It was a warm and sunny evening as our guests gathered for welcome drinks in the Quad of Princethorpe College, for this year's Summer Supper Reunion on Friday 27 June.

Alumni from the classes of 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2015 returned to celebrate their respective 50th, 40th, 30th and 10th anniversaries of leaving, many having not been back to the College or seen each other since they left as pupils. Joining them in the revels were former and long-serving members of staff, as well as current members of staff who will be sadly leaving the College this year. The OP Committee and Foundation staff were pleased to welcome all these guests, to honour the former and current staff for their service to the College over the years, and to cement the friendships and connection with our former pupils. As Foundation Principal, Ed Hester, said in his Welcome speech, it is the pupils and staff that make a lasting impact on the school and shape its future.

Many guests arrived early for the optional tour of the campus, led by Melanie Butler and Caroline Spencer. The group meandered excitedly around the campus, visiting historic areas such as the Chapel, the Library, the cloister corridors and the Roundhouse, as well as the newer Limes Building and Sixth Form Centre and the most recent addition to the site, the Science Centre. Former boarders enjoyed posing for photos next to their old bedrooms on Lower Pugin, and leavers of 1995 reminisced about their lessons as they passed by their old classroom along the Maths corridor. 

After a glass or two of Pimms or beer in in the Quad, Foundation Principal, Ed Hester, welcomed the guests and took the opportunity to reveal the latest College initiative - the Princethorpe beer! Introducing the 'Cloister Pale', a juicy 4.0% pale ale, brewed by Twisted Barrell in Coventry and labelled with our own original design, Ed invited guests to be the first to sample the beer ahead of its public launch to the wider community at Princethorpe Summer Fest that weekend.

Once seated in the Refectory, Fr Alan Whelan MSC said Grace and the room filled with the hubbub of chatter and laughter as guests sat with peers from the same or similar leaving decade. Over a delicious three course meal, conversations were bolstered by a rolling powerpoint meticulously curated by our Archivist, Jo Wong, which featured images of many of the attendees taken from year books, prize giving programmes and the College’s magazine, The Tower.

Before dessert, Headmaster Grove du Toit gave messages of thanks. Gifts were presented to members of staff who have served more than ten years at the College, and also to members of staff who are leaving the College. One such example is Felicity Coulson, who has taught music for almost 30 years and led the Peri and LAMDA teams for over ten. Felicity was presented with a special bouquet, and all leaving staff were welcomed into lifelong membership of the Old Princethorpian Association. Grove also thanked the College’s wonderful catering team who helped to make the evening such a success. He finished by raising a toast to the alumni themselves - reiterating our commitment to them, and reminding them of the crucial role they play as part of the wider Foundation community. Grove drew their attention to the Alumni Award fliers on the tables, reminding guests of this new opportunity to recognise and celebrate exceptional alumni each year, which we hope will become a well-loved tradition. Please visit the page, here,for more information on the Alumni Award.

As the supper came to a happy close, guests mingled, teachers enjoyed hearing of their pupils’ achievements, and plans were made for keeping in touch with more informal reunions in the future.

Thanks go to our wonderful catering and estates teams, the OPs Committee and all who contributed to the success of the event. To see the photos from the evening, sign up to Princethorpe Connect or log in to view this gallery.

We encourage you to get involved in OP activity, engage with Princethorpe Connect, and spread the word to encourage others to do the same. We are keen to keep the Princethorpe Spirit of Family alive and well for generations to come.

The next OP event to look forward to is the annual OPs vs College Sports Day, which takes place at the College on Saturday 30 August. It is a fantastic, family-friendly day which mixes sports with music, BBQ, an ice cream van and subsidised bar! Why not come along? Please visit our events page for more details.