Old Princethorpians

We are delighted to be hosting in person events again. This year's calendar features all our regular favourites, including our popular local spring meet in Rugby, the Saturday Brunch and of course the OP's Summer Supper.

All our alumni, past parents and staff are welcome to participate in any or all of the events. Click here to download the calendar or visit the events page on Princethorpe Connect to register for upcoming events. 

Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC invites the Princethorpe Community to any or all of the Lenten and Easter services at either St Anne's, Wappenbury or the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, Princethorpe College.

Wednesday 2 March         
7.00pm  Mass of the Ashes, St Anne's, Wappenbury

Thursday 14 April             
7.00pm  Mass of the Last Supper, Princethorpe College

Friday 15 April                 
3.00pm  Commemoration of the Passion of Christ, Princethorpe College

Saturday 16 April             
8.00pm Vigil Mass for Easter, St Anne's, Wappenbury
                                                            
Sunday 17 April               
8.30am  Easter Mass, St Anne's, Wappenbury
10.30am  Easter Mass, Princethorpe College

For an update on the weekly news in the parish bulletin please use the link here.

Fr Teddy looks forward to meeting you all.

Friday 4 March 2022 - 6.30pm to 10.30pm 

The OPs annual Local Meet takes place on Friday 4 March 2022. After a hiatus of two years we will be meeting once again upstairs at Inside The 22, on Lawrence Sheriff Street, Rugby, CV22 5EJ.

Now a live music venue, as well as bar, our guests will also be able to enjoy The SOS Rock Blues Band who hark from Leicester from 9.30pm.

There will be the customary welcome drink or two and the OPs Commitee will be laying on some delicious food, so do let us know if you would like to attend by registering at Princethorpe Connect, so we can cater for you.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Crackley Hall School Open Morning

Saturday 5 March 2022 - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Crackley Hall, Princethorpe's prep school and nursery in Kenilworth, is holding an Open Morning on Saturday 5 March from 10.30am to 12.30pm. This is an opportunity for parents and children to visit the school and nursery at the weekend. Visitors will have a chance to tour the school, see the facilities and meet pupils and staff including the Headmaster, Rob Duigan. There will be performances and activities showcasing the school.

Crackley Hall School Open Evening

Tuesday 19 May 2022 - 5.00pm to 7.30pm

Another chance to look around the school and nursery and meet staff and pupils.

All are welcome to both events, please book your place here. Light refreshments will be available.

If you can't make the Open Morning or Open Evening but would like to look around, please call our Admissions Secretary, Mrs Jenny Vaughan on 01926 514444 and come on a day to suit you, we welcome visitors on most days.

For more information please also see our Admissions Update the next edition of which will be published at the start of March.

Saturday 19 March 2022 - 10.00am to 1.00pm

We are looking forward to welcoming former pupils back to Crackley Hall School for our postponed 75th Anniversary celebrations.

On Saturday 19 March (St Joseph's Day) we will be holding an Open House event at Crackley Hall School and all past pupils of the school and of St Joseph's Convent School are invited to join us.

Plans for the event include a Mass from 11.00am to 12 noon, an archive display, music and drama performances by current Crackley pupils and the chance for past pupils to chat and reminisce. Light refreshments will be served.

We have already had high levels of interest in the event and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone back.

To register your interest in attending the celebrations please click here.

Crescent School Open Morning

Saturday 19 March 2022 - 10.00am to 12.00pm

The Crescent School, Princethorpe's prep school in Rugby, is opening its doors to prospective parents and children for a Spring Open Morning on Saturday 19 March 2022 from 10.00am to 12.00pm. This is an opportunity for parents and children to visit the school at the weekend. Visitors will have a chance to tour the school, see the facilities and meet staff including the Headmaster, Joe Thackway. There will be performances and activities showcasing the school.

Crescent School Open Evening

Tuesday 10 May 2022 - 5.00pm - 7.00pm

The school will also be holding an Open Evening in May where parents will be able to tour the school and speak to the Headmaster.

All are welcome to both events, please book your place here. Light refreshments will be available.

If you can't make the Open Morning or Open Evening but would like to look around, please call our Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 523851 and come on a day to suit you, we welcome visitors on most days.

Please note: 

We have had very high levels of interest in places for Reception and our Year 3 class for September 2022 entry at the Early Bird Application deadline stage. Many of these applications were from families with siblings already in the school. As a result, we have already allocated all of the available places in these year groups for September 2022. We are now operating waiting groups in these year groups for families who are still interested in a place, should a suitable one become available.

We are currently operating waiting groups in most other years apart from our current Reception and Year 1 classes (Year 1 and 2 for September 2022 entry) where we do have some places available as these year groups each have two classes.

We are already taking registrations for places in Reception and Year 3 starting in September 2023 and September 2024.

For more information please click here or see our Admissions Update, the next edition of which will be available in April.

Following our popular St Mary's bi-annual reunions at Princethorpe and our successful St Mary's virtual reunion in September 2020, we are planning a spring 2022 visit for St Mary's Priory Old Girls (or VSOPs as we like to call them) to the former Benedictine house in Fernham where the nuns from Princethorpe moved to in 1966.

Over the last twelve months we have been in touch with the current owners of the former Benedictine house in Fernham (near Wantage in Oxfordshire). The current owner is very keen to meet past pupils and those who visited the house in the Benedictines’ time and to that end we plan a meeting at Fernham on a Saturday in April or May 2022, with an opportunity to see the house, meet the current owners and visit the nuns’ cemetery. This will be another chance to catch up, chat and generally reminisce.

We plan to arrive there for 11:00am and afterwards adjourn to the Woodman Inn for a delicious lunch. We hope to offer transport from Princethorpe and if necessary, can also meet a train from London at Wantage. More news will be shared as soon as we have finalised the date.

Please click here to register your interest on Princethorpe Connect.

Saturday 14 May 2022 10.30am - 12.30pm

We are once again offering OPs, former parents and former staff the opportunity to visit the College and catch up over a full English or a croissant or two. As well enjoying a leisurely complimentary brunch (served until 12.00 noon) visitors will be able to watch Saturday sports fixtures, and take an optional tour of the school campus.  

Former parents will have spent a considerable amount of time at Princethorpe over the years supporting their children, and may be missing their involvement in school life. The Old Princethorpians' Association organises the brunch as an opportunity for all to reconnect with both the College and each other in an informal, friendly environment.

If you would like to attend please register on Princethorpe Connect by Monday 2 May 2022.

Please do spread the word!

As part of the school’s postponed 75th Anniversary celebrations we are holding a Diamond Anniversary Gala Ball on the evening of Saturday 14 May 2022 at Crackley Hall.
 
This event was originally scheduled for March 2020 but due to the outbreak of COVID-19, it was postponed. Two years later we are pleased to be able to host the event to celebrate this milestone. The event will give past pupils, current and former parents and staff the perfect opportunity to celebrate the school’s success and rich history.
 
The Gables will be transformed into a party venue for the occasion and guests will enjoy a red-carpet welcome, champagne and canapes, a delicious hot gala buffet, with a choice of desserts, cheese and tea and coffee, followed by speeches and live music and dancing. There will be a pay bar with the facility to pre-order drinks. The fun will kick off with a reception at 7.00pm and carriages will be at midnight.
 
Heading up the evening’s entertainment will be Revolver, a versatile five piece Midlands-based band who perform classic rock and pop covers from the 50s to the present day.
 
Tickets cost £40 per head, with a maximum of two tickets available per person and online payment will be taken at time of booking. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

Please note, there is a finite limit to the number of tickets available. Once capacity is reached, if you would like to be notified of any returned tickets, please email jennyvaughan@crackleyhall.co.uk and state how many tickets you are looking for. You will then be added to a waiting list, on a first come, first served basis.

The dress code for the evening will be black tie and the equivalent for ladies.

Link for tickets: https://connect.princethorpe.co.uk/event/crackley-hall-diamond-anniversary-gala-ball-2022

Wednesday 8 June 2022 - 6.30pm - 8.30pm 

The College's annual Summer Open Evening will take place on Wednesday 8 June from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.  This is an informal opportunity to look around the school and to meet members of staff and pupils. The Headmaster will also address visitors during the evening. Light refreshments will be available.

To book your place please click here.

Please do spread the word amongst friends and family, all are very welcome! 

Friday 24 June 2022 - 6.00pm optional tour, 7.00pm drinks reception, 7.30pm supper

OPs who left the College in 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012 (or those who were in the same year groups) are cordially invited back to the OPs annual Summer Supper on Friday 24 June to celebrate their respective 50th, 40th, 30th, 20th and 10th anniversaries of leaving.

Leavers of year groups ending in a 0 and 1, who missed out, and other year groups are also most welcome. 

Comments OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler, "We know many OPs are keener to come to these events if they can be sure of seeing some familiar faces.  By focusing on year groups ending in a 2, we hope to get a critical mass of attendees, although OPs from other years are of course welcome too!"

The Summer Supper is an established event in the OPs calendar, attracting a large number of OPs, former and current members of staff. The supper is preceded by an optional tour and drinks in the Quad. Every year the OPs recognise long-standing members of staff and say farewell to any staff leaving the College.

Numbers are limited to around 100 guests, so if you would like to attend please go to Princethorpe Connect by Friday 10 June to reserve your place.

We are pleased to confirm that this year's PTA Summer Fête and Motoring Festival will take place on Sunday 26 June 2022.

This event takes place in the Orchard between 2.00pm and 4.30pm. There is lots of entertainment both for children and adults alike, which usually includes a large inflatable slide for the kids, BBQ, refreshments, bar, pupils’ stalls, over 30 external stalls, a raffle and many, many more exciting things for all the family to enjoy.  

Please add the date to your calendar. 

One of the highlights of the School Calendar is the Annual Motoring Festival, now in its twenty-fifth year.

The Motoring Festival coincides with the Summer Fête and is open to anyone keen to bring any sort of classic, vintage, veteran or interesting vehicle along for the afternoon. There are rally plaques for all vehicles pre-booked by Wednesday 1 June 2022 and there are awards for self-judged competitions.

For more information and for entry forms for the Motoring Fesitval please visit the school website. 

Fr Teddy O'Brien MSC will be offering Masses for any members of your family who have passed away on the first Sunday of each month at St Anne's, Wappenbury (8.30am) and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, Princethorpe College (10.30am).

If you wish Fr Teddy to pray for your family members especially please let him know. The contact details can be found on the parish website here.

Fr Teddy is also hoping to add further information to the parish records. If you have a member of your family interred at either St Anne's, Wappenbury or at Princethorpe Cemetery, Leamington Road (the cemetery at the bottom of the College drive) please do get in touch.