Princethorpe College

Princethorpe College
Location
Princethorpe , Warwickshire , CV23 9PX England
Coordinates	52°20′09″N 1°25′19″W
Information
Type	Independent day school
Motto	Christus Regnet (Let Christ Reign)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1966
Headmaster	Edmund Hester
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	900
Houses	Austin, Benet, Fisher and More
Former Pupils	Old Princethorpians
Website	http://www.princethorpe.co.uk

Princethorpe College is a Catholic independent day school located in Princethorpe, near Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It was founded in the late 1950s as St Bede's College in Royal Leamington Spa, before moving to its current site in 1966. It occupies a former Benedictine monastery surrounded by 200 acres (0.81 km²) of parkland.

History

The college was founded by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and opened its doors in September 1966. Girls were first admitted into the sixth form in 1976. It became fully coeducational in 1995. It currently occupies the site of St Mary's Priory, which had been home to Benedictine nuns since 1792 before the house was disbanded in 2002.

In late 2007 a new £2.4 million dedicated Sixth Form Centre opened. Built around an atrium, the new building provides classrooms, a lecture room, common room, a Sixth Form dining room, coffee bar and a careers room and is linked to the main school building on two levels by a walkway.

In late 2014, a new £4.5 million teaching block named 'The Limes' was opened. This was built onto the side of the existing sports centre, and is linked on both floors. The Limes contains 2 new ICT rooms, new classrooms for Modern Foreign Languages, English & Sports Theory, and staff bases for English, Modern Foreign Languages, ICT and PE. It also contains 200+ lockers for pupils. Work was completed in September 2017 on the refurbishment of the College's state-of-the-art Clarkson Theatre.

Extracurricular activities

The college offers a wide range of clubs, societies and activities that take place at lunch-time and after school. Art, badminton, chess, computing, dance, drama, equestrian, photography and technology are usually offered, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and overseas trips.

Sport

Pupils participate in games and PE from Year 7 to Upper Sixth. All the major traditional sports are offered, in addition to other sports such as archery, trampolining, sailing, golf, basketball, rock-climbing, equestrian and skiing competitions.

There is a programme of inter-school fixtures and Princethorpe has a tradition of pupils gaining county, regional and international representative honours, not least Old Princethorpian Ian Bell of cricketing fame. Sports facilities include a Sports Hall, a Fitness Centre and squash courts, a floodlit astro-turf pitch, a regionally recognised cross-country course, three concrete tennis courts and over sixty acres of games pitches and fields.

Notable alumni

• Ian Bell, MBE, England cricketer
• Jordan King, Formula One Development Driver
• Dominic Ostler, retired Warwickshire county cricketer
• Tom Hilditch, award-winning journalist and magazine publisher
• Mark Lewis, cricketer
• Richard Wilding, British Academic & Business Professional
• Jonathan Gullis, Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North

External links

• School Website
• Profile on the ISC website