Nic Stanlake

Silver at the School Games 2018

12th July 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Friday the 29th June brought about the Cornwall School games, this is an event which is part of a nationwide celebration of sport with over 44,000 children participating. Penpol were one of the many schools partaking in the event which was split across two sites; Falmouth University and Carn Brea Leisure centre.

Zara, Freya, Emma and Miranda made up the Year 5 swim team and gained their place by winning a silver medal at the Penwith Gala.

The girls swam brilliantly in their heats, all qualifying for the finals before winning the relay. In a points scoring competition each placing earned points for the team. In the finals we had a 4, 5 and 6 place with Zara wining the backstroke final.

The points were counted and the children waited nervously before their name was announced in second place. The second placed Year 5 swim team in the whole county, a fantastic achievement.

The children can be immensely proud of themselves as they not only medaled but they are the first children I have taken to the Games in my 3 years here- Mr Stanlake

Porthpean Year 5 Camp 2018

1st July 201827th June 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Before half term Year 5 enjoyed a brilliant week-long residential trip to Porthpean Outdoor Education Centre. We were blessed with wonderful weather for the 3 days which will hopefully last long in the memories of our Year 5 cohort.

After packing our bags onto the coach we set off on the hour long journey St Austell Bay where the campsite is situated. After a limited tears on departure and sick on arrival the children arrived and set their things down in their tents. You’ll be pleased to hear that the tents were regularly inspected with varying results of tidiness!

I loved the cycling, it was good fun. We started off riding around the field where we went over little ramps and stuff. We then went down a small road and then bumpy track. It was quite hard but really fun. My favourite bit was going down the giant hill because we could go really fast- Nathan, Class 11

The children were hoping to just have fun on camp, but these activities required them to engage their brains as well. The children had to show many of the skills that they show on a daily basis, teamwork, co-ordination, communication and lateral thinking. the activities included transporting a tennis ball 20 metres using only 5 meters of drainpipe; crossing a imaginary ravine using a limited number of yellow planks; all holding hands and having to untie a human arm knot. The children did really well, some were certainly better than others at listening to each other and working together! – Mr Peck

The beast was super fun! It is a wall made out of wooden planks which you have to climb over. It started off easy but got harder because it got higher when they added more planks. Some people managed to get over on their own but others had to be helped by their friends. I managed to get over it quite a few times but I had to be helped by Dom when it got really high! I loved camp because we did lots of activities I have never done before.- Jamie, Class 12

We started with a warm up which consisted of stretches and traversing (that’s where you climb sideways just above ground level.) Then we got into our harnesses and helmets before we started climbing. It was really fun because everyone was trying their hardest and challenging themselves. I love climbing and go every week with my Mum. It was super cool to do it with my friends on camp. My favourite part of the activity was climbing up the hardest route whilst blindfolded! -Freya B, Class 12

Archery was pretty cool because we got to fire arrows at a target. We walked from the campsite to the archery range and started by having a go at hitting the target. Then we started to play some games like closest to the gold and baking a cake. To bake the cake your team have to hit all of the different colours to get all of the ingredients needed to make the cake. My team won! -Leo, Class 11

The high ropes course is an outdoor climbing thing which is high up off the ground. During the high ropes activity we did the leap of faith, zip wire, Jacob’s ladder and a 2 person battle course. The leap of faith was quite scary but really fun, you have to climb up and jump off the end of a platform whilst trying to touch the buoy which was hanging in front of you. The zip wire was amazing because you went so fast. The Jacob’s ladder was really hard as you had to climb up from pole to pole but they got further apart as you got higher. Only a few children got to the top as it was so high. Mr Stanlake made it look easy! I had to go against Zara on the battle course where you have to get past each other on the ropes to get to the top. I won as I pushed her off on the 3rd level! – Lily, Class 11

The beach day consisted of a whole host of different water based activities. The children had the chance to try 2 different activities, many of which they have never had the opportunity to try before. They could choose between; coasteering, stand-up paddle boarding, Canadian canoe rafting or sit on top kayaking. Their two activities were sandwiched with sandy sandwiches and ice-cream. It was brilliant to see the children having a real go at the activities in very testing conditions- Mr Stanlake

Penpol have Sporting Stars in Gymnastics!

15th June 201822nd May 2018 by Nic Stanlake

This week we’ve had some excellent news from Kiki, Myla, Zannah and Maizy who have all competed and won prizes in gymnastics. Here they are talking about their wins in their own words…

Kiki (Class 7)

“I definitely didn’t think that I would win, but I was really proud when I did.” Kiki came first in her Gymnastics with her tumbling routine.

Myla (Class 3), Zannah (Class 10) and Maizy (Class 10)

“There was a gymnastics competition and we had to learn three runs and we had to do them and the judges judged us. There was sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second and first places. We came fourth, fifth and sixth overall and have these lovely rosettes to show how well we did. There were 14 people taking part so we were really excited to be in the top six.”

Super Students Attend STEM Program

12th May 201811th May 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Kian and Max (both Class 11) have both regularly taking part in an event called ‘Super Saturdays’ at Camborne School. From this there stills were recognised and they were invited to attend the Nexus STEM camp in the Easter Holidays. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, during this camp the boys had lots of fun.

The week consisted of building boats, marshmallow bridges, mixing chemicals and all things that go bang.

I had an amazing week learning about and doing things I wouldn’t get to do in Primary school- Max

Nexus was a really good experience and I recommend Camborne School Super Saturdays to anyone who loves science and maths- Kian

Penpol Represented at National SLS Finals

12th May 20183rd May 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Last weekend Zara from Class 11 and Tess from Class 8 travelled to Cardiff to compete at the National Surf Lifesaving Competition. Both are members of Hayle Surf lifesaving club who they represented in the Welsh Capital.

I loved the experience and enjoyed swimming in a 50 metre pool. Hopefully I can knock time off again next year!- Zara

In an extremely competitive event, Zara was delighted to have knocked 10 seconds off her pb to finish inside the top 40 for board in the 11 age group.

I had a great time and raced in lots of races, my favourite was the relay – Tess

Surf lifesaving is a fantastic team event which many of the children at school take part in. The SLSC at Hayle is a fantastic organisation and if your interested or want to find out more. Please click here.

Medals for Penpol Sporting Stars!

15th June 201825th April 2018 by Nic Stanlake

This week we’ve had some excellent news from Kian, Sabina and Amelie who have all competed and won medals in their respective sports. Kian is a superstar swimmer whilst Sabine and Amelie are excellent gymnasts. Here they are talking about their wins in their own words…

“I went up to Plymouth for a swimming gala and it was for all of Devon and Cornwall swimming clubs. I swam 100m backstroke and out of 57 people I came 5th! I was amazed because it was my last race of the day and I didn’t think I’d be able to get the medal!” – Kian – Year 5

“I had medals because I’ve done so well in gymnastics. The gold medal was for Vault, which I came first in and the silver was for my Bench Routine. My bronze medal was because I came third out of everyone there!” – Sabina, Year 1

“At Penzance gymnastics club I got my gold medal for my Bench Routine and my silver was because I came second overall! There were about fifty people all together and it felt very surprising but also really nice coming second.” – Amelie, Year 1

Penpol Do Cornwall Proud At South West Finals

25th April 2018 by Nic Stanlake

The extraordinary season for the Penpol School football team continued this weekend as they represented the county at the ESFA Danone South West Primary Schools Finals.

Captain Dylan with the pendant presented to him for winning the County Championship.

Representing Cornwall, they played against fellow county champions from Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Dorset. The standard of football was very very high and the team performed very well.

The results didn’t mirror the determination and effort put in from the boys as they lost their first two games 1-0. Heroic efforts from Caden in goal ensured that the score line stayed at 1-0.

The team began to grow in confidence and started to enjoy the day a little more, the second two games ended with Penpol on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline; with Charlie scoring both goals.

I for one am intensely proud of the team, their team spirit and effort cannot be questioned. They need to remember that they are still champions of Cornwall, a massive feat in itself- Mr Stanlake

Although the boys were initially disappointed however the realisation that they were representing every child who has played school football in Cornwall they left with their tired heads held very high indeed. A massive thank you to all of those who made the trip to offer support and join the 25 strong band of supporters.

Spelling Bee 2018

27th March 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Tuesday brought around the much anticipated Year 5 & 6 Spelling Bee final. Our upper KS2 children have been meticulously going over their spelling words for the last couple of weeks before taking part in a class-based sub competition. It has proved a huge success as it has in previous years. Each class provided 4 finalists, between them spelling over 200 words to book their place in the final.

The final brings around a different challenge with the children standing and delivering many correct spellings including treachery, pronunciation, catastrophe, alleviating and extraordinarily.

Finalists

Class 11- Zara, Emma, Lily and Issy.

Class 12- Piran, Ella, Gabby and Freya

Class 13- Lola, Jake, Ben and Taran

Class 14- Jack, Luca, Finley and Jude

It was a very close competition with the difficulty of words making even the teachers sweat. But the eventual winner came from Class 13 after a very closely fought battle with Jack, Class 14. Well done Lola, this years Spelling Bee Champion.

Year 5 Girls Swim Team Heading To School Games

27th March 2018 by Nic Stanlake

After a super successful swimming gala Zara, Emma, Miranda and Freya have qualified for the Cornwall School Games in June, our first competitors for more than 3 years!

They tasted both individual and team success at the gala where they won 2 individual silvers and 1 bronze and also a silver in the team relay.

Well done girls, were all super proud! Good Luck!

Huge Medal Haul For Our Super Swimmers

26th March 2018 by Nic Stanlake

Over the last couple of weeks our swim teams have been competing in the Penwith Swimming Gala’s at both Year 3 & 4 and Year 5 & 6. As always, it was a pleasure to travel with these children to represent the school alongside 18 others from the area. All children took part in their individual events including, front crawl, back stroke, breaststroke and butterfly (Yr 5 & 6), as well as the relay events. Many of our children placed 1st or 2nd in their heat and qualified for the finals.

Penpol School were very well represented in the finals, present in 23 of the 36 finals collecting many medals in the process.

Year 3 & 4 results

Both Joe and Ronnie picked up Bronze medals for the boys in the front and backstroke with Amber collecting Bronze in the Yr4 girls front crawl.

Out of the 18 teams present our Year 3 girls and Year 4 boys both finished 3rd in the team competition.

Year 5 & 6 results

I returned from the year 5 & 6 gala with a pockets bursting with Penpol winning 14 medals.

Miranda and Zara both won silver medals for their front crawl and backstroke whilst Freya won bronze in the breaststroke. Emma was not to be left out either following up her 4th place in the butterfly with her part in a silver medal relay performance bringing the year 5 girls total to 7.

The year 6’s collected 3 individual bronze’s through Jude, Finn and Eva before the Year 6 boys collected a bronze medal each for the relay.

Overall our Year 6 boys came third for their age group and the Year 5 girls came second and qualifying for the Cornwall School Games in June.

The results of the combined competition proved how success the gala had been for Penpol School as we came in 3rd behind the very competitive teams from St Ives and St Uny. However, 3rd placed out of 18 teams is an outstanding achievement.

Well done everyone, and good luck to the Year 5 Girls team at the school games!

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