60 Princethorpe People

Our sincerest thanks go to these five OPs who are featured in the second 60 Princethorpe People post:

Class of 1969: Adrian Mulleady, Princethorpe Shield Winner

When we moved from St Bedes to Princethorpe, some 60 years ago, the majority of the teachers were Irish priests and I can vaguely remember a couple of brothers from MSC. My class had two boys whose family had fled Libya because of Christian persecution. There were also boys from Zambia and Hong Kong. My most significant memory is attending a geography field course in the Lake District, where I met my future wife who was from a school in Northumberland! I am now a retired chartered surveyor, enjoying life and good memories of my time at St Bedes and Princethorpe.

Class of 1972: Paul Carter, Trustee

Following my formative years at Princethorpe College, I developed a career at Rolls-Royce as a Contracts Engineer and Systems Analyst. I then moved to an IT company where I managed projects for multi-national companies. I later ran my own business in the global supply chain and logistics sectors for 20 years, then worked a few years part-time for a local charity before fully retiring. I am a golfer plus an active lawn tennis player and have assisted the development of my local club since 2005. I've also had 10 years experience as a Governor at a local school and 3 years as a mentor on the University of Warwick enterprise scheme for schools. I'm now delighted to be a Trustee at The Princethorpe Foundation Board where I can support the Foundation's ethos, standards and policies to ensure its continued success as respected schools of learning and personal development.

Class of 1973: Adrian Charlton, Princethorpe Shield Winner

After leaving Princethorpe, I worked in catering and baking, attending what is now University College Birmingham in the mid-1970s. Over time, I moved into accountancy and took the exams of firstly the Association of Accounting Technicians and later those of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. I worked for many concerns, large and small, ending up self-employed with a small number of clients until I retired in 2021. I married in 1984, and we had two boys and two girls. We lived in Rugby, until we moved to Wales in 2003. There we converted some dilapidated barns into 3 holiday cottages, which we opened in 2005 and ran for around 10 years, after which we rented them out until selling up in 2020. We now live in a quiet corner of paradise, with views across the Preseli Hills towards Fishguard.

My time at Princethorpe College has always been important to me. I recall arriving that first day, together with my trunk full of all the necessary items for boarding school, a new uniform, clothes, sheets, towels, toiletries and so forth. We stepped into an environment that might be described as organised chaos, however that would not be correct. The place was organised, may I say, along Irish lines. There was a calmness apparent, but unless we showed some initiative there was nobody to do things for us. We just about found our beds in the dormitories, our classrooms, the dining hall, tuck shop, and all the other places in the house, but we learnt very quickly that life at Princethorpe was to be how we made it. Questions would be met with something like “Ah, sure now boy, that is a fine question, so it is, now let me see…”.  The likely answer usually raised more questions, so it was easier to sort things out for ourselves. The building had been empty for a while, which was evident from numerous broken windows and a general run down air. Michael, the caretaker, never seemed to have enough time, as he struggled to get heating and hot water available, besides attending to a multitude of maintenance tasks. It was many months before the heating came on, much to our relief.

As I remember, there were around 200 of us those first days, around half boarders, and half day boys. Boarders arrived the day before term started, so we stole a march on learning the house geography on the day boys. The first person I remember speaking to turned out to be the man who now is my very best and oldest friend, the best man at my wedding, and who has been a rock over the years. There were very many friendships formed of this nature. In fact, when describing Princethorpe I liken it to having been a very large family rather than a school. The staff were predominately clergy from Ireland, living in their wing of the building, so we grew used to seeing them out of school hours and, fortunately, they fell in with the gentle banter which ensued, and we embraced a little of the Irish culture.

Princethorpe College now has no boarders, is co-educational, and has many more students. I cannot say how it now compares to those early years, but I am pleased to have had the opportunity to grow and develop in the school as it was, because that has gone forever. Princethorpe College turned out young people who were self-reliant, resourceful, and independent. They are to be found in all walks of life, and in this regard, I am sure nothing will have changed.

Class of 1975: Alex Darkes, Archivist Emeritus and Former Assistant Head

Little did I realise when I first walked through the doors of Princethorpe College on 4 June 1967, that it would be a place which would shape me during my formative years and then employ me for a total of nearly 45 years. I remember so vividly as a 10-year-old that first meeting with Fr Bill Clarkson, who became Headmaster in 1969 and who in 1979 offered me a job on the staff. Over a period of 45 years I taught Mathematics, Physics and latterly A-level photography. I also navigated Photography Club for 37 years and was a Year 7 form teacher for the same period. For many years I had responsibility for admissions, marketing and communications, working closely with Mel Butler and Loretta Curtis. I was involved with the merger with St Joseph’s School in 2001, leading to the formation of The Princethorpe Foundation and in my final ten years of work I headed up the team responsible for the Foundation’s buildings’ development plan. I still enjoy being associated with the Foundation as Archivist Emeritus and a member of the Old Princethorpian Committee.

What do I remember and value most apart from lifelong friendships and wonderful colleagues? The school’s unique ethos based on the gospel values of love, service and forgiveness, central to its spiritual and moral compass and perpetuated through the motto Christus Regnet. Without ever being overly authoritative, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the dedicated lay community promoted an atmosphere of tolerance, acceptance and mutual respect, which formed the backbone of the school. I remain proud of the fact that some pupils and members of staff who had never settled in other schools found their niche and direction for life in the unique Princethorpe family. I finally retired in April 2024 and look back with immense happiness.

Class of 1980: Adrian Starbuck

I studied at Princethorpe from 1977 to 1980. I remember the great staff and wonderful meals. I have worked in catering, retail and spent over 17 years at a bus company. My hobbies are writing songs and Art. My wife, Charlotte and I married in 2009 and we live in Dover with our little dog, Angel.

Princethorpe In 60

Sixty years and so many wonderful memories! In our first post of the series, we celebrated five of our special places, but this time we are going to focus on something much more important to our pupils... food!

Princethorpe Cookies have been legendary for at least 20 years. A popular choice for pupils at break and lunchtime, they have also graced many a Taster Day or Open Event. Do you remember enjoying one and what was your favourite flavour?

Princethorpe Honey has been produced from hives on-site since the times of The Priory, looked after by resident beekeepers, staff members and even a co-curricular Beekeeping Club. There is never any shortage of takers when it comes to honey harvesting time!

"Fish and Chip Friday" has always been popular with pupils and staff alike. A regular on the Refectory Friday lunchtime menu and heralding the countdown to the weekend, the tasty traditional British dish is loved by all.

The 'Princethorpe Blue': For our Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2016/17, Old Princethorpian and master cheesemaker, Melvin Glynn (Class of 1975), created a very special limited-edition range of cheese. Did you purchase and enjoy sampling the Princethorpe Blue?

The Tuck Shop has enjoyed a few locations over the years, including the Main School corridor in the early 1980s, and it was even run by pupils during the 1970s and 80s! By 1989 it was situated in a portacabin, and for many years now it has been based on the corner of The Limes. It now has a new name, The Bourse.

Of course, there are plenty more food-related memories we could have shared, from poverty lunches and World Porridge Day in aid of Mary's Meals, to prefect and first team dinners, picnics and more.

Why not share your memories of people, places and traditions at Princethorpe College with our archivist, and help us build the Princethorpe story? Simply email Jo Wong at archives@princethorpe.co.uk

Follow our social media channels to enjoy the full series of posts throughout the year for #60PrincethorpePeople and #PrincethorpeIn60 and be sure to comment, like and share:

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