The Flagpole

I’m sure your sons and daughters, like our staff, will be getting very tired. But with welly-wanging today and “Pink Day" (Non-Uniform Day) next Friday, Half Term is now almost in sight.

Despite all the restrictions, we have had a really good term and pupils and staff have mostly been in very good heart. The cricket season has extended to October, we’ve had two cracking Sports Day, the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions had pretty good weather and two Princethorpe pupils have recently been awarded prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarships.

It has been difficult managing our small number of COVID cases and many thanks for the steadfast support of all those families caught up in this. I think the fact that as yet, unlike other schools we have not had to send home a whole year group, is a good indication of the planning and hard work put into school routines and arrangements plus tremendous support from our parents.  With our BYOD laptop policy up and running, combined with TEAMS and our “blended” learning, we have been really pleased with how we can support pupils both in and out of school.

We clearly have a long winter ahead and will be making a number of changes next half term in view of the colder and wetter weather, not least re-organising pupils’ break and lunch zones so they have good indoor and outdoor options. We will be undertaking a pupil survey next week which will help to inform all our plans.

We had another “first” this week with last night’s extremely successful Year 8 Virtual Parents’ Evening (see separate article). A number of parents are already suggesting that we should keep this on-line format post-pandemic…we’ll certainly consider it.

I hope you have a good half term when it comes. My own family plans like yours I’m sure have been put on hold. With a trip to France ruled out, I was planning to visit my 80-year old parents in Bolton - with home visits ruled out some time ago, I could still have met them in the pub…but the pubs have just been closed…

Best wishes to you all and thank you as always for your continued support.

Ed Hester
Headmaster

Please do read the attached guidance document which will hopefully provide more clarity on illness, when to stay off and when to return to school.

Here is a reminder of the three main symptoms of Coronavirus– if any one of these is present then a test is warranted:

• A high temperature (37.8 degrees Celsius or above)
• A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
• A loss or change to sense of smell or taste – this means they cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

To protect others, do not go to school, work or places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital if you have ANY of these symptoms. Get a test to check if you have Coronavirus and stay at home until you get your result.

As predicted, we have returned to school and brought with us many colds/bugs etc. We have a higher than average number of pupils off school at this time and are extremely thankful to parents for keeping children off if they are unwell and liaising with us ahead of their return to school.

To support this, any parent who has a child absent from school will be asked to complete and return a very short checklist each day that their child is unwell. This will help us support parents and pupils in decision making about their return to school, ultimately minimising the spread of infection around our community. This Pupil Absence Questionnaire will be emailed to parents on a daily basis until your child is back in school.

Thank you very much for your support.

Kind regards

Paula Greig
Senior Matron

Yesterday, Thursday 8 October, the College hosted its first full Virtual Parents’ Evening for Year 8 pupils. The event had been meticulously planned with appointments for subjects scheduled though Microsoft Teams. The evening worked really well and feedback has been very positive from both the parents and teachers involved.

Parents were sent a link through Office 365 that allowed them to book slots for their son’s or daughter’s different subject teachers. That created a list of five-minute calendar appointments in Outlook and Teams. At the allotted time Teachers and Parents joined their scheduled Teams meeting.

Comments, Deputy Head Academic, Dr Michael Reddish, “We were delighted to be able to host our first Virtual Parents’ Evening last night and have been very grateful for all the positive feedback that has been sent in by parents. It’s so important to do all we can to maintain face-to-face engagement between parents and teachers and last night’s Teams-based event proved to be a real success. As with the traditional approach parents were able to discuss their child’s progress and focus on next steps, but this time all from the comfort of their own homes. The evening was conducted with military precision and I most grateful to both parents and staff for keeping their conversations focused and succinct allowing the evening to run smoothly. We will keep the system under review and continue to look for ways to best support families in these extraordinary times.”

Art Teacher, Sue Harris, agreed, “Several parents commented on how tightly run the evening was and how much they appreciated the individual feedback from staff - one parent said this was just another example of Princethorpe going the extra mile to keep everything going as normally as possible under challenging circumstances. Most were able to speak with many more staff than at a regular parents’ evening and felt well informed about their child's progress within the five minute slot. Some who would normally have struggled to get to Princethorpe in time due to work commitments were grateful of the opportunity to speak with staff from home with a cup of tea. It was a fast paced but highly effective evening - and I speak from both a teacher and Year 8 parent’s perspective!”

There has been plenty of positive feedback from parents too including:

“I’d like to thank you for such a successful Year 8 parents’ evening last night. The booking was easy (probably helped by the fact that I did it quickly to avoid missing out) and the evening went very smoothly. All teachers were there and gave concise feedback. I think it could be the way forward even when COVID days are behind us, as it means we didn’t have to venture out or queue in the Sports Hall. Just missed the cookies and sausage rolls!”

“I am delighted with how smoothly the virtual parents evening has gone tonight - I had a total of eight appointments and all ran to time. It was lovely to ‘meet’ the teachers. I congratulate you on the success of this evening.”

“Just wanted to let you know how well parents’ evening went this evening. It ran really smoothly for us, we spoke to all the teachers we wanted too, all on time and very informative. We are on a group chat and there have been lots of incredibly positive comments. Lots of parents saying it was much better than queuing in the Sports Hall, how organised the email links were and how efficiently the staff used the time given.”

The Year 11 Academic Review meetings and Year 7 Parents’ Evening will follow a similar format when they take place after half term in November.

Princethorpe Lower Sixth Former, Stan Brocklebank has been awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. The accolade, which comes from The Smallpeice Trust, the UK’s leading STEM Education Charity, is the most prestigious scholarship of its type in the UK. The scholarships support high calibre students while they study for their A-levels, inspiring and encouraging them to pursue careers in the fields of engineering, computing and technical design.

The scholarships are awarded to students through a rigorous selection process, Head of Design and Technology, Paul Scopes, explains, “The Arkwright Scholarship is for talented Year 11 pupils who are interested in a career in Engineering. Pupils are nominated by their teachers, and submit an application focused on their engineering activities, interests and future plans. Applicants then take a two-hour examination where their problem-solving skills and engineering potential are put to the test and if successful they attend a rigorous interview at University. Pupils must be studying Design Technology and must plan to take Maths at A-level. Last year the College nominated five pupils, and Stan and, former Year 11 pupil, Carys Burchell were both successful and awarded scholarships. This was the first time the College had participated in the scheme and as these scholarships are really tough to get, we are very pleased to have two awarded in the first year.”

Paul continues, “Stan is currently studying A-level DT, Maths and Physics. He has always stood out as a focused and talented engineer. He has been a member of the College’s Robotics team, competing in Holland and Italy where he took a leading role as well as mentoring younger pupils. He was appointed DT Subject Leader in Year 10. His GCSE DT project was a new suspension set up for Autograss race cars and he completed it to an excellent standard. He has a bright future ahead of him in engineering and it really is a pleasure to teach him.”

Those lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship, receive a financial award and the support of a mentor who works with them throughout their time in Sixth Form. They are also given the opportunity to take part in courses and events for Arkwright Scholars. They benefit from networking opportunities with like-minded students, gain confidence and knowledge in their subjects and often relevant work experience. They are ideally positioned to pursue Engineering, Computing or Technical Design at university or a higher-level apprenticeship before moving into industry to progress their career.

On receiving the news, Stan said, “These scholarships are one of a kind for people who are young and aspiring engineers, there is nothing to lose going for one of these awards and the rewards are incredible.”

Stan plans to go on to study Automotive Engineering at university, and is hoping to then work in the Automotive industry, he would like to work for a World Rallycross team.

He continued, “The most challenging part of the application was the online part where you described yourself and your out of school interests in engineering. I had so much to talk about and I needed to be succinct. I felt really pleased and proud when I heard the news that I had received an award.”

Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, comments, “Arkwright Scholarships are highly sought after as they provide exceptional support. Pupils who successfully obtain an award have access to unparalleled opportunities. Arkwright Engineering Scholars achieve excellent academic success and are known to make enviable career progress. Stan has done incredibly well to receive this accolade and we congratulate him on his success.”

More information on the Arkwright Scholarship is available at www.arkwright.org.uk

Over the summer holidays pupils joining Year 7 took part in an exciting Reading Challenge. Their task served two purposes, engaging and encouraging their literacy skills but also acting as an introduction to Microsoft Teams, an important learning platform used by the school.

Extreme Reading was all about choosing an unusual or odd place to read a book and the new Year 7s proved most inventive. Pupils read books whilst canoeing, up climbing frames, in the car and in the countryside. They read on horseback, underwater, up trees, on mountains, by the beach and in their gardens. We had readers with rabbits, with alpacas and one reader who even read with a dinosaur! There was no end to their creativity. They recorded their exploits with a picture that was then uploaded to Teams.

Pupils then completed an assignment, a choice of writing tasks that included a letter to the author, a further chapter to the story or a piece of writing exploring a scene, they also posted brief book reviews and read the reviews that their new classmates had submitted.

There were so many ingenious entries that staff at the College were astounded. Their heroic reading efforts have been celebrated here in school in a fascinating display in The Limes. Pictured here are three of the resourceful readers: Soren Wasley who read Fish Boy by Chloe Daykin, Alex Lloyd who read Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz and Alexa Holland who read Sky Dancer by Gill Lewis.

Assistant Head of Teaching and Learning, Dr Liz Pyne, who set the challenge said, “I was so pleased with the efforts and ingenuity of our new Year 7s who tackled the task so enthusiastically. Seeing the photos appear through the holidays brightened up my summer and I am sure they enjoyed the experience too. Their desire to read and share recommendations for books was infectious. Plus, they all engaged with Teams, a tool that will help facilitate their learning here in school.”

Well done Year 7 you did brilliantly with your extreme reading and learned that books aren’t just for classrooms – you can read them anywhere!

Princethorpe College pupils and staff have marked World Porridge Day by raising money for the Scottish charity Mary’s Meals. Championed by our Sixth Formers and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Rod Isaacs, pupils participated in a posse of Scottish and porridge fundraising fun.

At break time pupils were invited to dig deep and purchase a traditional Scottish breakfast, a pot of porridge, with a selection of luxurious toppings. Steaming pots were lined up all along the counter in the Refectory.

The Scottish theme continued out on the school fields where only the brave participated in the William Wallace Welly Wanging Challenge. This year organised in pupil year group bubbles, representatives from tutor groups enthusiastically flung, hurled, chucked and tossed the wellies across the fields.

The winning throw came from Year 11 pupil, Harry Cheshire with a magnificent throw of 32.8m for Benet House, Mr Hester was a close second for Fisher at 31.3m. Year 11 pupil, Evie Philips, from More House, threw her welly a tremendous 23m to claim the longest throw for the girls. 

Final House standings were: 1st Benet, 2nd Austin, 3rd Fisher and 4th More. Well done to all the pupils who participated.

Rod Isaacs explains, "Princethorpe College has raised over £110,000 for Mary's Meals in the last 14 years through epic sponsored walks, welly-wanging and cake sales. Last year alone we raised over £10,000 and we are committed to continuing our fundraising for the forthcoming year.”

He continued, “We have had a lot of fun and laughter today. Many thanks to all the Sixth Formers and staff who helped to organise the events. We raised £140.03 which equates to about 470 meals for the College’s ongoing feeding programme at Makalanga School.”

World Porridge Day, held annually on 10 October, is a fundraising event organised by Mary’s Meals in aid of starving children in the developing world. The charity provides daily meals in a place of learning addressing both the immediate needs of hungry children whilst encouraging them to go to school where they can gain an education that can help them out of poverty. Through their school feeding programmes in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean they feed over 1.3 million children every year. It costs just £15.90 to feed a child for a whole year.

You can find out more about Princethorpe’s fundraising for Makalanga or make a donation here.

On Sunday 4 October Princethorpe opened its doors and gave a warm welcome to nearly 120 families visiting for a socially distanced Open Day.

In three carefully planned and managed events, the Year 6 pupils and their parents were welcomed by the Headmaster, Ed Hester, in the Sports Hall before undertaking a self-guided tour around key locations. Staff were of course on hand to point the visitors in the right direction, but all the visitors were provided with a printed tour guide to help them find their way around the route.

Starting in the Sixth Form their tour took them to the Chapel, the Quad, the Refectory and then headed on to Music and Drama. They exited the Roundhouse and then came back in to the building through Science before visiting Design Technology and then Art. The visitors then returned to The Limes to collect takeaway refreshments before exiting up at the top of the building to go on to see some of the College’s many sports facilities. At the end of the route the Headmaster and members of the Senior Leadership Team were on hand to answer any questions before the visitors departed and staff prepared for the next arrivals.

In his address, Ed Hester, welcomed parents and children, talking about the challenges this year has presented and Princethorpe’s proactive response. He spoke about the school and its plans for the future and the ‘Spirit of Family’ ethos that allows the College to help every child to succeed.

It was the College’s first actual open event since the start of the pandemic and many of the visitors commented on how much they appreciated the opportunity to be able to come and see the school in person.

“Our son very much enjoyed attending the Princethorpe Open Day and is very excited about the opportunity to come back for the Taster Day.”

“We were very impressed with the school, despite all the Covid interventions. Listening to the Headmaster and talking to the teachers we were able to pick up on the nurturing and caring aspect of the school.”

“Just a short note to thank you for today's Open Day. It was great to be able to see the school again first hand. Please pass on our grateful thanks to the Headmaster and your team for guiding us around so safely.”

A huge thank you to all the staff who helped on the day and those involved in the preparations. Despite the dreadful weather the school looked amazing and the feedback from our visitors as they left was very positive.

On Thursday 1 October Sixth Form students from Princethorpe College challenged the residents at Barchester Healthcare’s Cubbington Mill Care Home to a game of bingo.

The Care Home is one of a number that students traditionally visit as part of their Sixth Form enrichment opportunities and the Zoom Bingo challenge was a great way for the Sixth Formers and residents to stay in touch.

It was a very competitive two rounds of Bingo, with Upper Sixth Former, James Walker, calling the numbers out in Round 1 and Cubbington’s Activities Co-ordinator, Hannah Fawcett, doing the honours in Round 2. Cubbington claimed victory and the College Sixth Formers have organised a box of Heroes and a card to be sent to the winners.

The Sixth Form students all wore silly hats which made the residents laugh and in return Cubbington Mill’s very own Shakespeare and resident ambassador Gerald wrote a poem for the occasion.

Hannah Fawcett, said “The residents had great fun and a big thank you to all the pupils who made us laugh with their silly hats. We can’t wait to see you again. This has been a brilliant way for our residents to keep their connections and sense of community with the school.”

Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Rod Isaacs commented, “It was great fun and wonderful to see the old and the young just enjoying the moment. We are looking forward to a rematch soon.”

Princethorpe Connect, the Foundation’s online alumni community, has passed another milestone as membership numbers reached 600. Our congratulations go to Father Teddy O'Brien MSC who was the community's 600th member. To mark the occasion we were delighted to present Father Teddy with a bottle of brandy which he was very pleased to receive. 

Aimed at past pupils, past parents and former staff, Princethorpe Connect allows the Foundation's alumni to find and network with old friends and former colleagues from across the Foundation schools and to keep up with all the Foundation's news and events.

The College is keen to re-engage with all former pupils, parents and staff so please do encourage those you know to register. They can do this easily themselves by going online to connect.princethorpe.co.uk/ and you never know they might be the lucky winners in our next membership prize draw.

Fine art prints of a new painting by Debbie McLaughlin - The Soaring Redbrick Tower - are now available to buy from the Princethorpe Connect online shop.

Local artist Debbie has a long association with the College having worked closely with the Marketing Department on all its design work for the past 14 years.

The new painting, completed during the lockdown, is in the artist’s favoured urban sketching style and depicts the famous Princethorpe tower and the main reception entrance to Princethorpe College.

Debbie grew up in the small village of Offchurch and has been drawing from an early age. She always wanted to have a career in the creative industry and went to Exeter College of Art & Design to do a degree in Graphic Design. Although she also loves painting portraits she started sketching her favourite subject, buildings, when she worked in London and always has pen and paper to hand in case she gets inspired.

Debbie told us, "I love architecture and buildings and like to give them character rather than producing a straight copy. Some weekends I gather up my pens and watercolours and meet up with the Oxford Urban Sketchers Group and we spend the day sketching buildings around the city. I was lucky enough to join the Hanoi Urban Sketchers group recently whilst on holiday and had a day sketching beautiful Vietnamese buildings. I run my own business, Dam Design Creative, and enjoy working with the Marketing Department at Princethorpe College, I really feel part of the team. When driving up to meetings at Princethorpe I have always been in awe of the beautiful soaring tower, so was thrilled to have the chance to paint it."

The high-quality, fine art giclée prints have been reproduced from the original painting using 11 lightfast inks to provide a gamut of colour and printed on 285gsm, 100% cotton rag white portrait paper.

Available in A3 and A2 sizes, they are supplied rolled in an 80mm postal tube, ready for framing. Individual A5 greetings cards with the same design are also available to buy.

This first run is strictly limited numbers, so please order early to avoid disappointment. A perfect gift for birthdays or Christmas for all Princethorpians, all profits from sales will support the Making A Difference at Princethorpe campaign.

Our Development Director, comments:

"It’s been nearly 20 years since Princethorpe College last commissioned a painting of the building, and we thought it was right time to commission a new artwork, which in itself could support Making A Difference at Princethorpe."

"Debbie’s painting is fabulous and really captures the spirit of Princethorpe in 2020. It’s very exciting that we’re able to offer fine art prints to the Princethorpe community."

"The prints and the cards would make perfect gifts for Christmas. The A3 print is almost identical to the original painting in size, but for those who want more of a statement piece, the A2 print really makes an impact. Scanned from the original painting in super-high resolution and reproduced using the giclée printing process, the result has been amazing. This initial run is strictly limited, so please do order early to avoid disappointment."

The A3 and A2 giclée prints and greetings card can be ordered online here. The A3 print is priced £25 (plus P&P), the A2 print is priced £40 (plus P&P) and greetings cards are available for £3 each (plus P&P).

Click here to access the thirty-fifth issue of the Old Princethorpian e-newsletter which was published on Friday 2 October. The newsletter aims to keep our alumni community in touch with each other and news, developments and events at the College.

We are always happy to hear from our alumni, so if you are an OP or know an OP who would like to share their news or pictures with us for the next issue due out in mid February please do email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

If you would like to be added to the distribution list please register with Princethorpe Connect or email the Old Princethorpians' Secretary Melanie Butler.

Although the school is open we are running a reduced calendar of events as we work within the requirements of social distancing restrictions. Events for the Michaelmas 2020 Term can be found on the College website or on My School Portal.

A summary of upcoming events can also be found below:

• Virtual Sixth Form Open Evening - Wednesday 14 October
• Half term - Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November
• Silver Duke Of Edinburgh Expedition - Thursday 29 October to Saturday 31 October
• Year 11 Academic Updates Commence - Monday 2 November
• Remembrance Day Service - Friday 6 November

Wednesday 14 October - 6.30pm and 8.00pm

All our Year 11 pupils and their parents are encouraged to attend the Virtual Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday 14 October 2020.

The evening will focus on the Route to Sixth Form including key dates, milestones and scholarships, specific A-level subject information and advice provided by the Heads of Departments, together with information on the vast array of sporting, co-curricular, leadership and service opportunities available.

Designed to build on the Sixth Form Taster Experience that our Year 11 pupils had on Monday 14 September, the evening will include brief talks from Ed Hester, the Headmaster, Ben Collie, Head of Sixth Form, and current Sixth Formers.

These Sixth Form Overview presentations will be live streamed online twice during the evening at 6.30pm and 8.00pm for your convenience. To download joining instructions and links to the two presentations click here. In addition, there will be a further virtual aspect to the evening when our prospective Sixth Formers will be able to view pre-recorded introductions to the subjects they are interested in by the Heads of Department. These will be accessed via a link on our website which will be sent to parents on the day along with login details. Both the presentations and the subject introductions will be available after the evening as well.

In advance of the evening we would encourage families to read together the copy of our Sixth Form Admission 2021 Information Booklet which the Year 11s brought home after the Sixth Form Taster Day to assist you with your decision-making and the choice of departments to view. An electronic copy is available here.

Other key dates for Year 11 include:

• Year 11 Academic Review Evening on Monday 2 November
• GCSE Revision session for parents by Martin Griffin, author of The GCSE Mindset, which will take place online on Monday 23 November from 6.00pm to 7.30pm
• Year 11 Parents’ Evening after the first round of Mocks on Tuesday 26 January.

Details of the arrangements for all of these events will be sent to you nearer the time.

Friday 6 November - 11.00am

On Friday 6 November, at 11.00am, the Princethorpe College community will gather together to silently reflect on the bravery and the selfless sacrifice made by so many of our country's service men and women.

Despite Covid-19, this important date in the College diary will still go ahead on the Friday before Remembrance Sunday as always, however this year it will take place safely from within form rooms via a live video link across the whole school.  

Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Sunday 13 December 2020

Unfortunately due to the current circumstances we will not be running our PTA Christmas Fair this year but instead have created the PTA Special Christmas Bundle with live and virtual events. 

Our first event will be a fun afternoon out for the 'Christmas Jumper Dash' on Sunday 13 December with food and mulled wine. 

More information will be coming out shortly so please keep your diary free for what promises to be an enjoyable afternoon.

We are always looking for volunteers so if you would like to help at this or any future event please email us at pta@princethorpe.co.uk

You can also follow us on Twitter - @PincethorpePta, Instagram - @princethorpepta or Facebook - Princethorpe PTA

Princethorpe PTA

The Parents' Reading Group has been running for many years now. A group of parents get together 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 and can guarantee all a warm and friendly welcome when we are once again able to meet.

As circumstances will not permit us to meet at present many of us have kept in touch about books via email.  Please let me know if you’d like to be on the reading group emailing list (chriskerrigan@princethorpe.co.uk) and I’ll add you to it. We look forward to welcoming a few new faces when permitted to meet, but until then we’ll continue to share reading suggestions via email.

Chris Kerrigan
Head of English

Thursday 12 November - 6.00pm to 8.30pm

Following the success of our virtual Year 8 Parents' Evening, we intend to hold our Lower Sixth A-level Information Evening in the same way. You will be invited to attend a live Teams talk by Dr Reddish explaining what the ALIS predictions are and how we can use them, and then a personal Teams meeting with your child’s tutor or member of the Sixth Form Team to discuss your child’s individual ALIS predictions, progress and future targets. The meetings will follow a very similar format to what would normally occur at our Academic Review Evenings on site.  Further information and instructions on how and when to make your bookings will follow next week.

We look forward to seeing you on 12 November.

Ben Collie, Head of Sixth Form
Dr Michael Reddish, Deputy Head - Academic

To celebrate Black History Month, The Book Trust has produced a list of historical fiction and non-fiction books suitable for a range of reading ages and levels. Please click on the link here to view. 

Many of these selected titles are available to borrow from Princethorpe College Library. In addition, we have a list here of relevant fiction and non-fiction titles, also DVDs, which can also be borrowed on request.

The Covid outbreak has brought many changes to the school as we reimagine our campus, timetable and procedures in order to be able to care for the pupils safely back in the College. We are very grateful for your support in making these changes and for the kind words of encouragement that you send us.

As part of these changes, we have reviewed some aspects of our reporting and we have decided to refine our annual Full Reports, making them shorter and timelier, combining them with phone calls home as appropriate.

The essential content of the reports will remain the same, including: an attainment grade showing the pupils’ current attainment; and appraisals of the pupils’ systems and organisation, effort in their homework, and their attitude to their learning.

It will also now include an indication of their teacher’s judgement of their academic progress. This will be on the following scale:

• Academic progress is excellent
• Academic progress is very good
• Academic progress is satisfactory
• There are slight concerns about academic progress
• There are significant concerns about academic progress

That will be followed by a short comment. In this comment, the teacher may praise and encourage the pupil, elaborate on any concerns and, if there are any significant concerns, state that they will be in touch directly by phone or refer to phone calls that have already taken place. The report will conclude with a short comment by your child’s form tutor.

We believe that this will give a more timely insight (current Full Reports have to be written almost three weeks before publication) and enable richer feedback through appropriate phone calls, all in a more efficient manner. If you would like further information about any subject or if you have any concerns you would like to share, you may of course contact your child’s teachers directly and they will happily provide you with it.

Thank you once again for your support.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic 

Reports for Year 11 will be published today, Friday 9 October 2020, and will be available to view on My School Portal.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic

Calendar Michaelmas First Half Term 2020

5 October - A-level Autumn Series exams start

9 October -  Year 11 Reports published

23 October -  A-level Autumn Series exams end

Calendar Michaelmas Second Half Term 2020

2 November - GCSE Autumn Series exams start

4 November - Oxford and Cambridge University Assessment tests

5 November - Oxford and Cambridge University Assessment tests

23 November - GCSE Autumn Series exams end

27 November - Year 7 and Year 10 Progress Reports published

4 December - Year 8 Progress Report published

Oxford and Cambridge Assessment Tests

The closing date for applications to sit the Oxford and Cambridge University Assessment Tests is 15 October 2020.  Should any students wish to apply to sit the exam, please complete this application form and return it to examinations@princethorpe.co.uk.  Tests will take place on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 November 2020.

Subject Specifications

Pupils wishing to buy revision booklets or revise online may need to know the exam board and exact exam specification for each subject they are studying.

The A-level subject specifications for next summer (2021) are available to view here. 

Subject specifications for Lower School for next summer (2021), including GCSEs, are available here.

Shellagh Dodds
Examination and Assessment Manager

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

To support the progress of our Year 11, we will be offering Microsoft Teams meetings with your child’s tutor to discuss progress and future targets. The meetings will follow a very similar format to what would normally occur at our Academic Review Evenings on site.

Between Monday 2 November and Friday 6 December 2020, tutors will be in touch (by email) to make a convenient time for the meeting. During the meeting tutors will have information to share about current progress for your child.  It will be an opportunity for you to discuss all subjects and overall study skills. Importantly, targets will be made for further improvement and for the mock exams and therefore it is expected that pupils will also attend the meeting.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

Year 10 expectations: 

Homework may be set for certain subjects. Pupils will be expected to catch up on any missed or incomplete work and sort any files or Teams/OneNote folders.

Year 11 and Sixth Form expectations:

• Work priorities for each subject
• This is based on 2 hours work on each weekday of the half term
• Complete homework set
• Complete coursework set
• Complete any outstanding work
• Sort out your Teams folders/OneNote into good order
• Keep on top of revision for January mocks (Year 11)

You want to come back from half term refreshed but up to date. 

Good luck and enjoy the break.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

As last year's Year 11 pupils and parents will be aware, the Summer Prom had to be postponed from its original date in June 2020. We had hoped that it may be able to take place later in the year, if restrictions were lifted. Sadly, due to the current Covid-19 situation, the event is unable to take place, so the Year 11 Prom has now been cancelled.

Mrs Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

To help us to protect all of our pupils and staff during these difficult times, we have recently introduced a new Pupil Absence Questionniare. This questionniare will be sent to parents of any child who is off school due to illness or isolation on each day that they are absent. Please can we ask that this quick and easy form is completed and returned to school on a daily basis until your child returns to school. 

Thank you very much for your help and support.

Mrs Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

As a result of a recent Health and Safety Inspection at school, we have asked all pupils to wear masks when visiting any of the toilets in school, with immediate effect.

Thank you for your help and support.

Mrs Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Please can we remind all pupils of the equipment that we expect them ALL to have in school to ensure the safety of our pupils and staff. No equipment can be shared or borrowed. 

All subjects:

Blue or black pen for writing
Green pen for marking
Pencil
Sharpener
30cm Ruler
Rubber
School appropriate scissors
Glue stick
Coloured pencils
Laptop or similar device for all Year 10 upwards (including headphones)

Maths require:

Scientific Calculator (recommend Casio fx-83GTX or fx-85GTX for Years 7-11)
Pair of compasses
Protractor 

It is essential that all pupils have a mask during the school day, along with their own hand sanitiser. 

Thank you for your help and support,

Mrs Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

We have made changes to the Confirmation Programme so that pupils will now be prepared in their year group bubble.

Please note we will not be able to celebrate Mass on Tuesday 13 October but the preparation sessions will go ahead as planned.

The Bishop has changed the provisional date for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation to Friday 12 March 2021 at 7.00pm in the College Chapel.

The preparation sessions take place over lunch breaks.

Each 20-minute session will be offered twice in order to avoid clashes with other activities and times will be allocated to the different year groups.

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         

Thursday 11 March everyone

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

Mary Benham
Chaplaincy Co-ordinator

All Year 7, 10, 11 and Lower Sixth and most new pupils to the school have received an individual portrait photograph proof.  Parents are reminded the deadline for ordering photos is Monday 12 October. Details of how to place your order can be found in the photograph proof pack. 

Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Please could you ensure that you text your son or daughter when you arrive to pick them up from Prep.  Pupils will not be permitted to leave Prep until they have this written confirmation as the message will need to be shown to a member of staff before they leave.  

Thank you very much.

Mrs Beth Sharpe  
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Please may you check that your child has returned their locker key from last year to the Student Hub, otherwise there will be a £5 charge on your next invoice.

Thank you

Mrs Beth Sharpe  
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Students in our Lower Sixth have been offered the opportunity to participate in the NCS Autumn programme. Please view the letter to parents here.

The programme will take place across three consecutive days during half term from Tuesday 27 October to Thursday 29 October. The meeting point will be an easily accessible venue within Leamington Spa. 

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic they have re-purposed the programme to include a blend of traditional NCS activities, across a shorter period and all completely free of charge. 

The programme includes opportunities to:

●  Meet new people

●  Gain skills relating to CV writing

●  Boost confidence 

●  Create positive change in the local community

Please take a look here to find out more.

To sign up online visit their website. Places are limited.

Maybe there are a few old coins or notes lurking in the back of a drawer, a pocket or a handbag? Why not round them up and put them to good use? All donations would be gratefully received and all money raised will be split between UK projects of the SVP (St Vincent de Paul Society), including support for the homeless, elderly, handicapped and those coming out of prison and an overseas SVP project helping to fund secondary school education children - especially girls - in India. Click here to discover what the SVP organisation is about and how your donation can help.

The money can be current or out of date, British or foreign; anything is welcome. We already have 8kg, but we need more.

Click here and watch the video to see how cash4coins works. This is what you can donate:

• All foreign coins and banknotes
• Current UK coins and banknotes
• Any old British and Irish money
• Even obsolete currency

Please send in money in a strong envelope labelled ‘Rod Isaacs - Cash4Coins’.

We raised a spectacular amount last year.

Many thanks

Rod Isaacs
Assistant Head of Sixth Form

This week some of our Winter Sports Awards Winners were finally presented with their trophies. The recipients had been announced back in April, in a virtual ceremony that celebrated the September 2019 to March 2020 sporting season and included a special surprise guest appearance by, a sporting global superstar, English international cricketer Ben Stokes.

On Monday Alice Whittaker and Jamie Smith received the Junior Sports Girl and Junior Sports Boy of the Year awards, recognising their all-round ability and commitment to College sport. Then on Tuesday is was the turn of last year’s U13A Rugby team. Their spirited and determined performances had earned them the title of Boys Sports Team Of The Year. 

Playing in the team were: Matty Thomas, Joel Nicoll, Jamie Phillips, Vincent McNevin, Ben Smith, Isaac Fountaine, Sebastian Bainbridge, Sam Verity, Ollie Farquharson, Lachlan Greig, Luke Foster, Dylan Hopkins, Ethan Capelett, Oscar Tebbatt, Luca Smith, Edward Grindal, Giorgio Kleinmann, Ben Rose and Alexander Beck.

Congratulations to all the award winners.

And watch out for a photo of the winning Girls Sport Team of the Year, last year's U15A Girls Hockey team, who we hope to present with their medals next week.

Our friendly PTA here at Princethorpe College are keen to welcome new members. 

By joining our PTA community, you are not committing to volunteer, but just joining our community and if you do wish to volunteer you will receive emails when we require help to run our events.

For more information about the PTA and how to join please email pta@princethorpe.co.uk

Princethorpe PTA

Upper Sixth Former and Marketing and Communications Prefect, Will Marshall, is one of 35 students working towards their Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award. As with the Bronze and Silver awards, a key element of the qualification is the expedition. Most pupils choose to back pack but Will opted for an expedition with a difference. Will took part in a canoe expedition on the River Wye, he completed his qualifying expedition at the end of August, and he tells us about his experiences here:

I completed both my practice and qualifying Gold Duke of Edinburgh expeditions with an external outside adventure company called Live Life Adventure. After my Silver Award I decided I wanted to look into other sorts of expeditions instead of the traditional backpacking trips. I looked into kayaking and canoeing as they appealed to me but you can complete a cycling or even a horse-riding expedition. I opted for canoeing because that seemed the most available and it did not require any previous experience.

I was in a team with three other people, they too had all wanted a change from the walking expeditions. I had little contact with my team members before the practice expedition but we were soon working well together as a group. Covid-19 was an extra challenge, as each of us had to have our own tent and cooking equipment as well as food, so we had lots of gear. The canoes could hold two people (socially distanced) and the kit for those individuals as well as any miscellaneous kit that needed to be carried with us. As part of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, you have to be completely self-sufficient so we carried all of our food, water, supplies and even a portable toilet and toilet tent.

For the Gold expedition you have to complete eight hours of activity time (on the water canoeing) per day. We started the expedition in Hereford and finished in Monmouth and we had very long days, as we had to get ready, eat, pack up all the gear onto the canoe before we could start paddling. Not to mention the same process in reverse when we reached a campsite in the evening. Many of the campsites along the River Wye were shut down for Covid-19 but we were able to find basic campsites we could stay in.

The weather during the practice expedition was fairly mild, however the previous week had been pouring with rain so the river flow was at a peak and moving very fast. There were trees and debris in the water and the strong current could sweep you and your kit away if you capsized. However, our training, that was incorporated in the practice expedition, was thorough and took place in high waves and choppy waters. I capsized on the first day, but luckily this was before we filled the canoe with kit, so my stuff remained dry. The weather on the qualifying expedition was much better and the river was calmer, so we had a better experience and even got to enjoy the environment around us and appreciate the scenery.

It was a fabulous experience and I would really recommend it to anyone looking to do an alternative expedition.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – 2019-20 Intake

Bronze 

Your expedition assessors have now added their reports.  Mr Robertson has signed off your sections for you.  Well done to the 40 who have completed their award in full.

For the remainder you must prioritise this over half term; please complete your physical, volunteering and skills sections. 

For help please refer to this eDofE Completion Guide and the Electronic Assessor Report Guide.

DofE Completion Drop-In Sessions continue this Friday.  The names are on the pupil briefing.  Please meet Mr Robertson at 1.10pm in LF03.  These meetings are compulsory, a register will be taken.   

Silver 

Please continue to sign off your physical, volunteering and skills sections.  

Please refer to your emails for full information regarding the upcoming practice expedition. 

Practice – This will now take place as two long days in the Cotswolds, pick up and drop off at Princethorpe on both days.  Full information to follow in the week via email. 

Thursday 29th October 2020 - 7.30am to 7.00pm. 

Friday 30th October 2020 - 7.30am to 7.00pm. 

Silver Meeting - Tutor Time - Wednesday 14 October - Marquee 1

Silver Individual Kit Collection - Wednesday 14 October - 3.45pm Limes Atrium

Gold 

Please continue to sign off your physical, volunteering and skills sections.

Please refer to your emails for information regarding the Open Expedition opportunity outside of school.  

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education – DofE Manager

The Parent Information Evening video, Information Booklet and Enrolment form are all available on the Co-Curricular page, Duke of Edinburgh Award via MySchoolPortal

The deadline for enrolment is Friday 16 October (half term). Please complete the form and submit the £50 deposit as soon as possible. I will be in contact after half term to explain the next steps.  

Here is a reminder of the eligibility criteria: 

Award Stage      Age Requirement 

Bronze                Year 9 

Silver                  Year 10

Gold                    16 Years old (must be in the Sixth Form) 

I look forward to welcoming pupils onto the scheme this year. 

Will Bower
Head of Outdoor Education – DofE Manager

Now the weather is changing we will no longer be able to use the grassed areas for parking, so we would like to remind parents about parking at school when dropping off or collecting pupils.

From Monday 28 September 2020, all pupils arriving and leaving school at the normal time must be dropped off and picked up in the playground area adjacent to the pupils’ entrance and tennis courts; this is the only designated area for parents at the beginning and end of the school day.  Please do not drop off pupils at the end of the drive or in the bus bay. For the safety of all pupils, parents are asked not to drive through the North Car Park and drop off or pick up from the Sixth Form Centre and not to park on the grassed areas.

The playground is closed to traffic from 9.00am to 3.30pm. Parents arriving within this time period are asked to park in a visitor’s parking space and go to Reception or the Student Hub.

Please can I take this opportunity to remind parents that in the current climate, please remain in your car whilst waiting for pupils to come out of school. Can we also encourage drivers to turn off their engines whilst waiting.

Eddie Tolcher
Foundation Bursar

The school shop is open for pupils during both break and lunch time from 12.30pm, every school day with a new ‘one in, one out’ system in place. The shop will also be open for pupils only every Wednesday after school until 4.00pm from Wednesday 23 September 2020.

If you need to contact the School Shop please email in the first instance to uniform@princethorpe.co.uk.

We are currently waiting for new stock to arrive, so if you have placed an order we will email pupils as soon as items are ready to be collected from the shop.

Barbara Bromwich
School Shop Manager 

Please see below our current vacancy:

• Cover Supervisors

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

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