College’s Jubilee Friday Night Lights Celebrates The Opening Of The New All-Weather Pitch

The evening is always a popular precursor to the start of the sporting season with plenty of entertaining matches for everyone to enjoy. It was wonderful to see so many of the Princethorpe community coming together to enjoy all the fun and to welcome so many former pupils, parents and local sports teams to Princethorpe to share in the excitement.

The evening also saw the grand opening of our new All-weather Pitch and the very first competitive matches played on this amazing new facility. The pitch developments are part of the College’s wider Vision for Sport, and the upgrade included a new FIH category 3 sand-dressed surface, enhanced training areas, scoreboard and covered dugouts for players and officials. 

Headmaster, Grove du Toit, formally cut the ribbon and declared the all-weather pitch officially open in a special ceremony in front of an audience of invited guests before the first competitive match kicked off. The event marked the culmination of months of work and celebrated the wonderful new facilities the College and wider community can now enjoy.  

The first game on the new pitch was a fantastic, fast-paced hockey game. The College’s Boys 1st XI Hockey team took on an experienced mixed OP team, play flowed backwards and forwards, but the OPs made the most of their chances, taking the victory 6-0. The College team made the most of valuable game time before their season starts. That match was followed with the Girls 1^st Hockey XI playing a friendly against Trent College with both teams demonstrating skill and determination and enjoying the chance to test out the new playing surface.

As well as hockey, across the site the Princethorpe community enjoyed rugby, football and netball. Out on the Rugby pitch, the OP Leavers of 2025 (with one leaver from 2023), took on the Leavers of 2026 in a fierce, fast‑paced showdown. There was plenty of friendly rivalry, but the Leavers of 2025 were delighted to take the win 35-19. The College’s Rugby 1^st XV then played Barr’s Hill School in an entertaining game with the team showing plenty of promise ahead of the start of the season. In The Orchard, the Boys 1^st XI Football team faced an OP team in what was a furious, fast-paced friendly where both teams lit up the pitch, belying the eventual 1-1 result. The College eventually took the win 11-10 on penalties. On the Netball courts, the 1^st VI Netball team faced a mixed OP team. The teams were closely matched but the OPs just edged it in the end to take the win, 17-16. The College then faced Trent College in a preseason friendly that provided a great chance to get some extra match practice ahead of their first competitive fixtures.

At the After Match Awards, the OP representatives from all the sports teams proudly raised the Alex Wallis Memorial Shield.

Lee Cassell, Foundation Director of Sport, commented, “We had a fantastic evening of sport at our Friday Night Lights. It was great to see our community come together to start the new season and to celebrate our fabulous new all-weather pitch. The new playing surface, players and spectator areas are all amazing, and I can’t wait to see the College’s teams making the most of these incredible new facilities. A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made the evening so special, especially to all the players. The energy and sporting spirit on display ensured we had plenty of entertaining matches to enjoy. Our College teams showed real promise and I am looking forward to the season ahead.”