Admissions Update

Pincethorpe has a new member of its Admissions Team. Old Princethorpian Georgia Newborough has returned to the College to take on the role of Assistant Registrar. She will be working alongside Catherine Rogers, our Registrar, assisting families who are interested in entry to the College for September 2025 and beyond.

Georgia knows Princethorpe well, having attended the school as a pupil from 2012 to 2019. She went on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of York before spending a year back at Princethorpe working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Her knowledge and experience of the school, from both sides of the fence, positions her ideally to advise prospective families with children looking to join the school.

Georgia began her Admissions journey in June welcoming and supporting pupils new to Princethorpe when they visited for their Induction Day. Over the summer, she has been working alongside Catherine, the Registrar, as the Admissions team prepares for the new school year. They have both been kept busy dealing with new Lower Sixth joiners post GCSE Results Day, our Year 7 Preparation Day and of course getting ready for their next big Open Event, which takes place on Sunday 15 September 2024 from 2.00pm to 5.00pm.

To get in touch with Catherine and Georgia, email admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call 01926 634201/297 and they will be happy to help.

Prospective families can now discover all the ins and outs of applying to Princethorpe College in a new informative podcast series, Pathway to Princethorpe.

From choosing the right school to preparing for the entrance exams, the podcast is designed to help parents navigate the admissions process step by step. This is perfect for parents whose children are looking to join Princethorpe in Year 7 to Year 10. Join Registrar, Catherine Rogers, and new Assistant Registrar, Georgia Newborough, plus special guests, as they explore many aspects of Princethorpe life, share expert tips, and demystify the journey into independent secondary school.

Launched at the beginning of the summer holidays, there are now seven informative episodes in the series which can be found on Spotify, YouTube and Amazon Music. More will be released over the coming weeks as we approach Entrance Exams in November.

Comments, Registrar, Catherine Rogers, "We hope that these bite-sized episodes, which cover many areas that we get asked about frequently, will allow parents to listen and gather essential information at their convenience, whether commuting, relaxing, or enjoying a cup of tea."

Click here to access the Pathway to Princethorpe podcast series. 

With just over nine weeks to go, the countdown to the College's Entrance Exams for admission in September 2025 has begun. This year the exams for Year 7 to 10 entry will take place on Saturday 9 November from 9.00am to 4.00pm.

Our friendly Admissions Team have been kept busy over the summer accepting registrations from prospective parents. Don't forget the deadline for registration is Friday 27 September, to enable the processing of applications and seeking of references from junior schools. For Year 7 to 10 entry please register online by clicking the link here.

There are still plenty of opportunities for prospective pupils and their parents to visit the College before the Entrance Exams, including our Open Afternoon on Sunday 15 September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. Our Open Afternoon will allow prospective families to look around the school, join in with department activities and hear from our Headmaster, Grove du Toit. 

Our Year 6 Taster Days are also a great way for prospective pupils to really experience Princethorpe. Our Taster Days typically involve four lessons, a question and answer session with some of our current pupils and the chance to talk to the Headmaster, Mr du Toit.

We have three sessions available on Tuesday 17 September, Thursday 19 September and Wednesday 25 September for those who are in Year 6 and have not had the chance to attend a Taster Day before.

All our events are by appointment. To book your place click here

If you have any queries relating to admissions please feel free to email the Admissions Team, Catherine Rogers, Registrar, and Georgia Newborough, Assistant Registrar, at admissions@princethorpe.co.uk or call them on 01926 634201/297.

Princethorpe College is celebrating another year of excellent exam results.

108 students sat A-level and BTEC examinations and completed the Extended Project Qualification this summer and, continuing the strong performances of previous cohorts, two thirds of all grades awarded were A*- B, with more than a third being A*- A. Impressively, 17 pupils achieved three or more A* or A grades.

At GCSE, Princethorpe pupils also performed well, from a cohort of 150 pupils, 44% of all entries were the coveted 9, 8 or 7 grades, with 32 pupils achieving nine or more 9, 8 or 7 grades.

Grove du Toit, Headmaster, commented, "We are delighted with the excellent results that our Sixth Form students and Year 11 pupils have achieved. They have worked incredibly hard and deserve these results. It was wonderful to see all their happy faces on results day, and we congratulate them all on their well-deserved success. We are thrilled that our pupils have received such good grades but also, more importantly, that the overwhelming majority are moving on to their first choice of next step."

He continued, "We are proud of their academic achievements, but all these pupils have many other fine qualities: kindness, respect and a strong sense of right and wrong, which will be tremendously important for them in the next phase of their lives. We wish them all the very best."

Princethorpe celebrated after bringing home a bumper haul of 18 medals from the Independent Schools Association’s (ISA) National Track and Field Athletics Championships in June. The College took a team of athletes to the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. It was an excellent opportunity for them to compete against high calibre opposition at a pre-eminent event.

Princethorpe’s medal haul included Gold medals in eight events. Grace McCollin stormed down the track to win both the Year 10/11 100m and 80m Hurdles in explosive times of 12.35 and 11.94 seconds respectively. Georgie Sowter took Gold for her fantastic throw of 26.58m in the Year 8/9 Javelin while Marisa Lumani claimed Gold in the Year 8/9 Shot with a super throw of 9.07m. Emily Divers won Gold in the Year 7 100m Sprint running the course in 13.74 seconds while Sophie Crawford took Gold after throwing 26.50m in the Year 7 Javelin.

Grace McCollin, Penelope Jones and Lauren Tebbatt helped the Midlands Year 10/11 Girls' Relay team finish first in the 4x100m Relay competition, earning themselves more Gold medals. While Emily Divers and Ellie Gane were part of the winning Year 7 4x100m Relay team that also claimed Gold.   

Penelope Jones claimed a Silver medal in the Year 10/11 200m Sprint finishing in a super time of 26.82 seconds as did Sophie Crawford after throwing 7.83m in the Year 7 Shot.  

Penelope Jones earned herself a Bronze medal in the Year 10/11 Long Jump, jumping a fantastic 4.57m. Then, Lauren Tebbatt threw 24.96m in the Year 10/11 Javelin to win Bronze, while Louis Reynolds claimed a Bronze in the Year 8/9 80m Hurdles, running 12.56 seconds. Ava Sheppard threw 15.56m in the Year 7 Discus to earn herself a Bronze medal while Rufus Jones threw 26.18m in the Year 7 Javelin for Bronze.  

A number of pupils just missed out on medals after finishing in fourth place.

It was an excellent effort from all.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a big part of life here at Princethorpe College. Recognised as the world’s leading youth achievement award, it provides young people with the opportunity to explore new interests, discover talents, get involved in their local community and make new friends.

The second half of the Trinity Term saw pupils completing their Qualifying Expeditions. Unaccompanied and self-sufficient, they trekked and camped their way across Snowdonia (33 Gold), the Peak District (37 Silver) and the Cotswolds (109 Bronze), working together in teams to achieve their expedition objectives.

Will Bower, Head of Outdoor Education, said, “I am proud that so many of Princethorpe’s pupils embrace the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. They take the opportunity to develop skills and try new experiences, pushing themselves both mentally and physically to live up to the College’s ethos to be the best they can be and all with such commitment and enthusiasm.”

Back in April, pupils from Princethorpe College took part in the 2024 UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Junior Challenge, a prestigious national problem-solving competition that recognises the best young mathematicians in the country.

Aimed at pupils in Year 7 and Year 8, it is a demanding exercise designed to stretch and test pupils’ mathematical skills. This year, Princethorpe selected 92 able mathematicians to participate in the challenge and the College was delighted with their excellent results.

Congratulations to Year 8, Erik Windham who was awarded a Gold certificate, and took the award for best performing pupil in school, and to Year 7, Evelyn Waterworth, who received a Gold certificate, and took the award for best performing pupil in Year 7. Gold certificates were also awarded to Year 8s Isaac Frith, Bohdan Nicholl and Drew Ovens Gibbs and to Year 7 Ethan Simons. These pupils all performed so well that they also qualified for the follow-on round, the UKMT's Junior Kangaroo Challenge.

In total 12 Gold certificates were awarded, along with 20 Silver and 37 Bronze. It was a fantastic effort from all who toook part.

Princethorpe College was once again delighted to host the National Schools and Riding Clubs Two-Day Event. Run in conjunction with Stoneleigh Riding Club, nearly 200 competitors took part in the two-day competition, over the weekend 25 to 26 May, one of only a few ‘long format’ events open to schools and riding clubs in the UK. It included dressage and show-jumping on the Saturday and roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross-country on the Sunday.

This was the ninth year the College has hosted the event on the Princethorpe estate, and the course looked magnificent against the backdrop of the Princethorpe Tower. It included classes at 70cm, 80cm, 90cm and 100cm. Returning once again and causing much excitement was the challenging permanent cross-country water jump generously built by one of the event’s main sponsors, The Wigley Group.

Princethorpe College had riders competing at all heights and representation from Foundation Prep School, Crackley Hall, too. The College's teams had plenty of success, in both the Schools and ISA events. Against a very competitive field, Princethorpe’s Team Cloisters were worthy winners of the ISA Trophy and the Wigley Cup.

Alex Darkes, Princethorpe’s equestrian event organiser, said, “The College was delighted to welcome school and riding club competitors to the Princethorpe estate. It was great to see such a strong presence of school participants, many of whom had travelled long distances to take part in the competition. It was also wonderful to welcome OP competitors too. Our thanks go to members of Stoneleigh Riding Club, the event's key sponsors The Wigley Group, our Grounds and Estates Teams and all the volunteers, without whom we would have been unable to stage such a busy event.”

38 pupils from the College’s Choir, String Orchestra and Concert Band, from Years 7 to the Sixth Form, travelled to the Rhineland in Germany in June, where they took part in an enjoyable and successful five-day music tour.

Their action-packed adventure included the opportunity to perform in stunning locations, as well as the chance to visit the Seigfrieds Musikkabinett (mechanical instrument museum), explore the picturesque towns of Boppard, Cologne and Koblenz, take a boat cruise on the river Moselle and spend time at the Phantasialand Theme Park.

Princethorpe’s talented prodigies confidently performed to appreciative and sizeable audiences in Rűdesheim and Kohlbachhaus. They were fabulous ambassadors for the College, and were applaided by all.

This is the third time that the College has taken its instrumental and choral groups on tour (previously having had wonderful trips to Vienna in 2019 and Belgium in 2022) and the entire trip was once again a resounding success.

A group of girls from Year 9 and Year 10 and our Lower Sixth STEAM Ambassador, Jemima Teeton, visited the British Motor Museum in June to take part in a special Girls in STEM workshop.

They enjoyed an exclusive keynote presentation and Q&A with Louise Reynolds, Director of Procurement at Aston Martin, followed by an interactive tour of the collection. Then they raced remote-controlled Jaguar D-types around a special track and tried out some hands-on science activities with the STEM Ambassadors from MoD Kineton.

The day culminated with the opportunity to meet Eliza Seville, Formula Woman 2022 winner, and hear from, Senior Programme Manager, Kerrie Earl, on what it takes to be a successful woman in motorsport.

Head of Physics, Dan Lee, commented, “The girls were an absolute credit to the school - they asked thoughtful questions, engaged in all of the activities and had a really positive experience.”

It was an inspirational opportunity enjoyed by them all.

Princethorpe College partnered with Team Super Sports this summer to offer Holiday Camps for children aged 5 to 16 years. The six-week programme of camps was open to all and took advantage of the College’s extensive grounds and sporting facilities to offer a wide variety of sporting activities, 

Youngsters aged 7 to 16 took their pick of rugby, cricket, football, gymnastics, netball, hockey and tennis to create their own sports programme. While for the younger children, aged 5 to 7, in addition to sports, dance and games there was the choice of arts and crafts activities.

The initiative was part of the Foundation’s new Commercial Enterprise activity aimed at generating additional sources of income and was in response to feedback and demand from parents. The summer camps proved to be very successful with Princethorpe’s beautiful campus proving a popular choice for families in the area.

Commented, Gemma Cullinane, Princethorpe Commercial Enterprise Manager, “Team Super Sports are an experienced provider of sport and multi-activity holiday camps with a fantastic reputation for top-level coaching for children of all abilities. They have delivered an excellent first summer programme of activities and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.”

Keep an eye on the Team Super Sports website for news of upcoming camps. Click here to visit the Team Super Sports website. 

The latest issue of the Pinnacle has just been published, showcasing yet more of our pupils' excellent work. The Pinnacle has always celebrated our pupils at their best and this edition includes plenty more examples of their outstanding efforts; their dedication, hard work and commitment to their studies inside and outside the classroom clear to see. 

This bumper edition is a testament to the talent that thrives within our community. Why not explore complex engineering challenges, fabulous French weather forecasts, solving the Rubik's Cube, our Art Scholars Competition, poetry for Women's History Month and an examination of the effects of smoking.

You can read a copy of the Pinnacle on our school website here: https://www.princethorpe.co.uk/publications