Admissions Update

With just nine weeks to go the countdown to the College's Entrance Exams for admission in September 2020 has begun. This year the exams for Year 7 to 10 entry will take place on Saturday 9 November from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

Our friendly Admissions Team has been kept busy over the summer accepting registrations from prospective parents. The deadline for registrations is Friday 4 October, to enable the seeking of references from junior schools.

There are plenty of opportunities for prospective pupils and their parents to visit the College before the Entrance Exams, including pupil Taster Days and our College Open Morning on Thursday 26 September, from 10.30am to 12.30pm, when pupil tour guides will be available to show visitors around the school.

The Admissions Team are also holding a Year 6 Parents' Q and A session on Monday 16 September from 6.30pm to 7.30pm to answer any admissions and entrance examinations related questions in an informal forum.

Comments Melanie Butler, Assistant Head, Marketing, Admissions and Communications, "Parents and pupils still have plenty of time to prepare and opportunities to visit the College in the run up to the exams. The results of which will be out at the end of November, making for an exam-free Christmas holiday, which has got to be good news."

More information on admission is available from the College website here.

Registrations forms are available in our prospectus packs or you can download a registration form here.

If you have any queries relating to admissions please feel free to email the Registrars at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call them on 01926 634201.

Princethorpe College is celebrating another year of excellent exam results.

This summer 30% of all A-level grades were A* or A and over three-quarters of grades were C or better; at GCSE the College celebrated its best ever GCSE results with 48% of all entries graded 9, 8 or 7 (A* or A) and 36 pupils achieving eight or more 9, 8 and 7 grades (A* or A).

Ed Hester, Headmaster, said, “Our students have worked so hard and we are incredibly proud of their achievements.”

A-level summary:

• 94 candidates
• 17 students achieved 3 or more A* or A grades
• 30% A* and A
• 75% grade C or better

Ed Hester continued, "We were particularly pleased that in addition to their A-levels, this year over half the Upper Sixth cohort completed the extended project qualification, which is so highly respected by universities and employers alike. It was also lovely to receive amazing feedback from the A-level Art moderators who were bowled over by the quality of the artwork by all our six A* A-level art students.”

At GCSE Princethorpe pupils performed well in all the core subjects, but the College is again delighted with its English results - this year 62% of pupils achieved 9, 8 or 7 grades. 

GCSE summary:  

• 127 candidates
• 48% of all grades 9-7 
• 96% of grades 9-4 or better

There were many exceptional personal achievements, with stand-out performances at GCSE from Grace McGrory, James Gallagher, Lauren Mason, Alex Rejali and Prajeet Prabakaran, who all achieved an outstanding eleven or more grade 9s.

Headmaster, Ed Hester, continued, “All credit goes to our pupils and staff for their commitment and hard work.  Our 2019 A-level and GCSE results are very strong indicators that the school’s academic achievements across the ability range continue to go from strength to strength."

Princethorpe is putting Science at the forefront of its vision for the future with plans for a new state-of-the-art Science building. Planning for the two-storey, £8 million building, which will see Biology, Chemistry and Physics sited together in one dedicated location, has now been approved and construction will start on the project within the next two to three years.

This is the latest in a programme of capital investment in the infrastructure of the College, including recent projects such as the refurbishment of the Clarkson Theatre and the Roundhouse for the Performing Arts, the Limes Building for Modern Foreign Languages, English and ICT and restoration of the wooded lake area known as Switzerland for outdoor education.

At just over 1,600 sq metres, the building will provide contemporary, spacious and well-equipped accommodation for the three Sciences including ten new laboratories, preparation areas, staff bases and toilets.

Comments, Headmaster, Ed Hester, “In a demanding world, where scientific progress is essential across the spheres of discovery, development and innovation, we need to provide the very best facilities for teaching and learning to stimulate the intellect, ambition and creativity of our pupils. This tremendous new building will enable us to do just that.”

The main entrance of the new block will face the Lime Walk and the side of the building will abut the existing Limes Building at the top of the North Lawn. The two buildings will be connected on both floors creating free flow for pupils and staff between them. The area in front of the new building will be attractively landscaped with a central square feature.

The project will also enable the College to redevelop and cluster other departments, providing permanent homes for Economics, Business Studies, Geography and Classics and dedicated laboratory areas for Academic PE. Plans are also afoot to provide additional catering and seated dining facilities. This last major phase of the upgrading of the school’s accommodation will benefit all of the College’s 900 plus pupils.

The project has been designed in collaboration with Leamington-based AT Architects.

The College has introduced changes to its bus services from September 2019 to improve the service and encourage more families to use the buses.

Currently around half of the school’s population use the private bus service which brings pupils into the College from a wide surrounding area, extending as far afield as Nuneaton and Coventry to the north, Lutterworth and Daventry to the east, Stratford-upon-Avon and Banbury to the south and Solihull to the west.

The headline changes include:

• New sibling discounts for return and single passes – 10% discount for second children and 50% discount for third or more children
  
  
• A brand new bus service - the S12 from Henley-in-Arden to Claverdon with stops in new areas of Warwick and Leamington
  
  
• The S7 route effectively splitting with some stops being covered by the new S12 and new stops being added in south Leamington and Radford Semele
  
  

Comments Eddie Tolcher, Foundation Bursar, “We have looked long and hard at the service we provide, researched where current and potential pupils live and listened to parental feedback.

“Our aim is to provide as comprehensive and convenient service as we can, at a reasonable price. By introducing sibling discounts, we hope more families will choose to stay on the bus, which will save time for parents and have less of an impact on the environment and traffic on site, particularly in the morning.”

To explore our school bus services and to find the nearest stop to your home, use the interactive map on the Getting to School page on our website here. Alternatively download our Bus Briefing (September 2019)

The College is continuing to look at further changes to the service, including tracking of buses and further route improvements.

Over the summer of 2019 the College enjoyed a very successful 14 day sports tour to South Africa. Taking our largest squad ever, of some 94 pupils and 11 staff, and for the first time including football into the playing schedule of boys’ hockey, girls’ hockey, netball and rugby.  The tour travelled to Cape Town and then on to Johannesburg and Pretoria for a fortnight full of keenly contested matches and superb sight-seeing.

During the tour the rugby, netball, football and girls’ hockey teams participated in six full days of good spirited and competitive training and matches against school and club teams. The boys’ hockey team entered the Cape Town International Hockey festival playing schools from the UK as well as top South African teams – an amazing experience.  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 had the opportunity to experience South Africa’s vibrant culture at Lesedi village and get up close and personal with the wildlife in game drives at Pilanesberg Game Reserve, seeing the ‘Big Five’ and a ‘cattrick’ on their drives. The tour party also enjoyed some spectacular scenery after walking up Table Mountain in Cape Town and venturing to the most southern tip of Africa at Cape Point.

Neil McCollin, Acting Assistant Head (Co-Curricular), said, “South Africa is a truly stunning country, passionate and fiercely competitive in their sport. We had an excellent trip and played some inspiring matches and I know that our Princethorpe pupils returned home with a truly wonderful set of memories. The behaviour, engagement and camaraderie of the Princethorpe pupils was first class and I know that this is going to set them up for competitive sporting fixtures this season, but more importantly they will get even more out of their Sixth Form experience as a result of their time away together.”

Huge thanks go to all of the staff involved for their time and passion in putting together and running such an impressive trip.  We were also incredibly fortunate to have some amazing sponsors for the tour and we can not thank enough for their trust and support.

We look forward to the experiences translating into positive results on the pitches over the coming season.

This College’s Summer Art, Photography and Design Show showcased the superb work of GCSE and A-level pupils. The Sixth Form Centre and Lecture Theatre were transformed into an eclectic exhibition space, the light and airy atrium helping to showcase the work at its best.  The exhibition one of 131 venues across Coventry and Warwickshire taking part in Warwickshire Open Studios 2019.

Those who know the College will be familiar with its formidable reputation for quality Art and Design. The walls of the College are adorned with exceptional examples and the work at this year’s show was no exception with striking portraiture and photography sitting alongside technically complex product design. Visitors were audibly impressed with what they saw, stopping to stare in wonder, exclaiming over the ingenuity and talent and enjoying the fine collection of work.

Our congratulations go to all our GCSE and A-level pupils for producing such a worthy show.  The standard was incredible and it is clear the examiners thought so too with excellent feedback from the moderators and no less than six of our A-level artists awarded an A* on results day.

Princethorpe celebrated after bringing home a haul of seven medals from the Independent Schools Association’s (ISA) National Track and Field Athletics Championships.

The Nationals took place on Wednesday 19 June at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on a thankfully dry day.  Princethorpe took a team of 17 athletes to the event; the pupils had all qualified for the Nationals at the Regional Championships earlier in the season. For all of the athletes it was an excellent opportunity to compete against some high calibre opposition.  In total, there were 700 pupils from 151 independent schools competing at this pre-eminent event.

Princethorpe’s medal haul included three Gold Medals.  Year 7 Kate Pomerleau finished first in the 1500m in a fantastic time of 5 minutes 30.82 seconds, Year 10 Molly Minshull took Gold in the 800m in a super time of 2 minutes 24.31 seconds and Year 9 Ben Hardy set a new national record in the 200m sprint in a supersonic time of 23.51 seconds.

Claiming a Silver Medal were Year 7, Sage Westbury who ran the 70m Hurdles in a time of 13.39 seconds and five pupils who competed in the Midlands relay teams. Ollie Farquharson ran for the Midlands in the Year 7 Boys 4 x 100m relay helping them finish in second place in a time of 55.36 seconds.  Then four Princethorpe Year 9 Girls, Eve Farquharson, Jess Mackenzie, Evie Phillips and Molly Wincott-Thomas, represented the Midlands in the Year 8/9  4 x 100m relay claiming the Silver Medal in a stunning time of 53.55 seconds.

Year 9, Ed Sharpe took the medal tally to seven when he won a Bronze in the 80m Hurdles in a time of 13.18 seconds.  He just missed out on a second medal with his jump of 1.50m which placed him 4th in the High Jump.  Evie Phillips also finished 4th in the 75m Hurdles as did Mollie Wincott-Thomas in the 100m sprint.

Teacher Peter Bucknall, who accompanied the athletes to the Nationals, commented, “A huge well done to all of our athletes for an excellent performance.  Our athletes responded so well to the competition they faced.  Their tenacity, determination, good humour and genuine camaraderie made for a real feel good experience for the whole team, not just those who came home with medals.”

Back in May 21 Princethorpians, were invited to Buckingham Palace in London to be presented with the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.  They joined 3,500 young people in a special ceremony in glorious sunshine, in the gardens of the Palace. 

It will have taken pupils over five years and 450 hours to have earned the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, progressing first through Bronze and then Silver until they finally achieved the challenging Gold.  Along the way they will have volunteered, learned new skills, taken part in physical activity, and for the Gold undertaken a week long residential, as well as planning and completing self-sufficient expeditions.

In turn the 21 were presented with their awards by explorer and adventurer Andy Bartlet who urged them to be proud and to keep making life memorable.  After receiving their awards, the group then had the chance to meet and talk with Sophie, Countess of Wessex. 

Head of Outdoor Education, Will Bower, was very proud, commenting, “Completing your Gold Duke of Edinburgh takes real commitment and resolve, and the skills developed along the way benefit both the individual and their local community.  All of these young people showed dedication and perseverance and their final expedition to Buckingham Palace was a wonderful reward.”

On International Children’s Book Day, Tuesday 2 April, and as part of Stratford Literary Festival’s Schools Week, Princethorpe College was delighted to welcome into school award-winning author and screenwriter, Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

Frank’s first children’s book, Millions, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and was made into a film by Danny Boyle.  His latest book Runaway Robot has just been published and his book Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth is being made into a film by DreamWorks. Frank was the official scriptwriter for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and is also a judge for BBC Radio 2’s 500 Words, a short-story writing competition for children aged five to 13 years.

During a magical afternoon, Frank spoke to Year 7 pupils, discussing the inspiration behind his books, such as Millions, Cosmic and The Astounding Broccoli Boy.  He shared stories from his childhood, read excerpts from his favourite books and answered a host of questions from an enthusiastic audience. He explained how the shared experience of a book can make you feel better, how stories can transport you and how he likes writing comedy because he likes to make people laugh.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce was clearly delighted with his appreciative audience and after his talk happily signed copies of his books for the children.

School Librarian, Celia Scott, commented, “We were honoured to have Frank visit Princethorpe, he was so engaging, Year 7 were mesmerised by his stories and bursting with questions.  Our thanks go to both Frank and to the Stratford Literary Festival who organised Frank’s visit as part of their special Schools Week.”

Princethorpe College's 1st VII Girls were crowned champions at the prestigious Independent School Association’s National Netball Tournament, the College U14 Girls placed second to take the silver medal and the U16 Girls finished fifth to take the Bowl.

The championships took place back in the Spring at the excellent facilities of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate in York against tough competition, the best young netball players from independent schools across the country.

The U18 Girls were undefeated in their initial round robin, winning convincingly.  Their play offs proved thrilling, nail-biting affairs with the girls playing with commitment and composure and their vigilance and adaptability ensuring they claimed two excellent victories, a 6-11 win against Queen Ethelburga's and a 5-10 win versus Leighton Park.  Undefeated all day they finished top of the leader board and were crowned as champions overall.

PE Teacher, Hannah Carminati was delighted, commenting, “There were some very closely fought games particularly with Queen Ethelburga’s, but the girls only got better as the day went on and when they had to replay Leighton and Queen Ethelburga’s, in the play-offs, they just stormed ahead!”

The U14 Girls had just as good a day and a second place finish earned them the silver medal.

The U16s also played well. After the round robin they faced King Alfred’s in the play offs where a good win secured fifth place and the bowl.

Miss Carminati continued, “A super huge well done to all the squad.  It was a lovely weekend away and a very successful day with medals all round for the girls.  What a fantastic achievement.”

The Pinnacle showcases excellent and extraordinary work.  

The latest edition showcases ability and flair across many subjects and year groups, including an award winning poet and a number of Princethorpe's budding sports stars.  It also includes some superb examples of Modern Foreign Languages work and there is also coverage of the wonderful GCSE and A-level Art and Photography, which appeared in our Summer Art, Photography and Design Show.

A double-sized Minnacle is included too, with equally impressive work by Crackley Hall pupils from Nursery to Junior 6 and Crescent pupils from Reception to Class VI. It's wonderful to showcase their talents too!!

Click here if you would like to download a copy of The Pinnacle and here if you would like to see The Minnacle.