The Flagpole

As I walked round our school this morning, the corridors look immaculately clean, there is no litter anywhere in sight and I didn’t have to speak to anyone about not wearing their uniform correctly. However, sitting in front of my laptop this week I have seen innovation, resilience, inspirational online lessons and rousing assemblies. But I have also had remote meetings with parents, pupils and staff who are struggling, going through very hard times, be it physically or emotionally. In an Instagram world where we often only present the picture of perfection, let us not be ashamed, embarrassed or feel awkward in either asking for or offering help. Our College motto, Christus Regnet, which (very loosely in linguistic terms, but powerfully in practicality) translates as “be kind and do your best” has never been needed more than now and thank you so much for all you are doing in this respect.

On a More (!) upbeat note…congratulations to More House – in the end you smashed it and showed that the trophy isn’t won by individual superstars (though you have quite a lot of those, as all Houses do) – rather by participation and teamwork. Again, many thanks to House Activities Leader, Mrs Newborough, and her amazing team for all they do. The 28,187 points awarded are a testament to the enormous variety and scale of what the House Year consists, from the stellar events, such as Sports Day, the Talent Show or the Oscars, to the individual house point earned for a good effort in homework.

On the theme of stellar events, at 6.00pm tonight (Friday 24 April) our Spring Concert will be streamed. As well as performances by a number of individuals and small groups, there is an amazing collaborative piece - knitted together by our Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw – which is an orchestral and choral version of Elbow’s One Day Like this. Huge thanks to Mr Cowlishaw and all those who contributed to this rousing and uplifting concert. The best way of you seeing it is by logging on to your House Team in Microsoft Teams and parents will also be emailed a Vimeo link.

Many thanks to you all for all your support with the Home Learning Programmes and particularly for looking through the pupils’ weekly logs. Keeping tabs on what the children are doing is complex and whilst we do have some very sophisticated monitoring software to check pupil engagement, your support and help is invaluable. The creativity and levels of engagement are generally very good indeed and the use of live lessons and meetings are really adding an extra dimension. Of course, it’s probably going to be a marathon rather than a sprint and so reaching a happy equilibrium so that things are manageable in you own homes is a key aim. If you need any help or advice with supporting home learning please do ask – we will be running our second round of surveys next week as we are keen to get your specific feedback.

A reminder that further details of the End of Year Assessments, beginning on Monday 18 May (Friday 15 May for Year 10) will be sent out within the next week or so. Also, a reminder please that if your child is ill and unable to work, please email attendance@princethorpe.co.uk so that their teachers are aware, aren’t chasing them for work and can make any special arrangements as necessary.

Finally, many thanks for all your positive messages and continued support I hope you and your families are well, but sadly I know for some of you this is not the case. Please do keep us informed and seek support if you need it; there is almost always something that can be done to help.

With prayers and best wishes.

E D Hester

Some of our social media followers may have noticed the cryptic posts we have been making since Wednesday. What they may not have worked out yet is that they are alluding to a very special event which will take place this evening from 6.00pm. Thanks to the wonders of technology and the dedication of our fantastic Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, Princethorpe will be presenting a ‘Socially Distanced Spring Concert’.

Mr Cowlishaw has masterminded the event which will involve around 60 members of the school community, including pupils, staff and peripatetic music teachers, all performing from home.

Via Microsoft Teams he has shared parts for a host of instruments, for sopranos, baritones and altos and created a ‘Virtual Conductor’ video to bring all the musicians and singers together into one harmonious whole for a special combined performance of Elbow’s hit One Day Like This.

Comments Mr Cowlishaw, “Nothing, not even a pandemic, was going to stop us having our Spring Concert. Elbow's anthemic hit, with it's main lyrical theme, seemed a fitting and uplifting choice for our finale and the times we find ourselves in."

"The ‘virtual’ concert has really captured everyone’s imagination and I’ve been overwhelmed by the response, it’s going to be amazing!”

In addition to the flagship performance there will be a host of other musical items in the hour long concert which will be streamed to the College community via Teams from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. A Vimeo link with also be sent via ISAMS to all parents.

The programme includes traditional and more contemporary pieces and even some improvisation, the musicians involved range from Year 7 to Upper Sixth and musical grades 1 to 8. The concert has taken over 100 hours to piece together, not counting the time spent by the individual contributors.

We will also post the finale piece at 7.00pm on social media if you would like share it with family and friends.

What better form of entertainment could there be on a Friday evening!!

The new Princethorpe College Prefect Body for 2020-2021 was formally inaugurated into their roles in a virtual ceremony shared with the College community and parents on Friday 17 April.

The outgoing Head Boy, Jack Bent, and Head Girl, Leah Dunkley, gave a poignant speech reflecting on their year in office and time at Princethorpe before wishing the new Prefect Body well, and handing over the keys of office.  Mr Ben Collie, Head of Sixth Form introduced the 2020-2021 Prefects for the first time, before the smartly attired group spoke individually to their audience about themselves and their hopes for their new roles, before the new Head Girl, Abbie O’Carroll-Bailey and Head Boy Jack Neale concluded the ceremony with a prayer.

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 upcoming exams and future endeavours.

To watch the inauguration ceremony please click here.

One of the last sporting events Princethorpe pupils took part in before the COVID-19 situation led to fixture cancellations was the prestigious English Schools’ Cross Country Championships 2020. It was touch and go whether the race would actually happen and runners only received confirmation that it was going ahead on the Thursday night beforehand.

The event, which brings together the best athletes from England’s 46 counties to compete for the honour of being the best in the country, took place in the magnificent setting of Liverpool’s Sefton Park on Saturday 14 March.

Six Princethorpe runners had been selected to be part of a 48-strong Warwickshire squad, with the top eight runners from each age group representing their county on the day. Ava Farren Year 8, Kate Pomerleau, Year 8 and Grace Darcy, Year 9 in the Junior Girls (Under 15) category, Zak Johnson, Year 9 in the Junior Boys (Under 15) category and Tom and Will Crowfoot, Lower Sixth in the Senior Boys (Under 19) category.

Our hard-working runners had put in extensive training throughout the season in the build up to this pinnacle of the cross country season. In windy, muddy and challenging conditions the Junior Girls ran a 3km course, the Junior Boys a 4.4km course and the Senior Boys a 6.7km course around the 235-acre park.

The start of each race was particularly spectacular, with each county’s eight runners lining up in their pens in the order in which they qualified. The ground literally shook at the start of every race as around 350 runners took off en masse and jockeyed for the best position.

At the end of a long and tiring day the final results were as follows:

In the Junior Girls out of a field of 344 runners, Kate Pomerleau came in 112th with a time of 12.26, Ava Farren was 215th with a time of 12.48 and Grace Darcy came in 292nd in 13.18.  Kate, Ava and Grace were placed 1st, 2nd and 6th for Warwickshire.

In the Junior Boys out of a field of 334 runners, Zak Johnson came in 315th in a time of 17.54, he was placed 6th for Warwickshire.

In the Senior Boys out of a field of 324 runners, 16 year-old Will Crowfoot came in 248th in a time of 24.59 and his twin brother Tom came in 276th in 25.38, they were placed 2nd and 3rd respectively for Warwickshire.

Against stiff opposition overall Warwickshire were placed 41st in the Junior Girls Competition, 36th in the Junior Boys Competition and 41st in the Senior Boys Competition.

Will Bower, Head of Outdoor Education, commented, “Our runners did fantastically well to qualify for this prestigious event and performed very well on the day against very stiff competition. They all did the College and the county proud.”

Congratulations to all our runners and many thanks to their dedicated parents for their support during the season and taking them up to Liverpool for the Championships.

Princethorpe STEAM Ambassador and our new Deputy Head Girl, Lauren Mason has been looking for 100 volunteers to take part in an online survey, called ‘Combating COVID-19’ as part of a Junior Academy Challenge for the New York Academy of Sciences.

Lauren has been a member of the Junior Academy for the last few years and will be representing the UK as part of an international team for this challenge, with others from the USA, France and Japan. The team are conducting research and have decided to collect primary data for analysis on a range of different factors associated with living in a country affected by the virus. In order for the analysis to be reliable, they ideally need 100 people from each of their countries to complete an online survey.

The survey takes about five minutes to complete and asks people about their current situation regarding the pandemic’s progress in their country. Topics include food supply, access to medicines, reliance of news and social media and community support. The idea is that the survey will be completed by the same group of people, weekly, for four weeks.

The survey has been sent out twice so far, and will be sent out again in the coming days. In terms of cases, the survey has highlighted the significant lack of testing going on worldwide. The percentage of respondents who know someone who’s tested positive for Covid-19 is still hovering at 20%, much the same as last week. However 63% of respondents now believe they know someone with symptoms of the virus, a huge jump from the 38% last week! They have been doing wider research which appears to indicate that testing is vital in combating Covid-19.

Lauren says, "I would like to thank those in the Princethorpe community who are continuing to participate and support us. The open ended question at the end of the survey has generated so many fantastic ideas (and a few controversial ones!), which we really enjoyed going through."

"As a team we are currently developing a website, which will assist with managing Covid-19 in the home. More to follow on this once we’ve moved past the brainstorming stage!"

At the end of the challenge, Lauren will share the team’s final report with the volunteers and with our community to illustrate the findings. Thanks to everyone who gets involved.

Here is the link if you would like to help Lauren and participate in the survey.

One of the many great experiences you can gain as a prefect at Princethorpe College is receiving the excellent leadership seminars and advice given at the Prefect Training Day, which this year took place online just before the start of the Trinity Term on Saturday 18 April 2020. 

Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, the normal format of the day had to be changed because of social distancing measures. However, we (as prefects) were lucky enough to have some key aspects of the day salvaged for us. 

The day was organised to help the prefects to develop their skills in line with their new areas of responsibility as well as helping them to develop employability and life skills.

It started with an introductory session with the Sixth Form Team, motivational guest speaker Mr Victor Allen, the prefect body and all of the subject ambassadors.

Everyone was organised into groups, as to when they would receive their presentation from Mr Allen.

After this, each group were delivered an interesting and inspiring virtual presentation by Mr Allen. This entailed the key approaches, mind sets and qualities of effective leaders. We also learned about working effectively within a team, taking on roles of responsibility effectively, delegation and time management and listening skills.

It is safe to say that the information given will be very valuable to all present. We are confident that the information and attitudes towards leadership provided will stand us all in good stead for the year ahead.

Furthermore, as well as the intellectual benefits of the day, everyone enjoyed the charismatic approach of Mr Allen, and we were very happy to catch up with all the faces we would usually see on a daily basis. 

We would like to thank Mr Collie and the rest of the staff involved for organising such a great event. Even though we couldn’t be there in person, the virtual organisation of the day and the participation from all was of paramount importance to the smooth running of the training schedule.

Finally, we would like to thank Mr Allen for giving up his time and doing a fantastic job of presenting to us, even though it wasn’t in the usual format.

Jack Neale and Abbie O'Carroll-Bailey
Head Boy and Head Girl 

Upper Sixth Former, James Paterson, has been jointly awarded the first ever Local Young Conservatives Award for Outstanding Contribution and Political Activism in recognition of hard work and dedication throughout the year and in the 2019 General Election campaign.

James who studies A-level Politics and is hoping to go on to a career as a local government councillor and ultimately become an MP himself one day explains "I was delighted to recently accept the award for 'Outstanding Contribution and Political Activism' from Hinckley and Bosworth Young Conservatives Association. It was in recognition of my contribution during the lead up to the 2019 general election, supporting the campaign for the Bosworth MP Dr Luke Evans."

"I gained first hand experience by working along side our MP, of door-to door-campaigning and attending hustings. A meeting at which candidates in an election address potential voters."

"Following the record success we received for the Bosworth constituency in the election, I was invited to attend a meeting at Conservative Campaign Head Quarters with a fellow Young Conservative, to discuss our local association and growth potential. Prior to this, I was privileged to have a personal tour of the Palace of Westminster by MP Dr Evans. It was fascinating to see their workspace. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, though it wasn't my first time in the building, it was rather nerve-racking nether the less!"

Well done James for all your hard work and commitment and good luck with your future career in politics.

James is pictured with Bosworth MP, Dr Luke Evans.

We love this amazingly creative tribute to the NHS by arable farmer and Old Princethorpian, David Jones.

David, who was at the College from 1986-1991, now farms near Stratford-upon Avon. He and his family have built their business up to 2,700 acres, growing, wheat, oil seed rape, spring beans and spring wheat. David recently won a Royal Society award for practice and development in agriculture.

Talking about the tribute, he comments, “I sketched the plan on paper and used the old tramlines as a base line at 32 metres apart. Then put some scratch marks in as a guide.
I drove the tractor free hand as I did not have the time to programme all the GPS."

He continues, "The film was shot in one go by my friend James Arbuckle Photography who then kindly edited ready for the next day. It’s already had over 55,000 views on different platforms and the most rewarding part is to hear from NHS doctors, nurses and specialists that it has given them a boost after what was a very tough week for them.”

Hats off to David and the rest of the Princethorpe farming community, who are doing so much to put food in our supermarkets and on our tables during the crisis too.

Click here to view David's creation.

We just had to share this joyful video rendition of Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music by the fab Bilton Silver (Rugby) Band, put together by Princethorpe and Crackley peripatetic brass teacher and Old Princethorpian Jodie Fisher.

With social distancing putting paid to their normal rehearsals they came up with this imaginative way of bringing them all together to make their fantastic music and make everyone smile.

The video also features Jodie’s mum and fellow brass teacher Di Fisher, who teaches at Crescent School. You might be able to spot a few more familiar Foundation faces too.

We think you’ll have to agree they are brilliant and make a cracking sound!!

Click here to view the video

Also getting in on the amazing musical video act is Bilton's Silver Training Band, with their fun rendition of 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' from Mary Poppins. Lots of familiar Crescent faces here too, well done everyone for keeping spirits up. Just don't ask us to spell the tune's title!!! 

Click here to view the video.

With the the school currently closed, our usual calendar of events is sadly suspended until further notice. However, we have been working hard on an interim Covid calendar and you can see what is planned on the College website or on My School Portal.

The following key events will go ahead in a modified format:

• Weekly House and Sixth Form Assemblies
• Spring Concert - Friday 24 April (see Flagpole news article)
• Year 11 Virtual Induction Day (for Pre-Post-16 courses) - Monday 27 April (see Flagpole event article)
• Winter Sports Assembly - Thursday 30 April
• Old Princethorpians Meet - Friday 15 May
• Year 7 and 8 Academic Review Evening - Thursday 11 June
• Year 10 Parents Evening - Monday 15 June
• Summer Art, Photography and Design Show 2020 - Thursday 18 June

The exact format of these events will be confirmed nearer the time and other events will be confirmed over the coming weeks.

Monday 27 April 2020 - 8.40am to 3.00pm

The College will be hosting a Virtual Induction Day on Monday 27 April to introduce our current Year 11s and students who will be joining us from other schools to the Pre-Post 16 courses that will be available for them online from next week.

Students will be put into their new Tutor Group on Microsoft Teams and into Teams for their chosen A-level or BTEC subject choices.  All students will be sent basic guides to Teams and meetings.

Once logged on to Teams, students will receive notifications and invitations to the relevant Teams they are part of and be able to view the format of the day on their calendar. We would advise logging on before Monday morning to ensure everything is working as it should be.

Over the course of the day students will get to know the Sixth Form Team and their Sixth Form tutor, who will play such an important role over the coming months. Students will also have talks on independent learning, study skills and making a good start to their Sixth Form studies.  We will conduct an IT health check to make sure the technology is working correctly for all students and there will be introductions to the Extended Project Qualification and our Core and Enrichment opportunities.

At the end of the day there will be a Q and A session, that parents are welcome to sit in on too should they wish.

If you have any queries about the day please contact Mr Collie at bencollie@princethorpe.co.uk or if you have any IT related queries please contact Mr Compton, our Director of Digital Strategy at andycompton@princethorpe.co.uk.

We have seen some wonderful examples of home learning taking place across every year group and in all subjects in this first week back after the Easter holidays.

Thank you to staff and pupils for sharing these, we hope you'll agree that they are great to see!

Art

We have seen a wide selection of pieces created and completed during art lessons this week. Here are a selection.

Year 7 - Grace Paybody

Year 9 - Jamie Carr, Erin West, Katie Richards, Amelie Hancock and Maddie Burgess

Year 10 - Mark Dunkley

Year 10 - Millie Griffin, who has been working on her David Hockney project.

Food Technology

Alice Minshull Year 8 offered to cook at home and using skills she had practised at school she prepared a delicious meal for her family and Jesse Esler produced some tempting Greek biscuits as part of his lesson in baking.

Year 7 have been learning the rubbing in method and have cooked apple crumbles.

Year 8 have been learning the creaming method and have made Carrot Cake Muffins.

Year 9 have been learning how to make family meals and have made lasagne. 

Religious Studies

Year 7 classes (7YQ and 7XL) worked really hard with Miss O'Gorman, to produce a board game to revise Sikhism as an end of topic project. The task was to create a board game which included revision questions about Sikhism with rules for playing. Students were given Da Vinci merits for their efforts. 

Here are some excellent examples from Olivia Monk, Matilda Palmer, Jess Hedgecock and Cara Ridd.

Textiles

Year 7 pupils have put their sewing skills to the test creating ski hats. There are many variations on the theme!

We look forward to seeing more examples of great Home Learning in the next edition of The Flagpole.

Fr Alan Whelan MSC and Mrs Mary Benham, our wonderful Chaplaincy Team, wanted to share this prayer with us all to help support us during lockdown and the COVID-19 situation.

Generous God,
fill us with compassion and concern for others, young and old,
that we may look after one another in these challenging days.
Bring healing to those who are sick with the virus and be with their families.
May those who have died rest in your eternal embrace.
Comfort their family and friends.
Strengthen and protect all medical professionals caring for the sick
and all who work in our medical facilities.
Give wisdom to leaders that they may make the right decisions for the well-being of all people.

We pray for all pupils of the Princethorpe Foundation, give them diligence and enjoyment in their online learning and an appreciation of family in these challenging times. 
And we pray in gratitude for all those in our country who will continue to work in the days ahead in so many fields of life for the sake of us all.
Bless them and keep them safe.

Amen

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.

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 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

Fund-raising members of the Princethorpe Foundation family picked up their tennis rackets for a ten hour match to support the NHS over the Easter holidays.

Neil McCollin, Princethorpe's Assistant Head Co-curricular and his wife Rachel, a teacher at Crescent School spent ten hours in one day playing tennis with their children raising more than £1,000 for NHS charities.

Eight-year-old Ruan wanted to do more to support hospital staff across the country after clapping for the health service and taking part in a nationwide camp-out.

And after talking to mum Rachel, dad Neil and sister Grace they decided to extend the daily tennis games which they have been enjoying, while raising money at the same time.

They started the match on Easter Monday at 9,00am and finished at 7.00pm, taking it in turns to stop for breaks.

Rachel said: “Ruan wanted to do more to raise money for NHS staff who are tirelessly working to help protect the country from COVID-19. During lockdown he has loved playing tennis on the driveway and so we decided that this would be a great way to have fun and raise money at the same time.”

The team originally wanted to raise £50 but they have raised much more. They added, “We only really thought close family would sponsor us but have been overwhelmed by the response and support. Thank you so much to everyone."

Visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teammctennisathonfornhs to donate.

On Monday 20 April the College waited with anticipation to find out who would be the winners of the 2019/2020 House Cup. The well-deserved winners were announced via a video, which featured highlights of the year's house activities.

During the school year a plethora of House activities take place, organised by Jessica Newborough (House Activities Leader) and assisted by her enthusiastic team Hannah Carminati, Julia Lindsay, Lily Dyble and Anna Fennell-McLoughlin.

Pupils from all houses and all year groups are encouraged to take part and win points for their house and of course the staff get involved too.

Activities this year have included; a Spelling Bee, Bake Off, House Sports, House Activities Day, European Languages Day, Welly Wanging, Christmas Tree Decorating, Talent Show, Christmas Quiz, University Challenge and The Oscars. There's definitely something for everyone!

Winning the House Cup isn’t easy, to succeed every single pupil needs to pull together and do his or her very best. This year More pupils finished first, having amassed a huge total of 8,398 points. The key for winning was participation and More are always great supporters of all events. Benet finished in second place with 7,538 points, Fisher came in third with 6,369 and Austin in fourth place with 5,882 points.

Some of More’s many successes along the way included wins in: the Spelling Bee, Ready Steady Cook, the Weekly Quiz and they came top overall in the House Sports played throughout the year, not to mention a heady second place in the College Feast Day's House Singing Competition with a superb rendition of 'Sweet Caroline'!

The House Cup was presented 'remotely' to More’s Head of House, Simon Robertson, and outgoing House Captains, Katie Shorten and Oscar Phillips.

A delighted Mr Robertson said, “I am overjoyed that More have again lifted the House Cup - it is testimony to the hard work of everyone in the House that we are champions for 2019/2020. A well deserved and hard fought victory. I look forward to celebrating with the whole House when we return to school!"

The House Challenge for 2020/21 has now begun! Why not join in the Tuesday Challenge and start winning those points for your house, every point counts! All staff and pupils can participate and challenges will be posted via Teams or on the house instagram page theprincethorpehouseteam. Good luck to all!

View the End of Year House Assembly here.

In these uncertain times, many of us may find escaping into a good book just what we need.

Before Easter members of staff at the College were asked to share some of their favourites and Nicola Borman (Teacher of English) has kindly collated some of their recommendations. Why not take a look and try a new genre or a new author?

Transcription (Kate Atkinson)
Fionnuala Schofield (Head of Psychology & Sociology)
‘I have just finished 'Transcription' by Kate Atkinson which is about an 18 year old girl who is recruited into MI5 in 1940 to transcribe recordings made of conversations between an MI5 secret agent and Nazi sympathisers. The story flits between 1940 and 1950 (where she is now working for the BBC, but the ramifications of her time with MI5 rumble on) - it was brilliant and I can thoroughly recommend this and indeed *ALL* of Kate Atkinsons books!’

American Dirt (Jeanine Cummins)
Lisa Challinor (Head of Benet House)
Lydia Quixano Pérez runs a bookstore in Acapulco, Mexico, where she lives with her husband, Sebastián, who is a journalist, and their son, Luca. When a man starts visiting her store, buying books and striking up a friendship, she has no idea initially that he will be responsible for turning her life upside down. But Lydia and Luca will have to flee Acapulco, setting them on a journey they will share with countless other Central and South Americans-turned migrants.

The Witcher Series (Andrzej Sapkowski)
Simon Robertson (Head of More House)
The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, holds the fate of the world in his hands in the New York Times bestselling series that inspired the Netflix show and video games.

Bring Up the Bodies (Hilary Mantel)
Janette Ratcliffe (Archivist)
Continuing what began in the Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall, we return to the court of Henry VIII, to witness the irresistible rise of Thomas Cromwell as he contrives the destruction of Anne Boleyn.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
Melanie Butler (Assistant Head – Marketing, Admissions & Communications)
‘I have just started The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Attwood, a Mother’s Day gift from my daughter who studied it at A-level at Princethorpe recently. It's really good I can't put it down.’

Dark Eden (Chris Beckett)
Chris Kerrigan (Head of English)
‘This must be the one and only science fiction book that I have ever read - but I'm really enjoying it - beautifully written and highly engaging with a level of human interest I wouldn't have expected.’ (Chris)

I am C-3PO (Anthony Daniels)
Paul Hubball (Head of Art & Photography)
A great insight into the world and workings of C3PO, both as the character and the actor.

My First Summer in the Sierra (John Muir)
Will Bower (Head of Outdoor Education)
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland (Jim DeFede)
Gil Cowlishaw (Director of Music)
‘The most appropriate book I’ve read recently to recommend in these weird times. It’s the true story of events in the week following 9/11 when 38 jumbo jets bound for the USA get re-routed to a tiny town in Canada, and the way that the local community welcome and comfort the 7000 unexpected visitors. It’s wonderful, and a real testament to human kindness in difficult times.’

The Girl of Ink and Stars (Kiran Millwood Hargrave)
Sally Ritchie (School Nurse)
‘I’m reading ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’ by Kieran Millwood Hargrave to my 8 and 10 year olds. It’s darker than I expected but they seem riveted by the tales of mystery and adventure.’

Although the Parents' Reading Group are not currently able to meet, please keep in touch via email regarding book recommendations which might be of interest to others. Mr. Kerrigan has recommended an additional read, Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss, "This is a very short book but it packs quite a punch."

If any new parents would like to join the group please email Mr. Kerrigan (Head of English) at chriskerrigan@princethorpe.co.uk.

It's not too late to join in with the Easter STEAM challenges.

There are many different challenges to get involved in from;

• New York Academy of Sciences
• NAE Grand Challenge for Engineering
• Writing East Midlands/Society of Authors
• Dengineering

You'll find access to these through your tutor group Teams page. If you are finding it difficult to locate please email Mr. McCollin for access.

Here are some of the entries we have already received. Well done to all those that have submitted an entry!

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, Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, has 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!!

Following on from our article in the last edition of the Flagpole, here are some more interesting ideas to help us to enjoy the extra time we are spending together at home.

Visit English Heritage sites

Make a bird feeder

See the World Without Leaving Your Home

National Space Centre

Tutankhamun's Treasures 

Sort Your Life Out Challenge

Paddleboat Challenge

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