The Flagpole

As I write my final letter of the 2019-20 academic year, I am reminded of the opening lines from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities…

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Whilst I doubt there will be any of us that look on the past three months as “the best of times”, the themes of the uncertainty and volatility that Dickens refers to (set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror) strike a very strong chord I think with our current world.

As we reach the end of quite a remarkable school year, I want to thank you all for your support for the College. Particular thanks to all parents who have contacted us directly with your thanks and messages of support – these have been enormously uplifting and appreciated hugely.

Usually dominated by the public examinations, this term has been one of Home Learning, Bridging Courses, Microsoft Teams and on-line assignments. What I think has been remarkable is the way in which, despite the difficulties and problems we have all tried to get on with things and make the very best of it – parents, pupils and staff alike.

Of course, no GCSE and A-level exams does not mean no GCSE and A-level results and I draw parents’ attention to the article from Dr Reddish in the Academic section with updates on the public examinations.

One of the upsides of the virtual world we often now inhabit and that parents have commented on, is the ability to “attend” an array of school events, previously only accessible for pupils. Today’s End of Year Assembly is one such event and if you have watched it, there will be no real need to carry on reading this letter! If you haven’t then the link is here.

Looking forward to next term, you will have read my recent letter (I hope – if not it can be found here) on our plans for full reopening of the school next term. Initial government guidance has just been issued, however it is very much in-line with what we expected and recognises that “there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach” and that “School leaders will be best placed to understand the needs of their schools and communities, and to make informed judgments about how to balance delivering a broad and balanced curriculum with the measures needed to manage risk.” Which is very good news! I mentioned in my recent letter some of the measures and changes we will need to make for September, and I would add to these that we are likely going to have to re-organise the House Tutor Groups so that they are all in single year groups.

There will be more guidelines and advice from the government over the summer and we will be ready to react to any changes in circumstances or events and will work hard to keep you informed. As such I have highlighted some of the key events in the run up to next term below:

• Thursday 13 August - A-level Results Day
• Tuesday 18 August - Sixth Form Leavers’ Ball at Warwick House
• Thursday 20 August - GCSE Results Day
• Monday 24 August - Year 8 Picnic@Princethorpe 11.00am -1.00pm, Year 9 Picnic@Princethorpe 3.00pm – 5.00pm and Year 11 Prom at Coombe Abbey
• Tuesday 25 August - New Staff Induction, Year 10 Picnic@Princethorpe 3.00 – 5.00pm
• Wednesday 26 August - Staff Training Day
• Thursday 27 August - Staff Training Day
• Friday 28 August - Year 7 Activity Day, Lower Sixth Induction Day and Staff Training Day.
• Monday 31 August - Bank Holiday
• Tuesday 1 September Beginning of term for all year groups

During the last few months the spotlight has been firmly on all things related to Coronavirus but the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd in the USA has rightly also highlighted issues of racism, equality, diversity and inclusivity. This has been the catalyst for much soul searching and reflection across the world and certainly at Princethorpe. We have done much listening and thinking about the ways we can strengthen our education in these key areas. I want to thank those parents who have taken the time to discuss their thoughts with me directly. We have undertaken some additional staff training and a range of audits and self-reviews to examine critically our own programmes and the curriculum. We will be involving pupils and keeping parents informed of our plans and next steps in the academic year ahead.

As well as looking forward it is also appropriate to reflect on the past year. There is so much that goes on in school and I am sure you will all have your own personal highlights of the year. There are so many times when the pupils inspire us with their creativity, hard work and perseverance. These include:

The growth in the number of pupils involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme 150 pupils completed their whole award from last year (an 88% completion record); the House Talent Show; The House of Bernada Alba, We Will Rock You; the unbelievable Virtual Spring Music Concert; the Virtual Summer GCSE and A-level Art, Photography and Design Show; seeing the inspirational work produced for da Vinci projects and The Pinnacle; the Princethorpe Oscar Awards and of course the wide variety of sporting achievements and fixtures throughout the first half of year. As always, it is hard to single out individuals but some of the performance highlights include: the 1st XI boys football reaching the semi-finals of the Independent Schools’ Cup; the U14A Warwickshire Boys Hockey runners up; U15 Warwickshire Netball runners up; the U13 Netball Midlands ISA Champions. In Cross Country; The Senior boys, Inter boys, Junior girls and Minor girls all placed first at the County Championships; while the U15 boys, U15 girls, U13 boys and U13 girls were ISA Midlands champions. Special mention must go to our individual athlete of the year, Kate Pomerleau who placed 1st in four individual, prestigious Cross Country events.

The multitude of House events at all levels have also been inspiring, giving each pupil the opportunity to contribute and represent their Houses; Mrs Newborough’s short film in our assembly clearly shows the passion, ingenuity and enthusiasm of both pupils and staff alike.

Some of the most memorable and special moments are when the whole school community comes together. This is often by giving both time and energy to some wonderful charitable causes and living out the ethos of the school by showing kindness, compassion and love for others. This has been another bumper year for projects and activities run with the sole aim of helping other people, not just by raising money but also by the giving of time. We have had cake sales, ice-lolly sales, pancake races, 24-mile walks, non-uniform days, pink days, blue days, Valentine’s flowers, car boot sales, visits to the Leamington Night Shelter, lunches and social events.

Once again, the charities we have been involved with are local, others are national or international. Mary’s Meals, Breast Cancer Research UK, Orchid Prostate and Testicular Cancer Research, Father Hudson’s Society, Small Change, British Heart Foundation, and our House Charity MIND, have all benefited.

The monies raised by the Princethorpe community so far this year amounts to over £23,000, with some money still coming in. Included in this total is money raised in conjunction with Mary’s Meals for the Classrooms for Malawi School project trip which has been postponed to July 2021.

Our thanks to all staff and pupils who generously give their time and effort to these events, and a special mention must go to Mary Benham, our Chaplain, who co-ordinates our charity events and Rod Isaacs who leads our drive to support Mary’s Meals, our Youth SVP and Sixth Form community outreach programme.

As we move into the summer holidays our staff again will be working exceptionally hard to prepare for the new academic year. The teaching staff will have a number of training days –not least to prepare for the new BYOD policy for Year 10 and above.

Summer premises work will largely continue the existing programme of renovation, redecoration and maintenance. We are keen to finish the work on the clock tower, consisting of structural repair, replacement of eroded stonework, refurbishment of the clock and renovation of the two clock faces. Unfortunately, this has been delayed through problems experienced by the main contractor, but we are optimistic that this project will soon be completed.

Members of the Science Working Group and the professional team have continued with the detailed technical design of the proposed ten-laboratory Science Centre, north of The Limes, which is due to complete towards the end of July and which already has planning permission. This will be followed by the preparation of a Bill of Quantities and all the preliminary work which is needed to take the project up to tender stage.

Inevitably, recent events have put the construction industry into flux and the trustees will be working with our advisors to decide on the best timing for the next stage of the project.
We have enjoyed opportunities at parents’ evenings and academic review meetings to share our plans and have also been very ably supported and encouraged by the expertise of our Science Campaign Board volunteers, many of whom are current parents.

This next development is our largest undertaking to date and as well as providing a state-of-the-art Science Centre, will also give excellent improvements to our accommodation at Princethorpe, including a new home for Art and an additional stylish dining area for 120 pupils. Geography, Business Studies and Economics will have space in the main building and departments such as Classics will also benefit. Other legacy rooms will provide further classrooms and on completion, all portable buildings will be removed.

We have had wonderful, continued support from parents and others other across the Princethorpe community for both our rolling bursaries campaign and the Science+ campaign and I again extend my thanks to those people who have supported us this year. What has struck me, is that despite the hugely turbulent and trying circumstances of the last few months, we have not lost a single one of our regular givers. They have stuck with us and their commitment really does demonstrate our spirit of family.

A school, of course, is only as good as its staff and we are tremendously fortunate to have such a large number of hard-working, caring and dedicated professionals; I would like to thank them again for all that they do for the pupils in so many ways, not least in the way they have risen to the challenges of Home Learning and home working. As always we have a number of staff changes which I will summarise below:

As you will be aware, Neil McCollin was appointed to Assistant Head - Co-curricular this year and as a result we have appointed Lee Cassell as our new Foundation Director of Sport. Lee joins us from Kenilworth School where he was Head of PE. Mike Turns’ post as Head of Boys’ Games has also been made permanent.

In the Mathematics department, we wish Karen Bannister a happy retirement. However, Karen joins our roster of cover staff along with Clare Callaghan to help us out if needed. We are joined by Alexander Phillips from Avon Valley School and Sophie Jones on completion of her PGCE at the University of Warwick

In the Science faculty, Emma Cooper, Head of Science and Chemistry starts her maternity leave during the summer, whilst Carlos Gane moves on to take up a position at St Paul’s School. Faye Roberts, currently Head of Biology will cover Emma’s maternity leave from September as Acting Head of Science; and Jo Smith steps up as Acting Head of Chemistry. In addition, Dan Lee joins us as Head of Physics. Dan previously worked at Kellett School in Hong Kong. The department will also be joined by Peter McLeish, as a Teacher of Physics.

Alison Wakeley will also be on maternity leave during the next academic year and we welcome Helen Dean to the Music department to cover for Amanda. In the History department Abi Adams will be staying on to cover for Julia Lindsay’s maternity leave and we also welcome back Katharine Darwood-Bredin as Head of Politics.

In the MFL department, Kate Parsons returned from maternity leave last term, and with the phasing out of German, Finola Coy, Teacher of German, leaves with our thanks.  Charlotte Verleure also leaves us to start a teaching post at Ryde School on the Isle of Wight after successfully completing her PGCE at the University of Warwick.

In the Law department we say goodbye to Loretta Jones as Michael Reddish relinquishes Head of Department to focus on additional duties within his Deputy Head role. Helen Essery joins us from Bilton School as Head of Law and Teacher of Business Studies.

Nicola Jones, leaves the Religious Studies department, to move to Shiplake College and Dominic Phelps moves into the department.

Michelle Baker, leaves the English department to go to Rugby School as Rebecca (Becky) Forde from Billericay School joins us.

Melinda Palmer, Teacher of Latin, departs and, having covered some of our twilight Latin classes earlier this year, Laura Rindler joins us as Joint Head of Latin to work alongside Rachel Taylor. Laura previously worked as Head of Classics and Head of Upper School at Bilton Grange.

Matt Parsons, Teacher of Design and Technology and Art takes up a new post at Bablake School. Matt is replaced by William O’Hara who has just completed his PGCE at the University of Sussex and Helen Plenderleith who joins us from Blue Coat School in Coventry.

In the Computer Science department Jan Ryalls leaves to take a very early retirement and Jennifer Andrews also joins us from the Blue Coat School.

With the large increase in numbers of pupils signing up to the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, we have appointed Simon Robertson as Second in Charge of DofE to assist Will Bower. Simon will also continue with his role as Head of More House.

We also say goodbye to Lucy Butler, Dominic Grainger, Emma Pont, Stacey John and Ben Venson who all joined us as part of their teacher training courses; we wish them luck with their future careers. We welcome in September, Peter Harris, Alice Reed and Old Princethorpians Megan Lewis and Sophie Rejali and wish them well with their placements.

We bid farewell to our outgoing TAs, Lily Dyble, Fleur Street and Megan Owen

Our new incoming TAs are Upper Sixth leavers Ellen Bucknall and Katie Shorten, Old Princethorpian Laura Baskerville along with Jack Forsythe who joins us, from Uppingham School, as a Graduate Sports Coach and TA.

Nicola Browne, our Shop Manager, leaves later this summer to return to the Isle of Man. We will be interviewing shortly for Nicola’s replacement who we hope to have in place ready for the start of next term. Our thanks go to the various support staff who are currently helping out to keep the shop going and pupils equipped with uniform ready for September.

We thank all our leavers for all they have done at Princethorpe and wish them all well in their retirement or future careers.

To return briefly to Dickens, despite much terror and cruelty featured in A Tale of Two Cities, ultimately it has a clear message of redemption, transformation and optimism. I firmly believe that by continuing to work hard and look after each other, we will emerge from this difficult period as a stronger community.

For the summer holidays, we will cross our fingers that COVID-19 continues to decline across the country and I hope you and your families keep safe and well and enjoy, as best you can, a happy and relaxing summer.

Ed Hester
Headmaster

Following the letter sent last week regarding the potential BYOD model for Years 10 to Upper Sixth next academic year, I am writing to update you regarding this.

Parent feedback on the adoption of this model was overwhelmingly positive, with 89% of parents supportive of BYOD, 7% undecided and just 4% not supportive. As a result, I can now confirm we will go ahead with this from September 2020. This means that from September all Year 10 to Upper Sixth pupils will be expected to bring a laptop or tablet device to school, for use in lessons every day. We believe that this will be a very positive and important step in capitalising on the benefits of the home learning programme, growing the digital literacy of our pupils, allowing for new and innovative methods of teaching and learning to use alongside traditional methods, and preparing the pupils for the modern workplace.

We are aware that for many parents this will mean a number of considerations now need to be made, in terms of ensuring your children are ready for this both in relation to the device they bring and the setup and management of this device for use in school. I would like to assure you that we are planning carefully for the start of BYOD, and we will keep you updated over the course of the summer.

Further information will be emailed next week to the parents of pupils in next year's Year 10 to Upper Sixth to help you to begin to prepare for this within your own families, this will include:

• Device purchasing guidance
• Updated FAQs based on parent feedback
• Updated BYOD Policy

Andy Compton
Director of Digital Strategy

Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, and musicians from across the Foundation have risen to the occasion with a fantastic finale to the end of the school year.  In a third virtual concert, the Summer Sing And Play, the schools’ vocalists and musicians deliver an awe-inspiring performance of Miley Cyrus’ magical and moving ballard The Climb. 

Together nearly 90 pupils and staff perform this beautiful song, the lyrics of which describe a difficult but rewarding journey, the challenge to keep the faith so appropriate for the term we have all just experienced. 

I may not know it, but these are the moments that I'm going to remember most, just got to keep going. 
And I’ve got to be strong, just keep pushing on! 
  
There's always going be another mountain I'm always going to want to make it move, 
Always going to be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm going to have to lose 
Ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waiting on the other side 
It's the climb! 

We hope you agree that it just says it all. The wonder of virtually sharing music together has been an experience we will remember for years and years to come. 

Gil Cowlishaw, explains, “Arranging the piece for the whole Foundation was a huge challenge, as I had to ensure that there were accessible parts for all the musicians across all three schools. The main body of the song has taken a lot more cobbling together, but it has definitely been worth the effort though, as the end result is, frankly, wonderful!  There are pupils, from Reception right up to Upper Sixth, and staff representing all three schools including the Head of the Foundation, Ed Hester. The Climb will serve as a heart-warming and inspirational reminder of this singularly unusual term in the Foundation’s history.” 

The Summer Sing And Play Concert will have some 20 items, mainly solos, with The Climb as its finale. It will also include a special staff feature, a staff lip-sync to Don’t Stop Believing as an extra treat for pupils and parents to enjoy.   

The event will stream on Friday evening at 6pm and the finale, The Climb, will be shared on social media at 7.00pm. 

A huge thanks to Gil and the wonderful Foundation vocalists and musicians. What a wonderfully entertaining and inspirational end to the 2019-20 academic year! 
 

Our Upper Sixth are all now officially Old Princethorpians, having completed their time at Princethorpe College, albeit in unexpected and unusual circumstances. To help them stay in touch and make the most of being an OP we encourage them all (and their parents) to sign up to Princethorpe Connect - our online alumni community for former pupils, parents and staff. 

We are always interested in hearing from past pupils about their achievements and next steps, but becoming a part of the Old Princethorpians network has other advantages too. OP Friendly Faces is a special scheme that offers our newest OPs a familiar face to welcome them to life post Princethorpe, at their new university. The initiative links past pupils now established at university with first year OP students. Providing a friendly face to meet up with over a coffee (compliments of the OPs) or having someone to call in their new uni town or city will, especially in these socially distanced times, make for a smoother experience in the first few weeks away from home. 

Our Upper Sixth Leavers have received information on the scheme but the best way to register for OP Friendly Faces is through Princethorpe Connect.  Joining Princethorpe Connect also offers all OPs the chance to network with the OP community, to read exclusive news articles, sign up for events (such as our pub meets, brunches and reunions), purchase merchandise from the online shop, support fundraising campaigns and see our private photo galleries. 

Leavers can connect in five simple steps: 

Step 1 - Click this link to go to Princethorpe Connect 

Step 2 - Go to 'Create a profile...' in the centre of the screen 

Step 3 - Register with your home email address (not your Princethorpe one) and please tick the box to give us permission to email you! 

Step 4 - Your registration will be reviewed and approved by the Community Admins as soon as possible 

Step 5 - Once approved your Princethorpe Connect profile will be live and ready to go! 

Comments OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler, "We have OP Friendly Faces at Universities across the country and we know the scheme has helped past students settle successfully into their new uni towns. After Results Day when we know where our new OPs are heading, we will start matching them to this year’s Friendly Faces." 

If you would like to find out more (either as a Friendly Face or a new undergraduate) you can also email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk. 

Every summer, towards the end of the Trinity Term, we host our Summer Supper Reunion, warmly welcoming Old Princethorpians back to the College. We always enjoy catching up with all their news and reminiscing over times gone by. This year we were particularly looking forward to meeting OP leavers from the Classes of 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 as they celebrated their 50th, 40th, 30th, 20th and 10th anniversaries respectively.

Sadly because of the continuing COVID-19 restrictions we had to postpone this year’s Summer Supper Reunion. Instead, we put together a special video compilation. It included, a welcome by the OP Chairman, Peter Rollason, a virtual tour of the College and its grounds, a selection of archive photography from the anniversary years and a special guest appearance by Princethorpe legend, Alex Darkes. 

Comments, OP Chairman, Peter Rollason, “We hope to rearrange the event or to have a ‘Super Summer Supper Reunion’ next year including the leavers with a 0 and a 1 in their leaving year. In the meantime, I know that all OPs will enjoy the video compilation and the chance to revisit the College from the comfort of their own homes.”

You can watch the video here: https://vimeo.com/432844057

The College hosted its first ever first Virtual Induction event on Wednesday 24 June for pupils joining the school this coming September. The new pupils and their parents were all excited to receive links to a series of pre-recorded videos to help introduce them to their new school. Everyone was warmly welcomed by Headmaster, Ed Hester, Deputy Head Pastoral, Beth Sharpe, and Head of Transition, Sue Harris.

The new pupils had friendly messages of encouragement from the College’s Head Boy and Head Girl, Jack Neale and Abbie O’Carroll-Bailey and helpful advice from Year 8s, Ben Smith and Renee Ndungu before they then, with a spin of the banner, thrillingly discovered which College House they would be joining. Their Head of House then introduced themselves before in turn their new Tutors welcomed pupils individually to their new Form Groups.

Parents had their own video with plenty of information on the College’s renowned pastoral care and support, school communications and essentials such as school uniform, buses, cashless catering, peripatetic music lessons and more. All designed to facilitate their children's transition to their new school.

Following the Induction Event this week parents and pupils had the chance for individual Teams meetings with their new Form Tutor.

Headmaster, Ed Hester, said, “We hope everyone found the virtual induction event helpful and informative, we can’t wait to welcome our new pupils properly into school. Your new Tutors and I are very much looking forward to meeting you. For now, I encourage everyone to enjoy the summer as it won’t be long before we are all back to school.”

The Year 7 Activity Day takes place on Friday 28 August. There are some very exciting activities planned, however to take account of the developing COVID 19 guidance, the format of the event will be confirmed to pupils and parents closer to the date.

To mark the end of their journeys through the school, Year 11 and the Upper Sixth took part in Virtual Thanksgiving Services hosted through Teams. Both events included prayers, reflections, readings and music giving pupils, parents and staff the opportunity to give thanks for the completion of this important examination year.

The Thanksgiving events were both joyous occasions full of celebration and optimism and we were delighted that they were so well received and with the positive feedback. They were wonderful opportunities to remember and reminisce over pupils' time at the College, the friends they have made and the many adventures they have had along the way.

We wish all our Year 11s and Upper Sixth the very best as they move on to the next exciting chapter in their lives. They have been delightful year groups, have worked hard and we are confident they will be rewarded with success when the examination results are published in August.

If you missed the services you can watch a recording here:

Year 11 Thanksgiving

Year 13 Thanksgiving

An extra edition of the College's Admissions Update e-newsletter has just been published containing important information on changes to the College's admissions timetable and process.

The newsletter includes details of these changes, alongside details of upcoming events and helpful advice on the admissions process, particularly for those who are looking at entry in September 2021.

The next edition will be published in Autumn 2020, prior to our Entrance Exams which will now take place on Saturday 23 January 2021.

Click here to go to the Admissions Update newsletter.

Or if you have any queries relating to admissions please feel free to email the team at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call 01926 634201.

Tuesday 14 July

The Big Bang is back and this time, it’s digital!

Big Bang Digital 2020 – Science, Engineering & Covid-19 celebrates the amazing work of scientists and engineers in a pandemic.

Bringing together a day of inspiring online sessions to give young people a front row view of the incredible contribution of scientists, healthcare professionals, engineers, technicians and students in responding to Covid-19.

Celebrating their achievements, hearing about challenges, innovation and collaboration and exploring some upsides to lockdown.

Join on Tuesday 14 July for an inspirational, uplifting look at the essential role of Science and Engineering in a pandemic.

With interactive polls, live Q&A sessions with guests and associated activities throughout the day, there are lots of ways to get involved and even prizes to be won!

Click here to find out more.

Tuesday 18 August

The Upper Sixth Leavers Ball has been provisionally rescheduled to Tuesday 18 August at Warwick House in Southam. 

Please note that the new date is dependent on the current government restrictions being lifted and details will be confirmed closer to the date. 

We are sure it will be a very special evening in a wonderful venue. 

More information will be sent to the Upper Sixth in due course.

Monday 24 August

The Year 11 Prom has been provisionally rescheduled to Monday 24 August at Coombe Abbey. 

Please note that the new date is dependent on the current government restrictions being lifted and details will be confirmed closer to the date. 

We are sure it will be a very special evening in a wonderful venue. 

More information will be sent to the Year 11s in due course.

Wednesday 16 September - 7.00pm

The Parents' Reading Group has been running for very many years now. A group of parents get together in the library once a month to discuss a book we have all previously agreed on. It's an opportunity for readers to share their reading interests with others and to pick up suggestions to broaden their own reading. We are very eclectic in our tastes and completely unpretentious. We'd welcome newcomers in September and can guarantee all a warm and friendly welcome.

Circumstances permitting, we'll be meeting again on Wednesday 16 September in the library at 7.00pm. We are likely to finish at about 9.00pm. Many of us have kept in touch about books through email, but of course we have not been able to meet for some time. For the September session, it seems best for each of us to come along and share a few highlights of our reading over the past few months so we can all go away with a few recommendations and can settle on a book we will all read ready for our next session. All dates for next term will be in the school calendar. We look forward to you joining us next term and here's to some happy reading over the summer!

Chris Kerrigan
Head of English

Lockdown Book Club and Remote Reading Group have been meeting weekly on Teams since the start of lockdown, to discuss our latest and favourite reads. This initiative was run by Sixth Form prefects, and we all really enjoyed having the space to talk about what we’d been reading, and get new ideas from each other. We have compiled a powerpoint of recommendations and reviews, which can be viewed below, if pupils want to pick up a good book for the summer. We hope you enjoy reading these books just as much as we did!

Reading Recommendations

The government has confirmed that exam results will be published on the following days:

• Thursday 13 August 2020 – A-level and AS results
• Thursday 20 August 2020 – GCSE and Latin L1 and L2 results

Please rest assured that we plan to be in school to support pupils in the usual ways – pastorally, academically and offering careers advice. We will release precise details of how the Results Days will work nearer the time when we know the current government guidelines but please make sure to protect the dates in your diary.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic

You may be aware that the exams regulator Ofqual have just released some further guidance regarding appealing the GCSE and A-level grades and the availability of additional examinations in the autumn.

In summary, appeals will be allowed upon three grounds: administrative errors in the submission of grades, administrative errors in the application of the standardisation and errors in the data used for that standardisation. The final ground is yet to be fully defined and we look forward to further clarification. We are participating in the government’s consultation and arguing for what we believe would be the fairest outcome for the pupils.

The government has decided that examinations should be offered in all GCSE and A-level subjects in the autumn, unless there are no entries nationally for a particular subject. With the exception of Art and Design subjects, NEA (non-examined assessments – ie coursework and projects) will not form part of awarding any qualifications in the autumn. The timing of the exams has not been set but Ofqual have indicated that they would prefer that A-level exams took place in October and GCSE exams in November.

We will continue to monitor the government announcements and, as always, will provide as much support as we can for pupils pursuing appeals or choosing to sit their examinations in the autumn.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic

Upper Sixth And Year 11 Textbook, Locker Key And Car Park Fob Return
Upper Sixth and Year 11s and their families have been contacted via email confirming arrangements for the return of textbooks, locker keys and car park fobs (Upper Sixth). Please make your appointment via MySchoolPortal under Parents' Evenings, Book Return. Many thanks for your assistance with this.

Year 8 Textbook Return
Year 8 families have been contacted requesting return of textbooks in readiness for September. Please make your appointment via MySchoolPortal under Parents' Evenings, Book Return.

Many thanks for your assistance with this.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic

Please click for here the Summer holiday homework expectations.

Thank you 

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

For parents of pupils in the current Years 7, 8, and 9

We may not be travelling as far as we might like this summer but one of the best ways to travel is through books. With this in mind we have set up a holiday reading challenge for Years 7 - 9. All students are to choose at least one book from lists we have posted for the students on Teams. The one thing all the books have in common is that they are set in interesting faraway places. Without doubt there is a book there for everyone so please encourage your son/daughter to scroll through the lists and find something that might appeal. All students will be expected to do some sharing of whatever they have read over the summer when we return to school.

Chris Kerrigan
Head of English

MFL Teacher, Sarah Duran's Year 8 pupils studying French have this week explored a French poem about race equality called Cher frère blanc (dear white brother). One of their tasks was to create something with the words or do some research. Some students have really excelled, please find excellent examples of their work attached in the Gallery and below.

Well done to Amaanya Bose, Thomas Smith, Tom Brinklow, Priya Somel. Kate Pomerleau, Jack Dando and Jacob Iley.

Jack Dando

Jacob Iley

Thomas Smith

Maths Teacher, Tanya Cowan's Year 7 class 7MX1 have been learning about lines of symmetry. They were tasked with making their own symmetrical patterns from objects at home and describing their symmetry. There were some very creative submissions.

As the culmination of a unit about Brazil Mrs Baker's Year 8 Geography pupils were asked to recreate a favela dwelling having looked at many aspects of life in Brazil including migration and the reasons behind shanty (illegal squatter) developments in cities like Rio de Janeiro. There were some creative responses which are attached with images. 

Bea Boakes created a model which she displayed on a digital movie along with a 6 page written description of how she created her model and also background information about favela development.

Alex Mold constructed a life-size favela building in his back garden from pallets, sheet metal, old window frames and other scrap materials – just as favela housing is created in cities like Rio.

Douglas Bray recreated Rio’s colourful homes using his stairs as a backdrop to show the steep hillsides they are often built on.

Amaanya Bose created a favela settlement again on a steep hillside with informative labels.

Year 7 pupil, Heather Allen and Year 8 pupil Raphi Kane were both awarded Da Vinci merits for their DT Clock Design Projects. DT Teacher, Tom Walton was delighted with their outstanding work.

English Teacher, Fiona Moon's Year 7 class have created their own imaginary islands this half term and completed a range of activities such as writing folk tales, describing the plants of the island, producing Attenborough-style documentaries about the animals of the island as well as creating their own language.

In the Gallery and below are examples of excellent work on the plants of the island and island descriptions and maps produced by Hannah Wildey, Samuel Divers, Thomas Leret and Freddie Knott.

Well done all!

Hannah Wildey Plant 1

Hannah Wildey Plant 2

Hannah Wildey Plant 3

Thomas Leret 1

Freddie Knott 1

Computer Science Teacher, Jan Ryalls, has had some of her Year 7 pupils coding games using Make Code Arcade. The website they used can be found nere: https://arcade.makecode.com/ 

She was particularly impressed with the work completed by Ignash Librowski, you can see his work using the link here:
https://arcade.makecode.com/12833-21682-35898-70987

Alternatively you can use the QR code in the image.

Textiles Teacher, Miranda Porter, was delighted with Lower Sixth student, Katie Heywood's, latest submissions for her NEA work (non examined assessment). The production of the design portfolio is an iterative task and is undertaken independently, it is an important part of the course. Katie is producing well researched and detailed analysis and is commended for her excellent work.

Lower Sixth student, Luke Palmer, has completed a fantastic research project on three global economies.

Students were asked to review an emerging nation, a less developed country and a developed nation. Luke's detailed and professionally presented analysis considered Nigeria, Yemen and Sweden and used images, facts and figures to present an insightful and detailed analysis.  

His work has been awarded a da Vinci.

Head of Economics and Business, Lil Gane, explained, "Luke structured his work well, designed it appropriately and found out a lot of useful information. It was a super piece of work."

Art Teacher, Sue Harris, shared more examples of excellent work produced for this term's Food Glorious Food Art projects.  We are sure you will agree that Year 7 pupils, Amelia Chard and Martha Harris, Year 8 pupils, Amaanya Bose, Ava Farren, Kai McNamara and Krystina Yuen and Year 9 pupil, Erin West's outstanding submissions all look good enough to eat. They certainly made us feel hungry!

Well done all.

Year 10 Issy Bunting completed this sketch as part of her pre-reading work on John Steinbeck's classic examination text Of Mice And Men. Her English Teacher, Helen Pascoe-Williams, was most impressed. Getting to grips with the characters in the novel is an important first step in understanding the novel, and this was a great piece of pre-reading work.

Fr Alan Whelan MSC and Mrs Mary Benham, our wonderful Chaplaincy Team, share this End of Term Prayer for Students with us:

We thank you Lord as we come to the end
of this unusual academic year.
For the online lessons and contact with teachers and friends.
For the challenges, the successes,
and the mistakes from which we have learnt.
Be with us as we spend time with our family and friends.
Give us strength and courage to do what is right;
to be witnesses in words and actions to our faith and beliefs.
During the holidays help us to
appreciate what others do for us,
to give time and effort to help others,
and to be at peace with our family.
Keep us safe in our activities;
give us good rest and good fun.
Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new and exciting term.
We thank you Lord for our classmates, teachers, parents, guardians
and the community that cares for us.
May we always be conscious of you in our lives.

Amen

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 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

A reminder that the Leavers' hoodies and Yearbooks will be ready for collection on A-level Results Day, Thursday 13 August from 8.00am.

Ben Collie
Head of Sixth Form

Lower Sixth Former, Angela Hill, has also been studying for the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification. She chose to complete an online course.

Angela explains, “Studying TEFL was something I was attracted to because of the educational and travel opportunities it provides, I knew that once you gain the qualification, it is immediately recognised – it is a first step on the road to teaching English anywhere in the world to anyone. Completing it will give me the opportunity to travel more in the future which is very appealing to me personally. I chose to follow an online distance learning course where I listened and watched pre-recorded videos and live videos to deepen my understanding, I also kept my own notes to look over before assessments. I have been able to do the course at my own pace when the time suited me best and I am in the final stages of completing it. I know that in the future this qualification will be very useful, offering gap year and summer job employment that would be very enjoyable.”

Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, added, “This sort of self-initiative is exactly what we encourage in our Sixth Form students. Angela is not only gaining a useful qualification she has also demonstrated skills such as initiative, discipline and organisation – skills that all universities and employers value.”

We would like to remind Sixth Form students that high standards of personal appearance and presentation are expected of them at all times. Our Sixth Formers are the main ambassadors of the College and role models for the lower school pupils.

Please click here to download a copy of the dress code. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of items you purchase during the summer, please retain receipts and consult myself, Mr Vella or Mrs Allen before you wear them.

Please pay close attention to the sanctions which will be incurred if you do not adhere to the dress code.

Ben Collie
Head of Sixth Form

Those parents who missed the Lower Sixth UCAS Information Evening and Live Q&A session with myself and Mr Collie (Head of Sixth Form) on Wednesday 1 July are able to view the recorded session by clicking on this link. 

The event was aimed at answering any parental questions and concerns about applying for university next year and briefly outlines the university application process.

We hope that this was an informative session and equips you with the knowledge needed to support your son or daughter in their next steps. If you have any very specific individual questions then these might be better addressed to me directly by email at jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk.

Login details for Unifrog as explained on the evening are as follows:

Go to https://www.unifrog.org/sign-in

Then click on where it says 'Been given a form code' - input form code parentprincethorpe.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

Many initiatives are underway to keep the spirit of giving to our local community and beyond alive during these times. Three of these are being promoted by our current Year 12 students, spearheaded by the Youth SVP group whose aim is 'to be generous with our time, our possessions and ourselves'. 

Firstly, more than 20 residents at two local care homes are being paired up with sixth form students who will write to them over the summer. The idea of Care Home Pen Pals is to continue the links we have already established through our community service activities during Friday afternoon Enrichment. Some residents at Cubbington Mill Care Home are keen to write back, whilst residents such as June, Mary and Brenda at Greenways Care Home in Long Itchington are delighted to hear from pupils they have already got to know during the Friday afternoon visits this past year.

Secondly, pupils are keen to continue the longstanding support the college has given to Mary's Meals and in particular to raise money for children at Makalanga School, our link school in Malawi. Working with governments, community leaders and our trusted partners, Mary's Meals has developed new methods of distribution to reach children in their communities and provide food to them at home, until it is safe for them to return to the classroom. More information is available via this link.  The Princethorpe response has been a fundraising idea centred on food and family. 'Make a Meal, Give a Meal' is about Princethorpe students making a delicious meal for their family or those in their social distance 'bubble' and then making a donation to our Makalanga project via our online fundraising page - £4 would feed a child for three months, £8 for six months. £15.90 is the precise figure to feed a child for a year. 

Thirdly, all members of the Princethorpe community are doubtless wondering what to do with their spare coins or even notes. Well, why not save up your coins and put them in a Mary's Meals big blue mug or a jam jar and bring into school in September. We will wait until the money is safe to count and then add it to our online fundraising for Makalanga.  

Whether you know about Mary's Meals or not, you will be inspired by a new documentary film released by Mary's Meals on 25 June and available to watch here. It features actor Gerard Butler on a heartwarming adventure from the bright lights of Hollywood to the classrooms in Haiti and Liberia. 

On a very final note, our planned trip to Malawi has been postponed to July 2021. More news about the classrooms refurbishment project for which we fundraised, and the possibility of joining the trip to follow. 

Rod Isaacs
Assistant Head of Sixth Form

Cross Country Club athletes have surpassed their target for the June Challenge.  They ran, walked and cycled an epic 3,400km over the course of the month.   An outstanding effort from the 20 or so pupils taking part.

They have been sharing their Strava routes on Teams, which has certainly helped increase motivation and added a little healthy competition!  What was most pleasing to see was the engagement in outdoor exercise on their local patch.

The final breakdown of the activity was 1,192km running, 488km waking and 1,720km cycling.  It was a real team effort, but the following have shown particular endeavour:

Y7 Olivia Bacon – 77km

Y7 Caitlin Horan – 82km

Y7 Anna Johnson – 47km

Y7 Andre Barnett – 70km

Y7 Jesse Esler – 170km

Y8 Alex Bonsall – 57km

Y8 Kate Pomerleau – 53km

Y8 Alice Minshull – 110km

Y8 Liv Sarkies – 68km

Y8 Kaena Wasley – 88km

Y8 Albert Jackson-Bettles - 80km

Y8 Ollie Farquharson – 40km

Y8 Timothe Peyret – 154km

Y9 Ella Dunkley – 106km

Y9 Jess Evans – 59km

Y9 Amelie Hancock – 50km

Y9 Emma Sarkies – 41km

Y9 Zak Johnson – 64km

Y11 Molly Minshull – 95km

L6th Will Crowfoot – 501km

L6th Tom Crowfoot – 501km

Miss Callan – 447km

With fixtures currently on hold in September, Cross Country Club are making plans for next summer, on Saturday 5 June 2021, they plan to complete a 100km relay from Cleeve Hill Cheltenham back to Princethorpe via the Cotswold and Centenary Ways.  Still plenty of time to get fit for that.

Princethorpe has a proud tradition in endurance running, despite current conditions it has been heartening to see the continued efforts of our athletes.  Well done to all for your efforts! 

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education

Back in March, two Year 7 pupils, Henry Jeffries and Noah Granfield, competed in the Warwickshire County Schools Orienteering Championships. Organised by Octavian Droobers and open to pupils attending schools in Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull, the event took place locally at Ryton Pools just before lockdown on Saturday 14 March.

Competing in the Lower Secondary School category Henry took first place with Noah coming in just behind him to finish second. Despite only having two runners to contribute to the team score, of up to four competitors, the boys’ excellent efforts managed to secure an overall team third place.

The boys completed a 2km course using a map and compass and carrying an electronic timer. It was an exciting and challenging event that tested their navigational skills as they followed the course from point to point at speed across unfamiliar terrain.

Head of Outdoor Learning, Will Bower, said, “A huge well done to both Henry and Noah on an excellent performance. Orienteering is great fun for pupils of all ages. Do contact me if you would be interested in getting involved. I would love to see us enter a full team and take first place next time.”

Thursday 10 September 2020
Sixth Form Centre Dining Room - 7.00pm

The PTA extend a warm welcome to all, and hope you will to join us for cheese and wine at the PTA AGM.

This will give new and current parents an opportunity to find out what the PTA does for the school, and how you could help us by supporting activities such as Open Days, Christmas and Summer Fairs.

There will be an opportunity to meet other parents, those who are new to the PTA and existing members. We have a number of parents who are involved in the PTA and as well as meeting those parents who may wish to join us on the committee – we also very much welcome parents who may be able to spare an hour supporting the Fairs or welcoming visitors to the schools on Open Days. It really is an excellent way to get involved with school life, and you can offer as little or as much of your time as you feel is possible.

Our main aim is to provide the ‘extras’ for the school which are very much appreciated by pupils and staff alike; we support events such as Activities Week and one of our largest donations recently has been to improve the area of the school known as Switzerland.

If you have any queries please contact us at pta@princethorpe.co.uk. 

We hope you will be able to join us on the night and very much look forward to meeting you.

Princethorpe PTA

Well done to those who have managed to sign off sections of their award despite current restrictions.  I have been delighted by the response, fantastic!  Lots of you have asked your assessor to submit an electronic report, excellent.

The continued priority should be to complete the physical, skill and volunteering sections.  The aim for all bronze and silver participants should be to sign these off before their qualifying trip.

Please refer to the attached electronic assessor report guide illustrating how you can get your award signed off during lockdown conditions. Click here for the guide.

This is a summary of the temporary changes DofE have introduced to help you complete on time:

• Participants can now volunteer for family members – e.g. mentoring or coaching younger siblings
• Participants can now change activities more than once – time spent on previous activities will still count.  You will need an assessor report for both activities though.
• Timescales - you can now choose to do your section activities less regularly, but for a longer period – so instead of doing an hour each week, you could think about doing two hours every other week if that fits better with your chosen activity.  The activity must still be spread across the number of months you’ve chosen to spend on that section but you could do 4 hours per month on one day. 

If you haven’t yet started one of your sections this is the perfect opportunity, the DofE requirements have never been more flexible!  The link below provides some example activities that can be completed at home.

https://www.dofe.org/dofewithadifference/activities

The DofE have also provided some useful FAQs for participants:

https://www.dofe.org/coronavirus/faqs-participants

It is also worth checking the opportunity finder if you’re still struggling for ideas:

https://www.dofe.org/opportunity-finder/opportunity-for-dofe-participant/

Here are some tips if you can’t find someone to be your assessor, though I’m sure Princethorpe Staff (for example your tutor) will happily help you out:

https://www.dofe.org/dofewithadifference/assessors

Well done to all DofE participants for their continued commitment to the scheme in the current climate.

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education – DofE Manager

We have formulated a plan regarding the bronze, silver and gold expeditions. Please refer to the recent email containing full details of the changes and next steps.

Please see below a basic summary of the dates. Whilst we hope to stick to these dates, government guidelines may mean we are forced to change the locations.

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education – DofE Manager

Year 7 pupil, Andrea Zanyi, took part in Ex Cathedra's first ever virtual singing workshop on Friday 5 June, preparing three tunes (in English, Latin, and Middle English!) for A Musical Summer Holiday online concert, together with 200, mainly adult, singers. In the workshop Andrea was taught by Jeffrey Skidmore, the founder and director of Ex Cathedra, and one of the UK's leading choral directors. Apart from being enjoyable, the experience enhanced Andrea's knowledge of singing techniques and warming up exercises, a great help for her as she works towards her Grade 7 in Musical Theatre.

The final 30 minute concert additionally includes a compilation of music from Ex Cathedra's previous Summer Music By Candlelight concerts, which are annual events sadly cancelled this year due to COVID-19. 

Andrea performes in the two tunes ending the concert: Te Lucis Ante Terminum, a 7th century chant in Latin and English, and Summer Holiday (2nd version) by Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett (arr. Jeffrey Skidmore).

The concert can be accessed here.  

Should you require any new uniform items for your son or daughter in readiness for September we are now offering virtual Uniform Shop appointments via Zoom over the summer. Please complete the form for current parents on the Uniform Shop tab on the top menu of My School Portal https://princethorpe.myschoolportal.co.uk/section/270 and the Uniform team will be in touch to arrange a suitable appointment with you.

New Lower Sixth parents can email the shop at uniform@princethorpe.co.uk or call 01926 634272 for an appointment for sports kit.

As normal items can be added to your pupil account or payment can be made by credit/debit card at the end of the appointment. We will then give you a collection date and time.

Nicola Browne
Foundation Shop Manager

Please see below our current vacancy:

• Learning Support Teacher
• Administrator\Receptionist - maternity cover
• Uniform and School Shop Manager

Full details  and how to apply are available via the following link: Join Us

Should you know anyone who might be interested in these posts, please do share this information with them.

Please find below the Term Dates for 2020-21 and 2021-22.

2020-21 (two page document) - updated 9 July 2020

2021-22 (one page document - key dates to be confirmed)