History

Bright Lights and Big City Sights

11th November 202219th June 2022 by Nic Stanlake

This last week 44 of our Year 6 pupils boarded the coach and headed off on our big city adventure. An early 7 am departure began the 4 day-long residential trip to our nations capital; for many their first trip for a number of years therefore bringing more challenge than usual.

Our first stop for the fun-filled (and I mean filled) week was at the Natural History Museum where the children had chance to explore through time. From the age of the dinosaurs through to present day. This tied very nicely into our current science topic of ‘Evolution and Inheritance’ where we could see first hand the work of Darwin. Before heading off around Piccadilly Circus before dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

Wednesday meant PM’s questions, we were however not invited so a tour of Westminster Palace and an opportunity to meet our local MP, George Eustice, was on the agenda. Due to Parliament being in session we were unable to enter the House of Commons but we were able to tour the House of Lords; We were also able to walk the footsteps monarchs from Queen Victoria through to Queen Elizebeth II take through the annual ceremony of the state opening. The palace has so much history and security, which the children were equally interested in, but for that reason we were unfortunately not allowed to take photos inside.

We then headed off on our marathon sightseeing walking tour. Parliament Square- Westminster Abbey- St James Park- Buckingham Palace- The Mall- Horseguards Parade- Whitehall- Downing Street- Parliament Square. Again linking to our learning during the Autumn term in our topic of Wartime Britain.

The weather was very warm, hitting highs of 34 degrees on the Friday, so it was a quick whip back to the hotel for a shower and to out on the glad rags for a night in the West End. The Lion King was truly magnificent. Pizza Express- Covent Garden- The Lion King.

The late night previous led to a later and slightly more relaxed start. A walk from our hotel to Wembley Stadium along the famous Wembley Way. We took our boots but they wouldn’t let us in!

It was then off to the Zoo. A late addition to the itinerary after we were unable to book a guided tour of Wembley Stadium – apparently the Harry Styles Tour is more important – and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Fan favourites were the penguins, gorillas (including some familiar ones), big cats, monkeys and goats (I mean, who doesn’t love a petting zoo!)

It was then back to the heart of the city and a ride on the London Eye. There was one notable admission in the two pods we had, but she was there is spirit and made it into one photo! It was such a clear and beautiful day with a view for miles and miles!

The London Eye really has that WOW factor and was the highlight for many. Once grounded we headed off for dinner, but not before a stroll around Leicester Square and China Town. Another WOW opportunity, even these little walks between activities and venues have such an impact on the pupils.

That then took us into our final day, another early morning that including breakfast, picking up of sweet papers, packing and picking up of more sweet papers. We then loaded ourselves onboard the bus once more and headed back to Kensington but this time for the Science Museum. Not as many pictures I’m afraid as I let the camera battery on charge in the hotel! We were however again able to link our day to our learning in school with links to both our Autumn term biology as well as our Spring term electricity/communication work.

The children were a credit to themselves, their parents and us as a school. Their manners and attitudes were commented on numerous times by serving staff in shops and restaurants as well as members of the public. Residential trips are a wonderful opportunity to see a different side to children but also provide difficult challenge particularly the heat this week and hustle and bustle of a capital city; but they were wonderful and will, I expect, sleep for days. Lots more photos to come but don’t worry kids (and adults), I didn’t take any of you sleeping on the coach…

Reception Classes Visit the Maritime Museum

29th May 2022 by Amanda Aspden

Classes 1 and 2 had a great time at the Maritime Museum in Falmouth.

We loved meeting Oceana, the sea sprite who told us a wonderful story of how she now lives in the lost land of Lyonesse. We helped her retell her story using instruments and learnt how she was rescued by merpeople and how Poseidon the God of the sea gave her the gift of being able to breathe underwater.

We looked at some treasures that Oceana had found at the bottom of the ocean which included part of a shipwreck, (possibly a pirate ship), a cannon ball, an old boot and a killer whales tooth.

We also learnt all about the different parts of a boat before making our own.

Next was the exciting boat races where we got the chance to race them on the boating lake.

We had a look around the museum and discovered all kinds of amazing monsters from the deep including a blob fish, angler fish, a fangtooth fish and a cock eyed squid.

We also had time to play on the rescue boats, jet ski, quad bike and life raft. We pretended to rescue each other from the ocean.

Finally we went to the top of the lookout tower and had a look at all the amazing boats in the harbour. We learnt all about sail boats, yachts and catamarans and found out that one of the super yachts in the harbour would need about 15 crew members to run the ship.

Class 1 and 2 would like to say a big thank you to all the staff at the maritime museum. We learnt so much, had lots of fun and had a great day out.

Platinum Picnic at Penpol

27th May 202227th May 2022 by Tiffany Pope

It was such a glorious sight to see the whole school on the field enjoying the sunshine and celebrating the Queens Jubilee.

Every child had a smile, younger children danced and played with children from the older years and there was a real festival feel.

It has been such a long time since we were all able to be together, but I am sure it is the beginning of many more events to come!

Photo Gallery

WAR DECLARED: All YEAR 6 children to be Evacuated!

8th November 202214th December 2021 by Nic Stanlake

81 years after thousands of children and young vulnerable adults were evacuated from cities across the country during WW2, our Year 6 children had a go themselves. To celebrate the end of our ‘Wartime Britain’ topic the children (and adults) dressed themselves in period clothing and lived the life of an evacuee for the day.

After being collected from the gate by a member of the 2 of the newest members for he British Army and our very own Land Girls they waved a teary goodbye to their parents before being subjected to a roll call and squeezing into a cramped school classrooms; much like the evacuees of 1939 would have been when they departed the trains.

It was here the children had chance to act in character and meet their fellow evacuees, discussing the contents of their suitcases as well as their preferred destination. Those without identification tags were labeled and sent on their way. The children then had some time to look at and try different games that evacuees would have played in the 40’s.

For the remainder of the morning we continued in character- between the air raid sirens- we wrote post cars home to share the news of out safe arrival and built model spitfires whilst learning about their significance during the Battle of Britain. In school groups the children followed a handed-down ration recipe to make some delicious bread and butter pudding.

At the close of the day the children were collected by their parents, their evacuation was much shorter than those during the war. Many parents came into class to sample some of their cooking but also sit and enjoy their child’s work from the last term, with the majority of literacy and topic being based heavily on our studying of Wartime Britain.

Year 2 visit to St Michael’s Mount

30th June 20229th December 2021 by Imogen Robinson

On a very windy, stormy Monday 6th December, year 2 went to visit St Michael’s Mount as part of their Castles topic.

After putting on our head-to-toe waterproofs, we got on the coach and drove through the elements to Marazion.

We pulled up, gathered our things together, and started the ascent to the Mount.

Battling against the wind and the cobbles, we arrived and were welcomed by the St Michael’s Mount team. They talked us through the grounds and gave us a scavenger hunt map, leading us to lots of intriguing and exciting sights around the castle and gardens. Unfortunately, during our journey the wind had grown too strong for us to continue the final leg of the climb into the castle itself!

While we waited in hope for the winds to ease, we began our search for some of the sights on our maps.

We found the Giant’s Heart and the Giant’s Well, nestled amongst the cobbles and Mrs Hocking delighted us all to a gripping cliff-top retelling of the myth surrounding the Giant and St Michael’s Mount.

After a bit of lunch in the Visitors’ Centre and a lot of fun and games, the weather improved and we were allowed to explore the castle to our heart’s content.

We had an amazing time and loved being able to put all of our learning from this term’s topic into context. It was a delight to hear the year 2s buzzing around the rooms, pointing out different familiar features and interesting new ones, exploring, discussing and experiencing a real-life castle together.

A particular highlight was looking out from the castle walls at the impressive vista below. Some of us had to overcome our fears to do it and it was definitely worth it!

There was still lots of exploring to do, but it was time to say our goodbyes to the Mount so we made our way back to the coach and to school.

What a fantastic way to round off this term’s topic!

Class 7’s Ancient Egyptian Day

11th November 20229th December 2021 by Linda Ruffell

To finish off this terms history project, ‘Ancient Egyptians’, Class 7 held an Egyptian dressing up day.

During this day, the children were given the opportunity to reflect on their learning journey and also show off their creative talents by creating their own scarab beetle and canopic jars.

It was lovely to see the children arriving at school dressed as pharaohs, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra and Ramses II.

“I enjoyed making the scarab beetle out of clay”. Harley

” It was great to see all of my friends dressed up as Ancient Egyptians”. Isabella

” It was lovely to see my friends having fun and using the clay to make canopic jars”. Luke

Riotous Romans Invade Penpol!

19th November 2021 by Jack Emery

Today, Year 4 got a true taste of Roman army life, with Marcus Quintonius, a high ranking legionnaire, visiting Penpol Year 4 children for the day. Focussing on the Roman invasion of Britannia, students came into school armed with shields, swords and Roman legion attire, ready to join forces with the impressive Roman army.

To begin with, the Year group were greeted with Roman army commands: Consiste! (Halt!), Laxate (at ease), silentiurm! (Silence!) and Sin/ Dex (Left/ Right!), which would come in hand later on in the day.

Next, both classes were thrown into the melee and had to use their best codebreaking skills in order to crack a hidden location written by the emperor himself, Julius Caesar. The hidden message revealed one of Rome’s greatest engineering feats in the Roman empire – Hadrian’s Wall.

“I loved using my knowledge of Roman numerals to crack the code.” Joseph, Class 9

Next up, both classes got to play some classic Roman games, such as Rummy and Hadrian’s Wall card game. The atmosphere in both classes was as if you had walked into a Roman army barracks in the evening!

The grand finale, however, had to be experiencing what it was like to march like a Roman. Led by Roman Legionary Marcus’ booming commands, Classes’ 9 and 10 both marched up and down the playground, to embed their understanding of Roman commands. Next, the students practised forming the defence shape, which is the ‘testudo’, or the tortoise. This proved an effective barrier against incoming missiles aimed by the teachers.

All in all, the children had an excellent day immersing themselves in the Roman life and learning first hand how the Roman army worked.

Remember Remember… When Year 2 met Guy Fawkes!

30th June 202219th November 2021 by Emily Bodmer

Year 2 have been learning about The Gunpowder Plot this term and loved meeting Guy Fawkes..

Their knowledge of the event is remarkable and they successfully sequenced the events onto a timeline.

Year 2 enjoyed putting their Forest School Skills into practise with lighting a fire.

They also loved the Guy Fawkes trail and game.

Class 13 Visit Bodmin Keep

30th June 20223rd November 2021 by Nic Stanlake

On taking a short break from studying WW2 within their topic of Wartime Britain, Class 13 moved their focus to WW1 and the commemoration of the Armistice. To help emerge themselves in to the lives of young soldiers we visited Cornwall’s military museum at Bodmin Keep.

The children learnt all about how the keep was used to train and house recruits who later went onto fight in France and Belgium as part of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry before housing visiting G.I Joes in the lead up to the D-Day landings in 1944.

The building was rich with British Military history and a plethora of artefacts and replicas to explore and discuss including; Mary tins, a present from Princess Mary to serving soldiers in 1914; genuine WW1 clothing, helmets and boots; food stuffs from the time of WW1, including a VERY hard tac biscuit; and soldiers personal possessions, such as boot polish, button polishers and shaving kits.

After exploring the museum the children had chance to join the regiment, armed with their rifles (very much wooden replicas) they marched towards the enemy and took their place in the trenches and awaited the call to climb. On their lucky escape from the trench, the children sat and read some of the life stories of soldiers who left Bodmin and served, some not so fortunate to return.

After lunch we entertained two veterans, messers ‘Spanner’ and ‘Kelvin’ who taught us some basic knot skills and some far more important team building, leadership and communication ones too. The children learnt how to tie a ‘highway hitch’ before competing in a team drill to crown the fastest and best platoon in the regiment!

A truly awe-inspiring day where many of our current day to day difficulties were put into persecutive, from here we will be writing some remembrance poetry and letters from the trenches, so keep your eyes peeled for post from the Somme.

Year 3 – Mummification in Ancient Egypt

25th September 202125th September 2021 by Linda Ruffell

Ancient Egypt

As part of their history topic, year 3 started off learning about Ancient Egypt by turning some oranges into mummies!

Just like real Ancient Egyptian embalmers we started off by taking out all of the gooey insides and then used several paper towels to make sure the insides were nice and dry. Next we filled up our oranges with salt, just like the embalmers dried out bodies with natron. Finally, we wrapped up our mummies in bandages and put them somewhere warm to dry out. We will be checking on them in a few weeks to see how the mummification process is going!