Message From The Headmaster
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
