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
Jacob Woolcock 
Last week we had a very special visit from Biffa and their brand new Food Waste Recycling Truck.
Okay, you might be asking what’s so special about that? Well the Penpol Pumpkins have been spreading the word about the upcoming Cornwall Council Food Waste Collection all year as part of their award-winning FIRST LEGO League Innovation Project and as a special reward for all their hard work they’re actually the first people outside of Biffa to ever see this brand new vehicle in real life!
Not only that, but they also got to see the truck in action and even sit in the cab and use the horn! They learnt lots about the vehicle and asked plenty of interesting questions about the upcoming Food Waste collection.
After a tour of the truck the Pumpkins took great pride in sharing their Innovation Project Presentation with the team from Biffa in a real ‘full-circle’ moment. Nearly 10 months after originally coming up with the idea of promoting Food Waste Recycling they were able to share their learnings in front of the actual vehicle that will be used and with part of the team responsible for rolling it out right across Cornwall – amazing!
But Biffa were also here for another reason…
Thanks to an incredibly generous donation from the company, the Penpol Pumpkins have been able to buy 10 LEGO Robotics Kits to donate to other schools to enable them to take part in FIRST LEGO League too! These sets, offered as a gift from the Penpol Pumpkins and Biffa, will have a huge impact on hundreds of children in Cornwall who would not otherwise have been able to experience the powerful STEM learning experiences that this competition has to offer.
Talk about having a lasting legacy in Cornwall! Well done Pumpkins – and thank you Biffa!
Our final day in Boston featured a visit to Boston Science Museum, a tour of the land and sea on a Duck Boat and a lot of travelling to get back home to Penpol School. Check out our final video diary below:
We’ve made it safely back to Penpol School!
I’m sure in the days to come the children will be eager to share some reflections and memories of the last week, but for now we all need a good nights sleep and a bit of a rest!
Thank you all for the support and for following our journey via the live blog, it’s lovely to see just how much support the Pumpkins have had!
Well, after a fun but busy week it’s time to get these Pumpkins back home. It’s an overnight flight (hopefully a chance for a nap!) and when we wake up we’ll be back in England. See you all soon!
Despite all being very, very tired we still managed to enjoy an animation workshop at the Apple Store, a visit to the AI Lab at the MIT Museum and a walking tour of the Boston Freedom Trail. All this and we managed to get an early(ish) night too!
This afternoon we were treated to a funny and informative tour of Boston, including many historical locations linked to the history of Boston, America and indeed the American Revolution.
This morning we’ve been at the Apple Store on Boylston street, working with Mike and Terrance from Apple to create our own ‘Snoopy in Space’ themed animations in the Procreate app.
What better way to start the day than with a surprise waffle breakfast?!
We’re off to central Boston today, starting at the Apple Store for an animation workshop.
I am thrilled to say that the Penpol Pumpkins have won an award for the Core Values at the international final of the FIRST LEGO League!!
We came fourth overall, with the team being recognised for their Inclusivity, Fun, Teamwork, Discovery, Impact and Innovation.
This isn’t just an award for their robot, or their food waste project or even their presentations. This is an award for THEM. These children who have put in so many months of hard work, who have faced and overcome huge challenges, who have bonded through shared laughter and friendship and who have represented Great Britain at the highest level these last few days.
This is an award for the Penpol Pumpkins 🎃
