Old Princethorpians

Plans for the College’s Careers Fair on Saturday 18 March are taking shape with the confirmation that freelance consumer affairs journalist, OP, Felicity Hannah (née King-Evans) has kindly agreed to be the keynote speaker for the 2023 event.

Comments Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, "We are delighted to have Felicity on board to open the event and set the tone for the day. She has forged an amazing career in broadcast journalism and her presentation promises to be one not to miss."

After leaving Princethorpe in 2001, Felicity studied Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. She then spent several years as a print journalist, writing for The Times, The Independent, The Mirror, The Herald and others, and is now a freelance journalist. Felicity regularly presents the Radio 4 programmes Money Box and Money Box Live and Wake Up To Money on BBC Radio 5 Live. She co-presents the BBC's Big Green Money Show with Deborah Meaden from Dragon's Den, and she's a regular on Radio 4's Today programme, providing the business news. Felicity has made a number of TV and radio documentaries, and has been named Broadcast Journalist of the Year at the Headlinemoney Awards for three years in a row. Her latest Podcast on BBC Radio 4 is entitled Understand: The Economy and promises everything you need to know about the economy and what it means to you. Click here for more information.

Mrs Quinney continues, "We have had a great response from our Old Princethorpians, who alongside our parents are forming the backbone to the Fair. We have some speakers from previous events who have kindly agreed to speak again and new speakers helping us for the first time.”

Thanks to the many OPs involved hosting workshops on a variety of careers areas, including Evie Bonsall, Nigel Bromley, Bob Cheshire, James Davies, sol Elliot, James Hewitt, Ed Hunter, Tori Jones, Alfie Kay, Paddy Kerrigan, Jamie Kettlewell, Matt MacLellan, Tom Pilling, Bethany Rees, Oli Thomas, Taylor Vaughan and Anna Wells.

There will also be a number of universities speaking who will be providing ideas and advice and companies and organisations who offer various career entry points exhibiting in the exhibition part of the fair.

Foundation Principal, 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 jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk.

Online membership of Princethorpe Connect, our alumni network for former pupils, staff and parents from across all the Foundation schools, has been steadily building over the last few months and now stands at over 1,250.

We’d like to see the number of online members increase and we would also like to see our current members engaging more with the platform. So, to encourage more interaction the Princethorpe Connect Team is inviting you to connect with the platform by Friday 31 March to be in with a chance to win a delicious Hotel Chocolat Easter gift box.

Online membership brings with it many benefits, members receive the termly OP e-newsletter including the latest news and events, are able to view private photo galleries, connect with other online members and access our Clubs, Careers and Networking pages.

For your chance to win, simply either ‘Create a Profile’, or if you are already an online member add to your current profile with a photo, update your work or contact details or invite a friend to join from your profile page. Do any or all of the above at https://connect.princethorpe.co.uk/ by Friday 31 March 2023 to qualify for the draw.

The draw will be pulled from all online members who have interacted with the site from 10 February to Friday 31 March and the lucky winner will be notified in time for their prize to be dispatched for Easter.

Good luck to all!

Princethorpe College was delighted to welcome two much-loved and well-respected former members of staff into school on Wednesday 1 February. Margaret-Louise O’Keeffe, former Deputy Head Pastoral, and Sue Francis, former Director of Music, visited Princethorpe to work with College Archivist, Catherine Lewis.

The ladies spent an enjoyable morning working through archive material putting names to faces, bringing characters to life and sharing stories never heard before. It was fascinating to pick their excellent memories from their many years at Princethorpe and to record such rich history in the archives.

Catherine is working hard to extend our knowledge and is looking forward to welcoming more former members of staff into school to support her work.

Another exceptional year of achievement, progress, creativity and contribution was celebrated at Princethorpe College’s annual Prize Giving Ceremony at the Butterworth Hall, at Warwick University’s Arts Centre on Friday 18 November 2022.

Before the ceremony, the Old Princethorpians Committee hosted a special Drinks Reception for the returning Class of 2022 and their parents, providing a welcome opportunity for last year’s cohort to get together and catch up.

Chair of Trustees, Mrs Liz Griffin, opened the proceedings, warmly welcoming parents, friends of the College and Princethorpians old and new to the occasion and then Father Alan Whelan MSC then led the assembled community in an opening prayer.

In his formal address, the Headmaster, Ed Hester, gave thanks to all those who make Princethorpe the special place it is. His warm words paid tribute to all that is done by so many 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 of St. John Henry Newman’s words ‘To live is to change’, and reflected on the changes we all experience, before congratulating last year’s Year 11 and Upper Sixth on their resilience and tenacity over the course of the last three challenging years.

All evening the atmosphere was joyful and celebratory and there were superb musical interludes from the school String Orchestra, Concert Band and the Year 7 Choir, whose performance of Rainbow Connection was both enthusiastic and uplifting.

Then it was time for the presentation of the awards. Listening to the citations was truly inspiring and humbling. The talent in evidence, the grit and determination, the passion, enthusiasm and commitment were all applauded and honoured.

Finally, we came to 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 this year, with the audience cheering a delighted and surprised Greg Burford who was thrilled to receive the Shield.

Headmaster designate, Grove du Toit, then spoke echoing Mr Hester’s congratulations, before the current Heads of School, Freya Mills, and Head Boy, Pratheesh Prabakaran, gave an eloquent vote of thanks.

The evening came to a close with the singing of the College Hymn, Here I Am Lord.

The full list of Prize Winners can be found in the Prize Giving Programme here.

Recent Upper Sixth Leaver, Grace Leigh’s stunning and atmospheric photograph Phantom Of The River received a Highly Commended in the Key Stage 5 Photography class at the Independent Schools Association’s prestigious National Art Competition.

Her picture was one part of her triptych that was presented at the College’s Art Show last summer. The photo was an original unedited work, and by all reports the water in the lake was exceptionally cold when the young artist staged her shot. Princethorpe College Head of Art, Paul Hubball, was delighted to see Grace's work receive recognition at the national event.

Grace's photo has already taken first place in the Midlands Regional ISA Art competition back in October when two further Upper Sixth Leavers also won prizes.

Art Scholar, Tillie Benford’s compendium of drawings, Last Day Of High School took first place in the very competitive Midlands Key Stage 5 Sketchbook class. Exploring themes of nostalgia and sentimentality her sketchbook submission showcased her preparations for her final piece that was also of an incredibly high standard.

While Art Scholar, Mary Lomas’ graphite pencil drawing Reflections Of The Dark Triad took second place in the Midlands Key Stage 5 Drawing class. Her drawing of a photographer poised to take a picture featured a self-portrait and reflection.

Princethorpe College Head of Art, Paul Hubball, was delighted, commenting, “Many congratulations to Grace, Tillie and Mary. Their pieces were exceptional, a product of many hours of work as they prepared for the A-level examinations. The girls received many compliments on the quality of the work and it is marvellous to see their talent rewarded in this way.”

Mr Hubball went on, “This year’s judges were very tough. Their experience made them look for the best technicians on show so we were very pleased to have these students recognised.”

OP Tom Pilling joined Princethorpe staff, Rod Isaacs, Cyp Vella, Andy Compton, Ellie Callan, Clare White and Ben Collie at the end of January to pound the pavements and paths around Leamington and Warwick in a half marathon in January. The hardy runners were fundraising for a charity close to Princethorpe's heart, Mary's Meals. They all completed the challenge successfully although there were a few sore knees the next day.

Mary's Meals provides daily meals in a place of learning, with just £15.90 feeding a child for a whole year. Through Mary's Meals, Princethorpe College supports Makalanga Primary School in Malawi, raising the funds to feed their 600 children every day. Pupils and staff take part in activities such as World Porridge Day and the 24/7 challenge to raise money for the charity. 

If you would like to show your support for the runner's intrepid efforts please follow the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/princethorpemarysmeals

Christmas came early for OP, John Naylor (1993 - 2000), who was the lucky recipient of our Princethorpe Connect Christmas Hamper Prize Draw.

John works for Northampton based wealth management company, MHA Caves Wealth, where he is an Investment Manager and Head of their Investment Committee. He lives in Leamington Spa and is married to Tricia, with whom he has two young sons.

John received his prize from OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler, who hand delivered it to his home in Leamington just before Christmas.

Commented John, “I was delighted to hear of my win, it will be lovely to share with the family over Christmas!”

John, who turned 40 the same week and is still in touch with his OP friends, “Even 20-odd years on I am still very close to the friends I made at Princethorpe. A group of us got together only a couple of weeks ago for a lovely walk via a few pubs to celebrate my birthday.”

Remembering his time at Princethorpe, John added “Even though it was more than 20 years ago, I think the economics I learned in Mr Griffin’s class is still engraved in my memory! He was a brilliant teacher.”

Old Princethorpians Lauren Mason (Class of 2021) and Caitlin Mason (Class of 2022) were the first pair to meet up as part of this year's OP Friendly Faces Campaign.

With Lauren now in her second year at Cambridge University, she was on hand to provide Caitlin with all the top tips about starting university life there. 

After originally planning to meet during Freshers Week, the pair were swept up in new beginnings and rearranged to meet on another day.

Lauren and Caitlin eventually met up on Sunday 16 October at Selwyn College for brunch, which is part of their university campus. Lauren said: "We chatted all things Princethorpe, and starting life at Cambridge! Thank you for putting us in touch."

A huge thanks to Lauren who agreed to be part of our Friendly Faces campaign and offering her time and advice to Caitlin. We look forward to hearing more about their time at the University of Cambridge!

Just before the Christmas holidays, we waved goodbye to OP and Marketing, Admissions and Communications Assistant, Molly Geehan.

After joining us in August, Molly had worked across both the Admissions and Marketing departments, helping to prepare for Entrance Eams and other events taking place at the school. 

However, opportunity beckoned, in the form of the England Netball team, and Molly has now started a new adventure as the new Digital Assistant for England Netball, a life-long dream of hers. After studying to be a journalist, and growing up playing netball to a very high level, this role was just perfect and one not to be missed! 

Molly said: "My time working at Princethorpe was wonderful. Everyone was so welcoming and a joy to work with. It was strange at first working with all my old teachers, but I soon got used to it. I never thought I would get the chance to work with England Netball, but here I am and it's amazing!

Some of my duties are covering England and Superleague games, creating content for their social media channels and I will be travelling around the world with the team. I'll be sure to keep Princethorpe updated as to where I am!"

And she has already had her first reports published on England Netball's website here.

We really do wish Molly every success in her new career and cannot wait to see what she gets up to. 

Stuck for a gift idea for the OPs in your life? Look no further as items from our alumni range of merchandise make the perfect present for birthdays, anniversaries or even just for yourself!

Our Zaini hats and headbands are back in stock (at £18 and £15 respectively) and there are just a few of our stunning 2023 Princethorpe Calendars left that have now been discounted to £3. 

If you are looking for a gift with a difference you could consider sponsoring a Brick or Paver in the new Science Centre. Click here for more details.

Other popular items on our online shop include:

• Socks with the distinctive Tower design on dark blue background with thin diagonal stripe - priced £9.00 + postage
• A university style scarf (in 100% wool with navy blue, red and gold stripes) - priced  £31 + postage
• T-bar cufflinks with a gold Tower design - priced £26 + postage
• The Old Princethorpian tie. A classic 100% silk tie with a repetitive gold Tower design and thin red diagonal stripes on a dark blue background - priced £19 + postage and packing.
• Tower pin badge. The 2cm high badge in nickel with recessed metal detail is based on the Tower logo - priced £11 + postage
• A Spirit Of Family: The First Fifty Years Of Princethorpe College - produced to mark the College's Golden Jubilee this beautiful keepsake is a relflection on the first fifty years of Princethorpe College written by Nick Baker and Alex Darkes, it was published on 1 September 2016 - priced £21 + postage.
• The Soaring Redbrick Tower Fine Art prints and cards sized at A2 for £40, A3 for £25 and as an A5 greetings card for £3. 
• St. Joseph's Convent and School Fine Art print for £12.

Stocks are available to order online from Princethorpe Connect, please click here.