Computing

Behind the Scenes of Maths Mania in Scratch

29th November 202211th October 2022 by Jacob Woolcock

Scratch is a great program that lets us build our own games, animations and tools. Using brightly coloured blocks of code we can control individual objects (called Sprites) as well as being able to combine multiple elements into more complex programs. However my favourite thing about Scratch is that you can make just about anything you like if you use your imagination.

That’s exactly what happened last week when I heard this…

“Mr Woolcock, can I show you this game I’ve been making at home?”

Below is a video of that particular game, complete with play-by-play commentary!

I can’t overstate how much creativity, problem solving and complex logical thinking are involved in bringing a project like this to life – it’s absolutely ace.

If you’d like to have a play of this game (or the prequel – Grammar Castle) you can use the buttons below.

Coding Underwater Adventure Games in Scratch

20th July 202220th July 2022 by Jacob Woolcock

Our Year 5 students have been exploring Scratch this term and learning lots about coding along the way. From small beginnings, the children have quickly developed a really exciting and creative understanding of just what’s possible in Scratch.

This learning has all come together in the last few weeks with a massive game building project, based on their class topic of a ‘Conservation Conversation‘. This project started out as a simple ‘falling objects’ type game where they were trying to collect pollution before it hit the bottom of the ocean. However this quickly developed into something far more interesting thanks to some incredible ideas from the children. First they wanted to make the game more random, with objects falling at different times in different places. Then several of them explored the idea of ‘power ups’ that would make the game easier or harder. The natural next step was to add a variable to hold a Score and after that we decided it would be fun to add a time limit variable to add to the pressure!

But they didn’t stop there – the children then developed even more elements in their games. Time limited boosters, sneaky tricks to get extra points, objects that immediately ended the game when caught. The list was endless!

Finally we all came together and explored how a micro:bit could be used as a game controller for these games. We used buttons as an input, before Rio came up with some quite brilliant code to use the motion sensor too!

This has been a hugely fun project and the children have been problem solving, debugging and creating new code with incredible skill and precision. They’ve even got into the habit of labelling their code as they go to make it easy to pick up and edit in the future!

Below you can see some of the code they’ve been constructing, as well as some of their games for you to play and enjoy!

For this game you need to use the Arrow Keys to move the paddle along the bottom of the screen.

Catch the pollution but beware of bad power-ups!

Press the Green Flag to start.

"It was really fun, I loved making the games with Mr Woolcock. It was hard work, but fun because we kept adding more to make our games more fun. There was a time when we tried to get the micro:bits to move and I just couldn’t get the right pieces of code to make it move properly, when I figured it out I was so excited that I just kept playing the game for ages!"

Oliver

"It was fun with the micro:bits because it was so cool watching it come to life and play the game with our own controllers. I also liked testing each others games out on Scratch because it was a great way to get more ideas for our own games."

Imogen

Cool Code in these Games

"I’ve really enjoyed this project, it was challenging but it was totally worth it. Trying to figure out where the bugs in my game were was tricky, but eventually I figured it out by using trial and error which helped because it showed me that my timer wasn’t working properly. When I fixed that the game was perfect!"

Maisie

"My favourite thing was exploring the new blocks which I haven’t used before in Scratch, like the micro:bit blocks to control the game. I made lots of choices in my game to make it fun, including where things would go and how quickly they moved!"

Tacita

"My favourite part of making our games was designing the code - especially working with the variables like the timer and the score. These parts make the game a lot more fun because they make it really competitive to play - they were challenging to get working but my friend was able how to make it work a little better."

Lylie

For this game you need to use the Arrow Keys to move the paddle along the bottom of the screen.

Catch the pollution but beware of bad power-ups!

Press the Green Flag to start.

"It was amazing because you got to make a game and play it at school! It was challenging because sometimes getting the right code was tricky, but what I did was (when I calmed down!) I had another look for the blocks I needed and I always managed to find it in the end."

Alex

"My favourite bit of the project was doing the challenges in the code where Mr Woolcock would give us a starting point and it was up to us to make the game elements work."

Caitlyn

Year 4 create their own Map of Africa

19th July 202213th July 2022 by Jacob Woolcock

This half term our Year 4’s have been studying ‘Which Way to Africa?’ as their topic. Part of this exciting learning has involved creating Digital Art on the iPads.

The children started learning all about the the tools available in our chosen drawing app (Sketches School) and then began to research an individual country in Africa. We learnt about each country including landmarks, food, art, culture and geographic features. The children then used this information to inspire them in their digital artwork.

"When I was doing my work I Googled a picture of what my country looks like and it was a burst of colour. This inspired me to add lots and lots of colours to my picture. I also searched for patterns from my country which I used in my drawing as well."

Sophia (C9)

South Africa

Map 1
Map 2

"This was an amazing project to work on and I wish I could do it over and over again with different countries! I learnt that Angola has amazing famous sculptures and building and many famous birds and beautiful patterns. I think that the map itself looks amazing now it's all put together!"

Faith (C9)

Angola

To aide their artwork, each child created a ‘mood board’ of imagery from their chosen country. We then used Adobe Colour on the iPads to extract the key colours from the images. This meant each child had a custom palette of colours for their country – helping them all stand out and look unique.

"When Mr Woolcock first sent me my country I felt a bit nervous because I didn't know much about my country or what I could fit into the map, but at the end it turned out to be something that I'm really proud of. My favourite part of the picture was doing the bubble writing, I really like doing the writing on the iPads!"

Violet (C9)

Malawi

Finally the children bought everything together to fill in the outline of their country with themed text, imagery, the countries flag and other graphical elements which they felt best represented their chosen country.

As well as combining these into the map above, you can also explore each individual country below.

Individual Countries

You can click on a country to view it full size!

Making Music with Micro:Bits in Year 3

8th November 202213th June 2022 by Jacob Woolcock

Over the past few weeks Year 3 have been learning to code on our Micro:Bit computers. These tiny devices are a great way to get hands-on with Computing and enable our students to write programs that they can run on real hardware in their hands.

To start with we explored the concept of Input and Output by using buttons, sensors and the LED displays on the Micro:Bits. It was interesting to see the range of programs that could be created with just two buttons.

Once the children felt confident with this aspect of the device then took things a step further by using some LED light strips which connected to the pins at the bottom of the Micro:Bits.

Suddenly the Mac Suite was transformed into a disco! We had colour changing, flashing and rainbow coloured lights everywhere.

When we finished having a mini party we used the opportunity to learn about using loops and repeat blocks to create colour changing light patterns.

And that brings us on to today, where the children have been using the Micro:Bits in an entirely different way.

By using three crocodile clips and some nifty external speaker modules, our Year 3s have been creating music! From individual notes to complete melodies, the Mac Suite was the place to be on Monday morning if you wanted some music.

(I must stress the word ‘music’ is used loosely here – it sounded less like Taylor Swift and more like an old fairground where the rides were breaking down and the normally happy music had started to sadly fade away into a sea of 8-bit beeps and bloops…)

As part of this activity the children embarked on some challenge based learning, where they were required to problem solve and troubleshoot both the code and the physical connection between the devices to get their music working. This proved to be a lot of fun and certainly got their brains thinking!

We love using Computing in hands-on ways at Penpol – why should we be confined to a screen when we can have colour changing lights and music coming out of our Micro:Bits?!

I dare say Year 3 would certainly agree.

Here are some more photos from our 'Musical Micro:Bits' lesson:

Penpol Pupils compete at the National Finals of the FIRST LEGO League

25th April 202322nd March 2022 by Jacob Woolcock

This is the story of what happened when both the Creative Coders and the LEGO Leaders advanced to the England and Wales National Final of the 2022 FIRST LEGO League – one of the largest STEM competitions in the world – where they competed against the 64 best teams in the country.

(As you read this story, please remember you can click on any photo to view it full-size. You may also want to grab a drink, this isn’t a short post! – Mr W)

2

teams

800

miles travelled

20

hours on the coach

14

incredible students

How did our teams get to the finals?

To earn their place in the National Finals, the teams had to perform exceptionally well at the Cornish Regional Final. Creative Coders came first overall at this event and immediately qualified for the Nationals – but the journey for LEGO Leaders wasn’t quite as straight forward…

LEGO Leaders had an outstanding score of 345 points in their Robot Games at the Cornwall Final, but ended up finishing in fourth overall (still an INCREDIBLE achievement!). Sadly, one of the top three teams weren’t able to make it to Harrogate for the National Finals and LEGO Leaders were asked to attend in their place as the team with the highest Robot Games score in Cornwall.

With both of their places confirmed the only thing that stood between the children and the finals was a very, very long coach trip!

Incredible Results for Penpol at the LEGO League Cornwall Finals

Yesterday two teams of our Year 5s took part in the Cornwall finals of the FIRST LEGO League Competition. For months these teams have been working hard with coding, building, researching, creating, designing, innovating and presenting ideas. All of that hard work was celebrated yesterday in two

Jacob Woolcock 11th February 2022

We left Penpol bright and early on Friday morning, the children (and staff!) very kindly giving up part of their Half Term holiday to take part. After some early excitement where the team discovered their t-shirts (featuring some awesome LEGO Minifigure designs created by Ethan and his dad) we all got settled on the coach for what was to be a ten hour trip.

Thankfully we’d been able to get a coach with USB ports, which meant that children and adults alike were both able to enjoy some movies, TV programs and games on the journey (which helped pass the time very nicely!).

We met up with the team from Boscastle School on the way, as they had also qualified for the Finals and were joining us on the journey.

"It was amazing to go up on the coach with my friends, because it’s just an extraordinary experience and I’m so happy to have done it. Everyone was such great fun and I enjoyed spending time with everyone."

After a couple of service station stops we made it to our hotel just outside of Leeds Bradford Airport and the first stage of our adventure was complete.

We checked into our rooms and met up with everyone in the restaurant for dinner. The teams all sat together to discuss tactics, the dinner options (and to create some memes on their iPads!). It was great seeing them all enjoying their time away whilst at the same time building friendships and bonds that will hopefully last well beyond this weekend.

The evening ended with the teams going off to practice their Innovation Project and Robot Design presentations one last time before bed.

The following morning we were once again up bright and early, meeting at 7am for a cooked breakfast to fuel us all for the day. The children looked very smart in their team t-shirts and all sported the Cornish flag in the form of a pin badge (made by Mr Woolcock’s very kind neighbour Adam!).

Between trips to the breakfast buffet we had a few moments to discuss our packed schedule for the day with the two teams. Then it was time to get back onto the coach and head into Harrogate itself.

We were ready to go to the Finals!

"It was when I woke up in the morning and there was a table - a very large table - and it had sausages and bacon and other stuff I can’t even remember. As soon as I saw that bacon it was the best moment ever. I just grabbed about ten stacks. You know it’s going to be a beautiful day when you’ve just eaten that breakfast!"

What happened on the day?

The venue for the competition, Harrogate Convention Center, was absolutely huge. We were all struck by its size and impressive design when we got off the coach. Naturally we had to pose for some team photos before going any further!

When we made it into the venue, we soon discovered that it was even more impressive from the inside. A huge stage with LED screens and stage lighting dominated the first room, along with about 2,000 chairs all lined up and ready for the competitors and their supporters to take their places before the Opening Ceremony.

"On Saturday morning I was absolutely terrified but also very excited. Going to that huge place as a team on the coach was amazing, but yeah, I was terrified too! But we all has such a fun time together and now I'd love to do it all again!"

Before we sat down we decided it would be sensible to find our ‘Pit Area’. This was to be our base of operations for the day and was decked out with water bottles, lanyards, badges, stickers and all sorts of other goodies for the teams to enjoy when we got there.

This was a space we’d come back to throughout the day as we regrouped and planned our next steps.

After this we headed straight back into the main auditorium for the Opening Ceremony and managed to nab some great seats near the stage.

James B and Sienna were taken off to one side by the organisers as they were to be the teams flag bearers for the ceremony – getting their moment in the spotlight as they represented their teams on the main stage stage.

"It was so surreal and amazing being on stage for the opening event. Seeing how many people were in the audience made everything feel so real! When we first found out we’d won I felt like it was all a dream, but being on the stage and seeing everybody changed that into a reality."

After some very exciting build-up (and a chance to meet the hosts for the day: Maddie Moate, Greg Foot and Tom Deacon), the children were ready to leap into action.

Both teams had to be at certain places at pre-determined times throughout the day and in order to make this work it was decided that the teams would go off separately. Creative Coders teamed up with Mr Woolcock and Mr Pollard and LEGO Leaders worked with with Paul, Chelsea (our mentor from RNAS Culdrose) and Miss Ball.

"When I met Maddie Moate, I don’t really have many words to describe it, but I was speechless. She was so friendly!

After going to this event I really want to try and become an engineer or a coder. Those jobs sound really exciting and I'd love to try them!"

The first stop for both teams was the Practice Tables, which would prove the first chance to test their robots and code to ensure that everything worked on the day. As neither team had been able to have a run through with their Robot element over Half Term, this time to practice was invaluable.

Thankfully everything worked well for both teams and the robots (and teams!) were all ready for their big moment.

Part 1: The Robot Games

It was then time for the first of three rounds of the Robot Games. I think this was the moment that it really hit home to us all just how different this was going to be compared with competing virtually in the Cornwall competition.

Each team headed to the main arena and line up on their designated number. Then they were escorted to their competition table (one of sixteen all set up and ready to go) and introduced to the two referees that were to score and monitor their match. Each team was battling head-to-head against a second team from another school and they had two and a half minutes to score as many points with their robot as possible.

However, I don’t think any of us realised just how intense the competition room would be and how much of an impact that atmosphere and energy would have on our teams performances…

It was a really busy place and so it was very stressful at times, but we all supported each other and carried each other through. Most of all we all had fun doing it! It definitely felt very, very nerve-racking watching the Robot Games team compete, but in the end we were all ecstatic about the scores we managed to get.

Rather than crumble under the pressure, the children turned it into excitement and eager anticipation. Before each Robot Games match the hosts came around to meet the teams and have a chat with them about their game strategy, further adding to the excitement in the air.

When all the referees were ready (and their white flags were held high in the air) it was time for the countdown. Three. Two. One. LEGO!

Two and a half minutes was all that stood between the teams and their chance of glory.

There is no doubt that this was an incredibly tough part of the day. A millimetre out with positioning the robot cold spell disaster. One slight change of course could have a knock on effect on the second part of a mission. Under the pressure of a live audience, referees and dozens of other teams competing at the same time, it was inevitable that mistakes would be made by all teams competing.

But perhaps what was surprising was the way our teams dealt with these setbacks. Instead of throwing in the towel or walking away they kept on going. They battled through. They regained their composure and re-focussed their energies onto the next match. They didn’t let anything stop them – even when it seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong.

The children (and parents!) supporting from behind the line were willing the Robot Operators on with every fibre of their being and it was clear that the teamwork and perseverance paid off for both teams.

"My favourite memory was running around the competition centre with all my friends and of course taking photos with all our medals and my proudest moment was probably the presentations and doing the robot games - especially the last run of the robot games because that was really fun."

Through the day each team would come back here three times to try and set their highest score – all the while keeping an eye on the live scoreboard around the venue to see where they were currently positioned.

The final scores for both teams were as follows…

240

Points in
Round 1

175

Points in
Round 2

250

Points in
Round 3

215

Points in
Round 1

240

Points in
Round 2

270

Points in
Round 3

As you can see both teams saved their very best performance for last – earning an incredible 250 and 270 points each! These scores were enough to ensure that both teams placed in the top half of the entire Final, beating dozens of other teams including both Primary and Secondary students.

"My proudest moment at the competition is probably when we were announced on the scoreboard that we came 24th overall. I just felt amazed because out of all the UK there were 2,400 teams and in the finals there were still 64 teams. I feel so proud of where we came!"

To top it all off the final matches for both of our teams were played on the ‘live stream tables’ which meant that family and friends could watch both of their final runs from home! And excitingly they’re both available to watch again below so you can see just how well each team performed in this aspect of the competition.

Creative Coders

LEGO Leaders

Part 2: Core Values

Whilst the Robot Games certainly is very exciting, it only accounts for 25% of a teams total score. An equally important element of the competition is known as Core Values and is judged throughout the whole day by the referees, judges and other volunteers working at the event.

They are trained to keep an eye out for teams demonstrating the six Core Values, which are:

These are all really important qualities for the teams to embody and both Creative Coders and LEGO Leaders displayed all six in bucket-loads during the day.

From the way they interacted with and greeted other teams to the way they asked questions and enquired about people they met, throughout the day the judges were very impressed by their Core Values.

I could share many examples of particular moments throughout the day where the children embodied these different skills, but one value that resonated particularly strongly on the day was without a doubt the value of Teamwork. The whole day was very busy and full of high-pressure situations that could have proven overwhelming. However, when one of these situations arose, the teams were both incredible at supporting each other by reassuring their teammates and ensuring that everybody was able to perform to the very best of their ability.

It was great because everyone bought something special to our team. For example Ernie has lots of energy, then Piran just brings a real sense of fun into everything. Felix had some really creative ideas throughout the day and Georgia gets very excited (just like Ernie).

During the Innovation Project Sienna had a really hard job of being the link between managing both sub-teams but handled it incredibly well and Amélie had some really innovative ideas for the presentation which really bought it to life.

The Core Values are scored on a scale of 1 to 4 for each value where:

Beginning

1 point for a team who are beginning to demonstrate the value.

Developing

2 points shows that a team is developing that value.

Accomplished

3 points is where a team has accomplished the particular value.

Exceeding

4 points is where a team has gone above and beyond and exceeded the expectation.

After the event we were able to view the children final scores for Core Values and we were blown away by how well they did.

LEGO Leaders

Impressively the LEGO Leaders got scores of 3 for every single Core Value - a fantastic achievement.

Creative Coders

Creative Coders also got 3's in each Value, with the exception of Impact where they managed to score a 4. The judges commented that they got this bonus point as they had clearly explained in their presentations how much each of them had been impacted by taking part in the LEGO League.

Part 3: Innovation Project

The next element of the competition (worth another 25% of the marks) was the Innovation Project. This 5 minute presentation required the teams to explain their solution to a serious global problem – this year linked to the theme of Cargo.

The children were required to research their problem, reach out to experts in the field and then plan and create a viable and creative solution to the problem. You might think that alone is pretty tricky – but that’s nothing compared to presenting all of that to a panel of complete strangers… the judges!

When the time came for the Presentations, the teams had to assemble outside of the judging area and wait patiently for their turn. We were then led into a small room in the convention centre where two judges were waiting to meet us. The children were really interested in finding out who the judges were and what their background was, especially when they found out one of the judges had travelled up from Cornwall too!

"I really enjoyed the research element of our project. For example we searched for information on the internet and then that led to more ideas which we hadn’t thought of. That led to more searches and before we knew it we’d learnt loads! It was very good because we were able to write about it and present it to everyone. It was actually quite shocking going to a supermarket to see the plastic in real life. I decided to go later in the evening to see it all as the pallets were unpacked. I was surprised how much plastic was used in just one night - it was quite weird to see it happen."

The presentations had all been very well practiced in the build-up to the competition, whether that was at school, through voice notes on Showbie over Half Term, on the coach journey or even the night before the competition after dinner. This meant both teams knew their lines, knew their cues and were ready to go.

So, you might be wondering what the presentations were about and what problems they chose to solve? Look no further than this handy little guide…

Innovation Project

The Problem

Packages are delivered to shops, warehouses and distribution centres in cardboard boxes on large pallets. But these pallets are wrapped in metres and metres of plastic shrink wrap to stop them falling off. This is not environmentally friendly at all!

The Solution

The team researched different methods of securing boxes to pallets, including building an Earthquake Simulator to shake their 3D-Printed pallets. They settled on using paper and bungie cords to secure boxes as these could be reused time and time again.

Feedback from the Judges

The judges said that the presentation was very interesting and that they chose a great topic. They also really liked positive energy and their Creative Coders song which grabbed the judges attention.

Innovation Project

The Problem

In many countries Donkeys are used to carry heavy and unbalanced loads of cargo. These donkeys are often underfed, maltreated and end up getting badly injured by carrying too much weight.

The Solution

The team considered a number of alternatives to donkeys, but eventually decided that cost would be a prohibitive factor. They settled on trying to improve the standard of life for these hard working donkeys by creating a ‘code of conduct’ for donkey owners which encouraged them to treat their animals with more care and respect.

Feedback from the Judges

The judges were really impressed with how the team approached different organisations for research and how they went for a very novel idea for their project – big marks for ‘thinking outside of the box’.

As you can see the judges were impressed with both the Creative Coders and the LEGO Leaders, remarking on how confident both teams were and how well they presented their problems.

The presentations themselves were scored by both judges using the same 1-to-4 scale as the Core Values. The points the teams earned are as follows:

Innovation Project Scoring

Team:

LEGO Leaders

Creative Coders

Identify

2

3

2 Design

3

2

3

2 Create

2

3 Iterate

3

2

3 Communicate

3

2

4

2

Part 4: Robot Games Presentation

The last part of the competition was the Robot Design Presentation. This name is slightly deceptive as it isn’t just about the robot that the teams have built. Yes it is largely about this, but it is also a chance to share the story that the children have been on since starting in their teams back in October. This is a chance to share their learnings, their new skills, their strategies, plans and anything else that they want to with the judges.

"My proudest moment of the LEGO competition was when we were all doing the presentations. I enjoyed that we all did the presentations together as a group because we were a great team and we had a really important message to share in our innovation project."

Both teams were able to eloquently explain the rationale that went into their projects, the reasons they chose certain challenges first and how they crafted individual attachments for the robots.

The children also shared personal stories of what the competition meant to them. From making new friends to developing new skills, missing holidays to giving up lunchtimes to work on their presentations. Everyone had a story to tell and the judges were interested to hear just what it meant to everyone who took part.

"At first we were all really worried about the judges because we didn't know who they'd be - what if they were scary?! It was really nerve-racking learning our lines because we didn't want to make a mistake and get it wrong. On the day it all came together and the judges were really nice and helpful and we all smashed our lines.

I felt so pleased that we'd done an absolutely amazing job of our presentations."

The Robot Design presentations themselves were scored by both judges using the same 1-to-4 scale as the Core Values and Innovation Project. The points the teams earned are as follows:

Robot Design Presentation Scoring

LEGO Leaders

Creative Coders

Identify

3

2

3 Design

3

2

3 Create

3

2 Iterate

2

3

2 Communicate

3

2

3 What happened after the teams had competed?

After all of the competition elements were complete, the rest of the day was ours to explore and meet other teams. We got to watch the Knockout Stages of the Robot Games, where the very best teams in the country pitted their robots head-to-head in a winner stays on tournament.

These robots were incredible to watch and were earning scores far beyond anything we even thought possible. I hope the teams have picked up plenty of ideas there for next years robots!

There was also the opportunity to explore a whole variety of different STEM experiences from different companies and employers who all have a focus in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths sector. The children visited dozens of stalls to find out what each one had to offer and to explore different types of robotics that are used in the real world.

It was very inspiring to see just how far a career in engineering or coding could take our students and the children responded to these stalls with great interest.

At the end of a very, very busy day we finally returned to where it all started in front of the stage. Here the closing ceremony was held, along with awards for the teams who won in the different categories.

This proved a wonderful chance to reminisce, relax and remember just how fortunate we all were to be there in Harrogate representing both Penpol School and Cornwall too.

Whilst in the end we didn’t win any awards at the National Finals the experience alone more than made the trip worth it.

I think it would be safe to say that the children who left this event in Harrogate were not the same ones who boarded the coach from Penpol School on Friday morning.

They were more tired, yes. But they were also more confident, more resilient and better friends than ever before. This shared experience will hopefully be one that stays with them for a very, very long time.

They have truly done themselves and all of us at Penpol School proud.

"I have learnt to always enjoy what you do, especially when it’s not going so well. Always be happy and see the positives in everything.

I think this whole experience will help me in the future because I really want to be a coder and make games. So by doing hard code on Cookies and Beans and learning teamwork by being a part of my team - I think these skills will really help me."

Thank you to our supporters

This whole event simply wouldn’t have been possible without some very kind and generous local supporters. As you may have seen on the backs of the team t-shirts, we were sponsored by the wonderful people at Philps Pasties, TigerX and Birdies Bistro. They very kindly help us pay for the experience and without that, the children wouldn’t have been able to take part in such an awesome opportunity.

I’d also like to thank the parents and families of our team members for being so accommodating and supportive, helping us organise such a massive trip in just two weeks. Thank you all.

Incredible Results for Penpol at the LEGO League Cornwall Finals

14th March 202311th February 2022 by Jacob Woolcock

All of that hard work was celebrated yesterday in two incredible performances at the Finals. Both teams absolutely excelled themselves and demonstrated just how confident and creative they are.

We saw presentations that the judges were blown away by, robot performances that I think would rival any other team in the country and levels of teamwork and fun that really allowed each and every student to shine.

I’m thrilled (and very proud) to announce that our team from Class 11 (the Creative Coders) were the overall winners in the whole of Cornwall, beating 25 other Primary and Secondary schools. They have now been invited to the National Finals where they will be able to compete against the very best teams in the country.

The team from Class 12 (the LEGO Leaders) also got an incredible achievement, winning the Robot Performance award for achieving a staggering 345 points during the competition. They also finished in 4th place overall – another incredible achievement for our students.

Below you’ll find lots of lovely photos, quotes from the judges and some stories of just how well the teams embraced the challenges on the day. I do hope you enjoy reading about it just as much as we enjoyed taking part in it!

Lastly a massive well done to our teams – Ada, Amélie, Caio, Ernie, Ethan, Felix, Georgia, Ivy, James B, James S, Jenna, Miles, Piran and Sienna!

Team Creative Coders

Class 11: Sienna, Amélie, Piran, Ethan, Ernie, Georgia and Felix

Cornwall LEGO League: 1st Place

Team Creative Coders came first overall at the 2022 Cornwall Regional Finals and now progress to the UK National Finals!

Robot Games

Creative Coders have been working hard on their Robot Design and Code for the past few months and have been sharing ideas and knowledge with each other throughout the process. For their 2 and a half minute competition run they ended up with a very impressive score of 270 points.

They had to code some really complicated algorithms for their robot to work, including one that took the robot (named Cookies and Beans) all around the game table to earn points from some very hard to reach obstacles.

In order to reach this score they continually improved and refined their code to ensure that each mission was a success.

Robot Games Practice Run (with commentary for judges)

Core Values

This team really shone when it came to demonstrating the Core Values of Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork and Fun. They receives top scores from the judges in all but one of the categories and earned some glowing feedback:

“Each team member had different skills and got the chance to shine.”

“When we finished calling you, our faces hurt from smiling so much. Your fun was infectious!”

“We really can’t fault your team. You had so much enthusiasm and great team work.”

Innovation Project

For the Innovation Project this team were inspired by a virtual trip to an Amazon Warehouse. They were concerned that large pallets loaded with cardboard boxes were suddenly being wrapped in huge sheets of plastic wrap.

They researched the problem, considered a variety of solutions (including building their own earthquake simulator to see how to best secure their pallet of 3D-printed boxes) and eventually came up with a very clever solution.

The judges loved this and said: “We thought it was great that you tried out paper, card, bubblewrap, string, and other materials, and showed clear improvement.”

Robot Design

Finally, team Creative Coders shared a presentation with the judges that showed their journey through the competition. From coding the robot to planning which tasks to complete first, the team demonstrated their awesome progress in a way where it was clear that every single child was involved in the success of the team.

“Each team member was give a chance to shine and explain their bit of the task, and you went above and beyond in making everyone involved.”

Team LEGO Leaders

Class 12: Ivy, Jenna, Ada, James S, James B, Miles and Caio

Cornwall LEGO League: 4th Place

Team LEGO Leaders came forth overall at the 2022 Cornwall Regional Finals

Robot Games

Wow! That’s all I can say about this teams Robot Games performance. Problem solving, refinement, patience and a lot of hard work have all been key ingredients in the LEGO Leaders success.

Together they achieved an utterly incredible score of 345 points – far beyond anything we could ever have imagined.

By attempting a total of 7 different missions (some completing more than one task at a time) this team smashed all expectations and got a well deserved award for 1st place as the highest scoring robot team in Cornwall!

An incredible feat, well done team!

Robot Games Practice Run (with commentary for judges)

1st Place: Robot Performance

Team LEGO Leaders

Core Values

The judges described LEGO Leaders as being a “very well accomplished team with clear roles and responsibilities”. We completely agree. From the very beginning this team has been impressive to watch. The way they problem solve together, delegate tasks and share ideas really is inspirational.

Not only that but they’ve become close friends through this process and describe how they all were able to overcome challenges and barriers by co-operating, listening to each others points of view and then reaching a solution that worked for all.

Innovation Project

For their Innovation Project, the team were horrified to find images of donkeys being overworked and under looked-after. Large mountains of cargo weighed down donkeys backs and caused them pain and suffering. LEGO Leaders decided to take it upon themselves to create a solution to this problem.

By researching online, asking experts and considering a number of options the team eventually decided to protect donkeys by creating a set of rules for donkey owners to abide by. Proper living conditions, weight limits for cargo and more were all considered.

The judges were blown away by their presentation and were glad that such an important issue had been bought to the forefront of their minds.

Robot Design

Our judges really loved this teams Robot, Rocky, and were incredibly impressed by hearing how the code worked and the lengths they’d gone to in order to refine and improve the robot.

The team detailed their process for designing attachments and their overall mission strategy.

The judges remarked that it was “absolutely clear that the team worked very well together and had a lot of fun overcoming the challenges along the way”.

Photo Gallery

Y5 have a Virtual Visit to an Amazon Warehouse

8th October 20218th October 2021 by Jacob Woolcock

This afternoon our two teams of Year 5’s who are taking part in the FIRST LEGO League competition were treated to a (virtual) VIP tour inside an Amazon Warehouse.

As part of their Cargo Connect challenge for the competition, they are researching more about how goods are shipped around the world and delivered, in order to hopefully find some creative solutions to improve these processes.

As well as being given a tour around the different departments, from ordering & picking to packaging & shipping, the children were given the chance to ask some questions to a trio of Amazon Engineers.

Throughout the tour the students were jotting down questions on some post-it notes and by the end they had amassed quite a collection! Luckily there was plenty of time for the Q+A and lots of our questions got answered.

Here are some of the interesting facts we learnt during the tour:

“I learnt that the items are stored randomly in the warehouses, with robots being used to pick the items” – Ethan

“The SLAM machine that puts the label and address on the packages doesn’t actually touch the package at all – it drops the label on top” – Amelie

“The shortest delivery was done in under 30 minutes and they use satellite images to check addresses and to update their maps when new roads are built.” – Sienna

“They use algorithms to help find and move parcels, with robots following QR codes on the floor” – Caio

Y5 Compete at the Regional Finals of the FIRST LEGO League 2021

10th February 202225th June 2021 by Jacob Woolcock

Over the past few months, something very exciting has been happening in the Mac Suite at Penpol School. Whether it be on a Wednesday afternoon or over lunchtime, two teams of dedicated and committed of year 5 pupils have been hard at work practicing for the FIRST LEGO League Competition.

This is our first year entering at Penpol School and whilst we weren’t quite sure what to expect, both teams got straight to work designing their robots, understanding how the code worked, researching innovative solutions to problems and improving their teamwork and co-operation. Over these few months all thirteen children have grown closer in their teams and have been focused on a common goal – the Regional Final event!

Well, I’m delighted to say that both teams absolutely blew us away on the day. Their perseverance, ingenuity and dedication really shone through and they have well and truly done Penpol School proud. Below is a brief rundown of what happened with each team in all four areas of the competition, as well as any special recognition they received along the way.

Well done Stellan, Chris, Liliana, Dylan, Oliver, Erin, Flora, Ruby, Ben, Obi, Katie, Agnes and Remy!

Team Robo Legends

Class 11: Stellan, Remy, Oliver, Agnes, Ben, Flora and Ruby

FIRST LEGO League: 3rd Place

Team Robo Legends came third overall at the 2021 Cornwall Regional Finals

Robot Games

Robo Legends managed to code a fantastic assortment of activities on the challenge table and managed to finish with a very impressive score of 180. They coded each activity and tested thoroughly to ensure it was reliable and accurate. The judges were very impressed with their perseverance and creativity.

2nd Place: Robot Games

Team Robo Legends

Core Values

The judges said the team “showed good co-operation throughout playing to each others strengths, but always coming back together to take on the next challenge.”

They demonstrated incredible teamwork, perseverance and a sense of fun throughout the completion and thoroughly deserved to come first for Core Values in the competition!

1st Place: Core Values

Team Robo Legends

Innovation Project

In an effort to solve the problem that only 0.5% of people in the world surf, the team invented a clever machine that floats off of the coast and cleans sea-water, warns of impending marine life attacks and will offer surfers a panic button to call for help should they find themselves in danger.

The team created a prototype of this invention and did a brilliant job of presenting their research and development to the judging panel, who praised their “outstanding presentation, which the team delivered in a very fun way“.

Robot Design

Finally, team Robo Legends delivered a fun and informative interview-style presentation to the judges where they reflected on the journey they’ve been on as part of the LEGO League Competition, including their funniest moments (involving pillows, dancing and uncontrollable robots!) as well as the challenges that they’ve overcome.

A particular highlight of this section was hearing how the children have become better friends and a stronger team as a result of their participation in the competition.

Team LEGO Legends

Class 12: Chris, Dylan, Katie, Obi, Liliana and Erin

FIRST LEGO League: 2nd Place

Team LEGO Legends came second overall at the 2021 Cornwall Regional Finals

Robot Games

LEGO Legends managed to achieve an utterly incredible score of 280 in the Robot Games. To put this into context, anything over 100 would have been considered a huge achievement for the children in their first year.

They coded some incredibly complicated algorithms to make their robot work, including one that steered the robot under a bridge, then dropped 13 cubes into a small target before reversing, driving on and ending up dancing on the dance floor.

1st Place: Robot Games

Team LEGO Legends

Core Values

As well as their achievements in coding and presenting, the team showed the judges how well they worked together by supporting each other, cheering on individual successes in the competition and demonstrating exceptional teamwork and co-operation at all times.

A real highlight here was seeing how each and every child got involved in their challenges, whether it was presenting and answering questions with the panel of judges or by working together to ensure a reliable and high-scoring round in the Robot Games.

Innovation Project

For their innovation project team LEGO Legends realised that people were driving for short journeys, even to the shops or to drop children off to school. To help combat this, the team invented a mobile phone app which would only let you drive in your car after you’d walked a certain number of steps.

What really set the team apart though was their sheer amount of research and development that went into their product. The judges remarked: “Research and feedback from others through questioning was excellent. A great way of sharing your ideas.“

1st Place: Innovation Project

Team LEGO Legends

Robot Design

Finally, team LEGO Legends delivered a compelling presentation sharing what they’ve learnt in the competition, how they’ve improved as a team and how they overcame challenges along the way.

The judges asked some interesting questions of the team but they all found ways to respond, with one judge in particular praising how they refined their code: “Obi gave the perfect answer for how they tested and isolated faults with the code. This is exactly how it is done in engineering companies all over the world.”

3rd Place: Robot Design

Team LEGO Legends

Exploring Stop Motion in Class 14

9th June 20219th June 2021 by Jacob Woolcock

In Computing this week Class 14 learnt all about Stop Motion Animation and how to bring objects to life in creative and fun ways. After a short introduction their challenge was simple: “Make your Classroom come to life!”.

Sit back, grab some popcorn and enjoy these fantastic short films!

Brodie and Maison

Tess and Lydia

Toby and Fynn

Eloise and Kiki

Patrick, Scott and Oskar

Solomon and William

Jonas and Luke

Jaz and Aimee

Jasmin and Peyton

Ivan and Mrs Bailie

Isla and Imogen

Freddie and Seb

Finton and Dominick

Finley and Declan

Internet Legends and Beyond with Year 6

9th June 20219th June 2021 by Jacob Woolcock

As well as learning about being Internet Legends, our Year 6’s have taken their learning a step further by creating their own sixth section to the Be Internet Legends curriculum. After some really in depth discussions each child settled upon what they felt would be an important addition to create themselves.

They then set about designing their own character to fit with this theme, with a focus on making the characters have a personality as well as looking 3D. Creating these with just triangles was quite a challenge!

Lastly the children considered what the ‘Key Messages’ should be for their new theme and created the colourful, informative posters you see below.

Well done Year 6!

Class 13 Posters

“I made my Internet Legends poster to remind people to be kind to each other.” – Summer

“I made my Internet Legends poster to remind people to always be safe on the internet and never trust other people unless you know them in real life not just on the internet.” – Eemahnee

“My Be Internet Legend is respectful because a lot of people forget that respect is the key to happiness.” – Reuben

“My Be Internet Legend poster is important because being calm on the internet isn’t easy when you are playing games on the internet that make you unhappy or angry. It is hard to communicate with other people and talk about why you are unhappy and angry. Just remember to stop playing when you get angry and unhappy.” – Rhys