Old Princethorpians

Congratulations to Toby Harper Lawrence (Class of 2014) and his wife Emma on the safe arrival of their first child, a son, George.

George was born on Friday 29 March, weighing in at healthy 8lb 10oz.

It's wonderful to hear that both mum and baby are doing well and they are all enjoying this new stage of their lives.

We were very sad indeed to hear the news that OP Adam Murphy, a Year 11 leaver of 2004, died unexpectedly in his sleep aged 35 on Monday 18 March.

Adam, who previously lived in Wellesbourne, and then latterly in Cheltenham, had gone on to graduate from Lincoln University after leaving Princethorpe.

Adam's funeral service took place on Friday 19 April and was followed by a wake Moreton Morell Village Hall.

Our sincere condolences go out to all of Adam's family and his friends.

Emilie Reszka (Class of 2012) married her fiance Mark Appleton at the College on a sunny day back in February, she takes up the story.

Mark and I got married on the 12th February this year and we feel so fortunate to have had a beautiful ceremony at Princethorpe and an amazing reception at Bourton Hall. We had such a wonderful day celebrating with loved ones and the lovely winter sun topped it all off.

We met at university 10 years ago, and our wedding date was picked as it coincided with this milestone. Our relationship has been marked with periods of long distance, first there was my year abroad in Latin America, then after university our graduate jobs meant that Mark was pulled up to Cumbria whilst I relocated to Surrey. Recently we have settled back in the Leamington area but knowing how far we’ve come made our wedding day all the sweeter for us.

Currently we’re living in Leamington and Mark works as a project manager for the national nuclear laboratory whilst I work as a business analyst for Siemens digital industries software.

We wish Emilie and Mark every happiness together.

Huge congratulations to Nico McKenzie (Class of 2011), on his marriage to Victoria Shaw in Georgham, Devon, on Wednesday 10 April.

Nico was supported by fellow OPs Danny McNamara and Hugo Fulford, and his brother Tom.

Proud mum and current Princethorpe staff member, Amanda, said: “The weather was dramatic but the Easter gales and rain just added to the drama of the day. Their reception was on a clifftop in Croyde and somehow the marquee stayed on his grandparents' lawn despite Storm Kathleen's best efforts to remove it! Good fun was had by all.”

Nico is Digital Manager for the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Victoria is an Early Years Teacher at Hanwell Fields community School in Banbury. As the wedding took place at the end of the Easter Holidays, the honeymoon has been delayed until the next school holiday. The few days they had between the wedding and the start of the Trinity Term was spent decorating their new home, which they became proud owners of the week before their wedding.

We wish Nico and Victoria a life full of sunshine and the happiest of futures together!

Congratulations to Old Princethorpian Lawrence Baker (Class of 2015), who married his childhood sweetheart, Eiron, on Friday 10 May.

Lawrence and Eiron met 12 years ago whilst Lawrence was a student at Princethorpe and have been together as a couple for five and a half years. In 2023, Lawrence proposed whilst on a Young Farmers' ski trip in La Plagne, and, opting for a destination wedding also, they tied the knot in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The proud groom commented: "The sun shined on our wedding day, and we were surrounded by 26 of our close family and friends. We are now in the process of organising our wedding party on our family farm, Onley Grounds Equestrian Complex, for all our friends and family to celebrate with us."

Thank you for sharing your news with us and we wish you every happiness in your future together.

Congratulations to Old Princethorpian and former Head Boy Chris Bond (Class of 2017), who married Melissa Morrison on Saturday 18 May at the beautiful Fitzleroi Barn in West Sussex.

Chris and Melissa met whilst studying at Exeter University and were friends for several years before becoming a couple.

They were delighted to welcome fellow OPs Tom Fletcher, Lucy Tallis, Carmen Simpson, Greg Higginson, Dan Lane and James Simpson, along with Chris' brothers Charlie and Nick Bond. If you look closely you will even see two Old Princethorpian ties! The weather was kind and the day was a wonderful celebration with 100 family and friends. 

Chris and Melissa live in Hampshire with their golden retriever Marty, who stole many hearts at the wedding. We wish them every blessing as they begin their married life together.

We were delighted to hear that Donal Murphy, who worked as a groundsman here at Princethorpe College for many years (from the 1970s until February 2003) recently celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife May.

We managed to find a photo of Donal back in the early 2000s modelling the Estates uniform alongside Gerry Lovely and Gerry Reis.

I am sure you will all join us in wishing Donal and May a very happy anniversary. We wish them many more years of love and good health together.