Our OPs' Events Calendar has details of our events for the academic year.
All alumni, past parents and staff are most welcome to participate in any or all of the events.
For more information and to sign up to any of our events, please go to Princethorpe Connect.
The 2023/24 calendar will be published at the start of the Michaelmas Term.
Saturday 27 May – Sunday 28 May 2023
The National Schools’ and Riding Clubs Two Day Event will once again take place on the Princethorpe estate.
This year the event includes a new 70cm class as well as the 80cm, 90cm and 100cm classes. Once again, the event also includes Independent Schools' Association Classes.
Show Jumping and Dressage take place on the Saturday with Roads and Tracks, Steeplechase and Cross Country on the Sunday.
The only event of its kind in the UK, the two-day event regularly attracts up to 300 riders.
Spectators are most welcome to come along and enjoy a wonderful weekend of equestrian competition.
Open Evening - Wednesday 7 June 2023 - 6.30pm to 8.30pm
The College's annual Summer Open Evening will take place on Wednesday 7 June from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. This is a perfect opportunity for prospective families looking for a place in September 2024 and beyond to visit the school, for children to take part in departmental activities and for parents to meet and chat to members of staff and pupils.
The new Headmaster, Grove du Toit, will also address visitors during the evening. Light refreshments will be available.
Please click here to book your place.
Year 6 Taster Days - September 2023
Our Year 6 Taster Days are a great opportunity for pupils who will be in Year 6 in September 2023 and are interested in joining Princethorpe in September 2024.
The days run from 9.30am to 3.00pm and typically involve four lessons, a question and answer session with some of our current pupils and the chance to talk to the new Headmaster, Mr du Toit. Snacks and lunch are provided and there is no charge for the day.
We have three dates available in September, Tuesday 12, Wednesday 20 and Tuesday 26 September 2023. Places, which are available for those children who have not already attended a Year 5 Taster Day, are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Please click here to book your place.
Open Afternoon - Sunday 17 September - 2.00pm to 5.00pm
The College Open Afternoon will take place on Sunday 17 September 2023 from 2.00pm to 5.00pm and will be a great opportunity for prospective pupils and families to hear a welcome address from Grove du Toit, the Headmaster, meet members of staff and pupils, take part in activities around the different departments and tour the school and grounds.
Booking will open shortly after the Summer Open Evening.
Those wishing to register for Entrance Examinations should do so by the deadline of Friday 29 September 2023 to facilitate the gathering of references from primary schools. You can now complete your Registration form online by clicking here.
Entrance Examinations for Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will take place on Saturday 11 November 2023 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. More information is available in our 2024 Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet available on our website, click here.
Saturday 10 June 2023 - 12.00pm to 2.30pm
Crescent School will be holding a 75th Anniversary Summer Fête on Saturday 10 June from 12.00pm to 2.30pm. All Old Crescentians, former staff, former parents and of course current families are most welcome to attend.
In addition to stalls, activities and a BBQ organised by the wonderful Friends of Crescent on the school field, Old Crescentians are warmly invited to come along, have a tour of school, visit our archive room, help us identify past pupils, visit our 'memory booth' and catch up with fellow past pupils and former and longstanding members of staff.
If you would like to attend please sign up via Princethorpe Connect here.
Thursday 22 June 2023 from 6.00pm to 8.30pm and Sunday 25 June 2023 from 2.00pm to 4.30pm
A celebration of our pupils' GCSE and A-level Art, Photography, Design and Textiles work will take place in the Sixth Form Centre on Thursday 22 June from 6.00pm to 8.30pm and on Sunday 25 June from 2.00pm to 4.30pm.
A range of design and technology projects, from resistant materials to textiles, will be showcased alongside the stunning art and photography work the College is renowned for.
Comments, Paul Hubball, Head of Art, "This is a great opportunity to share our pupils' fantastic creativity with a wider audience and to welcome more art and design lovers to Princethorpe."
All are welcome. On Thursday evening admission is free, on the Sunday admission will be £2 per car including entry to the College's Summer Fête and Motoring Festival. Light refreshments will be served in the Quad.
View Gallery
Friday 23 June 2023 - 6.00pm optional tour, 7.00pm drinks reception, 7.30pm supper
OPs who left the College in 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013 (or those who were in the same year groups) are cordially invited back to the OPs annual Summer Supper on Friday 23 June to celebrate their respective 50th, 40th, 30th, 20th and 10th anniversaries of leaving. Leavers of 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 3, 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. This year we will be saying a particularly fond farewell to Head of Geography, Mike Taylor, who retires after 42 years and Head of English, Chris Kerrigan, who retires after 20 years at Princethorpe.
Places are filling up and numbers are limited to around 100 guests, so if you would like to attend please go to Princethorpe Connect by Friday 9 June to reserve your place. All years are very welcome to attend.
View Gallery
Sunday 25 June 2023 - 2.00pm to 4.30pm
We are pleased to confirm that this year's PTA Summer Fête and Motoring Festival will take place on Sunday 26 June 2022 in the Orchard between 2.00pm and 4.30pm.
There will be the usual array of stalls including our school supported charity stalls; countless fun games and activities. We'll be firing up the BBQ and for those of you who find days like this thirsty work we'll be providing an array of drinks in the refreshment tent.
All welcome - please add the date to your calendar.
Sunday 25 June 2023 - 11.00am and 2.00pm to 4.30pm
The Motoring Festival coincides with the College 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 Tuesday 23 May 2023 and there are awards for self-judged competitions.
The Motoring Festival is open to anyone keen to bring any sort of classic, vintage, veteran or interesting vehicle along for the afternoon.
There will also be the usual morning road run at 11.00am following a beautiful route of about
30 miles through local countryside. Food will be available for a nominal charge on return to Princethorpe at lunch-time, or feel free to bring a picnic
It’s always a great event for diehard petrol heads and for families as well as there is plenty to keep all interested at the Summer Fête.
For more information or to register online please visit the school website.
Wednesday 28 June 2023 - 7.30pm
Join us on Wednesday 28 June at 7.30pm in the Chapel, when organist Tim Campain will play a wide variety of pieces celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The renowned Princethorpe Binns’ organ of 1901 was built by James J Binns, Bramley Organ Works, Leeds. It was restored by Hugh Page in 1984.
From our archives we have a fascinating insight into the numerous letters that were written between Peter Paul Pugin and Sister Procurator of the Priory regarding the organ and the delay in placing the organ. An extract from one of the letters:
March 30th 1901
...."it is all nonsense Binns saying the organ would be finished long ago if he had has a design for case. I sent him the design for case with full working drawings which he never acknowledged. He could have worked on it at once. The console is quite a separate affair. When I see Binns I will give him a bit of my mind. I was not at all extravagant in the design for the case and a tracing of it is now enclosed which you will kindly return after M Prioress has seen it. I will send on details of console as soon as I can!"
Please click here to reserve your place
Tickets - £5.00 including refreshments. All Foundation pupils free of charge.
The main image shows the original position of the organ console - it was moved to the gallery in approximately 1908 to make way for a statue of St Peter. This statue was taken by the nuns to Fernham when they left St Mary's Priory in 1965.
Saturday 2 September 2023
We are gearing up for the 12th annual Old Princethorpians vs College Sports Day (and 14th John Shinkwin Trophy Match) on Saturday 2 September 2023.
We are planning to repeat our previous format with a relaxing day that mixes sporting matches with music, a complimentary BBQ and ice cream van and a subsidised bar.
As before points will be accumulated throughout the day, with the Alex Wallis Memorial Shield being awarded to the victors at the end of the day.
Format of day:
We are keen to get as many leavers of 2023 and OPs from across the generations participating. If you are interested in playing in any of the sports please complete the short online form here asap or by Tuesday 29 August at the latest.
Saturday 9 September 2023 - 10.30am to 4.30pm
The College always enjoys hosting OP reunions and events and no more so than the reunions for the old girls of St Mary's Priory, who were at school here before Princethorpe College came into being. The ladies are fondly referred to as Very Special Old Princethorpians or VSOPs.
We are currently making plans for our next VSOP reunion when we will welcome the group back to the College again on Saturday 9 September 2023.
If you are interested in attending or know someone who would like to please get in touch with Loretta Curtis at lorettacurtis@princethorpe.co.uk or register at Princethorpe Connect here.
View Gallery
Sunday 10 September 2023 - 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Heritage Open Days, England’s biggest heritage and culture festival returns this September and Princethorpe College is once again taking part.
On Sunday 10 September you are invited to come and explore St Mary's Priory, one of the first Catholic buildings constructed in England after the reformation. Join us for a tour of this magnificent building and learn all about its history, including the amazing women that made it the place it is today.
From 1833 until 1966, St Mary's Priory was home to a congregation of Benedictine nuns who ran a boarding school for girls. This community sold the priory in 1966 and a new school was established by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, who had previously run a boys' school in Leamington Spa. Today Princethorpe College is now a fully co-educational Catholic independent day school.
Our archive team will be conducting free tours of the College on Sunday 10 September from 2.00pm - 4.30pm. Watch Princethorpe Connect and the College and OP Facebook pages for more information closer to the event date.
Thursday 28 September 2023 - 6.00pm to 8.00pm
Crackley Hall School and Little Crackers Nursery, Princethorpe's prep school and nursery in Kenilworth, is having a specific Nursery, Reception and Year 3 Open Evening on Thursday 28 November from 7.00pm to 8.00pm. Parents are being encouraged to apply now for places in Reception in 2024.
This is an opportunity for parents and children looking for a Nursery, Reception or Year 3 place for September 2024, to look around the Nursery and the Reception and Year class and to meet and talk informally to staff. There will be a short presentation at the beginning of the evening and light refresments will be available.
We are still accepting registrations for Reception and Year 3 for September 2023 as well as Year 5. We are also now taking registrations for Nursery and for Reception for September 2024 admissions.
The nursery is open 51 weeks a year providing carefully structured sessions for two-year olds, three-year olds and pre-school children.
Please book your place at the Open Evening here.
If you can't make the 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 for individual tours on most days.
For more information please also see our Admissions Update which has just been published.
Tuesday 3 October 2023 - 6.30pm - 8.00pm
The Crescent School, Princethorpe's prep school in Rugby, is opening its doors to prospective parents and children for a dedicated Reception and Year 3 Open Evening on Tuesday 3 October from 6.30pm to 8.00pm.
This is an opportunity for prospective families to find out why Crescent School has been judged 'Excellent' in all areas by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Visitors will be able to hear a presentation about Reception or Year 3 as well as tour the school, visit the Reception and Year 3 classrooms, see the facilities and meet staff.
We are now taking registrations for places in Reception and Year 3 starting in September 2024 but still have a few places available in Year 2 for entry this September 2023. In other year groups we have waiting groups, speak to our Registrar, Mrs Helen Morley on 01788 522851 or email admissions@crescentschool.co.uk for more information on availability.
To book your place at the Open Evening click here.
If you can't make the date 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 for individual tours on most days.
For more information please click here or see our Admissions Update which was published last week.
