The Flagpole

Plans for the College’s Careers Fair on Saturday 17 March are taking shape with the announcement that James Hutcheson, Managing Director Finance & Administration of Aldi UK has kindly agreed to be the Keynote Speaker for the 2018 event.

Comments Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, "We are delighted to have James on board to open the event and set the tone for the day.  Having previously had responsibility for graduate recruitment at the UK’s fastest growing supermarket retailer, his presentation promises to be one not to miss.”

The bi-annual event is open to Year 10 to Sixth Form pupils and their parents. It provides a ‘one stop careers shop’ with a wide range of speakers and organisations on hand to offer advice and guidance.

The Careers Fair will run from 10.00am to 1.00pm and, as well as the keynote presentation, attendees will be able to attend up to three workshops depending on their personal interests and visit an exhibition zone, with stalls from many well-known companies, charities, institutions, universities and gap year organisations.

Mrs Quinney continues, “Registrations will open in February and there will be plenty to interest and inform our pupils and their parents."

A short biography on Mr Hutcheson is included here.

Back in November pupils from Princethorpe College took part in the 2017 United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Senior Challenge, a national competition for secondary schools that recognises the best young mathematicians in the country. The Challenge involves answering multiple choice questions and is sat under normal school exam conditions. The papers are then sent away to be marked by UKMT and the best pupils in the country are awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold Certificates.

The competition is primarily aimed at students in the Sixth Form but Princethorpe selected able mathematicians from both Year 11 and Lower Sixth to participate in this year’s Challenge. It is a demanding exercise designed to stretch and test pupils’ mathematical skills, so the College is delighted that this year 11 amazing Princethorpe mathematicians were awarded two Silver and nine Bronze certificates. 

Lower Sixth Former Megan Jones was best in school and year and was awarded a Silver Certificate. 

Year 11’s Caitlin McBride was best in year and was awarded a Silver Certificate.

Lower Sixth Formers Edward Bickerton, Imogen Blackhall, James Bunting, Beth Elliott, Amy Field, Henry Langford, Alex Meredith and Jasmine Rigg were all awarded Bronze Certificates and Year 11’s Isla Grant was also awarded a Bronze certificate.

Head of Mathematics, Karen Bannister, said “We are very proud that year on year and at every level Princethorpe’s pupils achieve success in this challenging national competition.  Congratulations to them all.”

The pupils will be presented with their certificates in the next whole school assembly, at the end of this month.

The College was delighted to welcome Old Princethorpian, Maya Vohrah, back to school on the first day of the Lent Term.  Maya spoke to pupils from across the College (with the exception of Year 11 who were sitting their mock examinations) in a series of Epiphany services in the Chapel.

Maya left Princethorpe in July 2014 and is now in her third year at university studying for a degree in Disaster Management.  She is currently undertaking a nine-month internship with Team Rubicon UK at Chilmark, Salisbury, an organisation that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams in the UK and around the world.  Back in September Maya was deployed to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma.

In her five talks to pupils Maya spoke about her experiences and involvement in building a new school in the Caribbean. She spoke about using gifts and talents for the benefit of others and emphasised the importance of ‘soft skills’ such as adaptability, co-operation, teamwork, problem solving and pointed out the myriad of opportunities that are available at Princethorpe for pupils to develop these.

The Epiphany services offered College pupils the opportunity to reflect on the coming term and to appreciate that an epiphany may be a discovery about themselves such as a gift or a talent.  Whilst leading the services Father Alan Whelan MSC encouraged pupils to “discover the extraordinary in the ordinary” and to look at developing their own talents.

Our thanks go to Maya for taking the time to come into school and for undertaking such a marathon morning of motivational mentoring.

Tuesday 16 January 2018 - 10.00am to 3.00pm

Crackley Hall, Princethorpe's junior school and nursery in Kenilworth, is opening its doors for an Open Day on Tuesday 16 January 2018 from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This is an opportunity to look around the school and to meet staff and pupils on a normal working day. All are welcome, no need to book.

We currently have a small number of places available from Reception to Year 5 and are accepting registrations for admission to Reception and Year 3 in September 2018. Interest in our Reception Class for September 2018 entry is high and the deadline for registrations is Monday 5 February.

If you can't make the Open Day but would like to look around the school, please call our Admissions and Marketing Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514444 and come on a day to suit you, we welcome visitors on most days.

For more information visit http://www.crackleyhall.co.uk/

Wednesday 17 January 2018 - 10.00am to 3.00pm

The Crescent School, the Foundation's junior school for 4 to 11 year olds in Bilton, Rugby, is opening its doors for an Open Day on Wednesday 17 January from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This is an opportunity to meet the Crescent's new headmaster, Joe Thackway, see its new facilities, look around the school and to meet staff and pupils on a normal working day. All are welcome, no need to book.

We currently have a small number of places available in Reception to Year 4 and are accepting registrations for admission to Reception and Year 3 in September 2018. Interest in our Reception Class for September 2018 is high and the deadline for registrations is Monday 5 February 2018.

If you can't make the Open Day but would like to visit the school, please call our Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 521595 and come on a day to suit you, we welcome visitors on most days.

For more information visit http://www.crescentschool.co.uk/

Wednesday 17 January 2018 at 7.30pm

In our meeting in December we discussed The Loney, a debut novel by Andrew Michael Hurley which seems to have developed a bit of a cult following. We all agreed it was an enjoyable and engaging read with some very atmospheric writing and some thoughtful exploration of religious fanaticism and other dark issues. As a novel in the terror genre, however, it seemed very slow moving and there seemed to be an annoying number of inconsequentialities or missing links. It might have benefited from further editorial guidance. Despite this, however, we all enjoyed the qualities in the writing and it certainly generated some engaging discussion.

Our next meeting will be in the Library at 7.30pm on Wednesday 17 January. We will be discussing Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift, which comes highly recommended and is a comparatively short novel which we should be able to fit into the busy Christmas period. Please do come along whether or not you have read this particular book. It is an opportunity to share your own reading interests or simply get some ideas for future reading and we always welcome new faces.

Chris Kerrigan
Head of English

Thursday 25 January 2018 - 12.15pm

On behalf of Austin House, it is my pleasure to invite you to our first House Eucharist which takes place on Thursday 25 January in the College Chapel.

The service will be a celebration of our House community and will begin at 12.15pm.  If you are able to join us, I would recommend you aim to arrive at midday to be seated in the Chapel before the arrival of the pupils.

There will be signage to indicate where to park on the day.

We would be delighted if you could also stay at College after the service to join us for lunch. So that we can cater efficiently, please reserve places with Lisa Gardner by clicking here no later than Friday 19 January 2018.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Mr Kenny Owen
Head of House – Austin

Thursday 25 January - After School

On Thursday 25 January we are very fortunate to be visited by Roisi Proven, a veteran of the Computer Games and Software Engineering industries. As well as having experience in the industry Roisi is passionate about diversity and inclusion in technology. She is one of the organisers of AlterConf, a conference for and about those who are marginalised within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Roisi will be speaking on the topic of “Computers are easy, people are hard”. Pupils are invited to stay at the end of the school day, and parents are welcome to join from 5.00pm onwards. The timetable for the evening will be as follows:

Location - Sixth Form Centre

• 4.00pm - 5.00pm – Creating a Computer Game Challenge (Pupils only)
• 5.00pm - 5.45pm – Light buffet (Parents  arrive to join the group)
• 5.45pm - 6.00pm – Pupils feedback what they learnt in the challenge
• 6.00pm - 6.40pm – Talk by Roisi Proven
• 6.40pm - 7.00pm – Q&A session

To help us cater efficiently please reserve places with Lisa Gardner by clicking here no later than Tuesday 23 January.

It really is a fantastic opportunity which pupils will very insightful and interesting – we hope to see you there.

Adam Depledge
Head of ICT

Thursday 8 February 2018 - 12.15pm

On behalf of More House, it is my pleasure to invite you to our first House Eucharist which takes place on Thursday 8 February in the College Chapel.

The service will be a celebration of our House community and will begin at 12.15pm.  If you are able to join us, I would recommend you aim to arrive at midday to be seated in the Chapel before the arrival of the pupils. There will be signage to indicate where to park on the day.

We would be delighted if you could also stay at College after the service to join us for lunch. So that we can cater efficiently, please reserve places with Lisa Gardner by clicking here no later than Friday 2 February 2018.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Mr Simon Robertson
Head of House – More

Due to the late finish of the GCSE exams in 2018 we confirm that the Year 11 Ball will be held on Monday 25 June 2018 at Warwick Castle and the Headmaster’s Thanksgiving Service and buffet lunch will be held on Friday 22 June 2018.

The Year 10 and 11 Parents’ Evenings take place on Tuesday 16 January and Monday 22 January, respectively, from 6.00pm to 8.30pm in the Sports Hall.

Here’s some additional information that you may find helpful:

• Parking will be available on the school playground
• We'll be providing two supervised areas for siblings
• Please enter the Limes building through the main entrance only
• Please ensure you sign in and collect your name badge from the reception desk before entering the sports hall
• We suggest you have a list of your child’s teachers and subjects - found on the Parent Portal
• To see where each subject is located you can view a plan of the Sports Hall by clicking the relevant link:

                  Year 10 Parents' Evening Sports Hall Layout

                  Year 11 Parents' Evening Sports Hall Layout

• There is no appointment system. You should allow approximately 5 minutes per teacher – please organise a further meeting if you feel it will need a longer discussion 
• Plan strategically – decide which teachers you really need or want to see and target them first 
• On leaving the building please sign out at the reception desk

We look forward to seeing you.

Dr Digby Carrington-Howell
Deputy Head - Staffing and Assessment

Thursday 15 February 2018

Thursday 15 February, the GCSE Options Information Evening is being held in the Sports Hall at 7.00pm. The evening comprises a series of short presentations on the options process followed by an opportunity for parents to meet with subject staff. Light refreshments will be available.

The purpose of the GCSE Options Information Evening is to provide parents with sufficient information regarding the options process so that they can help their son or daughter decide their GCSE options. To complement this, the Year 9 Parents’ Evening is being held on Monday 5 March between 6.00pm and 8.30pm. The Parents’ Evening will give you an opportunity to discuss the progress of your son or daughter with subject staff in more depth and ask any questions regarding GCSE option choices.

Dr Michael Reddish
Assistant Head - Director of Studies

Parents attending recent events at school have told us that, due to the number of activities taking place at the same time, parking has been difficult. To help eleviate this issue we have reviewed the school calendar and made some changes to the dates for parents' evenings taking place during Lent and Trinity Terms. They are now as follows:

Year 10 - Tuesday 16 January 2018

Year 11 - Monday 22 January 2018

L6 - Tuesday 6 February 2018

Year 9 - Monday 5 March 2018

Year 8 - Monday 19 March 2018

Year 7 - Monday 23 April 2018

By moving the parents' evening events to a day on which there are fewer other school activities taking place we are hopeful that this will ease congestion and make parking for parents much less stressful.

Dr Digby Carrington-Howell
Deputy Head - Staffing and Assessment

Monday 29 January - 5.30pm to 8.30pm

Parents will be given the opportunity to book electronically a slot with their child’s tutor for an Academic Review Meeting.  Parents will also be able to attend a series of workshops on how best to support their child whilst at Princethorpe.  A letter will be sent out to parents in the New Year with more information and booking details.

Year 11 Exam reports will be published to the parent portals on Friday 19 January 2018.  You will have received an email from Shellagh Dodds, our Examinations Officer, detailing the reports and their content.

There will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s report at the forthcoming Year 11 Parents’ Evening on Monday 22 January 2018.

We look forward to seeing you then

Digby Carrington-Howell
Deputy Head - Staffing and Assessment

Reports for Upper Sixth will be posted out on Friday 26 January 2018. They will also be available to view on the Pupil and Parent Portals.

Digby Carrington-Howell
Deputy Head (Staffing and Assessment)

Tuesday 6 February 2018

Parents are reminded that the Lower Sixth Parents’ Evening takes place on Tuesday 6 February from 6.00pm to 8.30pm in the Sports Hall. This is a crucial chance to discuss your son or daughter’s academic progress with their subject teachers and check how they have settled into their GCE courses. We look forward to seeing you then.

Dr Michael Reddish
Assistant Head - Director of Studies

The careers team are keen to involve parents as much as possible in assisting with the decisions your children will be making when choosing a career and their next step. As such, I will be passing on information that might be useful to you.

Please see the articles below for information regarding the following:

• The University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) Joint Programmes - BA in International Politics in Paris - Reminder
• Work Experience Programmes with PwC - Reminder

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

The University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) are pleased to announce their joint programmes, BA in International Politics in Paris.

This unique degree programme is about learning by doing International Politics, while gaining international experience. Taught in English and delivered in the heart of the French capital at the University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP), this programme enables you to graduate with a world-renowned Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) degree.

Students can choose from the following options, all offered as of September 2018 (click on each one for further details):

• BA International Politics (Paris) - three years
• BA International Politics with French Studies (Paris) - three years
• BA International Politics with year abroad (Paris Plus) - four years
• BA International Politics with French Studies with year abroad (Paris Plus) - four years

An online taster course is also available by clicking here.

Are you thinking about your next steps once you leave school or college? Do you have an interest in business and finance or technology? Do you want to work with some of the most successful companies and high profile organisations in the world? PwC has two exciting work experience programmes which will help you find out more about them and, more importantly, more about yourself and where your career interests lie. Spend a week with them during your summer holidays and get paid while you build on your employability skills and start to shape your future.

Business Insight Week

If you have a keen interest in business or finance, their Business Insight Week will put you through your paces, with guidance and support every step of the way to explore the work they do and the opportunities they can offer you. You’ll spend time with teams working on live projects and buddying up with a member of the PwC team just a little older than you. You'll get a unique insight into how the world of business works and what it’s like to start your career with PwC. They'll spend time helping you identify the employability skills you already have and how you can develop these further to give you the best possible start to a career in business. They'll top it all off by sharing your experiences with other students on the programme and celebrating a fantastic week. You can choose to spend the week in one of their offices UK-wide.

Big Data Summer Camp

PwC's Big Data Summer Camp will give you the opportunity to learn from some of their experts in this field who’ll give you an insight into how the skills you’re developing are being implemented to help their clients use their data to gain a competitive edge. Big Data represents a fundamental shift in business decision-making. PwC's clients are used to analysing internal data like sales figures, staff levels and stock counts. Now, they’re increasingly under pressure to analyse external data to understand customer sentiment through social media, competitor performance in local and global markets, and the supply chain risks and opportunities. This programme will take place in Belfast, Leeds or Birmingham.

Who are PwC?

PwC are of the world's leading professional services organisations. Their purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems for their clients. They tackle lots of different issues for loads of different organisations, entrepreneurs and private businesses. They help with big deals and big changes to their structures and businesses. They advise them on tax. They make sure they’re getting the most out of their IT. They help them plan ahead to manage risk, make sure they’re sustainable, and profitable.

For both programmes, you'll need to be:

• Currently in Lower Sixth and studying for A-levels or equivalent.
• Interested in taking your first steps towards a career in business, finance or technology.
• Available for a week during your summer holidays on either 6 August or 20 August 2018
• You’ll need to be on course for a 96 UCAS tariff at A-level (excluding General Studies)
• You’ll need to have achieved a GCSE grade C in Maths and English
• Committed to your career ambitions and able to explain to PwC why you want to complete the programme.

Click here to find out more.

Sunday 25 March 2018  

The date is set for the 24/7 and Coventry Way challenges in support of Mary's Meals.  A number of students and staff will be taking on the ‘Full 40’ mile circular route around Coventry and others will be joining at Ryton to walk the remainder of the route – 24 miles, with a target time of under eight hours.

These walks are a major challenge for all taking part but they could not be for a more worthy cause. Mary’s Meals was founded back in 2002 with a small project to feed 200 children in a school in Malawi.  Mary's Meals is proud to have now served it's billionth meal in India and, for the first time, has begun feeding children in Ethiopia - the fifteenth county to receive Mary's Meals. 

Why not support our intrepid walkers by sponsoring one or more children?  You can make a donation via the on-line page, simply click here to make your pledge. 

We are also looking for willing volunteers to help at the various checkpoints along the walk - if you are willing to assist please complete the short survey here.

We’ve already raised over £1500 this academic year. Princethorpe College aim to raise enough money to feed six hundred and thirty-six children for a whole school year at Makalanga Primary School in Malawi - £8,841 in total.

This simple initiative has helped children all over the world receive a daily meal in school and since 2007 Princethorpe College has been a part of that, raising in excess of £60,000.

The average cost of a daily meal is £13.90.  Mary’s Meals is still expanding its work, seeking to provide every hungry child with a daily meal in their place of education. The charity now provides a daily meal to 1,230,171 children.

Thank you for your support.

Rod Isaacs
Assistant Head of Sixth Form

The training weekend for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold and Silver Awards is fast approaching. Please be reminded that attendance on all dates is required in order to complete the award.

• Gold - The Limes Princethorpe College
  • Friday 26 January 4.30pm - 9.00pm
  • Saturday 27 January 9.00am-1.00pm

• Silver - The Limes Princethorpe College
  • Saturday 27 January 9.00am - 4.00pm
  • Sunday 28 January 9.00am-4.00pm

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education

All participants should now have completed their programme planners on the eDofE website, as the deadline has now passed. If you have missed this and require help please attend either of the eDofE drop-in sessions:

• Tuesdays 1.15pm - 1.45pm in LG01
• Wednesdays 1.15pm -1.45pm in LG02

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education

An information evening for parents regarding their child’s homestay visit to Cuenca will be held in the Sixth Form Lecture Theatre on Thursday 18 January at 6.00pm.

At the meeting the following points will be discussed:

• Travel itinerary
• Planned activities
• Accommodation
• Luggage
• Travel money
• Behaviour and code of conduct

Please bring the signed code of conduct form with you after discussing it with your son/daughter and don’t forget to e-mail a copy of their passport to katherineboothroyd@princethorpe.co.uk if you haven’t already done so.

Mrs Katherine Parsons
Teacher of Spanish

Please click here for the planned school trips in the coming years. This document will be updated each term, but it should allow you to make an informed decision when deciding on trips for your child to attend.  For any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Greg Hunter
Assistant Head - Co-curricular

Thursday 1 March 2018
Second Parent Meeting 6.00pm-7.00pm. Theatre. Final trip details will be provided including confirmed departure and return times. A representative from ‘IBT’, our tour company, will give a presentation and be on hand to answer questions.

Wednesday 7 March 2018
Ski Trip Practice to Ackers Adventure, Birmingham. 3.45pm-8.30pm. Ski gloves, ski socks and warm waterproof clothing are required, as well as a packed tea.

Thurs 29 March – Thurs 5 April 2018
Ski Trip to Val di Fiemme, Italy. Departure and return times are to be confirmed but are likely to be  late afternoon both days.

Lockwoods Ski Shop in Leamington have kindly offered all students on the trip a 10% discount, valid until 28 March 2018, on all products. To take advantage of this offer, please print this voucher and show it at the till.

Please contact me at catherinewarne@princethorpe.co.uk if you have any questions regarding the trip.

Catherine Warne
Trip Co-ordinator

Evie joins Princethorpe College as a Teaching Assistant after completing her final school year at our linked MSC school, Downlands College in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia where she was a School Captain. Evie comes from a country town called Oakey on the Darling Downs, where she lives with her family on a 1,200 acre farm with cattle and three sisters.

Evie is very excited about immersing herself in British culture this year; and cannot wait to visit the hometowns of Shakespeare and Rugby football and has already had Marmite on toast for breakfast. Evie is looking forward to meeting as many people as possible on her year here before she returns to Australia in December to start a double degree in Law and Creative Industries

Bella is also at Princethorpe College for a year as a Teaching Assistant, having studied at Downlands College too. Evie is from an area called Cotswold Hills in Queensland and coming from a very hot Australian summer with temperatures above 35 degrees, is really feeling the cold, but nothing that layering cannot overcome.

Bella hopes to study International Relations and Law at university after her year here and wants to pursue a career in diplomacy with an emphasis on humanitarian aid. She has volunteered and fundraised as part of the Jules Social Justice Group within the Downlands College community and has assisted a tutorial program at the Toowoomba Refugee and Migrant Centre to support disadvantaged children with their homework.

We welcome back Nick, who was a student here from Year 7 through to the Upper Sixth, while he is having a gap year. He is aiming to fit in as much travel as he can around working as a Teaching Assistant before he leaves to study English at St Anne’s College, Oxford in the next academic year.

John joins the Foundation IT team as their Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer. He has a wealth of experience as he has worked in IT within schools for the last 17 years, most recently as the Network Manager at The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College in Rugby. 

John is an OP and was a pupil at Princethorpe when the Foundation celebrated its silver jubilee and was taught Maths by Mr Darkes. John’s sister, Halina was also a weekly boarding student here and coincidently John’s office is Halina’s old dormitory rooms. Now a technical hub of the school, photos have been shared with her to show how Princethorpe College has evolved.

Required to start as soon as possible, we require an After School Assistant to work as part of a team to provide after school care for children on three evenings per week, term time only from 3.45pm until 6.00pm each day. The exact days will be open to some negotiation with the applicant. They will support the smooth running of After Care and undertake duties in supervising homework as required.

Salary: £7.47 to £8.56 per hour (B7-B18 on the Princethorpe Foundation Pay Scale) by negotiation, depending on qualifications and relevant experience.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the fast growing Foundation that values its staff and offers a rewarding benefits package including discounted places for staff, a pension scheme, child care vouchers and a cycle to work scheme.

Application: To apply for this vacancy applicants must submit a Foundation application form, together with a CV and covering letter detailing your personal qualities, experience and how you meet the person specification for the role. Applicants must ensure the application form is fully completed, including a detailed career history with specific dates.

Closing date: Monday 22 January 2018, at 9.00am, although candidates are advised to apply immediately as interviews may be held prior to the closing date and the closing date brought forward.

Further details and an application form are available from the College website www.princethorpe.co.uk/employment-opportunities

As it is the time of year when there is the threat of snow, it might be helpful for everyone to be familiar with the arrangements should there be significant snowfall. Where possible and if it’s safe to do so, we always remain open, even if we have to end the school day earlier than usual.

Should there be bad weather overnight, we talk to the bus companies a little before 06:00 and they brief us about their ability to operate our services. The Headmaster then makes a decision about whether the school will open.

Information will be available via the channels detailed below:

• The home page of the website www.princethorpe.co.uk will normally be updated shortly after 06.00.
• We will also post on the College Twitter page @PrincethorpeCol shortly after 06.00
• If there is likely to be disruption we will send text messages to parents’ mobiles and the mobiles of pupils who use the buses, usually by 06.30. Please note that we are not able to receive text replies on this service. 

If you want to look online at reliable weather forecasting, then www.weather.co.uk and www.metcheck.com are both sites which we use. In the case of flooding, then www.environment-agency.gov.uk is also useful. If you look under Flood and then use the river search word Leam, that will give you a good idea of the conditions around Princethorpe and the surrounding villages.

Usually, website updates are made in the course of the day, but if the school is likely to remain closed for a further day the same process will take place on the second and subsequent days. Should we have to close in the course of the day we will send text messages to let you know arrangements.

Where possible, we will make sure that our main number 01926 634200 is staffed or carries a recorded message.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

Please click on the links below to access the Term Dates:

2017-18 (Two-page document)

2018-19