Old Princethorpians

Our OPs' events calendar has details of all our events for the 2023 - 2024 academic year.

This year's calendar features all our regular favourites including the annual Summer Supper Reunion takes place at the College on Friday 28 June, celebrating the leavers of 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2014, although leavers of other years are also most welcome.

Keep a watch out for our 2024-2025 calendar which will be published during the summer holidays.

All OPs, past parents and staff are welcome to participate in any or all of the events. Visit Princethorpe Connect, our online alumni community, to register and book on events.

Saturday 25 May to Sunday 26 May 2024

The National Schools’ and Riding Clubs Two Day Event will once again take place on the Princethorpe estate.

This year's event includes classes at 70cm, 80cm, 90cm and 100cm for schools and riding club teams. classes. The best performing school will be awarded the Wigley Cup and ISA member school teams will also compete for ISA rosettes.

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 5 June 2024 - 6.30pm to 8.30pm

The College's annual Summer Open Evening will take place on Wednesday 5 June from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. This is a perfect opportunity for prospective families looking for a place in September 2025 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 Headmaster, Grove du Toit, will also address visitors during the evening. Light refreshments will be available.

Please click here to book your place. 

Year 5 Taster Day - Tuesday 11 June 2024

Our Year 5 Taster Days are a great opportunity for pupils who are currently in Year 5 and are interested in joining Princethorpe in September 2025. 

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 Headmaster, Mr du Toit. Snacks and lunch are provided and there is no charge for the day.

Please click here to book your place. 

We also have Year 6 Taster Days available in September 2024 for those who have not already attended a Year 5 Taster Day. To book your place on a Year 6 Taster Day click here.

Open Afternoon - Sunday 15 September - 2.00pm to 5.00pm

The College Open Afternoon will take place on Sunday 15 September 2024 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 27 September 2024 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 9 November 2024 from 9.30am to 3.30pm. More information is available in our 2025 Admissions and Entrance Examinations Booklet available on our website, click here.

Thursday 27 June from 6.00pm to 8.30pm and Sunday 30 June from 2.00pm to 4.30pm

A celebration of our pupils' GCSE and A-level Art, Photography and Design work will take place in the Sixth Form Centre on Thursday 27 June from 6.00pm to 8.30pm and on Sunday 30 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 available.

Friday 28 June 2024 - 6.00pm optional tour, 7.00pm drinks reception, 7.45pm supper

Now fully booked - Join the waiting group!

OPs who left the College in 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2014 (or those who were in the same year groups) are cordially invited back to the OPs annual Summer Supper on Friday 28 June to celebrate their respective 50th, 40th, 30th, 20th and 10th anniversaries of leaving. Leavers of other year groups are also most welcome. 

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. 

The event is now fully booked, however sometimes spaces do become available so if you would like to be added to the waiting group please, email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

Sunday 30 June 2024 - 2.00pm to 4.30pm

We are pleased to confirm that this year's PTA Summer Fête will take place on Sunday 30 June 2024 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 are most welcome - please do add the date to your calendar. 

Sunday 30 June 2024 - 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 Wednesday 29 May 2024 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. Motor clubs are most welcome too.

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. 

Saturday 31 August 2024 - 10.30am to 4.30pm

We are gearing up for the 13th annual Old Princethorpians vs College Sports Day (and 15th John Shinkwin Trophy Match) on Saturday 31 August 2024. 

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:

• 10.30am to 11.30am Football OPs vs Staff
• 11.30am to 12.30pm Hockey Princethorpe College Mixed Team vs OPs XI
• 12.30pm to 1.30pm Netball Princethorpe College 1st VII Girls vs OPs VII
• 1.45pm to 3.15pm Rugby - John Shinkwin Trophy - Princethorpe College 1st XV Boys vs OPs XV (leavers of 2024 and 2023)
• 3.30pm - After Match Awards by the BBQ

We are keen to get as many leavers of 2024 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 27 August at the latest. 

Saturday 7 September 2024 - 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 for short. 

This special reunion will take place on Saturday 7 September, and we look forward to welcoming the group back to the College. The VSOPs will be enjoying the opportunity to meet up with treasured friends, reminisce about their time at the Priory with the help of artefacts collated by our Archivist, Jo Wong, explore how the site has changed over the years, and participate in a special Mass conducted by Father Teddy O'Brien MSC. It promises to be a wonderful occasion.

If you are interested in attending or know someone who would like to, please get in touch with Caroline Spencer at carolinespencer@princethorpe.co.uk or register at Princethorpe Connect here.

Sunday 8 September 2024 - 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 8 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 8 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 26 September 2024 - 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 26 September from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. Parents are being encouraged to apply now for places in Reception in 2025.

This is an opportunity for parents and children looking for a Nursery, Reception or Year 3 place for September 2025, to look around the Nursery and the Reception and Year 3 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 have had unprecedented interested in Reception and Year 3 for September 2024 and are now operating waiting groups. However, we are still accepting registrations for Nursery, Year 1 and 4 for September 2024. We are also now taking registrations for Nursery and for Reception for September 2025 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 Registrar, 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.

Friday 27 September 2024 - 6.00pm to 10.30pm - The Clachan, 34 Kingly Street, London, W1B 5QH

This year, our OPs London Meet will take place on Friday 27 September in the upstairs function room at The Clachan. Described as 'your local pub in London', The Clachan is perfectly located on Kingly Street, a little street behind the iconic Libertys, just off Regent Street, and only a brief stroll to the likes of Carnaby Street, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and the ever bustling Soho.  

The OPs Commitee will be laying on some delicious, complimentary food and of course a welcome drink or two for all those attending. Our London Meets are always popular, sociable affairs, with OPs from across the generations mixing and networking happily together.

We would love to see you there, so if you would like to attend please RSVP via this link by Friday 20 September 2024, or for further information please feel free to email Caroline Spencer (Alumni Relations and Development Officer) at oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk.

Tuesday 1 October 2023 - 6.30pm - 7.30pm

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 1 October from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.

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 2025 but still have a few places available in Year 4 for entry this September 2024. In other year groups we have waiting groups, speak to our Registrar, Mrs Becky Witcomb 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 Becky Witcomb 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.