Old Princethorpians

Old Princethorpians who are considering Princethorpe as a senior school option for their child are informed of the following events aimed at prospective pupils for September 2015.

Click here to download our Prospectus Information Booklet 2015-2016 which explains the admissions process.

Open Afternoon - Sunday 5 October - 2.00pm to 5.00pm

All are welcome to visit the College and younger visitors are encouraged to participate in the many fun subject related activities around the various departments.

The Headmaster will address visitors during the afternoon and refreshments will be available.

Taster Days

Taster Days are now available for current Year 6 students (children born between 1 September 2003 and 31 August 2004), who are interested in admission to Princethorpe in September 2015.

The dates are as follows:

• Tuesday 4 November
• Monday 17 November

These days will involve a number of classroom sessions, a tour of the school, lunch and other activities. The days will run from 9.45am to 3.20pm.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Book your place on Open Afternoon at Reception or telephone the Registrars on 01926 634201 or email elainewarwick@princethorpe.co.uk.

Entrance Examinations Day

Entrance Examinations for September 2015 entry for all age groups (except Sixth Form) will take place on Saturday 17 January 2015 from 9.00am to 3.00pm. All candidates must be registered at least a week before sitting the Entrance Examination.

To book your child's place on a Taster Day or for more information on the admissions process telephone the Admissions Registrar, Mrs Loretta Curtis on 01926 634201 or email lorettacurtis@princethorpe.co.uk.

Summer 2014 saw some very pleasing A-level and GCSE results for the College's pupils, these are very strong indicators that the school’s academic achievements across the ability range continue to go from strength to strength.

This summer at the top end we had the highest number of A* grades ever, 30% of all A-level grades were A* or A and over 60% of grades were A*, A or B; at GCSE a third of grades were A* or A.

In addition, over 80% of the Upper Sixth were awarded the new Princethorpe Diploma encompassing academic success, meaningful work experience, extra-curricular achievement and service to others in the community.

A-level summary results:

88 candidates

30% A* & A

over 60% A* to B

GCSE summary results:

126 candidates

33% grades A* or A

over 60% at grade B or better

21 candidates achieved at least eight A* or A grades.

Comments Headmaster, Ed Hester, We are, of course, delighted by the tremendous public examination results achieved by our pupils a few weeks ago both at A-level and GSCE. We strive hard to ensure that each member of the College’s community makes the most of their own talent

We are also delighted that the overwhelming majority of our Upper Sixth leavers gained a place at their first choice university. We wish all our leavers well for the next phase of their education and look forward to welcoming them back on Friday 7 November to the annual Prize-giving at the Butterworth Hall in Warwick Arts Centre, with this year Gwilym Price, MBE as our guest speaker."

Image shows from left to right Robyn Doherty; Alastair Jenkinson; Ed Hester, Headmaster, Spencer Wombwell-Wright and Beth Plant

Summertime seems to be the time for OPs to pay their old school a visit.  

Early summer saw visits from Gerald Udokwu who left in 1980 and now lives in Banbury and Hong Kong based Kevin So who left in 1994 and their respective partners. Both couples enjoyed tours of the College and Gerald or Gez spoke warmly of his time at the college and former teachers, Fr O'Brien, Mr Moroney and Mr Price who had given him his love of sport and Kevin bumped into old teacher Peter Griffin.

Towards the end of July, Hong Kong-based OP, Alan Young paid a visit with his wife and daughter on the same day as Richard Tole visited with his wife and two young sons from Atlanta, USA. 

The families were treated to a tour by Fr Teddy, and met with Alex Darkes and OPs Secretary Melanie Butler.

Alan Young, who was chief organiser of Fr Teddy and Fr Dan's visit to Hong Kong, says of his visit..

"I was longing to bring my family back to Princethorpe, the place where I spent the most memorable years between 1978 and 1981. 

I arrived on July 29 late in the evening but the school was empty due to the summer holidays. I was greeted by Fr O'Brien who had generously offered me to stay at the Gardener's Cottage at the college campus for a couple of days. He took me to the Three Horse Shoes Pub for dinner, this is the place where I spent quite a number of Saturday evenings sneaking out from the college to play guitar and sing with a roommate, Ian Higham (lost contact with him now).

I still remember I could make ten pounds an evening with free drinks! Well, time flies, the pub has changed hands and sadly the lady owner who used to buy me drinks was no longer there.

Fr O'Brien took me and my family for a tour around the school the next day. It was amazing that the class photos of my time were still hanging in the corridor, I could point out to my daughter that her dad was right there in the picture. Most amazingly, the Charity Shield from my time was still in the cabinet along the corridor and my name was on it. I could proudly show it to my daughter but I could not remember what had I done to be awarded with the award!!

The school has been renovated with lots of modernised decoration with students' drawing. Amazing students' work but it still has the feel of our time back in the 70s. The marble stone floor and the wooden stairs which used to link to the Sixth Form wing were all still there.

We met another family, the Toles, who had travelled from the US to visit the school and the guy, Richard, was pointing to the same class photos that I was in but he was sitting at the front row, so he was also from my time but in a more junior form. You could tell that we both had fond memories of the college by the fact that we wanted to bring our kids back to the place. I am looking forward to returning again for the Golden Jubilee."

We are always happy to show OPs around, but a little notice is appreciated, particularly when school is in session. Email oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk if you'd like to arrange a visit. 

On Saturday 20 September the College was delighted to play host to an enthusiastic group of St Mary's Priory Old Girls. The twenty or so ladies, travelled from far and wide to return to the College for their bi-ennial reunion.

The day was filled with magical reminiscences about their time at the school, the earliest from the late 30s right up to 1966 when St Mary's closed, the nuns left the Priory and Princethorpe College was born.

Newly appointed Archivist, Nick Baker and Librarian, Celia Scott were on hand with some of their St Mary's memorabilia from the archive to get the memories flowing.

Fortified by a delicious lunch, the 'girls' went on a tour of the school and took great pleasure in showing Headmaster, Ed Hester round their old haunts, including the dorm (now Maths room S2) where they had to endure fire drills including being lowered from a window sill in a harness, their gym now the Chemistry Lab and the spot where they used to keep their precious 'tuck boxes' with goodies from home!

Comments Alex Darkes fondly, "This era of Princethorpe's history is so important and it's a delight to spend time with the old girls and get a taste of what life at the school was like when the nuns were here.  This is a part of the Princethorpe jigsaw that we are keen to find out more about and we hope to include more of their reminiscences in the book we are planning for the College's Golden Jubilee in 2016-2017.

"Each time the old girls come to see us, they say it will be the last time, but I'm delighted to say we have successfully persuaded them to come back in September 2016 to help us celebrate."

Plans for Princethorpe's Golden Jubilee in the academic year 2016-2017 are picking up pace.

A committee has been set up comprising representatives from the OPs, current staff and pupils which meets on a monthly basis to progress plans for the celebratory year.

An outline calendar of events is being pulled together including key events at each end of the  year, Princefest - a weekend of camping, music, fun and food over the August Bank Holiday weekend 2016 and a Jubillee Ball in July 2017 to end the year on a high.

A celebration involving the MSCs and a House of Commons Dinner also feature in the plans. A distinctive jubilee logo has been devised to brand the year and work has begun on a commemorative Jubilee book to celebrate the Princethorpe story.

If you are interested in contributing to the Jubilee year in any way or would like information on any of the planned events, please email Melanie Butler.

A fantastic day of sport was staged on Saturday 30 August when Old Princethorpians and current pupils came together for the OPs Sports Day and to vie for the honour of raising the Alex Wallis Memorial Shield and John Shinkwin Trophy.

It was a record day in terms of numbers attending with plenty of new 'old' faces both playing and supporting the teams.  There was much reminiscing, sharing of great memories and catching up with old friends as the Princethorpe community young, old, past and present rejoiced in the name of former pupil Alex Wallis.

The Old Princethorpian teams were similar to the Real Madrid Galacticos containing as they did some truly outstanding athletes and even some internationals. The competition was fierce and the Princethorpe teams battled hard, but the results were always going to be tough to achieve. All the boys and girls showed great mental and physical stamina and the lessons learnt from the day are invaluable ones that will benefit all the players for the up and coming season.

The Old Princethorpians were victorious, completing a clean sweep of all the silverware, winning the John Shinkwin Trophy for Rugby 26 - 7 and the overall Alex Wallis Memorial Shield 73 - 23.

Sports Results:

Girls Hockey
Princethorpe College 0-9 Old Princethorpians

Boys Hockey
Princethorpe College 0-7 Old Princethorpians

Girls Netball
Princethorpe College 15-31 Old Princethorpians

Boys Rugby
Princethorpe College 7-26 Old Princethorpians

Princethorpe College has always been an outstanding institute of excellence both academically and sporting. Its greatest achievement throughout its existence is the calibre of the young adults who leave the school as amazing well rounded, caring and loving human beings who never forget who they are, where they came from, and the people who meant so much to them.

The touch line and games fields have been a huge part of the lives of all who attend the College and we hope that the OP Sports Day allows all who participate to keep in touch with their old school and continue to play a part in the life of the Princethorpe family. We hope the day will continue to grow in popularity and it has already become one of the highlights of Princethorpe's sporting calendar.

A further match in memory of Wallis was played between a mixed age team of OPs and Kenilworth Babas on Sunday 7 September and resulted in a friendly 25 all draw.

If you are interested in playing for the OPs against Old Ratcliffians in an afternoon of mixed hockey, rugby and netball on Sunday 1 March please email me at jonfitt@princethorpe.co.uk.

Jon Fitt

The Marketing Team has launched a new advertising campaign for the Foundation urging prospective parents and pupils to 'Come and Feel The Magic' at Princethorpe and Crackley Hall.

Inspired by visitors comments, the campaign talks about the 'invisible magic' people feel when they come to Princethorpe and Crackley, which sets us apart from other schools.

The campaign combines photography and doodle imagery in a fun way to communicate the message.

The new campaign will appear in local newspapers, on social media and our website and in flyers and posters distributed to feeder schools, parishes and households in key catchment areas.

On Friday 26 September Princethorpe welcomed The Most Reverend Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, to officially open its brand new state-of-the-art teaching wing, The Limes.

Boasting thirteen new teaching rooms, two ICT suites, tutorial rooms and a language laboratory this welcome addition to the College campus will provide outstanding learning facilities for the school’s growing needs.

In a welcome to the gathered audience of over a thousand pupils, staff, invited guests and trustees, Headmaster Mr Ed Hester, spoke about the first class education Princethorpe offers. He went on, “It is an education that is underpinned by the Christian values of kindness, tolerance and friendship; the Princethorpe ethos is engrained in all our pupils and it is through this that we can truly measure the success of what we all achieve here.”

The Archbishop’s homily echoed this sentiment. Referring to the reading from Peter 2: 4-9 he called The Limes a 'living building' inside which staff and pupils would flourish as corner stones in God’s eyes. He described the College as a wonderful place of learning whose roots spread far beyond the diocese of Birmingham.

The Archbishop joined a procession of pupils in a formal ribbon cutting ceremony before blessing the building and officially unveiling The Limes plaque assisted by College Head Boy, Simon Fisher and Head Girl, Maddie Wigmore-Sykes. He then met members of Princethorpe’s Sixth Form St Vincent de Paul volunteer committee whose community work reaches across Warwickshire.

The Archbishop praised the design of the new building chatting to pupils and staff about life inside the classrooms. His delightful, easy manner, warmth and interest in young people and education imbued the Grand Opening with the spirit of friendship, gentleness and humour reflecting those qualities of the College ethos.

Click here to download The Limes Grand Opening Booklet, which includes a message from the Headmaster and facts about the project.

Over the summer holidays more projects were undertaken including some close to OP hearts, the old English portacabins sited by the entrance to the playground were demolished and the Quad has undergone a facelift thanks to the generous support of the PTA, improving the walkways and extending the grass areas which will make hosting events in the Quad much easier. You can see more by visiting the gallery on this article.