back up, some of the clumps can be divided, and replanted depending on what plants you have.
• If you have a small greenhouse vegetable seeds can be sown (again look at pack for details), mixed salad leaves are great, they grow quickly so you can sow to time the crops, for instance at 1-week intervals.
• Fences can be painted and repaired, there are so many colours to choose from, lots are water based and quick drying.
• Another great project to do with the kids is building an insect hotel, this doesn’t have to be perfect, again there is lots of information online and you can use material you have in garden – a great form of recycling.

That should certainly keep everyone busy over Easter, it would be great to see the fruit of your labours, send some pictures of your hard work to flagpole@princethorpe.co.uk. Happy gardening!!

As most of us are spending more time at home than usual, here are a few ideas for pupils and parents alike which should help us to enjoy the time we are spending together and maybe even give us the opportunity to try something new!

Take a look at the ideas attached and try a few, there's something for everyone. Click here to see some fun suggestions.

Why not take a photo of you and your family enjoying one of the activities and email it to us here?

We'd love to share in the fun and keep in touch.

Please find below our updated Term Dates and Key Dates document for 2019-20, along with the dates for 2020-2021.

2019-20 (two-page document)

(Updated showing that the May bank holiday in 2020 has been moved from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day)

2020-21 (two page document)

Cyber-crime – please be vigilant

Parents are asked to be vigilant when reading emails relating to the payment of school fees and any other items to the Foundation.

We continue to receive reports regarding spam emails being sent to parents of independent schools asking them to pay future fees to a ‘new’ school bank account.

Please be advised there has been no change to the bank details of either Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall or Crescent and there is no intention to make any changes in the foreseeable future. Any electronic notification that appears to be from any of the Foundation schools changing these details may be fraudulent.

Our bank details are available on the Parent Bills, the Online Payment Portal and for Princethorpe in the Princethorpe College Information Booklet 2019 – 2020, and only those details should be used.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues in the Bursary if you are have any doubts about the correct details or indeed if anything appears suspicious.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar