On Saturday 9 September we were delighted to welcome to the College some of the ‘old girls’ from St Mary’s Priory, the school on the site before Princethorpe College was founded. The group are known to us as ‘Very Special Old Princethorpians (VSOPs).

The informal get-together, allowed for plenty of time to chat, reminisce and to look around the College and see how it has changed over the last sixty or seventy years.

The day started with coffee and pastries, and plenty of time to catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances. The Development Office had set up a fascinating display of memorabilia, and our VSOPs took great delight in browsing through it all. They also enjoyed recording their memories of St Mary’s Priory, in a special audio recording booth, adding their fascinating spoken history to the Foundation’s archives.

We were overwhelmed by the warmth and regard the VSOPs showed the College, and it was lovely to spend time with the ‘old girls’, hearing of their school days here. For us, it was a further opportunity to cement friendships and to learn more about the history of the place which we all love so much.

At coffee time we heard from VSOP Sr Monica Lewis who shared her calling with the group speaking of her life in a Benedictine community in Germany. We then made time for a quick group photograph, then after a delicious buffet lunch we hosted a Zoom call to allow the more distant VSOPs including Sr Mary Bernard to join in the reunion.

Headmaster, Grove du Toit, popped in to welcome the VSOPs back to Princethorpe before Foundation Assistant Head, Alex Darkes, took our guests on a tour of the College, taking in the latest addition to the College’s facilities, the new Science Centre, as well as the original chapel, now a library, and ending in the church for a short service given by Father Teddy O’Brien, MSC, with the organ played by organist Tim Campain. Following the service, our guests were treated to afternoon tea, and a final chance to look at the archives, speak with current members of staff and exchange farewells.