Admissions Update

As the College looks forward to welcoming its new pupils to the school in September, the Admissions Team has now turned its attention to entry for 2023.

Entrance Examinations, for entry to the school in September 2023, will take place on Saturday 5 November 2022 and we are already busy accepting registrations.

There are plenty of opportunities for prospective pupils and their parents to visit the College before the Entrance Exams take place; including our Summer Open Evening in June and Open Morning in September, as well as the Year 5 Taster Days in April, May and June.

Comments Melanie Butler, Assistant Head, Marketing, Admissions and Communications, "Parents and pupils will have plenty of time to prepare and opportunities to visit the College in the run up to the registration deadline on Friday 30 September."

Following the Entrance Exams, offer letters will be sent out on Thursday 24 November 2022 and the acceptance deadlines will be Monday 12 December 2022 for Years 8, 9 and 10 and Thursday 2 March 2023 for Year 7. The acceptance deadline for Year 7 places is, by a nationally agreed code of practice, the same for all independent schools, allowing parents and children time to review all their options, including those from the maintained sector, before making a final decision.

If you have any questions about the admissions process please contact the Registrar, Vanessa Rooney, on 01926 634201 or email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk.

Want to get a feel for school life? Why not follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

In January, the Trustees of the Princethorpe Foundation gave the green light for work to commence on Princethorpe College’s new £8m Science Centre.

The Science Centre, which features 10 brand-new, state-of-the-art Science laboratories, will ultimately transform the College’s entire campus allowing other areas to be redeveloped and departments clustered within the main school building.

The project, the College’s largest and most ambitious to date, has undergone a comprehensive and lengthy design, planning, costing and tendering process over the last five years. The contract for the main build was awarded to Trendgrey Construction Limited, based in nearby Stockton. Headed up by MD Nick Henderson, who has been with the company for twenty-two years, Trendgrey is well-known to The Princethorpe Foundation having completed the Sixth Form Resource Centre at Princethorpe in 2014, The Gables at Crackley Hall in 2016 and the Horton Centre at Crescent School in 2021.

Work has already begun, with the contractor moving onto site over February Half Term. The official turf-cutting took place on Tuesday 1 March and the construction is estimated to take around 14 months with the building expected to open its doors for teaching in September 2023.

Comments Liz Griffin, Chair of Trustees, “The Trustees were delighted to give approval for work to commence on the Science Centre at Princethorpe. This really is a landmark decision in the strategic development of the College and is testament to the strong position the Foundation finds itself in today. Many congratulations to Trendgrey on being awarded the contract after a very competitive tendering process.”

She continues, “Our thanks go to all the donors who have contributed so generously to the fundraising for the project, our Science Campaign Board, the Science Working Group, our professional advisors, AT Architects, Ainsleys, Richard Strauss Associates and Couch, Perry and Wilkes, and of course the Senior Leadership Team for all their hard work.”

Headmaster, Ed Hester, adds, “It is fantastic that our vision for the future of Princethorpe will now become a reality. This announcement is great news for the Princethorpe community; the Science Centre project brings with it so many exciting campus-wide benefits and these cutting-edge teaching and learning facilities will inspire generations of Princethorpe pupils and staff for years to come.”

Comments, Trendgrey’s Managing Director, Nick Henderson, “It is a great privilege to have been awarded this prestigious contract by the Princethorpe Foundation. We are looking forward to working in partnership to deliver what promises to be an exceptional educational facility and state-of-the-art building.”

To view a fly through of the Science Centre please visit the school website here.

The latest edition of the College’s magazine, The Tower Review, has just been published.

It tells the story of the school year, term by term, reflecting on the whole host of activities, achievements and successes that pupils from Year 7 through to Upper Sixth took part in. It includes highlights such as Prize Giving and the College production as well as reviews of sporting events and House competitions.

2020/21 was an incredible year filled full of challenges, but there were still plenty of wonderful and memorable moments to reflect on. We hope that our annual souvenir review will be treasured by pupils and parents alike.

An electronic copy can be found on the school website.

If you would like to receive a hard copy please email marketing@princethorpe.co.uk with your name and address.

Two Princethorpe College Sixth Form students were thrilled to receive offers for places at Cambridge University.

Head Girl, Caitlin Mason, will be reading Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Magdalene College, Cambridge while Sixth Form prefect and Fisher House Captain, Greg Burford, will read Music at Girton College, Cambridge.

Oxbridge places are always oversubscribed and increasingly competitive, and these talented students had faced a tough selection process consisting of pre-tests, intensive scrutiny of their academic and personal achievements and rigorous interviews.

Their success is not achieved without a great deal of hard work, as well as hours of dedicated support and encouragement from their teachers and parents who have provided individual guidance and support over the past year.

Princethorpe College Head of Sixth Form, Ben Collie, commented, “Caitlin and Greg have earned this success. During their time at Princethorpe College they have not only applied themselves to their academic studies but also to developing themselves as confident and mature young people. Applying to Oxbridge is an extremely rigorous and character-testing experience that seems to get tougher every year. We were delighted to support them with their applications and are exceptionally proud of their achievement.”

We are very proud of them both and of all our Upper Sixth students applying to study at university next year, the majority of whom have now received offers through the UCAS system with many receiving offers from all five of their university choices.

The College production of Matilda Jr was a truly magical show. The Clarkson Theatre was filled full of the smell of rebellion as our talented cast of revolting children (many new to the College this year) told the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dared to take a stand and change her own destiny.

The fearsome Agatha Trunchbull, played by Chloe, was delightfully diabolical while Mrs Wormwood, played by Lauren, was a real class act. Miss Honey, played by Megan, was touchingly sweet and Nigel, Lavender and the kids were all just spectacular, full of vibrant energy and enthusiasm. Matilda, played by Year 7 Amelia, was truly terrific. A super huge well done to them all.

We are all still humming along to those awesome songs. Congratulations to everyone involved, on stage and behind the scenes and especially to the Directors, Mr Cowlishaw and Ms Newborough. We just can't wait to find out what their plans are for next year!

This year Princethorpe College’s First XI Girls Hockey team qualified for the semi-finals of England Hockey’s Schools Championships. 

The girls earned their well-deserved place in the final four, after a hard-fought match against Blundells School. The game finished 2-2 at full time so, with the scores level, the match went to penalty flicks. In a thrilling but nail-biting shoot-out the girls slammed home the penalties to come out 3-1 on top and take the win.

In the semis they faced a strong side from RGS Newcastle. Unfortunately, they did not come out on top, losing 4-2, in a close game where they had two goals disallowed and was competitive from end to end. To reach the last four in the country in this competition is a truly outstanding feat. It is a testament to the hard work, commitment and togetherness that this team has shown this season. 16 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses is a huge accomplishment. We could not have asked for any more from them and congratulate the girls on their phenomenal season. It was amazing for the girls to experience the knockout stages of a national competition.

Along the way the girls beat Solihull School 3-1, Bablake and King Henry VIII School 4-2, Rugby School 2-0 and Cheltenham College 2-0.

Princethorpe College congratulated Olivia Ward, Ciaran Smith, Ishbel Kempton and Elsie Kelley who were all awarded a distinction in their London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) Grade 8 Gold Medal examinations.

Gold is the highest medal awarded by LAMDA and takes years of training to achieve. The four Sixth Formers had sat their LAMDA Gold medal examinations back in November, in school, and just before Christmas they received news of their success. Achieving their LAMDA Gold Medal examinations means that all four students have now also accrued 30 UCAS points towards their university applications.

Olivia Ward took LAMDA Speaking in Public Grade 8, for which she had to write and present two speeches. She gave an in-depth analysis of the pros and cons of electoral reform in her first speech, and for her second she gave an imagined ‘Best Woman’ speech for her brother’s wedding. She had to write an impromptu speech in the exam and deliver it with only fifteen minutes preparation time. The examiner praised Olivia’s ability to present stimulating and well considered work.

Ciaran Smith impressed the examiner by performing with ‘real confidence, control and a mature understanding of texts’ during his Reading for Performance Grade 8 exam. Ciaran created a recital on the theme of ‘Democracy’ using texts from The Hand that Signed the Paper by Dylan Thomas, Henry V by William Shakespeare and 1984 by George Orwell. He wrote introductions and linking statements to all his chosen texts and answered questions on the writers and contexts in depth.

Ishbel Kempton and Elsie Kelley have been taking acting exams together for several years and were delighted to complete their studies in their Grade 8 Acting Duologue exam. They performed scenes from Antigone by Sophocles, The Odd Couple (Female Version) by Neil Simon and The Thrill of Love by Amanda Whittington. The examiner noted a ‘clear energy’ and ‘strong presence’ in their performances, and they completed their exam with a discussion on their chosen theatre practitioner, Constantin Stanislavski.

Lead LAMDA Teacher, Kathy Buckingham-Underhill, commented, "I am delighted to see these four young people completing their LAMDA studies on such a high. Congratulations to them all. Their hard work, diligence, ownership and understanding of the tasks involved has been amply rewarded. Their LAMDA teachers are proud of them all."

A huge well done to all four students on a really impressive achievement.

The College was proud to see five Princethorpe pupils competing in the England Athletics Age Group Indoor Championships in Sheffield on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 February. The event took place at the English Institute of Sport, with pupils representing their athletics clubs.

Their performances were all outstanding, and it was clear that these pupils have been training hard. Each and every one of them put in personal bests over the weekend, breaking school records, and we were really delighted for them all.

Year 8, Grace McCollin competed in the 60m sprint. In the heats she ran a personal best of 8.37 seconds. She then ran in the 60m Hurdles qualifying for the semi-finals where she achieved another personal best of 9.69 seconds.

Year 8, Penelope Jones also ran in the 60m Hurdles qualifying for the semi-finals where she ran a personal best of 9.65 seconds.

Year 9, André Onyekwe took 1st place and the gold medal in his age group for the High Jump. André simply soared through the air jumping 1.82m, a personal best and a new school record. André also competed in the Long Jump placing 5th with another superhuman leap of 5.43m.

Year 9, Olivia Monk ran in the 60m sprint where she finished in 6th place in 7.96 seconds a personal best and new school record. Olivia then took on the challenge of the 200m, finishing in 7th place in 26.49 seconds with another personal best and new school record.

Lower Sixth Former, Cam McGregor ran in the 400m finishing just out of the medals in 4th place in 48.84 seconds, also achieving a personal best and a new school record.

We are all looking forward to watching this next generation of young Olympians develop, it is going to be a really exciting summer of sport!

Lower Sixth Formers Pratheesh Prabakaran, Toby Pearton and Annabel Koster were the winners of this year’s local Youth Speaks competition, the Rotary Club’s well-respected public speaking challenge. The Princethorpe College students saw off stiff competition from teams of pupils from other local schools in the district round held in Warwick on Wednesday 2 February.

Youth Speaks requires a team of three students to stand up and deliver a speech on a subject of their choice. It provides a great opportunity for young people to develop the ability to speak on a public platform, carry out research and formulate ideas, improve their self-confidence and presentation skills, and work together as a team.

Each competing team comprises of a Chairman, a Proposer and an Opposer. The Chairman introduces the debate and the Proposer and Opposer then speak for and against the motion. The structure of the event makes for an entertaining and diverting session where the students not only have to present clearly, but also spontaneously respond.

Competing in the Senior section, the team debated the motion ‘This house believes that issues of National Security should take precedence over all other legal considerations.’

Pratheesh Prabakaran, introduced the debate as Chairman, Toby Pearton spoke in favour of the motion and Annabel Koster against. The students were eloquent and convincing, and they handled challenging questions well. Their speech was very well received with the audience engaged throughout.

The team had worked hard to prepare thoroughly. They were helped and supported by Head of English, Chris Kerrigan who commented, “The chief adjudicator said the decision was unanimous and that it was rare for them all to agree. I knew they’d won immediately after their performance as it was so polished. It was a tightly fought competition and they put in an outstanding effort. These young people have been a joy to work with.”

The team thoroughly enjoyed the evening and learned a lot from listening to the other teams who took part. Congratulations to them all.

The latest issue of The Pinnacle has just been published, showcasing yet more of our pupils' excellent work. First published back in 2010, across the years the Pinnacle has celebrated our pupils at their best. This bumper edition includes success in....

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 Year 6. It's wonderful to celebrate their talents too!

Click here to read The Pinnacle and click here if you would like to read The Minnacle.