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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

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundation of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”
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Rebecca Best

Year 1 Roars with Creativity

Year 1 have been having a dino-mite time developing their art skills, and this term, we’ve been learning about printing! Using bubble wrap, we created fantastic textured prints to make dinosaur scales—how cool is that? The bubble wrap gave our dinosaurs a scaly effect, bringing them to life in a whole new way.

This activity was the perfect way to showcase our Penpol Value of Creativity, as we explored new techniques and unleashed our imagination. What a fun and creative way to bring dinosaurs to life on paper!

Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel!

The Key Question Year 1 are exploring in RE this term is: “Who is Jewish and how do they live?”

This term, we’ve had a lot of fun learning about the dreidel, a traditional Jewish game. Jewish people play dreidel during the festival of Hanukkah, which celebrates the Festival of Lights. We’ve also been singing the dreidel song:

I have a little dreidel,
I made it out of clay.
And when it’s dry and ready,
Oh dreidel, I shall play!

Penpol Writing Challenge!

At Penpol, we are all writers. During the Autumn Term, children from EYFS to Year 6 were invited to participate in our Penpol Writing Challenge, giving everyone the opportunity to let their creativity shine! The children could choose between the fiction challenge of writing a story or the non-fiction challenge of writing instructions or a recipe.

Congratulations to all the children who entered! I was so impressed with all of your entries, and you should all be incredibly proud of yourselves:

  • Esme from Class 1 – I loved your story about a family called Sparkle who visited Cornwall.
  • Jude from Class 3 – I loved your instructions for finding Pirate Bob’s treasure.
  • Andrew from Class 4 – I loved your instructions to Save Our Animals! You included so many interesting facts in your writing.
  • Jowan from Class 4 – I loved your instructions for making hot chocolate on the beach.
  • Macie from Class 4 – I loved your instructions for making chocolate chip cookies. They sound delicious!
  • Violet from Class 4 – I loved your instructions for making pea and potato curry-loaded naan. You’ve really shown our Penpol Value of Creativity.
  • Ted from Class 6 – I loved your creative story about the Queen’s birthday.
  • Hazel from Class 7 – I loved your creative story Tadeo Jones: The Amazing Adventure of Ancient Egypt.
  • Martha from Class 7 – I loved your story The Hot Sunny Desert. I especially enjoyed reading how to mummify a human!
  • Emily from Class 8 – I loved your creative story about a fairy adventure.
  • Suki from Class 9 – I loved your story Daisy and the Trouble with Bikes. It was so creative!
  • Alayah from Class 12 – I loved your story about Leaf the Little Flower Fairy. I can’t wait to read the next part of the series!
  • Pearl from Class 12 – I loved your story Pearl vs. Seagull. I was extra careful reading it thanks to your warning on the front page!
  • Molly from Class 13 – I loved your creative story Literally a Disaster. You really demonstrated our Penpol Value of Resilience and Creativity.

Please enjoy reading the children’s fantastic entries below. We’re already looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for our next Penpol Writing Challenge:

  • Fiction: Write your own comic!
  • Non-Fiction: Write an invitation or plan an event or party.

We can’t wait to see your creativity in action—happy writing!

A Magical Moonlight Walk to See The Mousehole Cat

“At the far end of England, a land of rocks and moorland stretches out into a blue-green sea. Between its high headlands lie tiny, sheltered harbours where fishing boats hide when the winter storms blow.”

Year 1 had a magical adventure to see The Mousehole Cat at The Solomon Browne Hall in Mousehole.

‘The Mousehole Cat tells the heartwarming tale of how the village of Mousehole in West Cornwall was saved from famine by the brave actions of fisherman Tom Bawcock and his faithful cat, Mowzer. Based on a well-known Cornish legend, Antonia Barber’s story of the fearless fisherman and his devoted cat is sure to warm the cockles of your heart—almost as much as an ‘efty portion of stargazy pie!’

First, Year 1 walked through the picturesque streets of Mousehole, admiring the harbour we had previously drawn in class. As we strolled along the cobbled streets, we finally reached The Solomon Browne Hall, where the children watched the performance of The Mousehole Cat in awe. After the show, we walked back to the harbour, where we were treated to the magical lights. It was a truly enchanting experience, and a wonderful way to complete our Moonlit Walk, earning our 360° Curriculum Badge.

The children demonstrated our Penpol Value of Respect throughout the trip and represented Penpol School wonderfully. Thank you so much to Cousin Jack’s Theatre Company for providing us with such a truly amazing experience.

Year 1 Gets Active: Mastering Hockey Skills in Invasion Games!

Here’s Year 1 having a blast developing their competence and performance through exciting invasion games! Recently, we’ve been focusing on hockey, learning how to control the ball and work together as a team. It’s been fantastic watching the children practice their skills, improve their coordination, and have lots of fun along the way.

Here are a photo of Year 1 in action, showing off their hockey moves and teamwork during these energetic games!

Reading and Writing is Magic, and Magic is for Everyone

Our annual Reading and Writing Is Magic Festival has been nothing short of spectacular, filled with fun activities, challenges, and a whole lot of creativity! This week, we’ve been celebrating the life-changing power of reading and writing in every corner of the school, inspiring everyone at Penpol to embrace their imagination and explore the magic of words.

The key theme of the week was ‘Reading and writing is magic, and magic is for everyone’ — a message that has resonated throughout every activity. We’ve focused on the idea that every child has the right to…

  • Be creative 
  • Have a planet to read and write on
  • See themselves reflected in a book
  • Have some choice in what they read and write
  • Read and write for the joy of it

We had the privilege of hosting Cornish writer Ben Rowswell, who led energetic and inspiring assemblies for all year groups. His passion for storytelling was contagious, and everyone was excited to tap into their own creativity. You can learn more about Ben and his work here: Cornwall Adventure.

To keep the creative spark alive, every child has been given their own special notebook — a place where they can write freely and express their ideas throughout the year. It’s a space for independent creativity, giving each child the chance to freely write for the joy of it.

At Penpol, we believe reading and writing are truly magical, and this festival has been a perfect reminder of how important and exciting these skills are. Here’s to many more adventures with books, stories, and the endless possibilities of writing!

Bright Smiles Ahead: Year 1 Learns the Secrets to Healthy Teeth!

Year 1 had a fantastic time learning all about how to keep our teeth clean and healthy, thanks to the brilliant team from Healthy Cornwall and NHS Dentistry! We discovered the best ways to brush our teeth and learned how much sugar is hiding in some of our favourite drinks. It was a fun, interactive workshop that helped us understand how important it is to look after our teeth every day!

Thank you so much Healthy Cornwall and NHS Dentistry!

A Delicious Apple and Blackberry Crumble Creation!

Year 1 went on an exciting blackberry walk to hunt for the juiciest blackberries, ready to add the perfect touch to our apple and blackberry crumble! After gathering our tasty ingredients, we got busy chopping, mixing and baking to create our scrumptious treat. Once the crumble was ready, we couldn’t wait to taste it – and everyone agreed, it was absolutely delicious!

But the fun didn’t stop there! In our English books, we wrote step-by-step instructions on how to make our apple and blackberry crumble, sharing our cooking skills with others. We also used our Design and Technology books to evaluate how well our crumble turned out.

What a tasty and creative way to learn!