News

Lucy Gets 'Hooked on Hitching'

Old Princethorpian Lucy Coulson, who left Princethorpe in 2009 to read Law at the University of Nottingham, recently revisited the College to give Sixth Formers an insight into charity fundraising and the importance of seizing opportunities.

Lucy takes up her story...

Little was I to know upon arriving in September at the University of Nottingham, ready to read law and pursue my dream of becoming a Barrister that it would be more than just a new life in a new city that I was about to embark upon. Within the first few hours at University I found my best friends, all of whom however made me feel incredibly average – their countries of origin being Bangladesh, USA and Bahrain. This meant the moment it was advertised I felt compelled to get involved with Hitch –combining my love of travel and charity work.

This Easter I hitch hiked over 1600 miles across Europe to Morocco in order to raise money for a charity called Link Community Development (LCD). Of all the experiences I’ve had it is definitely up there as one of the more crazy ideas! LCD has been running this scheme for the last 18 years and this year over 1000 students participated, with each of us raising a minimum of £350 in sponsorship for the charity in order to take part. LCD works in sub Saharan Africa providing and improving education so that the quality is of an excellent standard and sustainable, so that the community can support teaching without the need to be reliant upon the charity in the long term. I’d like to thank Princethorpe College Sixth Form for their kind contribution to Link Community Development, taking my total to just under £700.

Hitch hiking is one of the toughest modes of travel, unlike on an expedition you cannot be self reliant and keep belief in yourself in order to get to your destination; you have to develop a whole new faith in the goodness of humanity. Sometimes we were stood at the roadside for three or four hours waiting for a lift, it can be so frustrating and so disheartening knowing that every single car passing you is going the direction that you want to go. It’s exhausting always being on the road, living at motorway service stations is just about as attractive as it sounds. The key is to keep enduring and keep believing that someone will stop for you – they always do if you can keep faith in that.

It took 32 lifts to get us to the bottom of Spain, driving in everything from Beatles to trucks carrying racing cars and we are eternally grateful to every single driver who took us part of the way. There really are some amazing people in this world, the stories we heard and the lives that we glimpsed are a beautiful memory to have. These legends are a credit to humanity, often they would go out of their way to keep us on the right road, we had offers of food and drink, accommodation and most importantly friendship – we’ve managed to keep in contact with quite  a few of our lifts. Good people come from nowhere; it is a humbling thought to think that we could get to another continent on kindness of strangers and coincidence alone.

My advice to those about to leave Princethorpe is to go out there and see the world, Morocco was stunning in itself but the more interesting part is travelling through ordinary lives. I will say quickly – make sure you stay safe! We had to report in to the charity every day with our location, stay in pairs and keep in contact with our parents! (Note to parents – yes you are allowed to worry for your children, but also believe in them – they are intelligent and independent so let them fly but they will appreciate your support even when they pretend not to!) Take every opportunity offered to you at University and in life.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." 
Mark Twain

To find out more and the charity and to support Lucy's fundraising efforts click on the link's below:

http://www.lcdinternational.org/

http://www.justgiving.com/Lucy-Coulson/

 

Ian Bell Plays Key Role For England

Old Princethorpian Ian Bell top scored for England in their match against Bangladesh in Dhaka in March. 

Ian’s innings of 138 was his tenth test hundred for England but its real significance was that it was the first test match where he dominated the scoreboard with no other batsman scoring a century. His gritty performance ensured that there was no embarrassing defeat for England’s last match in their winter tour on what could have been a difficult final day.

We wish Ian and the team well for the NPower Test Match Series against Bangladesh starting at Lords this weekend.

Class of '75 Get Together

After more than 30 years with little or no contact a group of Old Princethorpians, who graduated from the Sixth Form at Princethorpe in 1975 made contact and had their first get together in July 2009. As you can imagine we were all slightly nervous before the event, not least because we were uncertain whether we would even recognise each other! Anyway no need for nerves and the evening was a great success and we all agreed to do it again when the opportunity arose.

A little less than 12 months later at the end of April 2010 and one of our group (Clem) was back in the UK, which was the catalyst for another meeting. Whilst Chris Evans (normally resident in Barbados) and Lorenzo Argentieri were unable to make this meeting we were joined by Rabi DeMelo and also had contact with Pete Hurst,  Andy Kirwan and Alex Darkes we hope will be able to join us at a future gathering.

Our first two get togethers have been in London, which is reasonably central for our disparate group. We have no firm plans (date or place) for our next gathering, but if any of our old classmates would like to join us they would be more than welcome. Contact either martin.holland@ubs.com  or  dominic.flynn@portraitsolicitors.com.

Pictured from left to right at The Porterhouse in Covent Garden are: Rabi DeMelo, Dominic Flynn, Greg Morse, Martin Holland, "Clem" Clements, PJ McCormack and Mark Neal.

 

Sun Shines For OPs Clarkson Festival Day

Glorious spring sunshine welcomed a host of OPs, their partners and families plus former members of staff back to the College on Sunday 18 April.

The day, which started with Mass in the Chapel, followed by a buffet lunch, was deemed a resounding success. Visitors, young and somewhat older, enjoyed tours of the College, including the rare opportuntity of venturing up the 180 odd steps to the top of the Tower for some fantastic views.

Archery and games on the Sixth Form Centre lawn kept everyone amused. Reminiscences abounded and OPs enthusiastically enjoyed spotting themselves and old pals in the College photos and names on the Dining Room boards.

Comments Peter Rollason, OPs Chairman, "It really was a splendid occasion, we saw quite a few faces who hadn't been back to the school for many years. And it was particularly lovely to see all the children enjoying their visit to Princethorpe!"

More pictures from the day can be seen by logging on to the OPs only part of the website.

 

View Gallery

OP Tie Now Available

The Old Princethorpian tie is now available. The classic 100% silk tie, produced by Smart Turnout of London, sports a repetitive gold Tower design and thin red diagonal stripes on a dark blue background.

The limited edition tie is priced at £17 + postage and packing.

Comments Melanie Butler, OPs Secretary, "Sales are going well of the tie and we are now considering designing other items, such as cufflinks and a unisex college style scarf, feedback from male and female OPs would be really helpful."

To download a tie order form please click here.

OPs Travel From Far and Wide For Reunion

Old Princethorpians travelled from far and wide to the Leamington Pub Meet on Friday 5 March.

Over 20 OPs including staff gathered at The Star and Garter on Warwick Street for a very convivial evening.

The prize for travelling the furthest went to Ernest Springley who now lives in the Black Forest in Germany, with Alex Rogers from Newcastle clinching second place. Alex came down on his motorbike after seeing the event posted on Facebook. Simon Venus and Mike Smith came up from Bristol and the London contingent included Charles Lawton and Mike Nagaur.

Making it a family occasion were brothers, Paul and Martin Gallagher and cousins Nick and Kevin Cahill.

The evening also attracted some younger and far prettier faces than normal in the shape of Lucy Inman and Mel Clynick.

New Headmaster, Ed Hester joined the throng, along with fellow staff and OPs, Steve White, Sean Philpott, Alex Darkes and Eddie Tolcher. Former Head of Maths, Colin Morgan also graced the occasion.

Commented OP Chairman, Peter Rollason, “This has to be our best turnout ever and is a real indication of how OPs is growing in popularity.”

View Gallery

Richard Hosts Inaugural OPs Skills Bank Session

Old Princethorpian, Richard Sibbick, hosted the inaugural OPs Skills Bank session when he returned to Princethorpe at the end of April to talk to current pupils about careers in engineering. 

The new Skills Bank initiative aims to encourage former pupils to share their experience and knowledge with current pupils.

The 33 year old, who attended Princethorpe  from 1987 to 1994 and is originally from Kenilworth, is now based in Cardiff for Dow Corning, the global leader in silicone-based technology and innovation.  Richard has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering and was the youngest fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at just 31 years old. He now travels the world managing projects and dealing with customers.

Some 200 Princethorpe pupils from Years 9 and 11 heard from Richard about the wide variety of sectors engineers work in, from textiles, to transport and his particular specialism solar energy. Students also got to handle some of the many and new products that use silicones including airbags, beauty products, sports shoes and motorcycle wear.

Sixth Formers with a particular intest in Engineering also came along to an informal  chat with Richard over lunch to discuss university courses and best routes into engineering.

OP Chairman, Peter Rollason, commented, "We are indebted to Richard for kick starting this important initiative. Our aim is to establish a network of OPs who are prepared to mentor, advise or offer work experience to current pupils. It really is a most rewarding way of giving something back to the College."

If anyone would like to offer their services to the Skills Bank please email Melanie Butler or call her on 01926 634284. Involvement can be as small or extensive as volunteers feel comfortable with, from offering one to one advice or work experience, to workshops and presentations.

Images show Richard, centre, with Year 9 pupils Sean and Reena getting to grips with silicone-based products and later chatting to Sixth Formers.

View Gallery