Old Princethorpians

On Friday 22 September Princethorpe welcomed award-winning engineer and innovator, Yewande Akinola MBE, to officially open its brand new state-of-the-art Science Centre.

Boasting 1,800sqm of floor space with ten state-of-the-art laboratories, dedicated prep rooms, break out, study spaces and staff bases, Princethorpe’s new Science Centre will provide outstanding teaching and learning facilities and bring Science to life for pupils of all ages.

In a welcome to a gathered audience of over a thousand pupils, staff, invited guests and trustees, Foundation Principal, Ed Hester, thanked all who had helped to deliver the magnificent building, Tony Pugh and his team at AT Architects, project manager Steve Joyce from Ainsleys and Nick Henderson and his team at Trendgrey Construction. He went on to thank the College’s many friends and supporters, including donors, who had all helped the building become a reality. He expressed special thanks to Foundation Assistant Head, Alex Darkes who had worked so hard and done more than anyone to bring the amazing building to fruition.

In her keynote speech, Yewande praised the design of the intelligent new building, that includes an integrated digital building management system, she spoke of her journey to becoming an engineer and her work innovating, designing and problem solving for buildings. She shared her passion for Science and spoke about its role in bringing positive improvement to people’s lives. She encouraged Princethorpe’s pupils to embrace opportunities, ask questions, be innovative and express their creativity, urging them to be curious and see where Science could lead them.

Her delightful, easy and enthusiastic manner, warmth and interest in young people and education and her sheer passion for science and engineering were an inspiration for all at the event.

Yewande was joined by invited guests including Tim Cox, Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, and Sophie Hilleary, High Sheriff of Warwickshire for a formal ribbon cutting and official unveiling of the Science Centre plaque.

Attached here is the Science Centre Opening Booklet, which includes a message from the Foundation Principal and facts about the project.

As the Trinity Term came to a close it was lovely to have an event for staff to mark the end of another busy year and to celebrate and thank our longstanding members of staff, as well as those leaving the College for retirement or pastures new.

Long service awards were made to Simon Robertson, Teacher of Biology and Loretta Curtis Development Assistant, who have both served the College for over 25 years and Sue Harris, Teacher of Art, and Chris Kerrigan, Head of English, both with 20 years of service. Both Loretta and Chris are retiring this summer.

Also moving on or retiring this year are Graduate Teaching Assistants, Izzy Arevalo and Georgia Newborough, IT Engineer, Paul Reay, Receptionist/Administrator, Julie Shorten, Design and Technology Second in Department and Teacher of Textiles, Miranda Porter, Head of Girls’ Games, Jen Law, Pastoral Secretary, Katie Boon, Learning Support Assistant, Caroline Hardware, Learning Support Teacher, Anna Jelec, Ross Holtom, Teacher of PE and Games, MFL Teacher, Kate Parsons, Head of Computer Science, Adam Depledge, Student Support Manager, Julie Satchwell, Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Rod Isaacs, and last but by no means least, Head of Geography, Mike Taylor, who has taught at Princethorpe for 42 years.

A huge thank you and best wishes to them all.

There was much excitement at the start of the summer holidays here at Princethorpe College when we welcomed the BBC back to Princethorpe for the filming of the third series of The Sister Boniface Mysteries, the Father Brown spin off that features Lorna Watson as Sister Boniface, a brilliant Vespa driving, crime solving Catholic nun.

According to UKTV this latest series includes the story of a famous organist murdered mid tune in the Chapel (we wonder where that might be) as well as story lines of mysterious kidnappings and stolen precious jewels.

It was fantastic to see the College taken back in time but quite surreal to come round the corner and find yourself confronted by members of the cast dressed as nuns.

We can’t wait to see the new episodes and will keep you posted on when the new series will air.

"What is the Sixth Form at Princethorpe really all about?" That’s the question that followers of the school’s social media were teased with.

The College repeatedly posed the question alongside a series of images and information on Sixth Form life in the countdown to a big reveal on Thursday 21 September, at 4.00pm, when the new Sixth Form film, Princethorpe People, was premiered.

Comments, Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, "As the film explains, the Sixth Form at Princethorpe is about academic achievement, exploring new passions and preparing for the future, but most importantly of all, it’s about people. At Princethorpe we have a dynamic community of young people with individual talents, interests and aspirations. The majority move up from within the College, but a significant number also join us from other schools. It is our job to support them all to become whatever they want to be and get them to wherever they want to go."

Produced by the Foundation Marketing Team and award-winning Affixxius Films, the concept for the film was developed following research amongst last year’s Lower and Upper Sixth. The film was shot in the Trinity Term and captures glimpses of Sixth Form life and individual portraits of Sixth Formers and some of the members of staff who support them along their journeys.

With thanks to the students and staff who took part and the film crew for bringing what makes our Sixth Form so special to life on the screen.

Click here to view Princethorpe People.

We hope you enjoy it. We'd love you to like and share it on social media too!

At the start of the summer holidays the College enjoyed a successful 16-day sports tour to South Africa. Taking our largest squad ever, of some 123 pupils and 16 staff, playing four sports, Rugby, Football, Netball and Hockey, the tour travelled to Johannesburg and then on to Cape Town, Pretoria and Pilanesberg for a fortnight full of keenly contested matches and spectacular sight-seeing.

During the tour the Rugby, Football, Netball and boys’ and girls’ Hockey teams participated in five full days of good spirited and competitive training and matches against school and club teams. Our South African hosts were so hospitable, and the training and matches were great experiences for all, with valuable lessons learnt both on and off the field.

Away from the sports field, the tour offered participants the chance to broaden their horizons with sightseeing and educational experiences that included the history of South Africa with tours of Soweto and the Apartheid Museum and a visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated. Pupils also took part in an eye-opening tour of Cape Town’s oldest back township and get up close and personal with the wildlife in game drives at Pilanesberg Game Reserve. The tour party all enjoyed the spectacular scenery of Table Mountain in Cape Town and the charming costal town of Hout Bay.

Lee Cassell, Director of Sport, and leader of the tour, said, “South Africa is a truly stunning country, passionate and fiercely competitive in their sport. We have had an excellent trip and played some inspiring matches and I know that our Princethorpe pupils will have returned home with a truly wonderful set of memories.”

Our thanks go to all of the staff involved in putting together and running such an impressive trip. We look forward to the experiences translating into positive results on the pitches over the coming season.

On Tuesday 29 August, 27 runners from Princethorpe College (with the support of seven further staff) took on a 100km relay run in aid of Mary’s Meals.

Starting from the top of Cleeve Hill, in Cheltenham, and following the Cotswold and Centenary Ways, their route took them through Winchcombe, Stanway, Broadway and on towards Chipping Campden, then Ilmington, Whatcote and Ratley before reaching Burton Dassett, on to Itchington Holt, Ufton and Hunningham and finally to the finish line at Princethorpe College. Split into 12km sections, staff ran in small groups running one, two or for the most dedicated of runners four parts of the 100km course.

The challenge was in honour of fundraising legend and Mary’s Meals supporter, Rod Isaacs, who is moving on to a new role outside the Foundation. It was a thank you for his extraordinary dedication and commitment to organising adventures for students that raise money for good causes, and it kick started the fundraising for Mary’s Meals for this school year.

It was an epic fundraising event with the team completing the relay run in a fabulous 11 hours and 57 minutes (that's an average 12kmph), despite the rain soaking everyone in the final sections of the day. OPs Tom and Will Crowfoot both ran over 50km while Rod Isaacs completed 36km.

Please do consider supporting the runners by donating to their JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/princethorpe-marysmeals23-24

Huge congratulations to everyone involved but a special thank you must go to the organiser, Head of Outdoor Education and Teacher of PE and Games, Will Bower.

Princethorpe College is celebrating another year of excellent exam results.

112 students sat A-level and BTEC examinations and completed the Extended Project Qualification this summer. In one of our strongest years to date, 70% of all grades were A*- B, with more than a third being A*- A. Impressively, 17 high-flyers achieved three or more A* or A grades.

At GCSE Princethorpe pupils also performed well, from a cohort of 159 pupils, 42% of all entries were the coveted 9, 8 or 7 grades, with 16 pupils achieving all 9, 8 or 7 grades.

Grove du Toit, Headmaster, commented, "We are delighted with the excellent results that our Sixth Form students and Year 11 pupils have achieved against a backdrop of unprecedented challenges over the last few years. Their results reflect their hard work and perseverance, all credit goes to our pupils and staff for their commitment, collaboration and hard work."

He continued, "We are proud of their academic achievements, but all these pupils have many other fine qualities: kindness, respect and a strong sense of right and wrong, which will be tremendously important for them as they move on to the next phase of their lives. We congratulate them all on their well-deserved success."

Princethorpe College was delighted to take part in the 2023 Heritage Open Days festival on Sunday 10 September. England's largest community led festival of history and culture, Heritage Open Day, runs annually celebrating local history by giving access to thousands of places usually closed to the public.

The College has taken part in the festival for many years and on the day welcomed over 50 visitors through its doors. They came from near and far, including local neighbours as well as parents of pupils and those interested in local history. All were made welcome and enjoyed a fascinating tour that took in Pugin’s magnificent Chapel, the Cloisters, Nuns’ Cells, Library (formerly a church) and the unique Roundhouse.

Foundation Assistant Head Alex Darkes and former staff member and new OP Loretta Curtis acted as tour leaders sharing wonderful insights into the history of the magnificent building and the amazing people that made it the place it is today.

A huge thank you to all who kindly organised and supported this super community event.

Over the summer holiday the Estates and Grounds teams worked very hard to prepare the College for the new academic year. Alongside their normal programme of maintenance, the teams had to cope with the relocation of departments and the repurposing of rooms facilitated by the move of Science into its brand new building.

There were plenty of exciting changes visible for pupils when they returned to school. Maths now has a suite of new teaching rooms in the main building along the first floor, there is a huge new technology workshop and a brand-new textiles that have expanded the Design Technology teaching spaces. The Cloister corridor has been opened up and now leads to an additional dedicated Drama teaching space. History has relocated to the second floor while Geography has moved to a new location on the ground floor. The staff got to move out of their marquee into a new staff room, in what was the old lab G4. Even the Headmaster's Office had a makeover. Then outside the new netball courts were made ready for use.

We shared photos on the College's Facebook page back in August but thought our Old Princethorpians would also enjoy seeing them too. Click view gallery to have a look.

A huge thank you to all the team who worked so hard to deliver all the projects here and at Crackley Hall and Crescent School too.

With just four weeks to go now, the countdown to the College's Entrance Exams for admission in September 2024 is well underway. This year the exams for Year 7 to 10 entry will take place on Saturday 11 November from 9.00am to 4.00pm.

Our friendly Admissions Team have been kept busy over the summer and this term accepting registrations for the examinations from prospective parents. 

Comments Melanie Butler, Assistant Head, Marketing, Admissions and Communications, "Interest is at an all time high, we had a very busy Open Afternoon and since then registrations have just not stopped coming in. Once again we have had lots of interest from Old Princethorpians who are keen for their children to follow in their footsteps. The results of the examinations will be out at the end of November, making for an exam-free Christmas holiday, which has got to be good news."

For more information on the admissions process for 2024 and beyond click here to visit our Admissions Update newsletter or call the Registrars on 01926 634201/297 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Thinking of becoming a teacher? Then why not consider training at Princethorpe College.

Whether you are a new graduate or contemplating a career change, we have opportunities available across the subjects but particularly for those with a degree relating to STEAM.

Through our association with the Lion Alliance, we offer a year’s training as part of the School Led Route, leading to Qualified Teacher Status. Placements would be at Princethorpe and also at other schools within the Lion Alliance. Our training via the Lion Alliance is supported by Warwick University. In addition, Princethorpe College also has strong links with Birmingham City University and Coventry University through offering placements to their trainees.

Teacher training at Princethorpe is a successful part of the school and we are now in our fifth year. Bursaries from the government of between £7,000 and £28,000 are available to support those training in Chemistry, Computing, Maths, Languages, Geography, Biology and Design Technology.

Our Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning, Dr Liz Pyne is happy to offer advice about the different routes into teaching and what Princethorpe can offer you. Please email: lizpyne@princethorpe.co.uk

Further information about the Lion Alliance can be found here: www.thelionalliance.co.uk

Information about Getting into Teaching and possible bursaries can be found here: getintoteaching.education.gov.uk