On the 22nd May 2023, many of the Y6 travelled to London for 3 days of sightseeing, visiting attractions and the many things our nations capital has on offer. With a jam packed itinerary planned, we set off at 7am on a double-decker, stylish, executive coach for the long road ahead. Following a number of “Are we nearly there yets?” just after lunchtime we pulled up outside the Natural History Museum.

The children were excited by the beautiful exterior and size of the building even before going in. As we entered the Natural History Museum this was the scene that greeted us:

We saw many exciting exhibits:

Then it was off for dinner at Pizza Express after check in at the Wembley International Hotel for our first nights stay.

Then for a walk around the outside of Wembley Stadium. What a venue! There were a few goal like celebrations!

Our second day in London started at the Houses of Parliament where we had a special tour through the buildings including the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in most areas. We did not have enough time to sort out the cost of living crisis but it was fascinating to experience.

We then went sightseeing around Central London:

It was time for a flight on the London Eye.

Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then a West End show – Matilda!

It was our last day in London. All the bags on the coach and we were heading to the Science Museum and The Wonderlab. The Wonderlab is the most amazing hands on science laboratory/gallery/play room/museum/fun room you can imagine. We had so much fun, investigated lots and maybe even learnt a little along the way!

Now the long journey home. Happy life-long memories and amazing experiences. Oh, and a Burger King at Exeter Services!

Year Six – London 2023

The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens

Year 2 Explore Christianity and Islam

29th November 202226th November 2022 by Michael Pearson

This term, Year 2 pupils have been learning about Islam and Christianity through their enquiry questions…

Who is Muslim and how do they live?

Why does Christmas matter to Christians?

In order to learn from religious experts and make connections between these different religions, Year 2 embarked on an all-day outing to Truro Cathedral and the Carnon Downs Islamic Community Centre.

The festive season started early in Truro Cathedral, which was decorated with a truly magnificent Christmas tree, stood some 20ft tall!

The children enjoyed a Christmas workshop, which involved collaging angel Christmas cards. Each pupil was then given a decorative star, on which they wrote the name of a person who is special to them. These stars were later hung upon the cathedral’s Christmas tree.

We were then taken on a magical tour of the building, learning and acting out the Nativity of Jesus along the way. Children were enthralled by the story, which developed their understanding of why Christmas is important to Christians.

After enjoying our lunch in the Cathedrals choir vestry, we continued our religious journey to the Carnon Downs Islamic Community Centre. This is the only masjid (another word for mosque) in Cornwall. One of the centre’s aims is to educate Muslims and Non-Muslims, both young and old, about the true teachings of Islam; “Peace”.

One of the masjid’s Imams, Mohammad, gave us a warm welcome into the beautiful building. Children demonstrated their respect for others’ beliefs and practices by taking off their shoes before entering the centre. Mohammad then enlightened us with an introductory presentation on Islam; he explained the Five Pillars of Islam, demonstrated passages of the Quran in Arabic and answered some very insightful questions from our pupils about their beliefs and practices.

“Why do Muslims pray?”

“Do Muslims celebrate Christmas?”

“Do you believe in Jesus?”

We were then taken on a tour of the masjid by one of their volunteers, Abdul-Bari, who showed us the washroom and prayer rooms. Our visit was wonderfully concluded with an Adhan (an Islamic call to public prayer). The children watched with wonder and fascination as Mohammad and Abdul-Bari demonstrated their daily prayer, facing east in the direction of Mecca.

Following this trip, Year 2 pupils wrote some wonderfully detailed recounts of the visits to these religious buildings, demonstrating the impacts of the experience. They have continued the pursuit of their enquiry questions in English lessons, in which pupils have been making connections between Islam and Christianity by discussing and writing about the similarities and differences of their beliefs and practices.

Roman Week

8th January 20208th January 2020 by Colin Jones

Raucous Romans

Year Four Enjoy Romans

During December, year four children at Penpol school had a Roman Themed week. They did lots of activies like making and designing a Roman shield and film making.

On Monday The children made and designed a Romanshield out of cardboard Lula age8 said “It was very fun and interesting.” On Tuesday they made flat bread with honey and Sesame seeds.

On Wednesday, A Roman legionnaire came in hetold the children how to play Roman games like the Hadrian‘s wall card game and a Roman top trump game. Connor, age 9 said “It was scary and fun”.

On Thursday They had a dress up day they dressed up like Romans are using the shield to makea shield wall on Friday they madeMosaic me some coloured paper based on a template Ellie age 8 said.”It was great,”

It looked like year four had an amazing week, lucky them.

Written by BeBe (Class 9)

Year Four enjoy a Roman themed week

During the first week of December, year four pupils from Penpol School inHayle, had an amazing Roman themed week. The week was filled with lots of Roman activities from Roman shield making to filmmaking. The week finished with a dress up day and mosaic making.

On Monday, the children made fantastic Roman shields.First the children got two massive bits of cardboard then stuck them together and painted them.Then the children put pieces of coloured paper into shapes and stuck them on.Bebe aged 8 class 9 thought making Roman shields was amazing .

On Tuesday ,the children tased Roman food.The children tased garum, vinegar ,honey and grape squashed wine. It sounds sickly.

On Wednesday, a Roman legionnaire came in to teach the children about life in Britain and Hadrian’s wall and what happened.

On Thursday, the children dressed up as Romans.the children made a Roman timeline animation. Lula aged 8 thought it was very entertaining.

On Friday, the children made Roman mosaics. They designed the mosaics, then got strips of paper and cut them in little squares to make an object out of the little squares.

The children made Roman shields, tasting Roman food, meeting a Roman legionnaire ,dressing up ,making an animation and a mosaic. The best one was making the animation. What an amazing topic! It sounds like year 4 are going to have many exciting topics to come in the future.

Written by Connor (Class 9)

One ‘Wicked’ London trip

15th September 2019 by Jono Peck

On the 11th June 2019, many of the Y6 travelled to London for 4 days of sightseeing, visiting attractions and the many things our nations capital has on offer. With a jam packed itinerary planned, we set off at 7am by executive coach for the long road ahead. Following a number of “Are we nearly there yets?” just after lunchtime we pulled up outside the Natural History Museum.

The children were excited by the beautiful exterior and size of the building even before going in. As we entered the Natural History Museum this was the scene that greeted us:

We saw many exciting exhibits:

Then it was off for dinner at Pizza Express before going to check in at the hotel for our first nights stay.

Our second day in London started at the Houses of Parliament where we had a special tour through the buildings including the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in most areas. There were lots of MP’s coming in to discuss Brexit. The former Prime Minister Theresa May was also arriving for questions – we left and I don’t think she was long after us!

We then went sightseeing around Central London:

Dinner at Garfunkel’s and then a West End show – Wicked. Wicked was absolutely wicked!!!

The next day we visited HMS Belfast on the River Thames in the morning by the Tower Bridge. It was used during World War II and was fascinating to tour around. It was interesting to look at and experience some of the things we had been learning about from our Wartime Britain topic. We also bumped into the Hollywood actor John Malkovich. Not somebody you see in a ship’s navigating room very often!

We then went on a river cruise down the River Thames setting off from just outside the Tower of London. Unfortunately it was rather damp outside so we viewed it all from the inside. At least we ate lunch in the dry. The commentator was very funny. Docking at Westminster next.

It was time for a flight on the London Eye. We watched a 4D show first which was really cool. Looking up at the big wheel up into the sky, it was our turn to go on and we were very excited. All except one frightened adult! Mrs Turner didn’t look down or even up once!

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe – there were some strange rumblings going on. We kept seeing wild and hairy things – wait…was that just Mr Stanlake and Mr Peck?

A nice evening stroll then followed, through the lights of Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square before heading back to the hotel.

Now the long journey home. Happy life-long memories and amazing experiences. Oh, and a few ‘Bongo Bandit’ songs on the way back. It was too much for some!

Year Six – London 2019

Penwith Schools Touch Rugby Tournament

9th May 2019 by Jono Peck

On Thursday 25th April, Penpol School took two rugby teams to the Penwith Schools Touch Rugby Tournament at Hayle RFC. It was a fantastic tournament and both teams did themselves proud.

The two teams were split into two different pools where they played 3 matches. Depending on these results, all teams were then split down again into further competitions. Team B went into the Plate competition and Team A went into the Cup competition.

It was fast and furious with little time for breaks and matches came quickly one after the other. For some children, it was the first time playing in a rugby team and representing the school. Team B improved greatly over the competition and everybody in this team contributed fantastically.

Team A won all of their games until narrowly losing by one try in the semi-final. The team then played for third place which they won. Team A were presented with medals and have qualified for the Cornwall finals on Tuesday 21st May at Redruth RFC. We will be taking a larger squad of 12 for this tournament and hope to come back with further medals.

Thank you to all the parents and families for supporting us on the day. See you at the next one!

All aboard The Titanic!

2nd February 2018 by Penpol School

Year 2 having been learning all about the Titanic, investigating and researching the questions:

What happened?
Who did and didn’t survive?
Where were they going?
Why did it happen?
How could the disaster have been avoided?

They have really enjoyed compiling facts, colouring pictures, watching clips on the internet, discussing events, compiling a timeline of events and as you can see making some marvellous models at home!

It took me a couple of weeks to make and my dad helped me. The Grand staircase was very special but my favourite bit was when it sank! – Remy – Class 5

My mum helped me, it was tricky sticking the sticks in and I enjoyed painting on the lighted windows – Agnes – Class 5

My model moves. It crashes into the iceberg because I’ve used a magnet Austin

Surfing’s on the Curriculum at Penpol

29th June 201817th November 2016 by Mark Pollard

We are very fortunate at Penpol School to be situated by the sea next to three miles of glorious beaches and golden sand. In this area of outstand natural beauty, we have some of the best beaches in Cornwall offering fantastic surfing opportunities.

Living next to the Atlantic, however, does come with its own hazards and dangers, especially when it comes to being safe in the sea.

At Penpol School we take beach safety very seriously.

We have a close connection with several of our community partners including the RNLI, Shore Surf and Hayle Surf-Lifesaving Club. These partners regularly present whole school assemblies, discussing the dangers of the sea and encouraging the children to reflect on the importance of beach safety.

At Penpol School we also believe that our children should be taking full advantage of their geographical location and safely enjoying the unique area in which they live. With this in mind, we have made surfing a compulsory part of our curriculum for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.

Teaming up with Shore Surf School and their fully qualified expert surf-instructors, each pupil has participated in five two-hour surf lessons, working towards Level 2 Shore Surf Award.

This has involved meeting various expectations and demonstrating a number of key skills including:

Changing in and out of a wetsuit unaided.
Working as a team and supporting each other.
Perseverance and determination
Knowledge of water safety and recognising hidden dangers
Developing confidence in the water
Catching a wave
Popping to their feet and surfing for five seconds or more
Demonstrating balance and co-ordination.

This is the second year our pupils have taken part in surfing and it has proved to be a great success.

Pupil comments –

I found the past five Thursdays the most enjoyable days of the week and that was because of the surfing – Zehava

I enjoyed surfing very much this year. I think I have learnt so much in the five weeks. I stood up for the first time ever and caught some really cool waves. The instructors were very kind and taught us how to do some impressive tricks – Erin

I loved going surfing this term even though sometimes the waves were huge! We learnt very quickly how to stand up and then how to go faster, as well as slow down on a wave. Soon after this we were taught to turn and dismount safely – Tilly

I enjoyed surfing so much this term that I think we should go again next term. I think surfing should be on the curriculum because we live by the sea and we learn how to be safe in the water – Jake

THE JELLY FRIENDS American blog

Magic on the Mount

“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.”

Drama at the Minack

On Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd February, our Year 2 classes braved the elements as they ventured to the historic and magical Minack Theatre for a theatre tour and drama workshop.

The very welcoming and incredibly talented Minack Theatre staff led a series of fun drama games, before we split into groups to learn and rehearse the infamous tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

We are very excited to take this experience back into the classroom and let it inspire our very own Jack and the Beanstalk-inspired stories next week!

London’s Calling 2023

Year 2 Explore Christianity and Islam

This term, Year 2 pupils have been learning about Islam and Christianity through their enquiry questions…

Who is Muslim and how do they live?

Why does Christmas matter to Christians?

In order to learn from religious experts and make connections between these different religions, Year 2 embarked on an all-day outing to Truro Cathedral and the Carnon Downs Islamic Community Centre.

“Why do Muslims pray?”

“Do Muslims celebrate Christmas?”

“Do you believe in Jesus?”