Meet the OPs Committee
The Old Princethorpians Committee is going from strength to strength. The Committee has recently welcomed some new members and now numbers 20 with additional support from key Foundation staff.
The committee comprised of past pupils from across the decades and associated schools of the Foundation, former parents, form and current longstanding members of staff and representatives from the current Sixth Form student body.
Image Caption: OP Committee Meeting, 14 January 2025
Back Row (L-R): Alex Darkes, Peter Rollason, Steve Kowal, Tom Gleghorn, Grove du Toit, James Davies, Ed Hester, Nick Brosnan, Eddie Tolcher
Front Row (L-R): Nigel Bromley, Chris Cattle, Libby Williams, Lottie Jones, Laura Brazier, Toni Reszka, Caroline Spencer
The Committee meets three times a year and conducts its business over a very pleasant supper in the new Sixth Form Centre.
If you would be interested in attending a committee meeting or possibly joining the committee, please contact the OPs Secretary, Melanie Butler by emailing Old Princethorpians.
The Committee’s raison d’etre is as follows, to:
- Act as link between past and current pupils, their parents and former staff
- Keep in touch with past pupils and facilitate their friendships and networking opportunities
- Celebrate the achievements of alumni
- Involve alumni with the life of the College through events, communications, careers, philanthropy and fundraising
- Uphold the ethos of the school and promote its interests
The work of the OP Committee is underpinned and directed by these foundational pillars:
- Communications, Connectivity and Inclusivity
- Careers, Networking and Volunteering
- Engagement, Events and Hospitality
- Philanthropy and Development
- OP Leadership and Responsibilities
Peter Griffin
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School Connection:
Teacher - Princethorpe College (1978 - 2015)
OP Committee Focus:
Engagement, Events and Hospitality
Career at the College:
My long association with Princethorpe College began in 1978 when I had the good fortune to be employed by the charismatic Fr Bill Clarkson as Head of Economics, a position I retained until passing on that baton to Kenny Owen shortly before my retirement in 2015. I became the College’s first lay Deputy-Head in 1982 whilst continuing to teach Economics full-time. In the mid-1990s, when my wife, Liz, returned to full-time teaching, Fr Whelan allowed me to step down as Deputy but asked me to take on the role of Examinations Secretary, a position which expanded to include responsibility for all internal exams and assessments; I continued in this role until my retirement in 2015.
What are some of your favourite memories of your time at the school?
Outside of the classroom, I thoroughly enjoyed playing 5-a-side football on Fridays after school where students relished the opportunity to tackle (and kick!) players on the staff team. I was a modestly successful bowler for the staff cricket team, known as Princethorpe Piranhas, with regular fixtures every summer. I loved playing ‘the baddie’ in staff drama productions and can still recite lines and verses from those shows.
As well as counting Alex Darkes, Eddie Tolcher, Eddie MacFetridge, Ed and Tracey Hester and Fr Teddy O’Brien amongst our closest friends we’re still in regular touch with Bernie Moroney, Colin Morgan, Steve White, Gwilym Price, Mike Taylor, Mick Kitterick, Lou and Barbara Skiffington and look forward to our annual pre-Christmas dinner.
What motivated you to join the Alumni Committee?
I wanted to ensure that former College members of staff continue to have a role to play – we are part of the Princethorpe family and very much see ourselves as Old Princethorpians. I was delighted that on my retirement my wife was invited to join the Foundation Trustees and I was proud to support her in her role as Chair of Trustees from 2017-2025.
As part of the committee my biggest highlights have been our two cycling ‘pilgrimages’ to France in 2017 and again in 2019 where I took on the role of ‘routemaster’ finding the best and quietest roads for our 20 or so pilgrims to take. The first of these was to celebrate the College’s golden jubilee and our route took us from the founding house of the MSCs in Issouden to Montargis, the mother house town of the Benedictine nuns who built the Priory in Princethorpe in the 1830s. Who knows whether we might organise another pilgrimage for our diamond jubilee?
What are you doing now?
Family life continues to take up much of our time supporting and visiting our three children and grandchildren. Our eldest son and 'Old P' James, emigrated to Australia and we’ve enjoyed five trips ‘down under’ since retirement. We hope that travel and exploring will continue to feature largely in our lives as long as the knees hold out!