Headteacher
Chris Coyle-Chislett
Email the Office
secretary@penpol.cornwall.sch.uk
Telephone Number
01736 753472
Our Address
2 St George’s Road, Hayle,
Cornwall, TR27 4AH
Year 4 have been diving into their Roman history topic this term and celebrated in style with an unforgettable Roman Day on Thursday 20th November 2025. The school was transformed as pupils and staff stepped back in time, donning fantastic Roman costumes and bringing history vividly to life.
The day began with a visit from Marcus Quintonius, a high-ranking Roman legionnaire, who welcomed the children and shared fascinating insights into life in the Roman army. With a focus on the Roman invasion of Britannia, pupils learned about the equipment, roads and forts used by the Romans and discovered what made them such a powerful and successful force.
Both classes were then challenged to put their thinking skills to the test during an exciting code-breaking activity. Working together, pupils deciphered a secret message said to be written by Emperor Julius Caesar himself. The hidden message revealed one of the Roman Empire’s greatest engineering achievements — Hadrian’s Wall.
The Roman theme continued with classic army card games, including Roman Rummy, before pupils experienced what it was like to march as part of a Roman legion. Led by Marcus’ booming commands, Classes 9 and 10 marched proudly across the playground, reinforcing their understanding of Roman orders and discipline. Pupils also practised forming the famous defensive formation known as the testudo (tortoise), which proved highly effective at protecting them from the teachers’ incoming “missiles”!
The effort put into costumes, shields, face paint and hairstyles was outstanding. The children looked magnificent and Marcus Quintonius was extremely impressed by how enthusiastically Year 4 embraced the day.
Roman Day was a memorable and enriching experience, bringing history to life and showcasing the pupils’ enthusiasm, teamwork and creativity. A fantastic day was had by all!
This week, our school and wider community came together to mark Remembrance Day, honouring those who served in wars past and present. In the days leading up to November 11th, our Year 6 pupils took part in a range of special activities across different subjects to help us understand and reflect on the importance of remembrance.
In English, children learned the famous World War I poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. They discussed the poem’s meaning, imagery and the emotions it evokes. Pupils were inspired to write their own thoughtful poems about the brave souls who sacrificed their lives in WWI.
Meanwhile, in Art, pupils created striking pictures of poppy fields, soldiers, and scenes from wartime, showing great care and creativity.
In Design and Technology, children designed and sewed their own red poppies, carefully stitching the petals and leaves to create beautiful symbols of remembrance.
On Remembrance Day itself, the whole year group walked together to the Hayle War Memorial. We joined members of the local community to take part in a two-minute silence at 11 o’clock. It was a moving and respectful moment as we stood quietly, remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Our Remembrance Day activities helped everyone to think deeply about history, sacrifice, and gratitude — and to understand why it is so important to remember.
Last year, some staff and key stage two pupils here at Penpol School got together over a series of singing assemblies to write a song that sums up what it is like to go to Penpol School. The children gave lots of ideas about what they enjoy and like about school and worked hard to incorporate these ideas into the song. Our song ‘The Best That I Can Be’ was then recorded in a singing assembly and entered into the national School Song Competition.
Amazingly our song fought off stiff competition of 350 entries and we were invited to The competition final just held just outside of London.
The song is a credit to the children and staff and really encompasses what it is like to be a student at Penpol School. You can listen to the song on all major streaming platforms.
