Belated congratulations to Lucy Coulson who married Jonathan Williams on 18 February 2017. Lucy and Jonathan met seven years ago whilst working in summer jobs at Princethorpe.
Lucy, daughter of longstanding Princethorpe music teacher, Felicity Coulson, was accompanied down the aisle by her sister, Rosie Coulson, Amy Thorne and Becci Morris: all OPs and still best friends.
We wish the lovely couple every happiness together!
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Our congratulations go to OPs Tom and Vicky Ellis (née Smith) who tied the knot earlier this year. Vicky continues their story;
“Tom and I met at Princethorpe and have been together for 8 years. We left Princethorpe in 2009, Tom went on to study Automotive Design at Coventry University and then went on to complete a Master’s Degree at the Royal College of Art. After which he landed his dream job working as a Designer at Rolls Royce Motor Cars.
I went to University of Essex to study Psychology and then completed a Master’s in Applied Psychology at Coventry University. After moving to Chichester, I started up my own business in pet care.
Our wedding was on 26 May 2017, at St Nicholas Church in Radford Semele, followed by the reception at Ardencote Manor in Warwick. It was attended by OPs Sarah Todd and Amy Guntrip with Tom’s sister Lauren Ellis (also an OP) as a bridesmaid, and my brother Andy Smith (also OP) as a groomsman. We are planning a tour of New Zealand next year for our honeymoon.”
We wish them every happiness and look forward to hearing about their tour of New Zealand!
Ellie Eaton and Jake Powell met whilst they were both studying at Chester University.
Ellie takes up the story: In 2015 Jake and I both ran the Chester Half marathon and met through mutual friends as we trained before and socialised afterward the event. We attended the same church and on campus CU and continued to get to know each other, starting to date by the next academic year. We got engaged in October last year and married on the 13th May this year in our shared church in Chester. It was a lovely day with family and friends joining us from around the UK.
We moved down to Gloucestershire in the summer as we started our new jobs at the start of the academic year, Jake in school's work and myself as a Trainee Sports Minister. We're greatly looking forward to starting this next chapter in both of our lives.
It was with much sadness that we reported the death of Richard Bunt OP, who died in a tragic accident whilst on holiday in Poland in June. Aged just 33, Richard will be remembered warmly by all Princethorpians who knew him for his friendliness, kindness and fairness.
Richard was born on 7 September 1983 in Leamington Spa and he grew up at the family home in Kenilworth. He went to St Augustine’s RC Primary School before attending Princethorpe College. He later graduated with a BA in International Business Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in 2006. Richard was married to Lucy, here at Princethorpe, in the Chapel, in 2015.
Richard was very keen on sport and contributed much to the life of the school. Alex Darkes, now Assistant Head Development, remembers him well, saying “It’s probably fair to say that Richard had very keen powers of persuasion, particularly if he was preparing the ground diplomatically for the late delivery of his Physics homework! He was unfailingly cheerful, fair and fun with a loyal following of friends, who probably all had sport as their common interest. He had a generous glint in his eye (often preceding the next joke!) and the power of charm, knowing that it triumphed above all else in the face of adversity. I have very good memories of teaching Richard, which is testimony to the fact that he was one of life’s best and is so sadly missed. Happy memories, too, of a fantastic evening with him earlier in February at the OP’s meet at The Bulldog Bar in Whitehall, SW1; the conversation just carried on from where it had left off all those years ago.”
His family released this statement following his death: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the loss of our wonderful son, Richard, who died on Tuesday June 13 after a tragic accident in Poland. He bought so much happiness to our lives and was a loving husband, caring son and brother, friend and colleague. Richard affected so many lives with his love, his brilliant humour and everyday acts of kindness. We take great strength from knowing that his final gift was his greatest of all – donating his organs to save six people – giving other families so much joy and hope. He will always be treasured by us and everyone who knew him and we are immensely proud of the man he was. We would like to thank all the kind people who helped and prayed for Richard and also thank our family and friends around the world.”
There will be a mass in memory of Richard in the College Chapel on Sunday 19 November at 10.15am, all are welcome.
Former teacher, Sarah Stewart, who lost her long battle against serious illness on Sunday 25 June, was fondly remembered at a funeral service at the College on Saturday 8 July. The very personal service, which was attended by some 100 family, friends, former colleagues and pupils, was celebrated by Rev Fr Alan Whelan MSC and Rev Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC, both former colleagues of Sarah's. The funeral service was followed by a commital service at Oakley Wood Crematorium on Wednesday 12 July.
Originally from Cardiff, Sarah joined the College as a newly qualified French teacher in September 1985, rising later to Head of Modern Foreign Languages, a role which she retained until the onset of her illness in recent years. A naturally hard worker, with a true international dimension, she loved European travel and was keen not only to teach youngsters an additional language, but also to give them a practical appreciation of other cultures. She led a number of successful overseas excursions which were always relaxed, purposeful and impeccably organised, enabling a broad variety of memorable experiences and fun. Sarah greatly valued teamwork and collaboration and was surrounded by a loyal following of colleagues who not only greatly respected her, but were inspired and motivated by her gentle persuasive style.
Princethorpe was central to Sarah’s life and one of her great cornerstones. When she became too unwell to teach, she continued to assist in the languages department and also in the development office where her long service, razor-sharp memory and attention to detail made her an absolute asset. Her extensive network of friends was immensely important and many of them were connected with the school. Meetings for coffee, lunch or just an exchange of messages were a popular feature.
We extend our deepest sympathy to her family and hold dearly in our memories her zest for life, loyalty, professionalism, kindness and sense of fun, which were with her right until the end, despite failing health.
We were delighted to hear that OP Cressida Woodcock-Sweales, who left Princethorpe back in 2004, recently tied the knot with her fiancé, Joshua Sweales, in a ceremony in Chipping Norton in July.
Two of Cressida’s bridesmaids were also OPs, Holly Whitehead and Sarah Trussler, and the couple had a very special day that included a spectacular firework display.
Cressida and Josh are still living locally in Rugby, although Josh is originally from Chalfont St Giles, in Buckinghamshire. Josh works an Internal Resourcing Partner at Severn Trent Water, whilst Cressida now works for Colas Rail.
We wish them every future happiness together.
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Sarah Witts and Nathan Williams started at Princethorpe College in 2003 and studied right through to the Sixth Form.
They started going out together in Year 11 and left the school in 2010 with many happy memories. They both went to Sheffield Hallam University, Sarah to study Early Childhood Studies and Nathan to study Psychology. Sarah is now a primiary school teacher with Year 1 children at a school near Rotherham and Nathan is an Assistant Manager for a Boots Optician store.
They got engaged in Dublin in March 2016 and were married on Friday 4 August 2017 at Stoneleigh Church followed by a reception at Wethele Manor, near Leamington.
A few friends from Princethorpe joined them at the wedding with Rachael Eaton Price being one of Sarah’s bridesmaid’s.
We wish them both every happiness in their new life together!
Huge congratulations to Bof (Porfiris) and Sonia Kefalas who were married at the Registry Office in Coventry on Sunday 13 August, the wedding was followed by a reception at the Village Hotel.
Bof comments, "We were really fortunate that the weather was great, as the week prior was classic British summertime, as was the week after the wedding.
"We had a brilliant day and were very fortunate to share it with so many friends and family from far and wide. There was a lovely atmosphere capped off by my side splitting and tear jerking speech! Lots of fun was had by all and the mix of cultures with Sonia’s Pakistani background and my Cypriot heritage made it a unique day.
"The wedding was well-attended by OPs with Andy Lawn, Malachy O’Keeffe, Angus Rose, Jack Hunter and Tom Redman all being groomsmen. Various others attended the day too including: George Phedon, Jack van Spall, Harvey Broadbent, Tom Warner, James O’Hanlon, Alice Wetton, Megan Price, Sanj Jaspal, Jeandre Labuschange, James Ashley, Charlie Warner, Bethan Redman and Sam Rose. We are grateful to everyone who came and also to all of the many well-wishers."
Many congratulations to St John White who married Emma (nee Jeffries) on Saturday 30 September at St Paul’s Church in Banbury with a Reception afterwards at the nearby, stunningly located, Castle Inn at Edgehill.
They were delighted to welcome Old Princethorpians, Caspar Davies and Tom Hilditch to the day. Also in attendance, of course, was St John's brother OP Adam, who attended the College from 1976-1979.
St John commented, "We had a perfect day with friends and family. Music has always been a big part of my life so it was extra special to see my sons' Tom and Seamus singing at the wedding party. I even grabbed an old bass guitar for a rusty rendition of a few Beatles numbers!"
The couple honeymooned on the beautiful eastern Riviera – Norfolk.
We wish them every future happiness together.
We were delighted to hear that OP Charlie Preston, a pupil at Princethorpe from 2004 – 2011, is engaged to be married to Rhea West. Charlie popped the question in Central Park, New York, earlier this year and the couple are now busy planning their wedding for next August 2018.
Charlie went to the University of Winchester to study Business Management with Marketing and now works as an account manager at a Marketing Agency in Winchester. His experience has predominately been in the sports marketing industry, starting out at a local firm in Southam, Perform Better, before relocating down to Winchester to take on his current role.
He was always a keen sportsman and continues to play sports competitively including Rugby, Football and Cricket.
Charlie met his intended wife, Rhea, at the University of Winchester. She clearly also has the ‘Princethorpe’ passion for sport as he told us she currently works for the Hampshire FA.
We offer congratulations to them both and wish them every future happiness together.
