Coastal Exploration in Year 6

With a spring in their step and Autumn in the air, our Year 6 Truro School Prep pupils headed out on their six-mile St Agnes circular walk.

These trips are a fantastic opportunity for our new classes to form close bonds as they navigate our beautiful Cornish coastline. Alongside learning about our local history and environment, these walks provide a physical challenge and help to develop soft skills including communication, teamwork and perseverance.

The walk, starting from Chapel Porth, led to a narrow path swathed in purple and yellow heather, and up to their first Cornish historical point of interest, the Charlotte United Mine. From here, the walk continued slightly inland, to a path beautifully adorned with a canopy of trees.

Leading to a steeper incline, pupils climbed up onto The Beacon where they could see as far as Carne Brea and RAF Portreath. Discussions included what The Beacon was originally used for (an ancient Bronze Age burial ground) and stories of Bolster and Saint Agnes, the namesake of the neighbouring village. The groups then descended onto a rugged, gorse-laid path, surrounded by nature, both wild and farmed. From here, the pupils were tasked with locating an ancient sand quarry in the distance.

Pupils followed the path down lanes and back onto the South West Coast Path. On the horizon, an image of the Coastwatch lookout came into the focus. Here National Coastwatch Institution St Agnes Head volunteers Kathy Cullingworth and trainee Steph Rickaby joyously greeted our intrepid Truro School Prep hikers.

Kathy explained the important work undertaken by the team who are ‘the eyes along the coast’ 365 days a year, helping with tasks including recording data of walkers and those in the water, plotting vessels and reaching out to the Coastguard in emergencies.

From the Coastwatch Station, our pupils made a short stop to identify an anti-aircraft artillery gun stand from World War II. Pupils reflected on how different the landscape would have looked in the 1940s, peppered with working barracks and military huts.

Pupils also considered what life would have been like for workers at Wheal Coates, one of the most famous landmarks on this part of the coastal path. Many miners, some as young as our Year 6 pupils, would have worked up to two miles out to sea, in dark, cramped spaces, with the ocean crashing a few feet above their heads.

As the groups descended back to Chapel Porth, well-deserved ice creams awaited them at the National Trust Café, much to the delight of all! Thank you to Mr Lord, Miss Ryder, Mr Lea, Mr Jones, Mr Spears, Rev Helen and Mrs Morse for making this valuable learning opportunity possible and well done to our Year 6 pupils who were a real asset to our school.