Old Princethorpians

On Saturday 10 February, the College was delighted to welcome back Old Princethorpian and professional actor, Emilio Doorgasingh (1983), to officially open The Clarkson Theatre. 

The theatre underwent a dramatic transformation last summer, with new retractable seating and state of the art lighting and audio visual equipment. The refurbishment has provided the College with the perfect opportunity to recognise the contribution made by former Headmaster Fr Bill Clarkson MSC, by naming it after him.

Comments Ed Hester, "Fr Bill Clarkson had such a huge impact on Princethorpe College in the early days and was so respected and loved by the pupils and staff in his care. We wanted to take this opportunity to remember him for posterity in the daily life of the school."

The opening ceremony coincided with the last night of the College's production of Arabian Nights, and Emilio, who has a string of TV, Theatre and Film credits to his name, generously took time before the show to talk to the young cast and answer questions about his life as an actor. Questions ranged from how to combat nerves, the best ways to get into acting and what was it like appearing in A Game of Thrones!

Prior to the opening ceremony and Emilio's speech, invited guests gathered for an informal Eastern-style reception. Those present included former staff Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC, Lou and Barbara Skiffington, Peter Jewel and OP contemporary Alex Johnson. We were also delighted to welcome those who had been involved in the refurbishment, parent David Lomas, architect Tony Pugh, Foundation staff Eddie Tolcher and Alex Darkes, along with Heads of Drama, Aileen Cefaiello and Vicky Roberts and some of the cast.

Emilio spoke eloquently about his time at the College and how the teachers had inspired his love of the theatre and set him off on his career. He also spoke movingly about Fr Clarkson and how his wise counsel helped him through his teenage years.

Ed Hester continued, "Our thanks go to Emilio for making this such a special evening for the cast and all concerned with the production and refurbishment of the theatre."

After the event Emilio managed to catch up with his former Economics and Business teacher, Peter Grffin.

Commenting on his visit, Emilio said, “It was fantastic to be back at Princethorpe 35 years after leaving, to reopen a theatre I had played in all those years ago, when Fr Clarkson was headmaster. A place that had originally been the gym where I did P.E. To see pupils that same age perform a show I have since done professionally; watched by teachers who taught me there and then. How magical!"

Emilio now lives in London and is currently rehearsing for the part of Leonato, Hero's father, for the soon to open Shakespeare's Globe production of Much Ado About Nothing.

If you would like to listen to Emilio's speech about his time at Princethorpe and his memories of Fr Clarkson please click here.

If you would like to see Emilio in action visit http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on-2018/much-ado-about-nothing for ticket information.

At the Annual Prize Giving Ceremony on Friday 3 November 2017, the Old Princethorpians launched a new scheme ‘OP Friendly Faces’. It is hoped the scheme will benefit many young OPs as they leave the College and move on to university.

OP Friendly Faces will aim to link past pupils established in their second or third year at university with first year OP students. Providing a friendly, familiar face to meet up with over a coffee (compliments of the OPs!) or having someone to call in your new uni town or city, will, we hope, make for a smoother experience in those first few weeks away from home and help establish a support network of OPs in universities across the country.

We are very pleased to confirm that an inaugural OP Friendly Faces connection has been a success with Lottie Morton who is studying English at Leeds University offering help and guidance to Year 13 student Imogen Butler who also plans to study there in September. Great news!

A big thank you and shout out to young OPs Lauren Whitfield, Charlie Rooney, Megan Lewis, Alana Eckland, Laura Humphries, Alice Kenward, Krysia Spanczak, Antoinette Cassidy, Saffy Baker, Jack Dennis and Izzy Snead who have also signed up to the scheme so far.

If you would like to play a part in our Friendly Faces initiative then please do pop an email to oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk – we would love to hear from you!

Princethorpe College is delighted to be hosting a Development Reunion Dinner for Old Princethorpians on Saturday 14 April 2018 at The Hong Kong Club, 1 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong.
Almost 50 guests have already showed an interest in attending and the Development Office would be delighted to hear from anyone else based in Hong Kong, China or elsewhere in the Far East who would like to attend the dinner. The invitation only event will consist of a drinks reception followed by a formal dinner and will be hosted by Headmaster, Ed Hester, former teacher and Director of Boarding, Fr Teddy O’Brien MSC (1970 – 1981), Rachel Hadley-Leonard, Development Director and Melanie Butler, Old Princethorpians' Secretary.

The group hope to meet with as many OPs to share news first-hand about, not only how Princethorpe is flourishing as it enters its sixth decade and its plans for the future, but also how philanthropic work is changing the lives of less fortunate children through the new Princethorpe Bursary Initiative. It is also hoped that this will also be a wonderful opportunity for old friends and new to get together, reminisce and hear about how the College has changed over the years.

This is the first official visit to Hong Kong from a current Princethorpe Headmaster, former Headmaster Fr Dan O’Connor MSC visited with Fr Teddy in summer 2013. That informal visit was orchestrated by a group of Old Princethorpians who had boarded at the College and this latest visit has been greatly facilitated by OP Alan Young, who left Princethorpe in 1981.

If you would be interested in attending the dinner please email Loretta Curtis (Development Office Assistant) on lorettacurtis@princethorpe.co.uk as soon as possible for further details and a formal invitation.

OP Chairman Peter Rollason and OP Chris Davies recently gamely took up the challenge to represent the Old Princethorpians at a national competition held at Middlesex University, Peter takes up the story.

I first met Chris Davies at the age of 19, in 1977, when I joined Leamington and Warwick Rotaract Club. It was many years later that we realised we had both been to Princethorpe and had missed each other by a year. Chris was one of the original intake from St Bede’s and moved across when St Bede’s became the junior school. He did not attend the Sixth Form. When we met he was working as surveyor in the estates department at the brewers Mitchell & Butlers who, according to their advertising slogan brewed beer for 'the men of the Midlands' as I recall it.  He went on to become a senior property advisor with Barclays Bank and, before he retired, he oversaw the move of the head office in the City of London to the Docklands for the Bank.
 
It is only recently that I realised that Chris played real tennis. We have played against each other in the Thames Valley League; I playing for Leamington and he for the Oratory (he also plays at Radley) and we entered a handicapped doubles tournament at Leamington Real Tennis Club last year.
 
We decided, last year, to enter the Cattermull Cup but he couldn’t make the dates. This year we managed to synchronise diaries and entered to represent Princethorpe College in what is a handicapped doubles alumni event. The tournament apparently came out of the more serious Henry Leaf Cup which is played off scratch for very serious real tennis players but again is based on the alumni system; this was traditionally played on the same weekend as a handicapped tournament that ran alongside. Paul Cattermull (who we met and who is a charming man) won the handicapped tournament one year and was somewhat disheartened to learn that he didn't receive a cup and, as a joke, had a trophy made bearing his name. The organisers of the Henry Leaf tournament later approached him to see if they could use his trophy for the handicapped competition! The Cattermull cup was therefore born and, since, has achieved a life of its own being held on a different weekend.
 
The venue was Middlesex University at Hendon and they have a superb very modern real tennis court. A slightly alarming feature is that it has underfloor central heating, a facility that would serve many other real tennis courts well (they tend to be perishingly cold!)
 
We were in some trepidation when we saw the other entrants from very illustrious and long-established public schools. We were also somewhat concerned to note that we were very high handicappers but, thankfully, all the high handicaps were put in the same group to start with.
 
Our first game was a disaster and we lost 6-1 to Clifton College; however, we beat Shrewsbury 6-5 and Marlborough 6-4 to progress as runners up of the group to the knock-out stages. In the knock-out stage held on Sunday 21 January we came across Charterhouse. On the previous day a good lunch and two glasses of wine improved my volleying no end and I was confident that this is what turned our chances round after the rather bad defeat against Clifton.
 
The same tactics unfortunately didn’t bear fruit and a vastly experienced and low handicapped Charterhouse prevailed in the end. We were quite pleased to get to 4-all but we just couldn’t press home the advantage given to us by our handicap to progress further.
 
I am pleased to say we were welcomed and, despite our fears that we might be treated like scumbag college in the Young Ones entering University Challenge, everyone made us feel very welcome and there was at least one other school that entered for the first time this year.
 
Chris and I are keen to enter again when we hope to progress a little further in the tournament.

The College's Careers Fair 2018 will provide a ‘one stop careers shop’ thanks in large part to the support of the Old Princethorpian network.

The event which is scheduled for Saturday 17 March is looking to be even bigger and better than before.  Princethorpe parent, Mr James Hutcheson, Managing Director Finance & Administration of Aldi UK, has kindly agreed to be the keynote speaker and a host of careers and professions will be represented.

Comments Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, "We have had a great response from Old Princethorpians, who alongside our parents are forming the backbone to the Fair.  We have some speakers from 2016 who have kindly agreed to speak again and a number of new speakers helping us for the first time.”

Some of the many OPs involved include Rory Aitkenhead who will speak on Architecture and Laura Brazier who is talking about the food industry, she works for Modelez International.  Lucy Coulson a Barrister is joining us as is Aaron Fermahan from Wright Hassall, they will both be presenting on Law.  Third year medical student Maddie Wigmore-Sykes is speaking about her career in Healthcare whilst Jacob Mitchell will talk on Scientific Engineering and Tom Cross on TV, Radio and Media. OP Chairman Peter Rollason will be representing the Law Society in the Exhibition part of the Fair.

There will also be over a dozen universities exhibiting plus a number of gap year companies all who will be providing ideas and advice.

Headmaster, Ed Hester comments, "We are really indebted to all the OPs who have volunteered their time and energy to make the Careers Fair a success for our current Year 10 to Sixth Form pupils and their parents."

If you would be interesting in helping with future Careers events, please email melaniebutler@princethorpe.co.uk.

Another exceptional year of achievement, progress, creativity and contribution was celebrated at Princethorpe College’s prestigious annual Prize Giving Ceremony held at The Butterworth Hall, Warwick University Arts Centre last Friday 3 November.

This year the College was delighted to welcome a very special guest of honour, Old Princethorpian Jide Olanrewaju who was returning to the College for the very first time, accompanied by his family, to present the Biodun Olanrewaju Memorial Prize, which commemorates his father.

Before the ceremony the Old Princethorpians Committee hosted a special pre-prize-giving drinks reception for the returning Upper Sixth and their parents, providing a welcome opportunity for last year’s cohort to get together and catch up on their news since the summer.

New Chair of Trustees, Mrs Liz Griffin, opened the proceedings, warmly welcoming parents, friends of the College and Princethorpians old and new to the occasion.

In his formal address the Headmaster, Ed Hester, gave thanks to all those who make Princethorpe the special place it is - the Trustees, the MSCs, the staff, the senior team, the parents and most importantly the pupils. His warm words paid tribute to all that is done in support of the College, the kindness, the compassion and the values that underpin the success stories of so many of our pupils and not just those who received prizes on the evening. He reminded us all that a Princethorpe education can literally change the course of a young person’s life.

Mr Hester congratulated last year’s Year 11 and Upper Sixth on their examination results and reflected that the value added scores of this year’s A-level candidates were the best ever in the College’s history.

The atmosphere all evening was joyful and celebratory and there were superb musical interludes from the Year 7 Chorus, College Orchestra and College Jazz Band whose pieces, 'Lovely Day', 'We Are Family' and 'Aint No Mountain High Enough' fittingly emphasised the spirit of the occasion.

And then it was time for the presentation of the House Prizes for Progress and Achievement, the GCSE and A-level Examination Certificates and a myriad of trophies, cups and shields. Watching the stream of young people coming across the stage and shaking Mr Hester’s hand was truly inspiring and humbling. The talent in evidence, the grit and determination, the passion, enthusiasm and commitment were all applauded and honoured.

Some of the young people took to the Butterworth Hall stage with confidence, others more self-consciously, some made us laugh, some brought a tear to our eye as we listened to, Director of Studies, Michael Reddish’s poetic citations.

The poignancy of the occasion was perhaps best shown by the presentation of the Biodun Olanrewaju Memorial Prize. In making the presentation Jide talked about his family’s time here at the school, about the unstintinting care and support the College provided and how the family had set up the prize in memory of his late father who died tragically and who embodied the spirit and values of Princethorpe. The award which includes a £1,000 cash prize was this year presented to Lower Sixth Former James Fletcher.

And finally it was time for the main award, The Princethorpe Shield, the oldest and most prestigious College award presented annually to the student who is seen to embody the spirit and ethos of the College in many facets of their school life. It was a very popular decision, and with much hand shaking, back clapping and cheering Marcio Zheng was welcomed to the stage to receive the Shield.

Then to close the proceedings Head Girl, Miriam Issacs, and Head Boy, Tim Duffy, gave an eloquent vote of thanks before the evening finally came to an inspiring end with enthusiastic singing of the College Hymn, ‘Here I Am Lord’ by the assembled throng.

Princethorpe College Development Office are delighted to report that, in the 18 months since it was established, our incredibly generous regular givers have already raised £11,000 towards our Bursary Fund – a fantastic and much appreciated amount.

However, there is still work to be done. We believe that every child with the potential and passion to benefit from a Princethorpe education should be given the opportunity to learn, grow and develop here. In September 2017 the ‘donate three coffees a month’ campaign was launched with the concept of giving £12 per month to Princethorpe College’s Bursary Fund – the equivalent cost of three cups of coffee. If 84 families were able to do so, this would cover the cost of one child’s education through Princethorpe.

If you think you would be able to help us raise even more – our target is to fully fund at least 10 deserving children – please click the to our Virgin Money Giving page where it is easy to find out more and set up your donation online: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/princethorpe

We are immensely grateful for every gift, of any size. Thank you.

Two Princethorpians have just received offers for Oxford University. Nick Bonsall who completed his studies at the College last July, and is currently on a gap year, has received an unconditional offer to read English at St Anne’s College. Whilst Upper Sixth Academic Prefect, James Fletcher, has a conditional offer to read Law at Trinity College. Both students were surprised and delighted with the news which they received last week.

Following a rigorous application process, English scholar Nick explained, “I knew that already having good A-level grades put me in a strong position but I also knew that Oxford University would want more. The interview itself was challenging, but the support of Mr Kerrigan, my English teacher, was invaluable in preparing me for it. I am very grateful to him for all the time he dedicated to me and the support he continues to give others.”

James Fletcher shared a similar story about his application to Trinity College, “In the interview I had to think on my feet. Every statement I made was argued against, it was clear they wanted to know my opinions. My practice interviews with Director of Studies, Dr Reddish, proved very helpful.” He continued, “A place at Oxford is now within my reach, I am thrilled to have been given such a prestigious opportunity.”

Princethorpe College Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie commented, “Applying to Oxford is, in itself, an extremely rigorous and character-testing experience and it seems to get tougher every year. Over their time at Princethorpe, Nick and James have applied themselves both to academic studies and to developing themselves as confident and mature young people. They have earned this success and we are exceptionally proud of their achievement.”

Recent leavers are reminded that they still have the chance to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.  Students will have invested significant time on the physical, skill and volunteering sections and shown strength and perseverance in completing their expeditions.  Often it is just a matter of completing the paperwork or for the Gold Award undertaking the extra element the residential.

Head of Outdoor Education, Will Bower has prepared a handy guide for completing your edofe submission attached here.

For those who have yet to complete their Gold residential useful information and links are also attached below:

Choosing A Residential

Residential Checklist

Residential Participant Form

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

https://volunteer.yha.org.uk/vk/volunteers/my_opportunities_events.htm?eventname=DofEGoldResidentials

If you have questions or need any further help then please email willbower@princethorpe.co.uk.

We encourage you to take the time to finish your Award and finalise your submissions, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards are well recognised and will always be an achievement you can be proud of.

Latest school performance tables issued by the government confirm the substantial level of academic progress Princethorpe students make in Sixth Form.

Princethorpe is the top performing school in the local area and the only school to score ‘Well above average’ for Progress in A-level performance in 2017. The tables place Princethorpe in the top 5% of all schools or colleges in England.

Comments Ed Hester, Headmaster, “These progress measures indicate the “value-added” by the school, looking at where the young people started and where they end up. Princethorpe is not, and never will be, an academic hothouse, but these results reflect the tremendous progress our students make. This, combined with the array of co-curricular, careers and enrichment opportunities puts them in the best possible position to realise their future plans."

For GCSE the data analysed by the Government includes the new-style GCSEs in Maths and English, which Princethorpe pupils did not take in 2017, so the College’s results for IGCSE are not published in the tables.

To see the results click on this link https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/

The College's 50th Anniversary, which took place during the academic year 2016-2017, was celebrated in style with a number of key events, from our launch tour and dinner at the House of Commons in May 2016 to our final event - the Golden Jubilee Ball in July 2017. The events were aimed at the wider school community including pupils, parents, staff and former parents, staff and of course Old Princethorpians.

To celebrate the year we have produced a 60-page souvenir review of all the activities and events in words and pictures. An electronic version with pages that can be moved through and a contents list from which you can jump to the different sections is available to view here.

Copies have been distributed to staff and via pupils to current parents. Should you wish to receive a hard copy of the publication please email goldenjubilee@princethorpe.co.uk with your name and address.

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.

The Development Office were delighted to host Trustees, former and current parents, staff and friends of the college in the Sixth Form dining room for a festive cheese and wine reception just before Christmas. The evening was to say a heartfelt ‘thank-you’ to all our donors and supporters who have helped our work over the last year.

We were fortunate to be able to have on offer our famous Princethorpe Blue cheese truckles, along with Crackley Hall and Crescent cheeses, supplied by our dear friend and OP Melvin Glynn of Windyridge Cheese.

Ed Hester talked to our guests about the work of the Development office and how the 50 + 10 Bursary Fund has already begun to impact on the lives of pupils at the school. He also spoke about our current initiative, aimed at regular giving, which encourages supporters to forgo three cups of coffee a month and donate £12 to the Bursary Fund, and our delight that this campaign is gaining traction.

Ed thanked the guests for their time, donations and support for the initiative and talked about our ambitious plans for the future for both bursaries and the new Science building.

It was lovely to see friendly and familiar faces from across the generations, coming together to support the College. We look forward to working with the wider Princethorpe community in the coming months and years, to enable us to offer more bursaries to deserving pupils and support our school development plans.

Interviews are often seen as daunting and stressful, so in a bid to better equip our Upper Sixth Formers for the challenge, the Princethorpe Careers Team organised a mock Interview Day on Thursday 12 October. Designed to perfect their interview technique, sharpen their communication skills, presentational qualities and their ability to respond to feedback, each of our Sixth Form students took part in a thirty-minute mock interview with a professional whose field of expertise matched their future study and career interests.

Some 31 professionals from backgrounds such as: Law, Medicine, Television, Engineering, Architecture, Accountancy and Business kindly volunteered their time. Some were Old Princethorpians, some past or present parents, but all had responded to a request to support our pupils, in this, the most critical year of their school career.

In readiness for their one-to-one interviews pupils had submitted their curriculum vitae or personal statement to be scrutinised beforehand. Exactly like in a real interview these documents formed the basis of questions that were discussed. At the end of their interview our professionals provided valuable feedback with constructive suggestions for improvement.

Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, commented, “Our students were encouraged to prepare well for these interviews. Our aim was to provide them with a head start in developing their interview technique. It was an extremely important day for them all as they face the looming reality of university and workplace interviews. The skills practised today will benefit all of our students and we are immensely grateful to the parents and Old Princethorpians who have given up their time to take part in the day.”

Crackley Hall School in Kenilworth has received the highest possible ratings across all criteria from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) following an inspection in October 2017. The report, available on the ISI website, consists of two sections, a focused compliance inspection, encompassing statutory standards, and an educational quality inspection evaluating pupils’ achievement, including their academic and personal development.

Headmaster, Robert Duigan, commented “We are thrilled with the report which is a real vote of confidence for everything we do at Crackley Hall. I am delighted that the hard work of pupils, teachers, support staff, parents and the wider school community has been so resoundingly acknowledged and the positive impact that a Crackley education has on our children’s lives has been recognised.”

Mr Duigan continued, “Being rated as ‘excellent’ in terms of both pupil achievement and personal development shows we are a leading prep school and demonstrates the incredible talent, commitment and professionalism of our staff and the outstanding attitude and approach of our pupils.”

During the inspection, the ISI inspectors observed that, ‘Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exceptionally positive. They are enthusiastic, curious and very supportive of each other’. The report also commented that, ‘Pupils from the Nursery onwards make excellent progress’, and ‘Pupils achieve excellent results’ in entrance exams for senior schools and ‘a high proportion gain scholarships for academic success, music, drama and sport’.

The contribution of a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular provision was also recognised with the inspectors impressed that, ‘Pupils achieve at a high level in sport, music, drama and art as a result of making the most of the very rich range of opportunities available to them.’

Pupils’ personal development was also judged as ‘excellent’ with inspectors recognising that ‘From an early age, pupils demonstrate a strong sense of right and wrong’. They judged that, ’The pupils’ social skills are exceptionally strong’, ‘behaviour in the school is exemplary’ and ‘At all levels they display genuine care and concern for each other’.

The ISI Inspectors also noted that, ‘As pupils leave the school, they are well-prepared for the next stage of their education and ready to take on their future challenges as capable, resilient and confident young people’.

Mr Duigan concludes, “At Crackley Hall we are committed to providing our pupils with an outstanding all-round education, instilling in our children life-long learning skills in addition to offering them excellent academic, sporting and creative opportunities. I am very proud that ISI Inspectors have so comprehensively recognised what we do.”

The ISI is the Government-approved body responsible for the inspection of independent schools and they consider every aspect of the provision. A copy of the full report is available from the ISI and the school websites.