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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

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundation of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”
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Year 6

Fantastic Fluency!

Maths isn’t just about numbers – it’s about discovering patterns, solving problems, and most importantly, having fun! That’s exactly what Class 13 has been exploring by diving into the world of maths fluency games! Fluency is an integral part of our maths curriculum here at Penpol and we’ve been shaking it up in Year 6!

These games have been about more than just a break from traditional lessons; they’re a chance for the pupils to challenge themselves further, work together, and re-discover how fun maths can be! Our Year 6 pupils are proving that by thinking like a mathematician and utilising the power of games, they’re able to discover new ways to build their skills, tackle challenges, and most importantly, enjoy the journey.

How You Can Join the Fun at Home

Simple activities like times table challenges, card games, or even apps like Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots can help keep the momentum going!

 

We’re ‘buzzing’ about spelling in Year 5 and 6

 

After weeks of excited preparation, the early rounds of this year’s Spelling Bee took place in classrooms, where children worked through a range of common words from across the curriculum. Each pupil started with three lives, diving deep into the word bank until only five super-spellers remained from each class.

These 20 talented finalists stepped nervously into the hall, greeted by the rapturous applause of their peers. The intensity of the competition increased as the difficulty of the words grew, with the added challenge of spelling each word aloud. In the semi-finals, the children’s lives were reset, but with one fewer than before. Among the many impressive performances, the Year 5 pupils stood out, competing confidently against their older peers. After some thrilling moments stretching across two sessions, the final five spellers emerged: Arthur, Atia, Henry, Sorrell, and Evangeline.

The grand finale pushed the competitors to their limits with words of even greater difficulty. Each correct spelling brought gasps of admiration and enthusiastic applause, leading up to the championship word: phenomenon. Evangeline truly lived up to the word, demonstrating incredible skill and lifting the trophy without a single incorrect spelling—a phenomenal 78 words in total!

Congratulations, Evangeline, on your outstanding achievement and well done to all of our Year 5 and 6 pupils, you amazed as much as you do every day!

 

Creating Winter Sculptures in Tinkercad

This year our Year 3’s and Year 6’s have created their own 3D Winter Ornaments using Tinkercad.  The Year 3’s have been using the Scribble tool to create unique and personal designs whilst the Year 6’s have been making theirs using the Codeblocks editors.  Rather than me talking about how it all works, let’s hear from some of the students instead…

Year 6 Winter Ornaments

“I made a snowman with a scarf and top hat.  It has accessories too, like some coal buttons and a carrot nose.  Alongside the snowman, on the right, it has a present with a Santa hat one top and to the left it has a tower of six snowballs.

I used three spheres, increasing by size, to make the body and a cube a cuboid for the hat.  The trickiest part was making the buttons for the snowman, making sure they weren’t too far off or too far inside the snowman’s body. It was also tricky making sure the height was equally spaced between each button.

This is probably going to be on the shelf in my bedroom for quite a while – until my dad tells me it’s time to put the Christmas decorations away.  But then I’ll look forward to seeing it again each year.”

Tamara

“I made a cat that was inspired by my cat at home (Dotty).  I started off with a head shape and tried to make all of the details on the head like the eyes and when I was satisfied with the head I moved onto the body.  For this I used a cube but I stretched it out to make it more rectangular and curved the edges.

I’m very pleased with how my cat came out, I will keep it forever!  I think the real Dotty will be very pleased to meet her new friend!”

Ivor

“I used Tinkercad Codeblocks to code my cat, which was really fun but quite tricky too!  The hardest part was to get the ears at an angle on the head, because I had to figure out how to get them the same angle on opposite sides.

When I take my cat home, I’ll show it to my mum and dad and then put it in the windowsill.  I think I’ll keep it out all the time!”

Georgia

“It didn’t take too much of my time, but it was so fun to do that I wanted to work on my design at home as well.  I went to show my family what I was making and they were really interested in how I made it, they just kept saying wow when they saw all my code.

I’m probably going to keep my Creeper figure in my bedroom.  I like how I designed it on the computer and it’s now stood right in front of me in real life.”

Brody

Year 6 Gallery

Year 3 Winter Ornaments

“I made my Christmas Tree by drawing it on the computer and then went off it by pressing done.  Then I pressed the button which made a copy and then I stacked it on top of the other one.  Then I did another version with the detail of my tree and changed the colour.  I really like the tree I’ve made, and I’ve put it on my shelf at home where we keep special things.”

Elsie

“I chose my design because I thought it would be a nice thing to have a Christmas decoration to look like myself in my favourite colours.  It’s cool to think that this is the only one in the whole world that looks like this.  I can’t wait to put it on my own Christmas tree when I get home.”

Clementine

“I wanted to make a decoration that was green and black because they’re my two favourite colours.  I chose a present to make sure I could use these two colours.  It’s probably one of my favourite designs that I’ve ever made in Tinkercad, and it’s going to be really special on my Christmas tree at home.”

Henry

Year 3 Gallery

Penpol Writing Challenge!

At Penpol, we are all writers. During the Autumn Term, children from EYFS to Year 6 were invited to participate in our Penpol Writing Challenge, giving everyone the opportunity to let their creativity shine! The children could choose between the fiction challenge of writing a story or the non-fiction challenge of writing instructions or a recipe.

Congratulations to all the children who entered! I was so impressed with all of your entries, and you should all be incredibly proud of yourselves:

  • Esme from Class 1 – I loved your story about a family called Sparkle who visited Cornwall.
  • Jude from Class 3 – I loved your instructions for finding Pirate Bob’s treasure.
  • Andrew from Class 4 – I loved your instructions to Save Our Animals! You included so many interesting facts in your writing.
  • Jowan from Class 4 – I loved your instructions for making hot chocolate on the beach.
  • Macie from Class 4 – I loved your instructions for making chocolate chip cookies. They sound delicious!
  • Violet from Class 4 – I loved your instructions for making pea and potato curry-loaded naan. You’ve really shown our Penpol Value of Creativity.
  • Ted from Class 6 – I loved your creative story about the Queen’s birthday.
  • Hazel from Class 7 – I loved your creative story Tadeo Jones: The Amazing Adventure of Ancient Egypt.
  • Martha from Class 7 – I loved your story The Hot Sunny Desert. I especially enjoyed reading how to mummify a human!
  • Emily from Class 8 – I loved your creative story about a fairy adventure.
  • Suki from Class 9 – I loved your story Daisy and the Trouble with Bikes. It was so creative!
  • Alayah from Class 12 – I loved your story about Leaf the Little Flower Fairy. I can’t wait to read the next part of the series!
  • Pearl from Class 12 – I loved your story Pearl vs. Seagull. I was extra careful reading it thanks to your warning on the front page!
  • Molly from Class 13 – I loved your creative story Literally a Disaster. You really demonstrated our Penpol Value of Resilience and Creativity.

Please enjoy reading the children’s fantastic entries below. We’re already looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for our next Penpol Writing Challenge:

  • Fiction: Write your own comic!
  • Non-Fiction: Write an invitation or plan an event or party.

We can’t wait to see your creativity in action—happy writing!

Cracking the Code: Year 6 Builds Brilliant Morse Machines!

This term, Year 6 pupils embarked on an exciting project that combined history, science, and technology: building their very own Morse code machines! Inspired by the revolutionary invention that changed the way humans communicated in the 19th century, the pupils dived into the world of coding, circuits, and ingenuity.

Before the building began, pupils explored the fascinating history of Morse code. They learned how Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed this groundbreaking system of dots and dashes to send messages over long distances. From its vital role in maritime safety to its use in wartime communication, the pupils were captivated by the story of how Morse code shaped history.

With the historical foundation laid, it was time to get hands-on! Pupils worked independently to design and build functional Morse code machines using batteries, wires, bulbs, and switches. Guided by their science and technology lessons, they learned about electrical circuits and how to create a closed-loop system to power their devices.

They also tackled the challenge of encoding and decoding messages, practicing their new Morse code skills with their classmates.

Super work Year 6!

Year 5 and 6 Pupils Shine in High Performance Program

Last week, some of our most talented sportspeople from Year 5 and 6 were invited to attend a strength and conditioning session at a local CrossFit gym. These pupils were selected to take part in the Penwith PE Cluster High Performance Program, an initiative recognizing their exceptional achievements in their chosen sports both within and outside of school.

The group included a diverse mix of athletes—from swimmers to runners, footballers to golfers. During the session, they learned not only how to improve their physical strength but also about the importance of maintaining a healthy body to handle the physical demands of their sports.

A huge well done to all participants for representing our school with such dedication and enthusiasm! 💪🏅

A fort-ified effort!

This half-term, our Year 2 pupils have been learning all about castles and embarked on a building project that even Henry VIII would have admired. Every foreman needs labourers, so what better opportunity than to collaborate with their learning buddies from Classes 14 and 12?

With guidance and teamwork, the Year 2 pupils transformed their designs into impressive castles, showcasing their newly gained knowledge. From the importance of battlements for defense to creating a working drawbridge, their projects brought history to life in the most creative ways.

Well done to our budding architects and their fantastic learning buddies for such a royally impressive effort! 🏰✨

Reading and Writing is Magic, and Magic is for Everyone

Our annual Reading and Writing Is Magic Festival has been nothing short of spectacular, filled with fun activities, challenges, and a whole lot of creativity! This week, we’ve been celebrating the life-changing power of reading and writing in every corner of the school, inspiring everyone at Penpol to embrace their imagination and explore the magic of words.

The key theme of the week was ‘Reading and writing is magic, and magic is for everyone’ — a message that has resonated throughout every activity. We’ve focused on the idea that every child has the right to…

  • Be creative 
  • Have a planet to read and write on
  • See themselves reflected in a book
  • Have some choice in what they read and write
  • Read and write for the joy of it

We had the privilege of hosting Cornish writer Ben Rowswell, who led energetic and inspiring assemblies for all year groups. His passion for storytelling was contagious, and everyone was excited to tap into their own creativity. You can learn more about Ben and his work here: Cornwall Adventure.

To keep the creative spark alive, every child has been given their own special notebook — a place where they can write freely and express their ideas throughout the year. It’s a space for independent creativity, giving each child the chance to freely write for the joy of it.

At Penpol, we believe reading and writing are truly magical, and this festival has been a perfect reminder of how important and exciting these skills are. Here’s to many more adventures with books, stories, and the endless possibilities of writing!

We Will Remember

On Monday our Year 6 pupils took break from writing their World War 1 poetry to pay their respects and mark the two-minute silence on Armistice day at the War Memorial in Hayle alongside other members of our community.

 

The children have been learning lots in class about the sacrifice many service personnel have made on behalf of their countries through their topic of ‘War and Peace’

This has included making poppy crosses to lay in the D-day inspired garden outside of the Passmore Edwards Institute opposite the memorial. They have also sewn their very own felt poppies whilst raising money for the Royal British Legion.