“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundations of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”
Year 5 has not only welcomed new children this September but also a new teacher with Mr Peck joining Mr Stanlake and starting work in Class 12.
The children have begun to settle in and have slipped effortlessly back into the routine of school life impressing their teachers with their hard work and enthusiasm, whilst also setting a wonderful example for the younger members of Penpol School, many of whom are only starting out on their journey at school.
The children in both Classes 11 and 12 have begun work in English and Maths whilst also starting to look at the ‘Power of the Industrial Revolution’ in topic and ‘The Force of Forces’ in Science. Year 5 has also welcomed the addition of Mr Emery who specialises in modern foreign languages and music, both of which the children are excited to continue with. The children are also very fortunate to received specialist ICT teaching with Mr Woolcock where they are set to undertake some exceptionally exciting tasks over the coming year.
After a tiring end to an exciting first week the children look set to take this coming year by storm with lots of exciting visitors and trips thrown in for good measure!
Thursday afternoon brought about the much anticipated Staff vs Football team football match and a fine end to the season it was.
With both teams kitted, warmed up, mentally prepared and awaiting the whistle, kick off was delayed due to a freak thunder storm. The weather gods are obviously football fans and were rooting for the children as the wet pitch then suited their passing style of play. Unfortunately for them, nobody told the adults as the pre-match favourites raced into an early lead. After some excellent Lampard-esque work in midfield Mrs Smart released Mr Stanlake to race through and finish past the onrushing ‘keeper. With the staff thinking the game was won they foolishly took their ‘foot of the pedal’ and were immediately pegged back as Finn played Ben through who duly fired past Mr Pollard in goal. His shot rocketed past the flat footed goal keeper ricocheting off the far past and nestling in the back of the net.
Some stubborn defending from Mrs Loughlin and the staff team’s mountainous central defender, Mr Woolcock, ensured the score remained level with the children’s attacks being limited to pot shots from distance to which Mr Pollard was equal to if not better. As the game neared its midpoint the teams looked destined to be tied however a quick fire double from the staff ensured this wasn’t the case. Naomi grabbed her debut goal with a very smart left footed finish after being set free my Miss Clarey’s fleet footed midfield play before Mr Stanlake netted his second, must to the disappointment of the mostly child supporting crowd.
Credit must go to the School team’s ‘gaffa as his team talk certainly worked. Jake would have been playing beside Jake must have delivered some precise instructions to prevent Miss Nidds and Caroline from running the midfield. Dylan and Jowan began to press higher up the field allowing Ethan and Josh to spread the ball with great joy. Releasing both Charlie and Ben to grab their first and second goals respectively and continue their season of free flowing goal scoring. With the game now tied at 3 goals a piece it settled into a far tenser affair.
Jake was gutted to miss out with a broken arm but plays this part as manager.
A reshuffle in the staff formation from player/manager Mr Pollard proved to be the breakthrough. Combining Mr Little swapping his whistle for his playing shirt and with the introduction of Lady Turner’s combative style the staff had a very good platform to attack from. From an attacking throw in on the left wing Caroline sent on-loan striker Ethan towards goal where he calmly slotted past the isolated Riley in goal. Nervous that the flood gates had opened Riley began to show the form that has earned him the Golden Glove with smart saves from Naomi, Mrs Chapman and a wayward goal kick from Mr Pollard. However, it wasn’t just the youngster drawing attention to his goal keeping ability. Mr Pollard rolled back the years with a handful of acrobatic saves including a cat like reflex s from Ethan’s deflected effort that would have has the scouts of Plymouth Argyle busily bustling for his signature. It was at this point the game could have swung in the children’s favour but for brave defending from Mrs Chapman and Mrs Loughlin whose competitive streak is mirrored by her son Dylan on the opposing team.
As the game neared its final quarter fatigue began to be an issue for the staff team and the rolling substitutions allowed the children to strike through the disorganised defensive set up on show. First through Charlie as a freak bobble left ‘keeper Mr Pollard red faced and on the look out for grounds man Mr Wells. The children’s jubilation was short lived as a clipped ball straight form kick off was flicked on by the experienced head of Mr Little to allow Ethan, on work experience from St Ives School, to poke past reserve keeper Leo.
The match soon descended from a tactical featherweight bout into a heavyweight slogging match as both teams exchanged dangerous attacks, but excellent goal keeping and resolute defending from skipper Josh and a very brave block from Erin prevented a cricket score. The game needed a spark and it was provided by an attacking run from Mr Stanlake who picked up a short ball from the goalkeeper before setting off on a run that Messi would have been proud of – ebbing and flowing between defenders as if they were banks of sand in the Hayle Estuary – before smashing the ball home at the near post. With the minutes left on the clock the goals began to fly in- 3 in 2 minutes.
First it was Charlie securing his hat trick after a trademark run, using his strength the brush Caroline aside before flashing his shot past the goalkeeper but again they were immediately pegged back by the cultured left foot of Mr Little as he feigned the goalkeeper before rifling high into the net. Next came a rush of blood to the head from Mr Stanlake as he conceded a late penalty for what he claimed was accidental handball. Step up Emmeline, who had the chance to bring her team to within one. Her first attempt was powerful, but straight at stand in keeper Mr Woolcock. However, as the ball rebounded she took a touch and dispatched with power as her shot deflected in off the goalkeeper. 7-6! Game on. With the children buoyed with the idea of drawing if not winning they continued to attack. Unfortunately for them the ever competitive Mr Stanlake had other things on his mind. A pinpoint pass from Mrs Chapman found Mr Stanlake who controlled and turned before curling into the bottom corner to complete the goal scoring.
In truth it was a game closer than most of the staff had envisaged and played with an exceptional level of sportsmanship, mostly from the children. Well done to everyone involved and until next year, the trophy shall sit proudly in the staffroom.
Over recent weeks the Year 5 children have been braving all weather conditions to learn and improve their tag rugby skills under the watchful eyes of a professional coach from the Cornish Pirates. The children are midway through their 6 week block of weekly coaching sessions which will cumulate in a community festival with other schools from the Penwith Area at Mounts Bay Academy.
They have spent the first few weeks learning the basic concepts of tag rugby, a sport that requires a host of different skills from catching and throwing to teamwork and communication. From these sessions the children are learning and improving these skills which they will be able to transfer into different sports as well as the classroom.
Its great fun and lets me practice passing skills so I can be just like Jack Nowell! – Jowan
I started playing tag rugby this year in school, I have really enjoyed it and hope to carry it on next year. -Freya
As a footballer it is such a good opportunity to learn a new sport with a coach from a professional Rugby team! – Freddie
I have really enjoyed the games we play with Sam, like stuck in the mud with a ball and hot potato as we started to learn the skills required for tag rugby -Lola
From a teachers point of view, it’s been great having Sam in to coach as the children have really enjoyed it, it has also allowed me to pick up some fantastic coaching tips. Links with local clubs are very important to us so hopefully it is something we can continue to do with the Pirates- Mr Stanlake
Many of the children at Penpol School take part in activities and clubs outside of school. Some of our talented footballers who play for Hayle park Under 10’s have enjoyed lots of success over the last two seasons. Most recently at an invitational tournament in Newquay. The round-robin tournament consisted of 15 of the best teams from within the county and was spread over 3 days. The boys performed excellently and managed to secure a second placed finish.
Not only were they awarded with a trophy each to keep but one member of the team scooped the Golden Boot- an accolade awarded to the top scorer within the competition.
Nine of our budding hockey players made their way to Penzance Hockey Club on Wednesday to represent Penpol School in the Penwith District Hockey League.
Motivated by the recent success of the England Ladies gold medal winning hockey team, the children took part in hopefully the first game of a long hockey career. The team performed magnificently in all three games that they took part in against local teams, unfortunately only managing to gain one draw.
But enjoyment was the aim and there were bags full of it to go around. With three games under our belts we now look forward to taking our experience into the next round of fixtures.
The Penpol School football team got off to a flying start in this years cup competition. Putting their recent league defeat to local rivals Bodriggy behind them, the team put 10 goals past the visiting Parc Eglos team (Helston) in their first home match at home this season. A fantastic team performance from all involved skippered brilliantly by the rock solid Josh (Class 13). The ten goals were shared by 4 players, 4 goals for Charlie (Class 11), 4 also for Jake (Class 13) and one each for Finn and Dylan (both Class 11).
Man of the match goes to Ethan (Class 13) for controlling the midfield and dictating the game
Over the last term Classes 10 and 11 have been studying the Industrial Revolution and its effect on both the town of Hayle and also the County of Cornwall.
This has involved researching all aspects of the revolution, from the mass production of cotton to the harnessing of steam power. However, it was the quality of life for children in the period that really hit home. Comparing their lives to those of the children living and working in the 1800’s allowed the Year 5 children to see how lucky they are.
The research the children did allowed them to collate a fact file in which they chose to write about either the introduction of steam, the mass production of cotton, the development of transport and the increased attention to workers rights.
The links to Cornwall, and the town of Hayle itself, are plenty with the foundries of Copperhouse and of the Harvey family and the harbour being used to bring coal in and out of the duchy to power the host of steam engines used within the mining industry. We used this in Class 10 and 11 as inspiration for our silhouette art work.
The topic culminated with a trip to the National Trust property, East Pool Mine. On this trip the children had the opportunity to explore the site whilst undertaking various activities. Such as dressing up as miners and balmaidens, the making of felt pasties and a tin trail treasure hunt. But by far the fan favourite for the day was the working steam engine. A fully restored working engine is housed in one of the engine houses at East Pool Mine and what better way to see the effect of steam than to see an engine build here in Cornwall powered by one of Richard Trevithick’s boilers.
Pupil comments:
Meghan- I really enjoyed learning about steam and how it changed the way we live, it was great how we got to see the engine working.
Ines- I enjoyed going to east pool mine and dressing up as a balmaiden and seeing how they lived.
Jake- I like walking through the flu tunnel and looking up to the top of the chimney. It was 180 feet tall!
Trystan- It was fun making our silhouette pictures because we had to wash the red sky and build our setting.
