Old Princethorpians

Old Princethorpian Matthew Lee (Class of 2012) has embarked on a new educational route. He tells us all about his new start:

"Hello Old Princethorpians, I’m Matt and I left Princethorpe in 2012. After Princethorpe I attended Cardiff and Bournemouth Universities gaining a BSc in Archaeology and a MSc in Forensic Anthropology.

Since my masters I have been working in commercial archaeology for the last five years across a mixture of projects, but primarily on the A14 improvement scheme in Cambridgeshire and HS2 preparation works. This has involved digging in farmers’ fields next to busy roads, digging in Victorian cemeteries under giant tents, being arm deep in tanks of water to process soil samples, and supervising the washing of three tonnes of finds from a single site in Buckinghamshire.

However, I am taking a break from working to undertake a PhD. I have joined Durham University as a member of St Chad’s College thanks to a Durham Doctoral Studentship award from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health.

Over the next three to four years, I will be investigating human migration and kinship in Early Medieval Northumbria using human teeth. This will involve looking at the size and shape of teeth and the chemicals inside of them to identify how related individuals and populations may be, and where they came from.

The hope is that this will help untangle how people formed Northumbria and connected it with the rest of England and further afield too."

We wish Matthew the best of luck at with his doctorate!

OP Emilio Doorgasingh (Class of 1983), will be taking to the West End stage again this November when he takes on not one but three roles in The Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre.

The critically acclaimed play written by James Graham and directed by Jeremy Herrin, stars David Harewood and Zachary Quinto as political rivals.

1968 – a year of protest that divided America. As two men fight to become the next President, all eyes are on the battle between two others: the cunningly conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and the iconoclastic liberal Gore Vidal. Beliefs are challenged and slurs slung as these political idols feud nightly in a new television format, debating the moral landscape of a shattered nation. Little do they know they’re about to open up a new frontier in American politics, and transform television news forever…

Emilio will be playing three characters, NBC news anchor Chet Huntley, ABC TV producer William Sheehan and Gore Vidal’s partner, Howard Austen.

The play runs from Monday 14 November 2022 to  Saturday 18 February 2023. To find out more and for tickets which start from £17.50 visit https://bestofenemiesplay.com/

We wished bon voyage and fair winds to Matty Duncan (Class of 2017) who set off from Brighton in July on his Wrong Way Round Challenge. Over eight months Matty will be sailing solo on his boat, Ice Warrior, a 1987 Moody 346 to raise awareness of mental health issues.

His route will take him from the UK to the Canary Islands then direct to Argentina and will end in Chile.

Matty will be sailing solo, across multiple oceans, spending up to 90 days alone at sea, before attempting an over 3000 nautical mile passage, which could take up to four weeks, the wrong way round, Cape Horn. The sailing equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest alone.

Matty’s journey, physically and emotionally, will be chronicled by fellow OPs, Will Stone and Joe Donaldson (Bristlecone Studios) who will be filming him at different stages of his epic journey.

Matty is currently en route to Argentina. We look forward to following his journey over the coming months.

For more information visit https://www.wrongwayround.org/ or to support the challenge go to his GoFundMe fundraiser. Any donation, big or small will go miles to help him to tell this story and many more like it. https://gofund.me/33310ad9.

This year’s London Marathon was held last Sunday 2 October. Every year we have OPs taking part and challenging themselves in aid of good causes and this year is no exception.

Halina Tonye, nee Wisniewska, who left Princethorpe after Sixth Form in 1992, ran the marathon in aid of Breast Cancer Now. This is a cause close to her heart as she has been living with breast cancer since 2021. She found the support provided by Breast Cancer Now invaluable when communicating her illness with her three children and now wants to give back.

During her time at Princethorpe Halina was a prefect and her claim to fame was her involvement in designing the girls’ uniform!

Halina takes up the story: “I planned, I trained, I fundraised, I finished! My London Marathon 2022 experience was amazing. The crowds, the cowbells and the whole 26.2 miles of fun was one the best days ever. I have raised over £2,500 for Breast Cancer Now and feel enormously proud. A big thanks to all who have sponsored me. If you ever have the itch to do the marathon, scratch that itch! It was truly magical!

The emphasis of my marathon was to finish and to raise funds. This was a self-healing exercise and experience which, unlike many others, was not concerned about my time! As a novice I finished in 7 hours 30 mins...having never done anything like this before, I am thrilled that I completed. Not a bad effort! Will I do it again? Never say never!!”

A huge congratulations to Halina from everyone at Princethorpe!

If you would like to add to her fundraising, click on her Just Giving link here.

Back in May, OP Alex Johnson shared the exciting news that her short film Widow’s Might was going out on Sky Arts on Monday 23 May as part of their Unlocked series.

Sky Arts had joined forces with Coventry City as part of its UK City of Culture year to support the region’s up and coming talent by helping them bring their stories to national audiences. Unlocked was a series of 10 short films created by Coventry artists exploring what is means to be free. The films encompassed drama, dance, poetry, love, despair, imprisonment, freedom and celebration.

You can find out more here: https://bit.ly/UnlockedFilms

We hope you grabbed the oportunity to watch it and congratulate Alex on being chosen to be featured and on Widow's Might, being recently nominated for three West Midlands Royal Television Society Awards.

The film is also being screened as part of the British Film Institute's Midlands Short Film Showcase Event at Warwick Arts Centre on Saturday 8 October, should anyone fancy a viewing it on the big screen. For more information click here.

OP Abi Miller (Class of 2012) has recently launched her own business, SanctuaryEleven. The business aims to help you curate your own sanctuary through local, independent brands, with all things interior decor, including dried florals and home fragrances.

She comments, "This has always been a little dream of mine, which I have been slowly working towards since Art GCSE days with Mr Hubball.

Originally a passion project, which soon became an ever-growing hub of interior and lifestyle products that aim to make a positive impact on our users, suppliers and the environment. My mission is to create and inspire a space that has a focus on slow-living, creating what a sanctuary may mean to you, alongside building a network of powerful independent stockists, who inspire with their stories and make a positive impact on their communities.

It’s only the beginning, so you’ll have to bear with me while I refine and expand, but I have big aspirations to help you all find your balance and create your own sanctuaries, both in your minds, bodies and homes."

To find out more visit https://www.sanctuaryeleven.com/ or follow Abi on Instagram at @sanctuaryeleven.

We gave a very warm Princethorpe welcome back to Molly Geehan (Class of 2019) when she was appointed to the role of Marketing, Admissions and Communications Assistant at the College in August.

Molly had just graduated from the University of Worcester with a 2.1 in Journalism and excitingly spent part of her summer reporting on the Netball as a volunteer at the Commonwealth Games.

Molly is splitting her working day between the Admission and Marketing Teams and she is also supporting Melanie Butler, the OPs Secretary with activities for Old Princethorpians, including OP Friendly Faces and the OP e-newsletter.

A huge good luck to Molly in her busy new role, we’re very glad to have her on board!

OP Lamorna McNevin (Class of 2015) has started her own business, she takes up the story.

"After years, post university, of working in events, in 2021 I took a different turn and started working for a Cornish distillery, Pocketful of Stones, as their Midlands Brand Ambassador.

Whilst enjoying my current role I missed the fast pace and buzz of working on live events and found I had more free time. Combining my knowledge of spirits and cocktails with my passion for events, I decided to launch the Merry Maiden. I’ve spent many months converting an old horse box with my dad into a mobile bar. I am offering a bespoke service and am available to hire for any celebration from festivals to garden parties. I am looking forward to hitting the road with the Merry Maiden!"

If you are interested in more information, contact Lamorna at merrymaidenbar@gmail.com
or find her on Instagram at @merrymaidenmobilebar.

OP Ben Haden (Class of 2018) recently celebrated becoming a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biological Sciences Class II Division I.

Ben attended Princethorpe between 2011 and 2018 and following completion of his A-levels accepted his offer at the University of Exeter.

Ben deferred his place for 12 months, remaining at Princethorpe for the school year in order to work as a Teaching Assistant. He subsequently took up his place at Exeter in September 2019 and on 14th July 2022 celebrated his graduation with family and friends.

In addition to his studies whilst at Exeter, Ben became an active member of the Uni Surf Society and was later elected to serve as the Travel Secretary for his third uni year. During that period he organised numerous trips to local Devon and Cornwall beaches including Newquay, Croyde and Polzeath and in April 2022 took 54 students on an international surf trip to Portugal.

He remains involved in College activity during the summer working with the estates team in preparing the school for the new term.

Ben has recently started at the University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Cornwall studying for a Master of Science in Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation. 

We wish Ben the best of luck with his studies!

Congratulations to OP Meera Chauhan (Class of 2019), who has graduated from the University of Leicester with a 2:1 in Law.

Meera takes up the story: "My graduation at De Montfort Hall on 22 July was one of the best days of my life!

During my three years studying, I was lucky enough to be nominated and shortlisted for the LawWorks/Attorney-General Student Pro Bono Awards 2022 for 'Best Contribution as an Individual Student.' 

Now onto the next chapter to study LPC LLM at the University of Law in Birmingham whilst starting a career in Law as a Paralegal at a local Leicester firm, Moosa-Duke Solicitors, specialising in Medical Negligence.

Congratulations to all my fellow peers who graduated this year and all the very best for your future endeavours!"

Everyone at Princethorpe wishes Meera the best of luck for her future. 

Old Princethorpian Lettie Gladwin, (Class of 2020) has embarked on a year long trip to Australia to continue her studies.

Lettie takes up the story, "Whilst currently studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of Liverpool, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a study abroad year during my third year of studies.

I chose to study in Australia as I have always wanted to visit the country and the QUT University in Brisbane is known to have amazing biomedical facilites and state of the art laboratories.

Moving across the world alone has been challenging, eye-opening and so much fun! Not forgetting to mention the incredible scenery and wildlife right on my doorstep!

I am super excited to see what the rest of my year abroad will bring."

After her graduation being postponed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OP Laura Newitt, (Class of 2011) finally got to celebrate recieving her degree in Medicine at the University of Southampton. 

Now in her third year of being a doctor, Laura has just started her specialst training.

We wish her the best of luck for her future in Medicine! 

Huge congratulations to OP Charlotte Silvester, (Class of 2019) who graduated on 18 July 2022.

Charlotte recieved a 2:1 for her degree in Anatomy and Human Biology from the University of Liverpool.

We wish Charlotte the best of luck for her future.