Cross Country Success Congratulations to all our runners who completed their first race last Friday at Great Trethew, some of them racing for the first time. We had an impressive turnout of 22 pupils, each running brilliantly and demonstrating fantastic team spirit by cheering each other on throughout the event. The next race is on 14th November. Please return any running vests to school as soon as possible so we can ensure we have enough for everyone on race day.

Clubs There will be no Alternative Sports Club on Tuesday 21st October because of staff training and no gardening or football club on Thursday 23rd October because of the school discos.

Girls' Football. We are planning to start a girls' football club for students in Years 3 to 6, held on Tuesdays after school, beginning after the half-term break. If your child is interested in joining, please email the school secretary as soon as possible. So far, we've only received four official sign-ups, which isn't enough to run the club despite 15 girls expressing interest. We'd love to make this club happen, but we need more confirmed participants to move forward.

Harvest Donations Reminder that we are collecting donations for the foodbank in Liskeard. If you would like to donate, please send your donation in with your child or bring it to reception where there is a collection box. There will also be a collection point in the nursery. We will be taking donations to the foodbank at half term.

Parent Consultations Parent consultations will be held after half term during the week commencing 10th November. We will send details out early next week.

Neighbourhood Policing Team During half term the local Neighbourhood Policing Team will be out and about in their community van visiting villages and neighbourhoods across the Looe sector. They will be in the school car park on 30th October from 1130-1230 to chat with about local concerns, give crime prevention advice and share community issues that matter to you. 

Have a good weekend.

Anthea Hillman

There was a fantastic turnout for the Orwell Exhibition on Friday with people attending from around the world and many of last year's year 6 pupils. Visiting Orwell Society members were hugely impressed with the children's ability to speak so eloquently and passionately about their work. Quentin Kopp, Chair of the Orwell Society, said that it was great to see the support of pupils and parents present and now past and hear the excited conversation echoing around the hall. He described the work of the pupils as outstanding.

Orwell's son, Richard Blair, who attended the exhibition, presented the school with a plaque which commemorates George Orwell's time at Barnhill on the Isle of Jura, where he completed his famous novel 1984. The plaque will be put in the library along with the children's wonderful artwork from the project. 

Harvest Assembly and Donations Reverend Allen came in on Tuesday for our harvest assembly where he talked about the importance of sharing what we have. We are collecting donations for the foodbank in Liskeard. If you would like to donate, please send your donation in with your child or bring it to reception where there will be a collection box. There will also be a collection point in the nursery. We will be taking donations to the foodbank at half term.

Important Safeguarding Notice: Children's "Spy" Books We want to make you aware of a recent issue affecting some popular children's books by Andrew Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series. Some editions of these books include a printed web address at the back. This link used to go to the author's website, but the domain is no longer under his control. It has since been taken over by another party and now leads to inappropriate adult content. The publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation. They have stressed that the website has no connection to the author or publisher. What this means for you: • If your child has any Spy Dog, Spy Cat or Spy Pups books at home, please check the back for website links and make sure they do not try to visit the site. • It is safe for children to continue reading the stories themselves - the concern is only with the outdated link. • We recommend talking with your child about the importance of not following web addresses in books without checking with an adult first. We will continue to share updates from the publisher as more information becomes available.

Clubs There will be no Alternative Sports Club on Tuesday 21st October because of staff training.

We are looking into providing a football club for girls from Year 3 to year 6 on Tuesdays after school to start after half term. If your child would be interested in attending, please email secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk by Tuesday 14th October and if we have enough demand we will set this up.

Keeping Safe Please remind your children not to play on the bank outside the school gates at the beginning and end of the school day as this area is not supervised and we do not want the children to get hurt. Also, the defibrillator nearby is a vital emergency device, so we'd really appreciate it if children could avoid touching or playing near it. Thanks so much for your support.

Spooky Discos Reminder that we will be holding Spooky school discos on Thursday 23rd October, the last day of this half term. Tickets are on sale in the office and cost £3. The disco for Reception, Year 1 and year 2 will be from 3:15-4:15pm. Pupils should bring a change of clothes and will be able to change after school. KS2 (years 3-6) children should go home at the usual time of 3:15pm and then return to school for their disco which will be from 4:30-6:00pm. 

Have a great weekend!

This has been been a week of firsts. Our first school trip of the year took place this week, with Landaviddy Class visiting Dartmoor Zoo as part of their enquiry topic, "Who Rules the Animal Kingdom?" The children had a fantastic time exploring the wide variety of exotic animals that the zoo provides a sanctuary for - from tigers and lions to snakes, parrots, and meerkats. They also took part in two excellent workshops: Close Encounters, which offered a unique opportunity to get up close to reptiles and invertebrates, and Climate Change, a fun and thought-provoking sustainability challenge. You can see some lovely photos from the trip on Landaviddy's blog. We're very grateful to the Friends of Polperro School (FOPS) for generously subsidising the trip.

This week also saw the first meeting of our new School Council. The children have already shared some fantastic ideas, including suggestions for new playtime equipment and themed activity days. I'm looking into their requests and will keep you updated!

And finally, our new school choir met for the first time on Thursday. There was a great turnout and it was lovely to hear them singing some familiar songs together with such enthusiasm.

School Open Morning Do you know anyone looking for a school for their Reception age child in September 2026? If so, please pass them the attached information regarding our open morning on Wednesday 12th November, 9:30 - 11am.

Spooky Discos We will be holding Spooky school discos on Thursday 23rd October, the last day of this half term. Tickets will be on sale in the office from Monday and cost £3. The disco for Reception, Year 1 and year 2 will be from 3:15-4:15pm. Pupils should bring a change of clothes and will be able to change after school. KS2 (years 3-6) children should go home at the usual time of 3:15pm and then return to school for their disco which will be from 4:30-6:00pm.

Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Wellbeing Sessions Please see attached details of the MHST Wild Wellbeing sessions being run this October half term. These sessions are open to children aged 5-12, each session will be approximately 2 hours long. Details of how to sign up are included in the attached poster. Sign up will close one week before the session date, or when the session reaches capacity, whichever comes first.

Have a good weekend.

Mrs Hillman

We have had a busy week with plenty to celebrate in our Friday celebration assembly today, not least our visit from Mrs Dennison of the Plymouth and Cornwall Cancer Fund who came to thank our year 5 and 6 children for thier amazing efforts in the summer term where they cycled, scooted and ran a marathon between them, raising over £450 for the charity.

George Orwell Polperro Project Exhibition Last year, Polperro Primary Academy was proud to receive the 2024/25 Orwell Society School Award. The award funded a nature-based project for last year's Y4-Y6 pupils, inspired by George Orwell's deep appreciation for the natural world - a passion he developed during childhood visits to Polperro. A special exhibition showcasing the work, is taking place at the school on Friday 3rd October at 7:00pm and parents/carers and pupils are invited to attend. The event will also be attended by members of the Orwell Society, including George Orwell's son, Richard Blair, who the children had the opportunity to meet during the project. The exhibition forms part of the Society's annual conference, which is being held in Polperro this year.

Polperro Arts Foundation Postcard Competition Last year, our pupils took part in an exciting competition to design a postcard inspired by Polperro. The competition was judged by the Polperro Arts Foundation, and we're delighted to announce that six of our talented pupils were selected as winners - congratulations to Leo, Flora, Callum, Arnie, Jemima and Imogen. A limited edition of just 50 copies of each winning design has now been professionally printed and is available to purchase at the Arts Foundation Gallery for £1 each. As recognition for their creativity, each winner has received a gift token funded through a share of the postcard sales. The remaining proceeds will contribute to the Foundation's annual donation to our school - a generous, much-needed and valued support that we deeply appreciate.

National Fitness Day Thank you for ensuring your child came to school in their sportswear on Wednesday for National Fitness Day. All the children enthusiastically took part in a variety of fitness challenges and engaged in thoughtful discussions about the importance of staying active. Each child also made a personal pledge on how they plan to keep fit moving forward.

Meet the Teacher It was a pleasure to welcome so many of you to our 'Meet the Teacher' sessions on Wednesday. If you were unable to attend but would like to speak with your child's teacher, please don't hesitate to contact the school office to arrange a convenient time. Parent consultations will also be taking place later this half term (dates to be confirmed).

Choir We're excited to announce that we have received funding from the Radford Trust to run a choir. Initially open to pupils in Years 2-6, the choir will begin next week and take place during Thursday lunchtimes. To encourage maximum participation, all eligible children will be invited to attend the first session. If your child chooses to join, we kindly ask for a regular weekly commitment going forward. The choir will be led by our music teacher, Mrs Butlin.

Looe Festival of Words Please find attached, information about this year's Looe Festival of Words which runs from 1st to 5th October. There are some exciting free events for children planned.

Have a good weekend.

Anthea Hillman

We have had a busy week voting for our School Council members and choosing our new Planet Protectors group.

Our School Council is a group of dedicated and passionate pupils who are committed to making our school a better place for everyone. School Council members are elected by their peers in our School Council elections which we hold every September. Well done to everyone who put themselves forward and to those who have been elected this year: Kora (Chair), Skye, Archie, Anya, Hector, Maeve, Hugh and Erin and to Jamie who has been chosen as School Council member for Pupil Voice for PE and Sport. Information about our School Council can be found on our website under the 'Our Children' tab.

The Planet Protectors are a passionate school group dedicated to helping stop climate change by promoting sustainability and environmental awareness within our school community. They meet half termly and will be helping us take action through projects like recycling, energy-saving campaigns and eco-friendly initiatives, aiming to reduce the school's carbon footprint. Well done to Lily P, Tristan, Frankie S, Chilali, Aria, Skye, Harley, Leo, April and Hugh who will be our Planet Protectors this year, reporting back to their classmates and leading by example to inspire pupils and staff to make greener choices and take part in protecting the planet for future generations.

Meet the Teacher: 2:45pm, next Wednesday, 24th September Reminder that our 'Meet the Teacher' session will be on Wednesday 24th September starting at 2:45pm. Please come in through the main gate from 2:40pm and access your child's classroom by the external door. We look forward to seeing you then. This is an opportunity to find out about all of the exciting learning and activities the teachers have planned. Of course, the teachers will also answer any questions and try to eliminate any worries or concerns you may have. We understand if you are unable to make the meeting because of work commitments and will find a mutually convenient time to chat to you about your child's new school year if this is the case.

National Fitness Day, Wednesday 24th September Next Wednesday, we will be taking part in National Fitness Day - a fantastic opportunity to celebrate physical health, encourage children to discover enjoyable ways to stay active and build positive attitudes toward exercise from an early age. Children should come to school wearing sports clothes or their PE kit. If their kit is already in school, they will have the chance to change into it in the morning. Throughout the day pupils will take part in a variety of fun fitness activities and reflect on what it means to be fit and how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

Wishing you a lovely weekend. 

Mrs Hillman

The children have been amazing in the way they have already thrown themselves into their new routines and learning this week. Our class enquiries have started. Questions this half term are: 'What Makes our Families Unique?' Penhallow Class; 'Who Rules the Animal Kingdom?' Landaviddy Class; 'The Fall of the Rainforest, Who Cares?' Talland Class and 'What Makes Earth the Perfect Planet to Live on?' Chaipel Class. Please look at the class blogs  to see how the children's learning is going.

House Captains At a special assembly this week we thanked last year's house captains and vice captains for doing a wonderful job and announced our new Captains and Vice-Captains for this year who have been chosen because they consistently demonstrate our values. Congratulations to Aria and Henry (Willow); Thomas and Flora (Oak); Nuala and Lily P (Ash) and Joey and Isaac (Chestnut). House Points are given to the children when they demonstrate our school values: Curious, Creative, Excellent, Responsible, Determined and Enthusiastic and pupils can see how many points their house has by looking at our House Point Tracker in the corridor by the library. Our value for this half term is 'I am responsible' and houses have met to consider what this means.

Meet the Teacher: 2:45pm, Wednesday 24th September It is extremely important for us to work together to ensure that every child makes as much progress as possible each year. Each year we hold a Meet the Teacher session at which you will find out about your child's classroom, the adults working alongside your child, classroom routines and timetable, and most importantly, how you can help your child at home. It is also an opportunity to find out about all of the exciting learning and activities the teachers have planned. Of course, the teachers will also answer any questions and try to eliminate any worries or concerns you may have. We understand if you are unable to make the meeting because of work commitments and will find a mutually convenient time to chat to you about your child's new school year if this is the case. If you have children in more than one class, please attend one session and we will find another time for you to meet your other child/children's teacher/s. Our 'Meet the Teacher' session will be on Wednesday 24th September starting at 2:45pm. Please come in through the main gate from 2:40pm and access your child's classroom by the external door. We look forward to seeing you then.

Water Bottles As a Heathy School and a Sugar Smart School we encourage children to drink water throughout their day at school, rather than juice or squash. We would prefer that your child's water bottle contains water only, to encourage healthy habits. This also helps us when there is a spill as water doesn't stain! If there is a reason why your child cannot drink water, please let you child's teacher know. Please note that this applies to their classroom drinks and not to their lunchtime drinks.

Clubs Reminder that clubs start week commencing 22nd September: Monday: After School Running Club (Mrs Turnbull and Miss Bowden) years 3-6. Tuesday: Lunchtime Construction Club (Mrs Lister) Reception, Y1, Y2. After School Alternative Sports Club (Miss Randle) years 2-4. Thursday: After School Football Club (Mr Langley) for years 3-6. After School Gardening Club (includes creative art element) (Mrs Wilkie, Mrs Fitzsimmons and Mrs Peters) for years 1-6. We will have to limit numbers in this very popular club on a first come first served basis in the first instance. All clubs will run from 3.15pm until 4.15pm after school and from 12:30pm until 1pm at lunchtime. Please contact the office to sign your child up.

WAM (We Are Music) Please find attached a flyer with information about "WeAreMusic" (WAM), a music group open to all from KS2 onwards. Led by Sally Butlin and Daniel Grint, sessions take place at Looe Community Academy. Sessions start again next Tuesday (September 16th) but new (and old!) players are welcome to join at any time. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hillman

Welcome back to school from all the staff at Polperro Primary Academy and a particularly warm welcome to those joining us for the first time. Thank you for your efforts in ensuring that your children are smart and in full school uniform and in school well in time for them to line up at 8:45. The children have settled extremely well. Please see the Class blogs for a flavour of the week's learning and for information regarding your child's class. Class Blogs and the Head's Blog are updated after school on Fridays.

Parent Survey Thank you for the many very positive and helpful comments which we received in our Parent Survey in the summer term. As always we strive to improve and this year we will again be organising trips to enhance our curriculum, alongside valuable local visits. To make things easier, sign up and payment for these trips will be available on ParentPay. We will also be organising more fundraising events to build on the success of FOPS (Friends of Polperro School) events last year. Please watch this space as we will be asking for your support with this shortly.

School Garden I am pleased to announce we have just been awarded a much-needed grant of £200 for our Kitchen Garden Project from Caterlink. With the help of the children and gardening club, we will continue to grow fruit and vegetables in our greenhouse for the school kitchen to prepare for the children. Mr and Mrs Peters have kindly looked after the garden over the summer break and there are crops ready to pick (see photos).

Achievement Assemblies We will resume our special Wednesday assemblies the week starting 15th September. In these assemblies, we celebrate the children's achievements in Reading, Writing or Maths. If your child is to be awarded a certificate, their class teacher will ring or email to invite you to attend the assembly which will be held at 2:45pm (please arrive at 2:40pm). We look forward to sharing the children's successes with you.

Swimming The pool is still open so in the hope that there is still some warm weather to come, please ensure your child's kit is in every day.

Clubs The school is again providing after school and lunchtime clubs and we would like to get these up and running the week commencing Monday 22nd September. Clubs will run from 3.15pm until 4.15 pm after school and from 12:30-1pm at lunchtime. A list of clubs on offer will be sent out next week.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Anthea Hillman 

We are at the end of another wonderful year at Polperro School. The children have worked extremely hard all year which you will have seen in their books which have been sent home. They have achieved so much and we are all proud of them all as I am sure you are. Thank you so much for all of your support throughout the year.

We say some emotional goodbyes this week, firstly to our amazing Y6s who we are sure will all go on to do great things. We have also said goodbye to Mrs Phillips in a special assembly this morning. She is moving to a school in Plymouth. We will all miss seeing her smiling face in school and I am sure you will join me in wishing her all the best for the future. Mrs Lister will be replacing her in Landaviddy Class.

Summer Fayre It was lovely to see so many of you at our Summer Fayre yesterday. It was such an enjoyable afternoon and we raised over £550! Thank you to the parents/grandparents who helped out on the day and to everyone in FOPS who helped organise such an fun afternoon.

FOPS Funds The funds raised through FOPS for our school have been invaluable this year. We have spent the money on subsidising trips for every class; House badges; 99 club badges; rewards eg French pencils; prizes for World Book Day competition; Christmas plays; eco bins for our Planet Protectors; marshmallows for wellbeing day; fruit cage for garden; garden storage unit, compost and school garden supplies; maths logins for maths co uk; book boxes for phonics scheme books; SATS breakfast and Y6 leavers party food; EYFS resources.

Next year we aim to raise money for styluses for the iPads to enable the children to access everything that the educational apps on the school iPads have to offer; a trolley to store and charge the new iPads; gardening supplies; trips for each class. We will keep you posted about future plans in addition to these.

Caterlink Design a Meal Competition Congratulations to Amber for winning Landaviddy Class' design a healthy meal competition. And well done to Sonny who was runner up. Amber's meal was put on the school lunch menu today.

House Team winners Congratulations to Oak, this year's House Team winners with 570 house points. Runners up were Ash with 470 points; then Chestnut with 427 points and Willow with 393 points.

Years 5 and 6 Charity Fundraiser Well done to years 5 and 6 who cycled, scootered, walked and ran a marathon between them to raise an amazing £451 for the Plymouth and Cornwall Cancer Fund as part of their PSHE learning.

Online Safety During the summer holidays, without the distraction of school, internet usage for many young people can increase all the way up to September. Please use this link https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/staying-safe-online-in-the-summer-holidays for more information about keeping children safe online children safe when using the internet, social media and playing online games.

* * *

Information for September

Dropping off and picking up In September, the gates will be open as usual from 8:30am to allow you plenty of time to drop off in order for your child to be in school ready for registration at 8:45am. Please drop by 8:40am so that they are there in plenty of time for registration at 8:45am. As usual, pick-up time for all classes will be 3:15pm with Penhallow Class leaving from the side gate and Talland and Chaipel Classes from the main gate. Parents of pupils in Landaviddy Class (year 3) are asked to wait for their child outside Landaviddy Classroom on the playground.

Uniform Information about our uniform is on the information tab on this website. Please ensure that everything is labelled for the start of term.

PE and Swimming PE kit should come in on the first day of term and be in all half term. The swimming pool will still be open in September therefore please send your child in with their swimming kit on the first day.

After School and Breakfast Clubs Wraparound care will start on the first day back (4th September). Please email the office (secretary@polperroprimary.co.uk) if you would like your child to attend.

INSET Wednesday 3rd September is an INSET day. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school at 8:30am on Thursday, 4th September. Thank you again for all of your support throughout the year. Wishing you all a wonderful summer break.

Anthea Hillman and the staff at Polperro Primary Academy

It's been another memorable week at Polperro School.

On Wednesday, we celebrated our wonderful Year 6 pupils in their emotional Leavers' Assembly. The children shared special memories and highlights from their time at Polperro School, bringing smiles, laughter, and a few tears(!) to everyone in the audience. The day ended on a high with a fantastic Leavers' Party.

Talland Class had an exciting trip to St Michael's Mount on Thursday, where they explored the setting for their Cormoran and the Giant Killer stories. The visit brought their learning to life and sparked some brilliant creative ideas.

Meanwhile, Landaviddy Class were thrilled to receive a reply from King Charles in response to the thoughtful letters they wrote about protecting our seas from pollution.


Next week is a short school week. We are looking forward to seeing you all on Monday (21st July) at the FOPS Summer Fete which starts at 2pm.

On Tuesday, school will finish for pupils at 1:30pm. Please collect your children from the main gate, whichever year group they are in, as we will be saying a special goodbye to Year 6.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Hillman

So many highlights to choose from this week. On Tuesday morning, our pupils spent time in their new classes, finding out about their friends and their teachers and teaching staff. We have enjoyed getting to know the new pupils who will be joining us in September.

Y6 received their SATS results on Tuesday and we are hugely proud, not just of their amazing results, but of the way they took the whole process in their stride. Well done year 6!

Reports This year, end-of-year reports have been sent out via email, and we will continue to use this method moving forward. Your child will bring home their previous reports at the end of next week, unless they were not returned last year.

Books Your child will be bringing their schoolbooks home at the end of next Friday. Please provide them with a carrier bag to help carry everything.

Clubs Reminder that clubs have now finished for the year except for wraparound (breakfast and after school club).

Sun Safety During this amazing weather, we want to make sure all children stay safe in the sun. Please make sure your child brings a sun hat and sun cream to school every day. We follow a 'no hat, no play' policy, and we've noticed some children often come without one. Thanks for your help with this!

Summer Activities Please find attached leaflets about Time2Move bikeability courses and Softball Cricket courses to be run over the summer break.

End of term 1:30 finish Reminder that school will finish for pupils at 1:30pm on Tuesday 22nd July.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Hillman