Posted 22/06/2025
by Kim Appleby
Sky Arts' Week
We've had great fun looking into the future and focusing on our dream professions - everything from professional footballers to counsellors.
We enjoyed the guest speakers and well-done Year 3/4a for creating some great questions for them to answer!
On completion of our artwork, we peer assessed, commenting on the features, design, choice of colours, 3D detail and how we may be able to improve our artwork if we were to do it again.
Posted 22/06/2025
by Helen Fitzsimmons
Hello everyone!
It’s been a very sporty week in Penhallow this week. We managed a swimming session on Wednesday, The Bridge School Games on Thursday, and a sports day practice on Friday.
For The Bridge School Games, we competed in 5 different events, and recorded our scores, which will be compared with other bridge schools. We competed in events such as throwing, catching, balancing and collecting tennis balls. All events were tennis themed and we had great fun.
We have also been busy this week, writing a recount, based our experiences at The Polperro Festival. We were so proud of the children. First of all, for exemplary behaviour whilst watching the other performances, but most of all for performing so well in front of an audience. Some children stood in for others at the last minute, and we all worked as a team to do the best we could. Well done Penhallow! We hope you enjoyed it.
Have a lovely weekend!
From The Penhallow Team
Posted 20/06/2025
by Alice Wilkie
Another week has gone by already!
On Tuesday, we performed at the Polperro festival. The children were fantastic and did so well during our performance. Well done! You are all SUPERSTARS!
This week has been the Bridge School Games, so we have been very active exploring different Wimbledon inspired activities. We have also been practising for Sports Day, which we can’t wait for!
In English, we have been enjoying performance poetry and loved performing Michael Rosen’s ‘The Rhythm of Life’. We collaborated to write our own versions too, influenced by nature, the sea, even school! We will finish writing these next week and creating a short performance for our peers.
Congratulations to Amelia and Lowen J for being chosen as Landaviddy’s People of the Week.
Please ensure you bring in your PE and swimming kits next week.
We hope you have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Phillips, Miss Bowden and Miss Colton
Posted 20/06/2025
by Emily Randle
What a lovely week we have had. Polperro Festival was a huge success, on Tuesday, and our performance was amazing! We had so much positive feedback from the general public, it made all the hard work in the run-up to the day worth while. Thank you to Hamish and Harry for stepping in at the last minute to cover roles and to Joel who had full control of the microphone as a very convincing Henry Tudor!
It has been Bridge School Games week and we have been busy taking part for our school. It was fun to try out all of the challenges and try to improve our scores to be the best we can be. Fingers crossed!
We enjoyed a trip to The Box for our Evolution, Adaptation and Inheritance workshop on Friday. The workshop organiser was blown away at how much we knew and we in turn learnt a lot about how mammoths and beetles have adapted and then gave use food for thought in how beetles may need to adapt in light of Climate Change.
Next week, Chaipel will be practising for our Sports Day on Wednesday (10am - 12pm) where we will be competing in our classes for our House Teams.
We have a Mufti Day
That's all from me so have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday.
Posted 20/06/2025
by Ben Heasman-Langley
WOWZERS... What a busy week we've had and I've absolutely loved it - I hope Talland has too. They did such an amazing job at Polperro Festival. I thought their performance, both acting and singing were an absolute triumph! Chaos and fun - just the way us Tallander's like it! We've also had the Bridge School Games, where children competed against themselves in numerous Wimbledon based challenges and each individual tried to earn more points for Polperro. It was wonderful to see them cheering each other on. Team spirit was at an all time high! We've also been swimming and practicing for sports day - the relay team is now ready!
On top of all of this...
Maths:
Year 5 have been looking at statistics, where we have delved into reading and interpreting line graphs.
Year 4 have been translating shapes during their position and movement unit.
English:
We have begun to look at Comoran vs Jack the Giant Killer for our narrative based writing. This also links nicely for our trip to St. Michael's mount. This is where this myth originated! We've realised that there are items we need to look out for whilst we're there - including the Giant's heart.
History:
We have begun looking at the life of Ibraham Kingdom Brunel and his amazing accomplishments. Talland all realised that he was the one who designed the The Royal Albert Bridge, which was a cool fact.
RE:
We went on a journey in RE and thought about our life and what journey we have all been on so far! That led to discussions of where might our journey through life take us. It was really interesting hearing the children's different stories.
CONGRATULATIONS to Isabelle for being noticed for her hard work this week and well done to Tabbi, Arnie and Thomas for earning their next badge in 99 club.
That's all from us. We hope you have an amazing weekend and can't wait to see you on Monday.
Signing off from Mr. Langley, Mr. Bishop and Miss. Colton.
Posted 20/06/2025
by Ruth Smith
At Nursery we are one big happy family but, as in any family, we sometimes have disagreements which need to be sorted out.
A lot of our learning is based around Personal, Social and Emotional development; we have to learn to share, take turns and get along with everyone else.
Here are just a few pictures showing how well we all get on with each other, sharing the resources and helping our friends have fun in their learning too.
As the adults in Nursery, we love to watch how friendships blossom and grow.
Posted 20/06/2025
by Andrew Smith
Celebrating Year 6 Success at Dreadlock Escape Rooms
Last week, our fantastic Year 6 pupils at Blisland Primary Academy marked the end of their SATs with an exciting trip to the Dreadlock Escape Rooms in Bodmin. After weeks of hard work, determination, and resilience, it was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate their achievements in a fun and memorable way.
The group took on the challenge of the ‘Detention’ escape room, where they worked together to solve puzzles, crack codes, and complete tricky challenges to break free.
Teamwork, quick thinking, and perseverance were key, and the children rose to the occasion brilliantly. Mr Smith and Mrs Pengelly were on hand to offer some guidance (and perhaps the occasional clue!) but it was the children’s cooperation and problem-solving skills that led them to success.
The escape room experience was not only an exciting reward but also a great way to build confidence, strengthen friendships, and encourage creative thinking outside the classroom.
The children thoroughly enjoyed every moment, and it was clear they relished the chance to take on a new type of challenge.
A huge thank you must go to our wonderful PTFA, who kindly supported this trip financially. Without their generosity, this memorable celebration would not have been possible.
Well done Year 6 – we are so proud of you!
Posted 20/06/2025
by Katie Grinsted
What a fantastic week it’s been in Tregantle Class! Our learners have burst into action with fun and focused activities across the curriculum.
This year’s Bridge Games, our inter-trust competition, took a sporty twist— with a Wimbledon theme! The children have been absolutely buzzing, diving into tennis themed challenges: from racket coordination drills to mini court games. The enthusiasm has been contagious, and the whole class is rooting hard for Brunel to take home the trophy. We’ve seen impressive teamwork, cheering, and true sportsmanship in action!
We got hands-on with our number work this week through a dentist inspired maths session. The children counted all 20 teeth in their paper-mouth models, sorting them, adding them up, and even spotting imaginary “cavities” as subtraction problems. They practiced their skills with precision— ready for the dentist and mastering maths at the same time!
With this gorgeous weather blessing us, lessons have spilled beyond the classroom walls. We’ve used the sun-drenched playground for emergent writing, group puzzles, and even some outdoor reading. The fresh air and bright sunshine have made our week truly delightful.
A huge well done to everyone in Tregantle Class for your enthusiasm, effort, and smiles this week!
Posted 20/06/2025
by Chris Wathern
Sports Week
In addition to all the learning that has taken place this week (check out the Year Group Newsletters attached) it has been an amazing Sports Week for all our Nursery to Year 6 children. The weather has certainly been on our side as spectators were treated to a Wimbledon inspired games. Thank you all for coming!
Well done to all the children for demonstrating so many sporting and school values. We have been so impressed by the determined and enthusiastic spirit alongside the responsibility, manners and positive behaviour on display. A huge thank you to Mr O’Dwyer, Mrs Smerdon and our wonderful Y5/6 Sports and Play Leaders for their organisation and support.
Congratulations to our overall winners, Cormorants, stacking up an impressive 1000 points.
1st Cormorants – 1000 points
2nd Puffins – 900 points
3rd Swans – 850 points
4th Choughs - 750 points
Well done everyone!
Year Group News
To see more of the learning that has taken place recently, take a look at the fortnightly year group newsletters on the class pages.
Year 6 Residential
What an unforgettable adventure! Our Year 6s had the most incredible time on their residential trip to London. Not only did the children impress us, but the general public too. What lovely moments to have the public come up to us commending the children’s behaviour and attitude.
Day 1 began with an early start as we travelled up to the capital. Our first stop was the magical Harry Potter Studios, where we stepped into the wizarding world, saw the elegant ladies from Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang students, explored the Forbidden Forest, and even boarded the Hogwarts Express!
Day 2 was packed with sightseeing and excitement. We climbed aboard HMS Belfast, walked
past iconic landmarks including Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace. We took in the views from the London Eye, enjoyed a well-earned ice cream, and had a delicious meal at Pizza Hut before ending the day with the spectacular Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. We then travelled home with tired feet and big smiles!
For children who remained in Wadebridge, they had an unforgettable week packed with adventure, teamwork and triumph. They visited Lanhydrock and enjoyed exploring the beautiful grounds and took part in a fun and challenging Survival Day building dens and more! They then spent a day with DT Sports, competing in a range of exciting races and activities. All children had a wonderful time.
Our next few weeks will be spent preparing our wonderful play.
From the Year 6 Team
Year 1 Stay and Learn – Friday 27th June
We look forward to seeing family members of Year 1 at their Stay and Learn next Friday. Doors open from 08:30, with a start time of 09:00. To help the morning drop-off routine, any Year 1 families driving are encouraged to park in the staff car park (double parking is fine).
Thank you Tracey Snell & Welcome back Caroline Lucock
On behalf of everyone at the school, a big thank you to Tracey who has supported Claire in the office whilst Caroline recovered from her recent operation. We look forward to welcoming Caroline back to school next Monday.
House Points
Congratulations to this week’s winning House, Swans. With all the points from Sports Week added on, Swan take the overall lead:
Swans – 10,876
Choughs – 10,837
Puffins – 9999
Cormorants – 9905
Things could still change though, with just 4 whole school weeks left before we crown this year’s House winners.
Posted 20/06/2025
by Carmel Alberts
Posted 20/06/2025
by Sara McKillop
This week we have joined in with the Bridge Schools games each morning and earned LOTS of points for Brunel!
We also enjoyed a great art lesson, learning about 'Frottage' - creating texture with rubbings, then tearing the paper to create a picture!
At St Anne's, we celebrated International Save the Sea Turtle day with the residents.
Posted 20/06/2025
by Sara McKillop
Big week this week - which started with our farm trip to Deer Park Farm. It was such great fun, meeting the animals, going on a tractor / trailer ride, exploring the nature trail and going to Farmer Martin's farm shop in the field to find out where our food comes from! It was a really exciting day, enjoyed by all!
On Friday, we went to the library to visit the Bio project and find out about micro-plastics, mermaids' purses and plastic rubbish. Very interesting!
Posted 20/06/2025
by Julie Pearce
What an exciting day Storytellers Nursery had! Our little explorers have completed their sponsored Big Toddle, raising funds for the fantastic children’s charity Barnardo’s. Dressed as jungle animals, the children ventured through the woods on the hunt for a hidden lion, which led to lots of laughter, teamwork and adventure! Their determination and enthusiasm made it a truly special journey. After completing the walk, everyone returned to the nursery to celebrate with some well-earned scrumptious cake and proudly received their medals for taking part. We are so proud of our Storytellers toddlers for their fantastic effort – and it’s not too late to support them! Our JustGiving page is still open for donations, so if you’d like to help us raise even more for Barnardo’s, every contribution is hugely appreciated. Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, raising a fantastic amount of £260!
Posted 20/06/2025
by Julie Pearce
Storytellers
Nursery joined the global celebration of World Bee Day, a special occasion
dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of bees and other
pollinators. Bees play a crucial role in our ecosystems—helping plants grow,
flowers bloom, and food crops thrive. World Bee Day reminds us of the vital role these tiny creatures play and encourages us all to protect their habitats.
To kick off our
celebration, we gathered for a storytime that introduced the children to the
magical world of bees. They learned about how bees make honey, pollinate
flowers, and work together in hives. Inspired by the story, the children
unleashed their creativity with a fun art activity. They painted bold black and
yellow stripes onto sponges to create stunning bee prints and used cotton buds
to add delicate wings and smiley faces.
Next, the little ones
set to work making their bee hats. With great concentration, they carefully
assembled their buzzing headwear, adding eyes, wings, and antennae. It wasn’t
long before the nursery was filled with giggles and movement as the children
buzzed around happily, fully immersed in their bee roles.
After a busy day of
learning and creativity, we treated the children to a special afternoon snack.
They eagerly spread delicious golden honey onto fresh bread, enjoying the sweet
reward with their friends.
Celebrating World Bee Day not only sparked curiosity and joy but also planted the seeds of environmental awareness in our little learners. A big thank you to the bees—and our busy little artists—for making the day so memorable! .
Posted 20/06/2025
by Julie Pearce
Storytellers dived deep into learning as we celebrated World Ocean Day with our curious and caring little explorers.
The children were introduced to the wonders of the ocean,
discovering the incredible creatures that live beneath the waves, from turtles
and starfish to whales and colourful fish. We discussed the importance of keeping our oceans clean and how we can all contribute to protecting sea life by making small, thoughtful choices.
As part of our learning, the children participated in a special ocean cleanup activity. Using a sensory tray filled with water, sea creatures, and
pretend rubbish, the children carefully removed the litter to make the ocean
safe again. They worked together to sort the “okay ocean” items from the
rubbish, showing amazing teamwork and developing a real understanding of the
impact pollution can have.
Through stories, songs, and sensory play, our little ones began to
understand the role they can play in caring for our planet. We are so proud of
how engaged and thoughtful they were – true ocean protectors in the making!
World Ocean Day at Storytellers was a wonderful opportunity to explore nature, encourage responsibility, and spark a sense of environmental awareness that we will continue to build on in our everyday learning.
Posted 20/06/2025
by Julie Peat
We are exploring under the sea and answering our enquiry question "Who lives under the sea?" over the next few weeks.
The children have enjoyed exploring and learning about different creatures that live in the water and have made some paper plate fish and some sponge painted shark silhouettes.
The children have been busy developing their fine manipulative skills by rolling out clay and using the cutter to make fish. They then decorated them to make their very own rainbow fish like in the story.
At story time we have been reading the story of "Rainbow fish" and "Mr Seahorse" and we have enjoyed exploring non fiction books and naming different sea creatures.
In phonics, we have been practicing our speech sounds, matching objects to initial sounds and using mirrors to explore the way our mouths and tongues move as we make different sounds with them.
In maths we have been exploring repeats such as repetitive stories or songs e.g. Twinkl, Twinkl or "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me i'm the gingerbread man". We have been making patterns such as lines.
Just a reminder that it is sports day next Wednesday 25th June at 10am. Nursery will be running the first race at 10am, hope to see you all there!
Have a lovely weekend
Julie and Sarah
Posted 20/06/2025
by Darren Woolner
It has been a super week at Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy with a huge amount of learning opportunities for our children. Please enjoy catching up with everything that has happened across the week by browsing through this week's edition of The Brunel Bulletin.
Posted 19/06/2025
by Andrew Hunt
Last week our children competed in the Bridge School Games. This annual event involves children trying to score as many points as they can in several events based around a theme. The theme this year was Wimbledon. Scores are then submitted to see which school has the highest overall score. Our children have been competing in activities such Racquet Run, Tennis Side Step Shuttles, Ball Kid Bedlam, Tennis Toss and Game, Set, Catch. Congratulations to Trenode, the overall winners this year. I would like to make a special mention of Harrowbarrow Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 who came first in the Racquet Run, Tennis Toss and Tennis Side Step Shuffles respectively across the Bridge Schools. To find out more about the activities, please ask your children or watch this video of the opening ceremony:
Opening Ceremony of Bridge School Games 2024-25
Tomorrow, we look forward to welcoming you all to watch the children compete at our annual summer sports evening. Postponed from Tuesday due to the weather, we are optimistic the weather will be favourable tomorrow. Races start at 5pm so please ensure your child is delivered to the covered playground for 4.50pm, ready for teams to process to the school field. After the competition, the PSA has organised a summer fete, with plenty of refreshments and activities.
This year, instead of raising money for the school, we will be supporting one of our families as they attempt to fund important medical treatment. For further information or to make a direct donation, please follow this link: www.gofundme.com/f/help-give-my-auntie-a-chance-life-saving-cancer-treatment?attribution_id=sl:6a3829e3-89a3-4c8c-8cab-01abf6ef1922&lang=en_GB&ts=1747720989&utm_campaign=pd_ss_icons&utm_content=amp13_t1-amp14_t2&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=messenger&v=amp14_t2
A huge thank you to the PSA, who have been working tirelessly to organise this event and the recent colour run, which proved a huge success both in terms of money raised and enjoyment for those watching and the children taking part. Here is just one of the amazing photographs from the event.
Overall, you raised in the region of £1,700 for school funds, which is simply staggering. Thank you to all those who made donations and supported their children to secure sponsors. We look forward to sharing with you how the money has been spent for the benefit of the children.
Some dates for your diary:
Thursday 26th June: Reserve sports evening
Wednesday 2nd July: Orchestra to perform to their parents at 3.30pm
Posted 19/06/2025
by Anthea Hillman
It was lovely to see so many of you at the Polperro Festival on Tuesday. Thank you for coming and being part of a really special day. Please see the class blogs for photos.
The children have had a busy, sporty week, doing each activity for the Bridge School Games and practising for Sports Day next Wednesday 25th June from 10-12:00. Please ensure that your child’s PE kit is in on the day. We look forward to seeing you there. Please come into the school via the field gate. T
Garden Update
Everything is growing really well in the greenhouse thanks to the hard work of our volunteers Mr and Mrs Peters and Gardening Club children with Miss Randle, Mrs Wilkie and Mrs Fitzsimmons. You are invited to look round the garden during our school fair (see below).
FOPS Summer Fair – Monday 21st July at 2pm
FOPS are busily organising this year’s Summer Fair. Monday 30th June will be a MUFTI day where we will be asking for donations of an item matching your child’s house team colour to create hampers for raffle prizes. Children can wear their own clothes and this could include wearing their house colour. Please see attached posters for suggestions of what to send in for your child’s colour on the day.
Orwell Society School Award
We are proud to be one of just two schools in the UK that have been awarded the prestigious Orwell Society School Award for 2024–2025. Inspired by George Orwell’s deep love of nature - nurtured during his childhood holidays in Polperro - our exciting project aims to bring the natural world to life for our pupils. With support from local experts and organisations like the National Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, children in years 4-6 have learnt about Cornwall’s unique environments, including Bodmin airfield and even a nearby temperate rainforest. They have transformed their learning into a creative “found” sketchbook, imagined as Orwell’s own, filled with nature notes, detailed drawings, descriptive writing and poetry, all produced by the children. There will be an exhibition of this work, including the “found” sketchbook, in October when the society holds their annual conference in Polperro. Please click here to find out more about the project.
School Uniform
Thank you to Mrs Kane who has raised £15 for the school at a nearly new uniform sale recently.
We have a large selection of preloved school uniform available for a suggested donation of just £1 per item. While you might have seen a few things on the rail by the school office, there is actually much more available in a range of sizes – plenty of everything! It's a great way to save money, find what you need and help reduce waste. Before heading to the shops, please consider taking a look. Just ask at the office for the size you need. Giving these clothes a second life helps keep perfectly good uniform out of landfill.
MHST SilverCloud
Please find attached a poster about free NHS online support for those supporting an anxious child, teen or child diagnosed with ADHD.
This is a very busy half term with more exciting events coming up including trips for all classes and the year 6 residential trip to the Ultimate Adventure Centre in North Devon at the beginning of July. These and other important dates are on our events diary on the website.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hillman
Posted 18/06/2025
by Andrew Smith
Creative
We are bold and innovative in our approach to find new solutions to the challenges we face.
Curious
We are inspired by the awe and wonder of the world.
Responsible
We take responsibility for our actions in an environment of mutual respect.
Enthusiastic
We are passionate about learning.
Excellent
We are the best we can be.
Determined
We overcome all barriers to reach our potential, developing a capacity to improve further.
Spaces available, please contact the school secretary on secretary@dariteprimary.co.uk
© 2025 Bridge Schools trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Registration number 7736425. It is an exempt charity.