Admissions Update

The admissions deadline for acceptance of places for September 2018 entry to the College is fast approaching and a good number of acceptances have been coming in over the last few weeks. Those parents wishing to accept a place need to send their signed confirmation and £300 deposit back to Mrs Vanessa Rooney, the Registrar, by Monday 5 March 2018 please, to secure the place. The College is only able to guarantee places which are accepted by the above deadline date.

A receipt will be issued to you after we have received your confirmation of acceptance and a detailed joining pack will follow in the Easter holidays.

Latest school performance tables issued this week by the government confirm the substantial level of academic progress Princethorpe students make in Sixth Form.

Princethorpe is the top performing school in the local area and the only school to score ‘Well above average’ for Progress in A-level performance in 2017. The tables place Princethorpe in the top 5% of all schools or colleges in England.

Comments Ed Hester, Headmaster, “These progress measures indicate the “value-added” by the school, looking at where the young people started and where they end up. Princethorpe is not, and never will be, an academic hothouse, but these results reflect the tremendous progress our students make. This, combined with the array of co-curricular, careers and enrichment opportunities puts them in the best possible position to realise their future plans."

For GCSE the data analysed by the Government includes the new-style GCSEs in Maths and English, which Princethorpe pupils did not take in 2017, so the College’s results for IGCSE are not published in the tables.

To see the results click on this link https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/

It's wedding night in the palace of King Shahrayar. By morning, the new queen, Shahrazad, is to be put to death like a thousand young brides before her. She has the one gift that can save her: the gift of storytelling. With a mischievous imagination and silver tongue, Queen Shahrazad paints a dazzling array of stories and characters, summoned forth from strange and magical worlds populated by talking birds, singing trees and crafty thieves.

Can the power of storytelling save her life?

So begins Dominic Cooke’s adaption of Arabian Nights, directed by Head of Drama Aileen Cefaliello and performed with verve and passion by our wonderful troupe of players. Over three nights this February, captivated audiences were transported to a colourful world of larger than life characters, tall stories and Eastern promise, what better way to combat this long cold winter we have had.

As an added treat on Saturday 10 February, we welcomed Old Princethorpian and professional actor, Emilio Doorgasingh, back to the College to officially open the Clarkson Theatre at the beginning of the final sell-out performance.

Fr Bill Clarkson MSC was the much loved and respected Headmaster of Princethorpe College from 1969 to 1981.

Two Princethorpe College Sixth Formers have just received offers for Oxford University. Nick Bonsall who completed his studies at the College last July, and is currently on a gap year, has received an unconditional offer to read English at St Anne’s College. Whilst Upper Sixth Academic Prefect, James Fletcher, has a conditional offer to read Law at Trinity College. Both students were surprised and delighted with the news which they received last week.

Following a rigorous application process, English scholar Nick explained, “I knew that already having good A-level grades put me in a strong position but I also knew that Oxford University would want more. The interview itself was challenging, but the support of Mr Kerrigan, my English teacher, was invaluable in preparing me for it. I am very grateful to him for all the time he dedicated to me and the support he continues to give others.”

James Fletcher shared a similar story about his application to Trinity College, “In the interview I had to think on my feet. Every statement I made was argued against, it was clear they wanted to know my opinions. My practice interviews with Director of Studies, Dr Reddish, proved very helpful.” He continued, “A place at Oxford is now within my reach, I am thrilled to have been given such a prestigious opportunity.”

Princethorpe College Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie commented, “Applying to Oxford is, in itself, an extremely rigorous and character-testing experience and it seems to get tougher every year. Over their time at Princethorpe, Nick and James have applied themselves both to academic studies and to developing themselves as confident and mature young people. They have earned this success and we are exceptionally proud of their achievement.”

Princethorpe Upper Sixth Former Autumn Wells has beaten off the competition to land a prestigious degree apprenticeship with Rolls Royce. Autumn is to be especially commended for her amazing achievement as competition for places on the apprenticeship scheme was hugely oversubscribed, with some 7,000 applicants for just four commercial roles.

Autumn, who is studying A-levels in Maths, Psychology and Law, is thoroughly looking forward to starting the programme later this year. She underwent a rigorous selection procedure; after completing an online application, eligibility and psychometric tests and a video interview she was one of just 30 applicants invited to an Assessment Centre. There she was put through her paces further with competency and technical interviews, group tasks and a presentation.

Asked to comment on the apprenticeship programme, Autumn said, “I am really looking forward to the mix of university and on the job study. Over the four years I will have eight placements in department such as Finance, Contracts, Sales and Marketing. I will have the chance to meet and work with a wide range of people and put many of my classroom skills into practice.”

She continued, “Rolls Royce is a very prestigious company with a strong global presence. I am hoping to take advantage of the international opportunities, as I very much enjoy travelling.”

Comments Jacqui Quinney, Princethorpe Head of Careers, “We are absolutely delighted for Autumn. Apprenticeships are an excellent career choice for many young people. A degree apprenticeship may take longer to complete than a traditional degree at university but Autumn will be paid a salary, incur no tuition fees and will not need a student loan. On completion of her apprenticeship she will not only be awarded her degree, she will also have years of relevant on the job experience.”

The next edition of the Foundation's magazine the Pinnacle, which showcases exceptional work by pupils from Princethorpe, Crackley Hall School and Crescent School, will be winging its way to you in the post over half term.

This edition features more outstanding GCSE and A-level Art, impressive language skills, success in the performing arts, sporting prowess and Science endeavours including a 'Rendezvous with a comet' at the National Space Centre.

We hope it makes for an interesting read, do look out for it coming through your door towards the end of next week!

On Saturday 27 January eighty young singers from local primary schools joined Princethorpe's Director of Music, Mr Gil Cowlishaw, Mrs Felicity Coulson and 15 of the Princethorpe College Choir for a Choral Fun Day.

The Year 5 and 6 pupils tackled a variety of choral pieces from traditional works such as ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘When The Saints Go Marching In’ to popular favourites such as ‘Pure Imagination’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to ELO’s ‘Mr Blue Sky’ and the upbeat ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.

As well as rehearsing furiously, the visiting children took part in a musical treasure hunt round the College and enjoyed lunch in the Sixth Form Centre.

The day culminated in an impressive gala performance of the pieces in front of an enthusiastic capacity audience of family and friends in the College's newly refurbished Clarkson Theatre.

Commenting on the day, Gil Cowlishaw said, "We were really impressed by the children. They achieved such a lot in just a few hours, learning five songs and then taking to the stage to perform is no mean feat, well done to them all!”

There was plenty of positive parental feedback too including comments such as, ‘Our son had an amazing day and loved every minute’, ‘She made friends, and clearly felt very welcomed and at ease’, and ‘Please could you pass on our gratitude and appreciation to everyone involved in organising such a fabulous day’.

A special thank you to all of the Princethorpe pupils and staff involved and to pupil technicians Daniel Hatfield and Ethan Smith for their help with the sound and lighting on the day.

Princethorpe College Art Scholar, Helena Lintott, has been awarded a first place in the Independent Schools’ Association’s prestigious National Art Competition. Her entry, Self Portrait, won the Key Stage 4 Drawing class. She is the latest in a long line of gifted College artists to have had their work recognised in this way.

Her lifelike piece, a stunning, photo-realistic, drawn self-portrait, was part of her coursework for her GCSE Art examination. Helena comes from an artistic family as her father trained as an illustrator and Helena has clearly inherited his skills. She is now in Lower Sixth and is studying Art at A-level.

Helena was not the only College prize-winner in this year’s competition. Also receiving national recognition were recent Upper Sixth leavers Tom Barnes - Runner-up, in the Key Stage 5 Sketchbook class and Oliver Mottershead - Runner-up, in the Key Stage 5 2D Art Individual class, with his piece Memory, Isolation, Decay. Former Year 11 Lauren Hill, also received Highly Commended, for her entry, A Day at the Beach, in the Key Stage 4 Textiles Individual class.

Former Crackley Hall pupil, Charlie Ferguson, who is now in Year 7 at the College, was also successful with his piece, Humming Birds, judged Runner-up, in the Key Stage 2 2D Art Individual class.

The National competition followed on from the Regional Midlands competition which took place back in September where the College received the following results:

KS5 Painting: 1st Oliver Mottershead, 2nd Tom Barnes, Highly Commended Nicola Sykes

KS5 Drawing: Highly Commended Tom Barnes

KS4 Painting: 2nd Alys McWilliams

KS4 Drawing: 1st Helena Lintott

KS4 Textiles (Art): 1st Lauren Hill

Princethorpe College Head of Art, Paul Hubball, applauded the winners, “These prizes are a reflection of the talent we have within our school. This is the first time that we have won the Key Stage 4 Drawing category and Helena’s work is exceptional, it reflects the hours of work she put into it. We are looking forward to seeing the work she produces this year.”

All of the artists are to be congratulated on their success.

On Monday 29 January Princethorpe College’s U16 Boys' Hockey team travelled to Cannock Hockey Club in Staffordshire to compete in the Independent Schools Association’s (ISA) Regional Boys' Hockey Championships.

Playing for the team were Toby Bower, Luke Brotherton, Oscar Bunting-Ralph, Tom Crowfoot (Captain), Will Crowfoot, Ross Curtis, Dominic Doyle, Allister Edmonds, Jesus Fuster, William Hoggarth, Angus Potter, Toby Rigg, George Saunders and Oli Thomas.

On the day it proved to be an easy win for our more than competent side. The boys controlled the final against Lucton expertly, playing a smooth and flowing game and easily taking the title.

Toby Bower, Ross Curtis and Oli Thomas together with Alex Whitelaw are seasoned hockey players.  They are all on Warwickshire Hockey’s Player Pathway and have been selected for the Regional Performance Centre. That means they are all now training and playing at above County level.

Then on Saturday 3 February the U13 Girls' Hockey Team travelled to Bablake School to play in the Warwickshire Schools’ County Championships.  Playing against Bablake, King Henry's, King’s High and Stratford Girls’ Grammar the girls were unbeaten in every game and were worthy winners of the title.

Head of Hockey, Kat Berns, commented, “This was a great win for the team, we had some superb hockey played and great leadership and determination from our Captain Evie Phillips.”

The team included Lucia Bell, Issy Bunting, Eve Farquharson, Molly Harper, Zara Hendy, Mia Johnson, Mia Lambeth, Jess Mackenzie, Evie Phillips (Captain), Jasmin Rose, Grace Thomas, Lara Tripp-Smith (Vice-Captain), Molly Wincott-Thomas and Zoe Wallis.

Eight Princethorpe runners have qualified for the National ISA Cross Country Championships following the Midlands Regional Finals which took place on Wednesday 31 January at Bedstone College in Shropshire. The ‘great eight’ were part of a 34-strong squad who took on the challenging course in tricky conditions.

Princethorpe College’s runners have a tradition of success at this competition, many have competed at Bedstone before, and after recent County cross country success hopes were high as the plucky runners battled for one of the coveted top ten National qualifying places.

Both the U14 Girls’ and Boys’ teams ran well and with so many College pupils finishing in the top 20, both Princethorpe teams bagged the top spot and the team trophy for their age group. Qualifying for the Nationals for the U14 Girls were Julia Loftus and Jess Evans who ran determinedly to finish 8th and 9th respectively. Grace Darcy came home 11th and will act as reserve. For the U14 Boys’ Mark Dunkley finished 6th, so also qualifies. Ed Mitchell just missed out despite a brilliant race where he finished 13th.

For the U16 Girls’ Molly Minshull had an outstanding race taking 2nd place and the silver medal, despite the hare (a pace-setter) taking the wrong turn and adding an extra mile to her route. She was followed over the line by a sea of Princethorpe red vests as Eve Howard finished in 5th, Erin Darcy 9th and Luisa Garcia-Stokes 10th. All these girls qualify for the Nationals too.

The U16 Boys’ team ran bravely with the Crowfoot twins in excellent form, Will finished 9th to qualify with brother Tom just missing out in 11th. The pair were closely followed by George Dunkley in 12th. Tom will act as reserve.

Head of Girls’ Games, Mrs Debs Brookes, was delighted with the results, “You never quite know what you’re going to get with cross country as the variables are so great. Despite the difficult conditions today we still had red vest after red vest crossing the line; our runners took on the arduous terrain and did very well.”

Our qualifying runners will have home advantage in the ISA National Cross Country championships which will place at Princethorpe College later in the Spring on Saturday 3 March 2018.

The College is having a successful cross country season with Year 7 girls Julia Loftus, Jess Evans and Grace Darcy having for a Year 7 English Schools’ race at Prestwold Hall in Leicestershire on Saturday 24 March 2018. Older runners Molly Minshull and George Dunkley have also qualified for the English School Nationals which will be held in Leeds on Saturday 17 March, with Tom and Will Crowfoot as reserves.

Princethorpe College wove its wonderful spell on the muggles and wannabe wizards who came to the school's Saturday Morning Cinema showing of Happy Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  The special screening for Year 6 who have been offered places for entry to Year 7 in September took place on Saturday 13 January. The College was delighted to welcome around 80 children into school for an early introduction to the magic of Princethorpe or perhaps just for that morning, after the reported sightings of owls on the campus, we could say Princewarts.

Next year's new starters will come from many different primary schools, so the morning was one of a number of opportunities the College is organising this year where future pupils can start to become a little more familiar with the College site and potential new friends. 

The spellbinding entertainment began with a warm welcome from our very own ‘Albus Dumbledore’, Headmaster, Ed Hester.  He spoke to the children about starting a new school, a theme reflected in the film, and about the College's house system, he even had a Sorting Hat to hand to help out with that.  Also on hand was Deputy Head, Beth Sharpe, aka Professor McGonagall, dressed for the part and waving her wand over affairs to help with the morning's wizarding adventures.

Midway through the screening there was an interval when the children visited the College's dining room to stock up on popcorn, cookies and even a sip of polyjuice!

At the end of the morning after more refreshments everyone went home having thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  The College looks forward to welcoming some of them back as pupils later in the year – although we do hope they won't be too disappointed when they find out that their new timetables will be limited to more traditional subjects rather than lessons in Potions, Transfigurations and Defence Against The Dark Arts!

Visiting Roman Centurions invaded Princethorpe College armed with swords and scutums (shields) ready to do battle. It was Year 7 Roman Day, a day when every pupil in the year enjoys lessons full of tales of blood and gore, as they learn about the Roman invasion and settlement of Britain.

The Centurions’ passion and knowledge of the period was vividly dramatised as the two men, dressed in full legionnaire’s costume, brought to life the strategic tactics and organisation of the Roman fighting machine. With replica costumes and equipment based on real archaeological finds the sessions complimented the lessons Year 7 have been studying in History this half term.

Lucky class ‘volunteers’ dressed up in full body armour and attempted to carry a soldier’s kit, as Roman Tours expert, Centurion Ocratius Maximii, captivated the new recruits with graphic stories of life in the Roman Army and fascinating facts about all things Roman. Oliver Alford was just one of the lucky pupils who donned the Roman Tunica, Lorica (armour) and Galea (helmet) and then picked up his soldier’s kit and prepared to march. Oliver and his classmates were also treated to lessons in sword skills and battle tactics from the greatest army of the time.

Peter Bucknall, Head of History said, “The Year 7s have learnt all about the life of a soldier, his training and his clothing and armour, but they have also discovered lots of interesting background information about Roman times. The Centurions’ visit has left pupils buzzing with curiosity and keen to find out more, it was a fantastic day’s learning for all who took part.”

Many pupils at Princethorpe College take peripatetic lessons in the performing arts and for those who do, it is a labour of love. These committed individuals devote weekly additional time to the study of their chosen instrument or the dramatic arts. Their efforts are reflected in their progress through the grades and for twenty-four LAMDA (London Academy for Music and Dramatic Arts) pupils, there was great cause for celebration as they received the results of their most recent examinations this week.

In November pupils undertook examinations in a range of disciplines including: Mime, Reading for Performance, Acting, Verse and Prose and Public Speaking, the College candidates impressed the visiting examiner with the confidence they demonstrated from Grades 2 to 5. Twenty-two achieved a Distinction, seven with a score of 90 plus, and two, Anneliesa Douglas and Grace Isaacs, were judged as perfect, scoring 100.

LAMDA Co-ordinator, Mrs Mary MacDonald, was thoroughly delighted with the combined outcome of all the pupils’ efforts, “These results reflect the hard work that pupils put into learning and rehearsing their pieces. We had a tremendous twenty-two Distinctions (the highest mark awarded), a Merit and a Pass. In the process of preparing for these exams, learners have developed their understanding of both literature and drama and consequently I can see how much they have blossomed as individual, confident public performers.”

Head Girl, Miriam Isaacs, has also had LAMDA success having just been awarded the Grade 8 Gold Medal. Miriam, who began studying for her LAMDA examinations when she was in Year 8, has consistently achieved high marks as she progressed through the grades. Miriam explained, “I am planning to read English Literature at university and studying for the LAMDA examinations and the Gold Medal has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation of different texts, which has been really valuable preparation for my UCAS application."  Her achievement is impressive as Gold is the highest medal awarded by LAMDA.

The College offers its congratulations to all of the pupils involved.

A much anticipated, logistically difficult and long awaited Princethorpe trip to Russia finally took place over the Michaelmas half term. Some 38 pupils and six staff headed off to Moscow and St Petersburg for six days of spectacular enlightenment, grand culture and pure adventure.

The pupils involved included Sixth Form historians and Soviet enthusiasts, Year 10 and 11 adventurers, looking for a more unusual travel experience and an independent Year 9 on a quest for knowledge and enrichment. All were to be enthralled by the unsurpassed scale of the enigmatic nation that is Russia.

The visit started in Moscow with a full city tour where amongst the many highlights the party took in the iconic Red Square, St Basil’s Cathedral, a tour around the Kremlin and the very impressive Armoury Chamber. The next day included a morning visit to the Red Army Museum, before a fascinating exploration of the history of the Russian space programme at the Cosmonaut Museum, where Belka and Strelka the first dogs to be launched into space and safely return, are preserved. And then there was the Moscow Metro at rush hour, where it was not just about getting from A to B safely, but also a visual testament to Stalin’s idea of ‘Palaces for the people’, with its ornate carvings, chandeliers and huge paintings on the walls.

The group travelled onto St Petersburg to explore the grandeur and opulence of the Tsars’ palaces, including the Grand Palace and gardens (often referred to as the Russian Versailles) and the Yusupov Palace, an elegant baroque building full of rooms of amber and gold and famously the site of the assassination of Grigory Rasputin.

The group also got to explore the State Hermitage, a complex of six buildings including the Winter Palace, the largest museum in the world and the War Museum, also known as ‘Heroic defenders of Leningrad’ museum, a melancholic and sombre place where the horrors of the siege of the city in World War II were explored. There 900 candle style lights, lit the room, one for each day the citizens were trapped.

The final night saw a feast of traditional Russian food, including a hearty bowl of borsch at local tavern Masha and the Bear. Theatrical entertainment including traditional song and dance topped off the evening with lots of participation from pupils and notable performances from Mr Hester and Mr McCollin.

The pupils returned to the UK with amazing memories and an incredible array of Russian memorabilia purchased in the cities’ flea markets, with everything from traditional Russian dolls to soviet army hats, belts and even a pair of pilot goggles!

Ed Hester, Headmaster, commented “Russia was a fascinating country to visit, one which has been shaped by tragedy and idealism and tyranny, and which itself has had such a profound effect on 20th-century history.”