Old Princethorpians

The annual OPs picnic was blessed with glorious sunshine on Sunday 28 June.  The regulars from the Committee were joined by new OP picnic goers and their families, some of whom are current Princethorpians.

We were pleased to welcome Luke Hedderwick (1976 - 1982) and Sarah Lowe nee Mitchell (1987- 1989) with their families and Alan Zur (1963 St Bede's - 1968) and his wife.

Pictured are the Hedderwicks, Mitchells and friends and Alan Zur, his wife and Peter Rollason, Chairman of the OPs.

Next year's picnic will as ever coincide with the College's annual Fete and Motoring Festival on Sunday 27 June, all are welcome. The picnic starts at 12.00 and the Fete at 2.00pm

There was a small but select gathering at the 'extraordinary' London Pub Meet on Friday 19 June at the Lamb and Flag in Covent Garden. An enjoyable evening was rounded off by an excellent curry!

Pictured from left to right are Chris Woodruffe (“Woody) (1976) Mike Nagaur (1977) Lee Middleton (1976) Charles Lawton (1974), Peter Rollason (1977) and Paul Adams (1981).

Headmaster, John Shinkwin, is leaving Princethorpe on a high note having received the Independent Schools Inspectorate’s report from its inspection of the school in April.

The report strongly endorses the school, highlights its many excellent features, praises pupils and recognises the progress the school has made since the last report in 2003.

Highlights of the report include:

• Pupils develop high-quality learning skills, in which their capacity to work independently and collaboratively with great diligence is excellent 
• Pupils are very well cared for and pastoral care is excellent
• The teaching staff are well qualified and experienced, with a strong commitment to the success of all pupils
• Links with parents and the community are excellent
• The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is outstanding
• Pupil behaviour is excellent
• Leadership in the school is excellent

Commenting on the report Mr Shinkwin, who has been Headmaster of the school for eleven years said, “We are thrilled with the Report, it is good summary of where the College is now, but we are continually moving forward and I am sure that in the years ahead the school will progress further and reach even greater heights under the leadership of my successor, Ed Hester.”

Mr Shinkwin is moving onto the post of General Secretary of the Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference (CISC), an association promoting the work of the 140 Catholic independent schools in theUK, Ed Hester joins the College in September from his current role of Assistant Head at Rugby School.

The full report is available at the College’s website, www.wcisf.co.uk and will also be available on the ISI website, www.isi.net.

Image shows John Shinkwin celebrating with pupils.

The Old Princethorpians Committee is going from strength to strength. The Committee has grown and now numbers 13 (!), with past pupils represented from across the decades.

The Committee meets once every half term and now conduct business over a very pleasant supper in the new Sixth Form Centre.

At its last meeting in June, the Committee’s raison d’etre was agreed as follows to:

• Act as link between past and current pupils, past parents and former staff

• Maintain traditions and ethos of the school and promote its interests

• Keep in touch with past pupils and facilitate their maintaining and renewing friendships/networking

• Celebrate achievements of alumni

• Involve alumni with the College as guest speakers, work experience, mentors, source of careers advice

At the meeting the Committee also agreed Peter Rollason (1970-1977) as Chairman and Charles Lawton (1967-1974) as London Rep.

The other members of the Committee are as follows:

• Alexandra Johnson (1984-1986)
• Peter Kafno (1970-1975)
• Richard Sibbick (1987-1994)
• Nigel Denton (1977-1982)
• Paul Gallagher (1978-1985)
• Sean Kerrigan (1966-1972)
• Paul Adams (1976-1981)
• Pete Trewin (1992-1997)
• Alex Darkes (1968-1975)
• Eddie Tolcher (1972-1978)
• And Melanie Butler, OPs Secretary

Dates of next three meetings, all meetings start at 6.30pm:

• Tuesday 8 September 2009
• Tuesday 24 November 2009
• Tuesday 12 January 2010

If you are interested in coming along to a meeting or joining the committee please contact Melanie Butler.

A new version of the popular OP database is now available!

The database is part of a new OPs Only Area on the main College website.

As well as being able to add and edit their profiles and track down friends on the database, OPs can contribute to the Guestbook, subsribe to The Tower and The Old Princethorpian e-newsletter and discover the latest news and events.

Interested OPs will need to register to access the OP Only Area, simply click on this link.

Melanie Butler, Old Princethorpians Secretary, comments, "We know OPs found the old database really useful and hope the new one with the other facilities will be a welcome addition to the site."

Image shows a page from the very first Princethorpe College Admissions Register (1967).

The November London meet will be at The Glassblower (42 Glasshouse Street, just off Regent Street, nearest tube Piccadilly Circus) on Thursday 5 November 2009 from 6.30pm.

Change of date.
The next Leamington OP’s pub meet will be held at The Star and Garter, Warwick Street (near the Fire Station) on Friday 5 March 2010 from 6.30pm.

All welcome, come along and reminisce!

The next Princethorpe open event is our Open Afternoon on Sunday 4 October 2009 from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. All are welcome.

This is an informal opportunity to look round the college and for younger visitors to partcipate in fun activities in the different departments.

The new Headmaster, Mr Ed Hester will address visitors during the afternoon.

No need to book, but if you would like any information on admissions to the College please email Mrs Loretta Curtis or Mrs Elaine Warwick, or telephone 01926 634201.

In honour of departng Headmaster, John Shinkwin, the inaugural John Shinkwin Trophy Rugby Match will take place on Wednesday 2 September between the current 1st XV and Old Princethorpians.

The Old Princethorpians will be selected from the leavers of 2008 and 2009.

Pre-match hospitality will be available from 6.00pm in the Sixth Form Centre. The match kicks off at 6.45pm. After the match there will be further refreshments and a presentation of the trophy to the captain of the winning team. The event is expected to finish around 10.00pm.

All Old Princethorpians are welcome, please contact Eddie Tolcher if you would like to attend by date, so catering arrangements can be finalised.

For this very first issue of The Old Princethorpian we have chosen, Peter Rollason, Chairman of the Association as our inaugural interviewee.

Peter has been active and a supportive member of the association for several years and is a regular attendee at events and OP meetings.

Age     
50 at present but on the first day of the Autumn term I will be 51.

What are you doing now?
I am a solicitor and run a law practice in Daventry and, shortly, Leamington Spa. The firm employs 16 staff who deal with all areas of legal work. It was founded in 1994 from scratch (the product of the last but one recession).

I am married to Moira and have three children, Catriona (22), Alasdair (18) and Robert (12).

When were you at Princethorpe - years from and to?   
1970-1977

What was the school like in your day?
Very different. Boys only of course and much smaller. I was a day boy and therefore in the minority as I recall. About two thirds of the school were either full or weekly boarders. There were many more priests teaching and, again as I recall it, they seemed to outnumber the lay staff. This might just have been an illusion as they made more of an impression in clerical garb. Discipline was fairly strict and robustly enforced. We probably needed it, however.

How did Princethorpe affect the person you are today? 
As with many of my fellow members of the “Class of 77” I feel that Princethorpe gave me a unique outlook on life. Unlike many people from other schools who I met later in life, I think that from a character perspective, we all left Princethorpe as what I would call “the finished article”. Further education and the wider world generally obviously shaped our outlook but the school prepared us for what was to come in a very special way.

I rarely meet past pupils of the College who are in any way arrogant or standoffish, but at the same time past Princethorpians seem to have a quiet and gentle confidence and I think this is a fairly unique balance to achieve. From what I have seen the school continues in this way.

What advice would you give to your teenage self? 
Not to take life so seriously and worry so much about things I had no chance of influencing. Above all, I would try and persuade my teenage self not to become a lawyer!

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your life? 
Apart from my parents and family while growing up and my own wife and family, (while I still continue to grow up), the school was one of the major influences in my life. I was very lucky to grow up in the middle of the Northamptonshire countryside and between there and my school, my formative years were pretty idyllic. This has given me a passionate love of the countryside and an absolute aversion to working within anything approaching a large town or city.

What keeps you awake at night? 
The fear that I may have let a client or friend down in some way, or that I have forgotten to do something I should have done.

What has been your proudest moment/greatest achievement so far?
After some pretty indifferent A levels getting my degree from Lanchester Polytechnic and subsequently qualifying as a solicitor was a very proud moment.

After that I think my proudest moment came last year when we celebrated, like all our “annus horribilis" which was a combination of my 50^th birthday, Moira and my 25^th wedding anniversary, Catriona’s 21^st birthday and Alasdair’s 18^th birthday and Robert getting into Princethorpe all at the same party. The moment I looked at them all while I made a little speech probably made me as proud as I have ever felt.

I try not to "do” pride however as it comes before a fall in my experience.

What’s your biggest indulgence?
Extravagant entertaining – I love to cook and I must admit I like to show off my culinary skills as much as possible. I usually go “over the top” when it comes to a dinner party for friends.

If you had to have one last meal, what would it be?
Starter - smoked salmon with prawns and a garlic mayonnaise followed by coq-au-vin mashed potato and weaned spinach with raspberry sponge and custard to follow (my mum made this for me on my 21^st birthday).

What is your favourite TV Show and why? 
Cooking programmes generally (especially Jamie Oliver) and although I don’t have Sky TV, the fishing programmes on Sky, which on the few occasions I can get together with my brother, we watch for hours, much to the disgust of our lady partners.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be and who would be with you? Somewhere in the south-west of France sitting outside, about to eat a large leisurely lunch with all my family and as many as my close friends as could be there.

Lasting memories of Princethorpe
Father Clarkson has to be one of my main lasting memories. In saying that Princethorpe had a huge influence on my life, Father Clarkson was the focal point of that influence. He managed to combine a very strict discipline with a wonderful sense of humour and a great sense of justice. He could not stand anything sneaky or unkind and I suppose I must be slightly older than he was when I first met him and I tend to react as he used to - quite often small unkindnesses or meanness produce a greater reaction in me than major crises which I tend to take in my stride.

Are you in touch with any other Old Princethorpians, if so whom? 
I have stayed in touch with many people in my year and in fact, as time has gone on, the list has grown. Being involved with The Old Princethorpians has enabled me to see them more often, but I have probably been in touch with 10 or 12 of my year on a regular basis. Now being involved with the school, several teachers (I will protect their privacy by revealing how old they are), were at the College during my time there. Through The Old Princethorpians I am now meeting more and more people who are of my era or before. 

Is there anyone you would like to track down?
I would like to track down the Binney Brothers. Michael and Paul who were in my class – we spent two years trying to master A-level European History, from the Peace of Paris to World War 1 I believe, under the watchful eye of Mr Rex.

Dick Williams was also in that class and I have lost touch with him recently. I would like to get in touch with him. We nearly spent a weekend together 10 years ago but got our wires crossed!

What are your ambitions for Old Princethorpians?  
I think there is scope for us to provide a wide-ranging support system for all current and past pupils of the College. 

I would like to see us establish a charitable foundation which could support pupils in extra-curricular activities and further education where funding, for example, for research could be given. This is some way away however, and we must think carefully of how we can take this forward. We must be inclusive and it would be nice to be a conduit for those who wish to, to keep in touch with staff and fellow pupils they met while at the College.

If you have any announcements you would like to share with OPs in the next edition of The Old Princethorpian please email Melanie Butler.

Melissa Franklin (1995 - 2000) is marrying Ramiro Sanchez at the Chiesa Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence on Sunday 13 September 2009.

Melissa and Ramiro both work as artists in Florence.

Phillip Tomson is all set to marry fiancee, Mary Doherty at Princethorpe on Wednesday 30th December this year.

Phillip left Princethorpe in 1994 having spent five years at the College as a weekly boarder.

Phillip and Mary both qualified as dentists from the University of Birminhgam and are now living in Harborne, Birmingham.

They are a busy couple, Phillip is currently doing specialist training in restorative dentistry, working on a PhD in pulp biology and teaching (undergraduate and postgraduate dental students). Mary has recently taken up a specialist training post in dental public health and is carrying out a Masters in public health. 

Phillip has kept in touch with Phil New who was in his year at school - they met up earlier this year with Phil, his wife Jo and their son Ben (also Phillip's godson) to celebrate Ben's 6th birthday.

Phillip and Mary are really looking forward to getting married at Princethorpe and are hoping for a crisp, sunny Winter's day!

We can't wait to see the pictures!

Paul Hubball (1985 - 1991) married Julie at Coventry Registry Office on 3 April 2009. The reception was held at Brandon Hall and the newlyweds live in Coventry.

Paul has been Head of Art at Princethorpe since 2000.

Fr Bill Clarkson's death in March and the subsequent Memorial Service in April at the College has prompted us to recognise the importance of keeping a record of Old Princethorpians who are now deceased.

We are compiling a list, and would be most grateful if OPs would advise us of any deaths amongst their contacts, so that we can be sensitive in our dealings with past pupils.

If you have any information please email Melanie Butler.

Congratulations to Graeme and Kerry Low on the birth of their first child, daughter Darcy on 24th April 2009.

The trio are enjoying family life in Rugby.

Graeme, who was at Princethorpe, from 1987 to 1991 is now an Environmental Officer for Islington Council. Coincidentally his wife Kerry also has a Princethorpe connection, working in the school as the Connexions Careers Advisor.

Graeme is still in touch with David Mitchell, Matthew Morgan and Sandeep Mitharu.

Fr Clarkson's death earlier in the year has led to an outpouring of memories of both him and past pupils' experiences at Princethorpe.

In due course a History of Princethorpe will no doubt be compiled and it would be good to collect more memories so that these could be included.

If you have memories to share please email Old Princethorpians.

John Hindley (1969-74) recently sent us an email of his memories of Fr Bill, which seem to capture the man brilliantly:

I am sure that you have had a significant flow of comments from past pupils following Fr Clarkson’s sad passing. I hope I could add another contribution to the previous ones. As an OP I do occasionally look at the school web site so the news of Fr Bill’s passing was a shock since I was looking for news about how he was and trying to guess how old he must be at that time. When I did see the news so many memories came flooding back about the time at Princethorpe and him in particular.

Many of his qualities have already been recognised by others. One was his ability to be almost omnipresen! Just when you when you were hoping you would not bump into him or he catch you up to something perhaps not part of the regular curriculum there he was! He was a warm, generous and an incredibly fair man at all times and even when discipline was required there was never any sense of injustice on the part of the pupil afterwards!

One major aspect of his character was that he was just so full of life! With incredible energy. I can still see him laughing on the rugby pitch as we boys had a chance to tackle him with very limited success and him just running on to score an imaginary try for Ireland and all of us having fun in the process. Once on a cold Friday night, he got two other boys and myself into the kitchen to make sandwiches for a trip the following day, with him helping, and on the Saturday  taking us down to England versus the All Blacks (Jan 1973) at Twickenham, getting us our first whisky, and driving us all the way back and being up for mass the following day.

I think above all he was a deeply spiritual man whose faith was at the core of everything he did. For us who were fortunate to have him in our lives we had that opportunity to see that and take from him that example and take it out with us into the world.

We were incredibly fortunate to have his abiding influence in our lives for those years. It would have been great to have had the chance to say thank you to him personally but I am sure somehow he knows now what a great influence he sowed into so many lives and is enjoying his reward for his faithful service.

Thank you Father Bill. 

You can view more memories on the OPs page of the website. Click here to view.

Peter Rollason (1970 - 1977 ) would love to track down Michael and Paul Binney and Dick Williams who were in his class.

Jose Quintanal, who now lives in Mexico City and David Jenkins would love to get in touch with any of their old classmates from 'C' Form from 1976 / 1977.

George Thien (1977 - 1979)- would love to get in touch with any other OPs who are now based in New Zealand.

Charles Lawton (1967 -1974) has been looking for Jim Burke (1967 – 1974) for years. Jim was last known in 1979 after completing a civil engineering degree at Birmingham University.

If you can help with any of these requests or want to find an old friend yourself please email Old Princethorpians. Success stories will be reported in the next issue of The Old Princethorpian.

Thanks

In May Old Princethorpians helped Anthony Cowland track down his old friend Jean-Pierre Parsons.

The friends were amongst the first pupils to go through the whole school as full time boarders in the late 60s/early 70s (JP's parents lived abroad in Zambia) and had lost touch some years ago.

Via the wonders of Google, Jean-Pierre was tracked down to South Staffordshire College, where he is a governor. A friendly member of staff passed on our email and the friends were put back in touch.

Anthony, now a renowned artist and illustrator based in East Sussex, remembers their antics as boys, " We both got up to absolutely no good when we were at Princethorpe. Our initials might still be found in all sorts of seemingly inaccessible places on the various roofs! We once traversed the entire length of the school at roof level in the dead of night.... I do hope that the current generation of students are not quite so stupid and reckless!!"

Jean-Pierre, who now lives in Staffordshire, was at the College from September 1967 to July 1974. After a long career in the NHS, latterly as Chief Executive of Cannock Chase Primary Care Group and then the Primary Care Trust, he took early retirement, although he still does some consultancy work for a few Local Authorities, including Warwickshire County Council. 

If you would like to send us your update to include in the next edition of The Old Princethorpian please email your information and a photo to us at Old Princethorpians.

Rebecca Dyke (1995 -2002) is taking the fashion world by storm, with her designs featuring at a store near you!

Rebecca graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Fashion Design in 2006.

Since graduating she has moved to Hertfordshire and is now a ladieswear designer for a company called Poeticgem based in Watford.

She works on the nightwear, beachwear and jerseywear ranges for the company.

Seven of her nightwear designs, totalling 67,000 pieces, have been chosen by George@ ASDA for their summer range. The range is in store now, so get shopping!

Rosie Davey (1995 -2002) is now working as an Environmental Graduate in the male dominated environment of a coal mine in New Zealand.

Rosie is well qualified for the role having completed an Environmental Geo-Science Degree, followed by a Masters in Environmental Technology, both at Imperial College, London.

She went out to New Zealand at the beginning of this year on a twelve month contract.

One of the first girls to enter the College when it went co-educational from Year 7, she is well equipped to deal with her male colleagues.

She is responsible for compliance, monitoring and liaison with the council and the Dept of Conservation.