The Pinnacle Issue 36 Spring 2025

Issue 36 | Spring 2025 Showcasing exceptional work by pupils from Princethorpe College, Crackley Hall School and Crescent School

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome ISSUE 36 – SPRING 2025

Change is an opportunity for growth and 2024 was a year of change and development for da Vinci at Princethorpe.

The merit system was adapted to increase the opportunity to reward creativity and mastery of subject areas in conjunction with exceptional effort and practice, and the full da Vinci merit rewards the synthesis of all three areas of Creativity, Mastery and Practice. The success of this is clear in the increasing number of da Vinci merits awarded last year as all teachers embraced the opportunity to reward pupils at all levels.

This year’s da Vinci Shield winners both scored over 100 da Vinci points each. 3048 da Vinci merits were awarded in total, 546 were full awards but the majority were for Mastery, recognising our pupils’ academic excellence and sustained effort.

Cover art

by Art Scholar Bea Taylor

da Vinci Shield Winners

The work in The Pinnacle showcases the work which has been rewarded with these merits and the achievements which go above and beyond.

To showcase them all is not possible but huge congratulations to all pupils who were awarded da Vincis this term.

Each year the two pupils who Dami Ajagunna, Y9 achieve the highest number of da Vinci Points are awarded the da Vinci Shield.

Since last March, my aim in developing the Challenge Curriculum, has been to provide more opportunities for the whole school to extend their learning through the Challenge Calendars, and also to promote all subject areas to consider wider reading and further interest areas. Each month is themed and there have been some fantastic responses to the activities, some of which are included in this issue.

The girls’ da Vinci shield is deservedly reawarded to Dami Ajagunna. She demonstrated academic excellence and independence across the full spectrum of both the academic curriculum and in a wide range of co-curricular achievements. In addition to winning over 130 da Vinci Points through her work for her subjects, she achieved an A* in her Foundation It was also the launch of the first Princethorpe wholeProject Qualification exploring a title of ‘Is Pain school summer holiday da Vinci Challenge, entitled Necessary?’. A talented athlete, she represented ‘Bounce’ to reflect on last year’s theme of resilience, the school and she also excels in her creative the best of the entries are also included in this issue. endeavours, acting on the stage in the school I was excited to launch the da Vinci Certificate in production and entering the national Science September to expand the da Vinci Poetry Competition. Dami truly System into the co-curricular life of the embodies the da Vinci ideals and school too.

To read more of an is a most worthy recipient of this y of award for the second time. the articles The beautiful cover art of this edition was created by Art Scholar Bea Taylor as part of her GCSE work. It is fantastic to see her continue to develop as she has now entered the Sixth Form and is mentoring the younger Art Scholars in Art Club.

As ever it is my privilege to present to you a snapshot of some of the incredible work from the talented individuals here at Princethorpe College as we develop as a thriving community.

Julia Lindsay Challenge Curriculum Coordinator

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with the

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button, please scan this QR code.

Jay Patil, Y10

This year’s recipient of the boys’ da Vinci shield is Jay Patil. Jay demonstrated his outstanding academic performance across the curriculum and was rewarded with over 100 da Vinci Points last year. Jay’s Higher Project Qualification, on whether social media should come with an 18+ age restriction, was outstanding and scored full marks attaining an A* grade worth half a GCSE. He also embraced challenges outside the classroom completing his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. He embodies the da Vinci spirit demonstrating excellence across all disciplines; Science, Languages, Humanities and Arts and is a worthy recipient of this award.

Congratulations to them both.

This year the Challenge Calendar has launched as a super-curriculum, designed to take pupils’ interests beyond the taught curriculum in school.

Each month is packed with different activities for pupils of all ages to engage with. Here is a selection of Year 7 responses to some of the tasks that were on the September Challenge Calendar.

Elora Hughes, Y7

May Reynolds, Y7

Blythe Camilleri-Willis, Y7

Challenge Calendar

CHALLENGE CALENDAR | YEAR 7

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Bounce

Whole School Project Challenge

Luka Vrljicak, Y8

Our theme for the 2023-24 academic year at Princethorpe had been resilience, so I gave this project the title ‘Bounce’.

This was the first whole school ‘Summer Project’ set as part of the Challenge Curriculum, open to all pupils of any year group. The winning project was by Luka Vrljicak (currently in Y8) who won the £10 voucher as well as earning a full da Vinci merit. Well done to everyone who entered.

Here are a few of the best entries alongside Luka’s winning entry.

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Dami Ajagunna, Y9

The first whole school da Vinci project was launched in the end of term assembly.

Bounce:

Arthur Reid, Y9

ami

Inner Trampoline by D

ny names: I, Resilience, have ma in, never giving up: aga Perseverance, trying ce, I’m a constant presen es; tur lec in assemblies and old thing, And I may seem like an re new. but I’ve never been mo s-

is always ringing in ear My name, Resilience, con, Like the buzz of the air Or the tick of a clock; almost ignored So prevalent that I’m But there are times, you listen hard, When you stop, and if

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I’m still there, As relevant as ever.

you, I, Resilience, am willing do best, To go and do what you s, Because even if you mis , you e I’m there to encourag back, To bounce up, bounce

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And try again.

Charles Packe, Y9

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Elwin Williams, Y10

Academic scholars and high-performance learners are invited to participate in the Projects Qualification each year.

The Higher Project is worth half a GCSE grade at A*-C grades; the Foundation Level being equivalent to grades D-F. The pupils who undertook the Project Qualifications achieved fantastic results in their independent projects.

The pupils in Year 9 taking the Higher Project achieved 100% A*-B grades. Well done to all those pupils, you worked hard throughout the year to undertake your own research. The best of these are showcased here.

Now in Year 10, Jay Patil and William Smith both attained full marks for their dissertation projects considering if ‘social media should be restricted to over 18s’ and ‘is the death penalty still justifiable in the USA’. Elwin Williams’, brilliant artefact portfolio was a fantastic exposition on journalism and creating an article on the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

How justifiable is the Death Penalty in the United States of America?

Introduction This Project aims to explore the justification of capital punishment in the USA. I will look at the issues around capital punishment including considering any damaging psychological effects of keeping someone on death row for many years. Furthermore, I will explore the economics of capital punishment, the political issues, religious reasons that might be relevant.

Jay Patil, Y10

All pupils in Year 8 who undertook the Foundation Level Project achieved the top two grades. At the Foundation Level both Krishan Patel and Isaac Fowle achieved full marks for their dissertations: Krishan’s was on ‘whether AI is the future of healthcare’ and Isaac’s investigation into ‘why teenagers are reading less’, both combined their own primary research with scholarly arguments.

William Smith, Y10

Project Qualification 2024

PROJECT QUALIFICATION | UNDERTAKEN IN YEAR 8 AND 9

The areas I intend to research are: ● ●

●

which crimes are punishable by death in the US? is there a crime so heinous that the death penalty becomes ethical as a response? the process of conviction and detention in death row - what it’s like for inmates, the average stay until execution, those whom were wrongfully convicted and the views of the public, the victim’s family, the inmate’s family and the inmate.

I chose this Project topic because it encompasses many of the subjects that I love such as History, Religious Studies and Ethics and also allows me to explore subjects I may be interested in studying in the future such as Law, Politics and Psychology.

Capital punishment is a huge issue in society and world politics. I thought death row would be a fascinating area to explore since there are some very controversial views for and against, and there are also ample different aspects of research. I am also really interested in the Christian attitude towards the death penalty and whether the convicted should be forgiven.

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Krishan Patel, Y9

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Isaac Fowle, Y9

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Romantic Nature

English Romanticism is studied by Year 8. Here is a selection of great responses, selected by Mrs Pascoe Williams on the works they have studied.

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Austin Newbold,

8

Y8

Austin Higham, Y8

ENGLISH | YEAR 8

Matth

ew Em

brey,

Y8

Here is Miriam Lambe’s (Y7), wonderful stage adaptation of ‘Cogheart’ by Peter Bunzel. Also Dami Ajagunna (Y9), completed a project turning ‘Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun’ by Tola Okogwu into a TV series, which was rewarded with a Full da Vinci Merit.

It is fantastic to see our pupils taking their opportunities from the enrichment sessions even further.

7 Miriam Lambe ,Y

The English department holds a monthly enrichment session. For September’s English Enrichment, pupils were treated to a viewing of an interview with Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls, during which he spoke about the process of adapting a novel for film or stage. Pupils were then set a da Vinci challenge to adapt a book of their choice to film or stage.

Dami Ajagunna,Y9

English Enrichment

ENGLISH | ALL YEARS

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Secrets . Tell he r to keep anyone them sa about th fe and em, no Malkin: Malkin? she mus t EVER tn . Can yo u remem ’t tell Malkin Um, I th ber that prods th ink so. e pouch sniffing John: it with hi s nose.

Good, M ake for Bracken survive, bridge, I’ll com that’s w e find he here sh r. e’ll be.

If I ator:

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ENGLISH | YEAR 7

Magnificent Mead Halls Over the course of Key Stage 3 English, pupils study work from the ancient past to the present. Texts are deliberately and carefully chosen to ensure historical breadth and depth and to give pupils a clear understanding of the development of literature over time.

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olds,Y7 May Reyn

Monty Lester,Y7

Mila Foule

rton,Y7

Elora Hugh

es,Y7

In Year 7, pupils begin with the study of Beowulf and here you can see some wonderful examples of the fun 7M had creating shoebox Mead Halls and writing creative descriptions. The following selection received Creative da Vincis for their work.

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HISTORY | YEAR 7

Castle Constructions A sample of a fantastic collection of Motte and Bailey and Stone Keep castles from Year 7.

Year 7 complete a castle project as part of their curriculum lessons but these were created as an optional holiday creative challenge and were all awarded Creative da Vincis.

Bailey Sand Motte and n, Y7

by Mila Foulerto

stle e Keep Ca Cake Ston lythe, Y7 aB

by Jessic

Windso r

by Luc Castle ile Bell-Ba rth, Y7

GEOGRAPHY | YEAR 7

Passport To The World

Head of Geography, Mrs Baker was impressed with Ted Higginbotham’s (Y7), fantastic response to a standard homework task ‘Geography Your Passport To The World’.

It included lots of photos and interesting information. Ted has travelled to places like Indonesia, Cambodia and Columbia and is clearly a geographer in the making.

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FRENCH | YEAR 11

French Mastery In his own time, Jonjo read a children’s book ‘La loup vert’ (The Green Wolf) aimed at native speakers of French.

He used the words he learnt from the book and his prior knowledge to write a summary of the story and give his opinion. Although he made mistakes with more difficult tenses, Jonjo’s writing was fluent and complex, beyond what is expected at GCSE, and deserving of a Mastery da Vinci.

Le Loup vert L’histoire :

Le loup vert c’est l’histoire d’un loup vert qui habite dans un monde où tous les autres loups sont gris et il voulait changer sa couleur. Quand il voulait jouer au foot avec eux dans la forêt, ils se moquaient de lui parce qu’il était vert. Donc, il est allé en ville pour faire les magasins. Il a acheté des nouvelles vêtements grises, il les a portés mais il a oublié s’habiller sa queue, alors les autres loups ont vu sa queue verte et ils rient encore. Raoul a décidé d’allumer un feu, et d’utiliser les cendres du feu de se déguiser.

Mais, il n’avait pas de la chance parce qu’il a plu. Ensuite il a acheté la peinture grise, et il s’est peint sans oublier sa queue, mais étant donné qu’il faisait du soleil, c’était trop chaud pour le loup vert. Le loup était très triste mais il s’est rencontré une fée avec un baguette magique, mais elle n’était pas une fée géniale, Raoul a dit ‘Gris ! je voudrais être gris !’

Donc, elle a lève sa baguette magique et elle a dit ‘hip ! hap ! Hop !’ et Raoul devient un poisson !

Encore, ‘hip ! hap ! hop !’ et Raoul devient… oiseau !

Finalement, ‘Hip ! Hap ! Hop !’ et Raoul devient un loup, un loup vert.

Ensuite il a décidé qu’il vaut mieux rester un loup vert. Il est retourné à la forêt et il était content.

En lisant ce livre, je peux apprendre le vocabulaire et la structure des phrases et aussi ça fait tester ma capacité de comprendre une histoire, bien que je ne sache pas tous les mots ni toutes les phrases.

Je dirais que l’histoire était intéressante mais je pense que je suis prêt à essayer quelques choses plus difficiles.

Cependant, je ne dirais pas que je sois prêt à lire Voltaire !

By Jonjo Boyle

Roman Banquet Over the half term holiday pupils in Year 7 were given to opportunity to expand their experience of Roman Culture in an optional project where they could prepare a Roman Meal.

Elora Hughes, Y7

There were many fantastic responses to this task. May planned and cooked a delicious Roman meal – and even included reviews by Caecilius and Metella! Elora produced a poster.

It is full of interesting detail and beautifully presented!

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May Reynolds, Y7

LATIN | YEAR 7

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SPANISH | YEAR 7

Reportero Español

SPANISH | YEAR 8

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Austin Newbold , Y8

Mrs Gawthorpe submitted these pieces of work created by her Year 8 pupils on the topic of ‘My Daily Routine’ demonstrating some excellent language skills and creativity.

LISTEN ONLINE

Jo Kowal, Y8

My Daily Routine

Listen to Darcey’s audio onlin e

Sienna Clay, Y8

Darcey Wilcox-Smith (Y7), has done a great interview where she pretends to be a reporter (interviewing herself!). Her Spanish is excellent, and I love the creative response to the task.

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Erin Cow ley, Y7

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY | YEAR 7

Recycled Design Inspiration

7 Design and Mrs Sharpe’s Year completed an Technology pupils project, creating exciting extended tirely from model bedrooms en . recycled materials

well, Y7 o C r u h t Ar

a unique ked with designing Each pupil was tas ough thr life to it d bringing bedroom layout an re we s ult res e Th . home a 3D model built at del mo inspiring, with each both inventive and ity, and bil ina sta su of creativity, showcasing a blend design skills. as wood, ycled materials such Using a variety of rec d even an s, rap sc bottles, fabric cardboard, plastic ture nia mi d fte cra s ing, pupil repurposed packag ive rat ing units, and deco beds, desks, shelv pupil’s personal the ts ec refl l de touches. Each mo , small ul details like wall art style, with thoughtf t mirror tha s me the ted oordina plants, and colour-c real-life bedrooms. ls were The finished mode across ion rat mi ad met with both the school, showing ntal me on the skill and envir ing dd bu r ou awareness of rk wo rd ha eir Th rs. designe the of n tio ec refl ud pro is a ge at values we encoura we look d an e, Princethorp en more ev g ein se to forward in the future! innovative projects

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY SIXTH FORM

A-level Product Design

These pieces were created by A-level DT students for their examinations in Summer 2024.

The practical element of the course allows for students to explore design and creative elements and produce their final piece alongside a portfolio of work.

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Sofia Bor

g, Y7

lythe, Y

Leela B

DOG STORAGE CRATE

BY WILLIAM HARRISON

7

AUTOMATIC PLANT WATERING DEVICE BY OLIVER LLEWELLYN

TABLE FOOTBALL GAME

BY BEN MOORE

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY YEAR 11

TIMING DEVICE

BY SOPHIE NICOLLE

LAPTOP STAND BY MAX PHILLIPS-GORE SHEEP COUNTER

BY WILF GRINDAL

GCSE Product Design

These wonderful products were produced by Year 11 pupils as the practical part of their GCSE examination, Summer 2024.

CHESS SET FOR ARTHRITIC PLAYERS BY CARLA SHAYLER

RALLY CAR TOOL STORAGE

BY DANIEL TAYLOR

PORTABLE SPEAKER

BY HENRY JEFFRIES

MOTORCYCLE STARTER DEVICE BY ARCHY WALKER

EPOXY COFFEE TABLE WITH ENCAPSULATED WOOD BY XZAVIER HUTCHINSON-HAYES

MOTORISED GARDEN TRAILER BY LOUIS HARPER

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SPORT | YEAR 8

The Sports Interview William Shaw (Y8) is within the top 36 sailors in the country and the highest ranked sailor from the Midland’s region. He was selected to take part in the International Optimist Class Association (IOCA) Performance Training this winter.

This included a series of weekends training on the south coast for the top 36 optimist sailors in the UK based on national ranking. Will is the only midlands sailor to be invited to the performance training. Most recently, Will sailed at the IOCA National Winter Championships at Rutland Water in November. The fleet of 100 boats sailed eight races over the two-day event. Will achieved a 7th, 10th and 12th as his top finishes in the 100-boat fleet and finished 27th overall. An amazing achievement!

Name: William Shaw Sport: Sailing Representative Honours (achievements): I came third at the Independent Schools Association (ISA) and I am the top sailor in the midlands and thirtieth sailor in the UK. How did you get into sailing?

I started at my local club, Banbury Sailing Club, when I was 5 and did the youth training for three years to get to Level 3 RYA sailing.

Do you do any other sports?

Yes. I do Rugby, Hockey and Football at school and MTB in my spare time.

What does your training/week programme look like to compete at your sporting level: I do strength and conditioning twice a week to keep fit for sailing and I do sport every other day except on Fridays. I usually do lots of sailing training over the winter while I am not competing at national and international events.

What has been the highlight of your season so far?

The highlight of my season so far is when I was sailing in Pwllheli in 35 knots winds with waves as big as my friend Charlie (who is very tall) and being selected for the International Optimist Class Association (IOCA) performance training.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

My goal is to make it to the IOCA European Championships 2025 which is in Istanbul Yacht Club Türkiye.

Who are your sporting role models?

My sporting role models are Dylan Fletcher and Alison Young.

What advice would you give to young sailors like yourself?

Start early, don’t rush yourself and the sailors spelling of FUN is W I N.

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COMPUTER SCIENCE | YEAR 8

Bebras Challenge Gold Awards 33 Computer Science pupils, from Year 8 through to the Sixth Form, demonstrated their exceptional computing skills in the UK Bebras Challenge, earning themselves a Bebras Gold Award and an invitation to compete in the follow-on Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) in March.

The challenge is highly regarded for its emphasis on computational thinking and tasks participants with solving a variety of complex logic problems under timed conditions.

This year, an impressive 187 Princethorpe pupils from across the age groups earned recognition, with 46 achieving a ‘Merit’ and another 46 earning a ‘Distinction.’ Dillon Horan (Y9), Daniel Ovens Gibbs (Y11) and Emile Gibrat (L6) were each awarded ‘Best in School’ for their respective age groups.

Congratulations to all the participants and the best of luck to those competing in the OUCC.

Bright Spark

PHYSICS | YEAR 10

Alexa Thoday in Y10 created this amazing poster on electrical safety in Physics for a homework assignment, which was awarded a creativity da Vinci for presentation.

Mr Lee said at first glance he thought she had made it electronically, but it is entirely hand drawn.

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CHEMISTRY | LOWER SIXTH FORM

Exploring Orbitals

They were asked to summarise their learning and to include research on Hund’s and Aufbau’s work.

Some of the pupils were very creative and we had 3D models made from pasta, wire and playdoh, biscuits baked, as well as beautiful posters produced.

Isabel Barnes

r, L6

Ruby Mande

Lower Sixth pupils have been building on their KS4 work about atomic structure and have been learning about orbitals and sub shells in class.

,L Nell Tilstone

6

, L6

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nter, L6 Emmi Parme

Cambridge University Challenge Success

In the summer our Lower Sixth Chemistry students took part in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, which takes students significantly beyond the syllabus and encourages them to think about science in the way they would at university.

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The chemists prepared themselves for the competition by taking part in the weekly Cambridge Chemistry Challenge co-curricular club to develop their critical problem-solving skills, think creatively, and get a chance to test their knowledge in new, real-world situations.

All students who took part in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge achieved a certificate.

Special mentions go to Louise Gambling who was awarded a silver certificate, and Charlotte Gledhill, Hamish O'Brien, Joe Jaimon Jacob, Sammie Borland, and Tom Windley who were all awarded Copper certificates. All the chemists faced tough national competition, and we congratulate them all on the great resilience they demonstrated.

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PHYSICS | YEARS 11

The Physics Of Space Mr Lee challenged his GCSE Students over the summer holidays between Y10 and Y11 to conduct an independent research project into the physics of space and to create a response.

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Lucas Summers, Y11

These are outstanding examples of their work, demonstrating both Mastery of their subject knowledge and Creativity to be rewarded with full da Vinci Merits – well done to Kathryn Flegg, Josh Gorbutt, Lucas Summers and Marco RodriguezHernandez.

Marco Rodriguez-Hernandez, Y11

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Kathryn Flegg, Y11

Josh Gorbutt, Y11

Princethorpe College

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Registered Charity Number 1087124. Registered Office: Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby CV23 9PX.