Joining Penrice: Transition Hub 2024

Starting in September

Full details regarding our return in September and the official start of your child’s Penrice journey can be found in ‘The Year Ahead’ document below.

22nd July 2024

Parent Pay Login Details

*Minor update (not emailed to parents, only shared on Transition Hub)

Dear Year 6 Parents & Carers,

A heads up that postal letters are being sent out this week to all Year 6 families containing their Parent Pay login details.

Details should arrive through your letterbox in the near future.

Kind regards,
Penrice Academy.

19th July 2024

Summer School Places

*Minor update (not emailed to parents, only shared on Transition Hub)

Dear Parents/Carers,

Further to our email on 17th July, the final spaces on the Summer Academy have now been booked.

We will be in contact with all registrants in the very near future to inform families if they have secured a place or whether they are on the waitlist.

Kind regards,
Penrice Academy.

17th July 2024

Summer School Places

Places on our Summer Academy are now available for parents/carers to book. Please check your inbox for further instruction.

16th July 2024

*Minor update (not emailed to parents, only shared on social media and placed on Transition Hub)

#MyPenrice Question 6 – What are lessons like at Penrice?

1st July 2024

Welcome Evening Resources

Below are the electronic copies of some key resources that were handed out during our Welcome Evening.

Welcome Day

It’s welcome day!!! We are having the best day with our new Year 6 students!

 
We can’t wait to meet all of our new families later today at the Welcome Evening.

25th June 2024

There’s not long to go until the Year 6 Welcome Day and Welcome Evening next week!

We are delighted to share that the Penrice Plus Taster Activity allocations have just been sent out in an email along with each student’s tutor group allocation.

We can’t wait for Year 6 to get their first taste of Penrice Plus on Monday. Here’s what they can look forward to when they join in September…

#MyPenrice Question 5 – What after school clubs are there?

20th June 2024*

*Minor update (not emailed to parents, only shared on social media and placed on Transition Hub)

Final Transition Visits

All aboard! Our final Primary Visits take place today.

We look forward to meeting our incoming students at St Mewan School and Mount Charles School!

Reminder
A final reminder for parents & carers to complete the Penrice Plus Taster Activity preference form which closes on Sunday evening. The form is accessible via your child’s Welcome Day Invite Postcard or via the Penrice Transition Hub. Thank you.

*Closes on Sunday 23rd June at 23:59.

#MyPenrice Question 4 – What does a normal school day look like?

13th June 2024

Year 6 Welcome Day – Further Details

We are writing to formally invite your child to join us at Penrice Academy for the Welcome Day on Monday 1st July 2024. The day has been planned to give our new students a chance to get to know the school before the academic year begins in September. Your child’s Year 6 Welcome Day invite postcard should have magically appeared in their school bag by now – please speak to your child’s primary if this is not the case.

Students will learn about what it means to be a member of the Penrice community, the opportunities it brings and how to make the most of their time with us. Students will experience one of the four following lessons – Maths, English, Geography or MFL. Your child should wear their primary uniform and bring a pencil case.

Penrice Plus Taster Session – Form Completion Required
In the afternoon of the Welcome Day, all students will experience a taster of a Penrice Plus activity which they will pick prior to the day. For our Penrice Plus Taster, we are offering a sample of 9 different activities. Please use the form below to register your child’s preferences.

*Closes on Sunday 23rd June at 23:59.

Logistics and Timings
Prefects and staff will be available to meet students as they arrive on the Welcome Day and school transport companies have been advised to expect new students on their buses. You may, if you prefer, make your own transport arrangements. Students should arrive at Penrice between 8.00am and 8.25am, ready for an 8.30am start. Students will leave at 2.45pm by foot or board the buses at 2.55pm.

IMPORTANT: Please note, there is no facility in school for children to buy food due to our Cashless Catering System. Therefore, you will need to provide a packed lunch for the day. Children will be given a carton of juice and a biscuit during the morning break. If your child is in receipt of Free School Meals and you would like Penrice to provide a lunch for them, please complete this form by Sunday 23rd June at 23:59.

Movie Magic – What happens on the Welcome Day?
A two-minute video explaining what students can expect on Welcome Day is available below. Please check out the full #MyPenrice video series on YouTube where 4 out of 8 videos are currently published at the time of writing.

Year 6 Welcome Evening (for Parents and Pupils)

We would also like to invite you and your child to our Welcome Evening, also taking place on Monday 1st July 2024. Advanced registration is required, and you can pick from one of the two below stated timeslots:
Session 1 – 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Session 2 – 5:30pm to 6:30pm

Register for your preferred timeslot online here, via our TryBooking registration system below:

 
Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your stated timeslot to allow time for parking and meeting our teachers and prefects at the entrance. Our friendly car parking attendants will be on hand to guide traffic and you may be directed to our overflow carpark (side entrance).

Uniform
During the Welcome Evening, the Penrice Academy school uniform will also be on display, including sportswear. Our official uniform suppliers will be available to take uniform orders.

There is also funding support available and avenues where you can buy second-hand uniform. For more information, please visit our Uniform webpage.

Final Words

You will receive further communications in the coming weeks regarding your child’s tutor group allocation and further information from the school.

As always, we will keep our Transition Hub updated on the website so that you can always check you are up to date with the latest developments.

We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Yours sincerely,
Penrice Academy

6th & 7th June 2024*

*Minor update (not emailed to parents, only shared on social media and placed on Transition Hub)

Your child’s Year 6 Welcome Day invite postcard should have magically appeared in their school bag by now – please speak to your child’s primary if this is not the case.

We can’t wait to see all of you on Monday 1st July! During the afternoon of the Welcome Day, all Year 6 pupils will take part in a Penrice Plus Taster Session. There are 9 options to choose from including Art Club, Five-A-Side Football, Coding/Robotics Club and many more!

Please be sure to register your child’s preferences by Sunday 23rd June via the link below or by scanning the QR code on the postcard:

*Closes on Sunday 23rd June at 23:59.

Note: We will try our best to ensure all students get to enjoy their first preference, however spaces on each activity are limited. With this in mind, please submit your child’s top 3 preferences on the form.

An email will be sent to all parents/carers by the end of next week containing further information about the Welcome Day including clothing/uniform requirements, food arrangements, transport and more.

#MyPenrice Question 3 – What happens on the Welcome Day?

Mandarin Excellence Programme

Our Languages team have just sent out emails confirming places for the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP). Congratulations to all those who secured places to begin learning Mandarin in September!

24th May 2024

#MyPenrice Question 2 – Will my friends be in my tutor group?

22nd May 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that your child’s SATs exams have been going well and that they are looking forward to some relaxation time during half-term. Please find below a transition update from Penrice.

Primary Visits Commence

Today marked the start of our Primary School visits and our transition staff were delighted to meet students at Luxulyan, Treverbyn and Tywardreath. Visits resume after half-term with Sandy Hill Academy up next on Wednesday 5th June. The full schedule can be viewed on the Transition Hub.

#MyPenrice Transition Videos

As part of our Parent and Student Pastoral Surveys (launched 12th March), we asked incoming Year 6 students if they have any big questions they would like answered before starting at Penrice. Our current Year 7s recently discussed and answered the most commonly asked questions as part of our #MyPenrice video series.

The first #MyPenrice video is available on Youtube, on social media and here on the Transition Hub (below) where students answer: ‘Were you nervous when starting? If so, what helped?’.

Stay tuned for more #MyPenrice videos which will be shared via the above-mentioned channels between now and the Welcome Day on 1st July. When posted, we kindly ask that you share these videos with your child to help them feel more at ease regarding transition.

Summer Academy (Invite Only) – Save the Date

We are delighted to be running a free Summer Academy for three days from 27th – 29th August to help selected students settle into their new school environment here at Penrice. Spaces are limited and first refusal will be offered to students whom will benefit the most from additional transition support. Registration is optional and therefore any remaining spaces at the Summer Academy will be offered to the rest of the year group after the first refusal period concludes.

A separate communication will be sent out next month to the parents/carers of those students invited, including full details of what to expect on each day and how to register.

Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP)

Thank you to all those who applied to be a part of our Mandarin Excellence Programme back in April. All applications and teacher references are with Mrs Rebecca Yeo (Head of MFL) and Miss Lemony Rose (Mandarin Teacher) who will be contact with you in the near future.

Contact Preferences

We have now transferred to using Admissions+ as our contact database. Additional contacts that you added to your child’s data who have consented to parental communications from Penrice should now also receive emails like this. Thank you for taking the time to complete this part of the transition process.

10th May 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope that you and your family had an enjoyable Easter break. The month of May marks the arrival of SATs Tests for Year 6 students across the county and we wish your child the best of luck over the coming weeks.

Primary Visits – Dates Confirmed

With Year 6 students in full focus over the coming weeks, it is the month of June in which the majority of our Primary School visits will take place. We are delighted to share with you the list of dates below:

Incoming students who do not attend any of the above-mentioned primary schools will be invited to attend an e-meeting via Microsoft Teams. We will contact the relevant families separately in the near future.

The primary visits will be conducted by Mr Dean Darbourne for whom we are delighted to share will be your child’s Head of Year for the duration of the 2024-25 Academic Year. Mr Darbourne is Head of Year for our current Year 7s and has a wealth of experience in ensuring students get the best possible start to secondary school.

Accompanying Mr Darbourne on each visit will be our SENDCo (Mr Mike Merelie) and Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mrs Abby Macdonald). Mike and Abby will mainly be in attendance to speak to teachers at your child’s primary, but they may speak to your child directly if there is a relevant reason to do so.

Mr Dean Darbourne
Head of Year 7

Mr Mike Merelie
SENDCo

Mrs Abby Macdonald
Designated Safeguarding Lead

Welcome Day and Evening Reminder

Further to our last communication, a reminder to save the date for our Welcome Day and Evening on Monday 1st July. We can’t wait to welcome you all to the Penrice Community! More information about the Welcome Day will magically appear in your child’s primary school bag towards the end of May via our personalised event invites!

Contact Preferences

This is the final transition email that will be sent out using the original contact information we received from your Cornwall Council registrations. The next communication will be sent out via the details you have completed in Admissions+. Thank you to all those who have filled out their details on the platform.

If you have not yet completed Admissions+, please do so urgently to ensure that you do not miss future communications. Please email transition@penrice.org.uk if you need to be re-sent the completion link or if you need any technical support in completing this online process.

28th March 2024

We are delighted to share with you a further transition update just before we head into the two-week Easter break.

Key Dates Announced

Penrice Welcome Day & Evening – Save the Date!
Monday 1st July 2024

Transition Booster Days
Wednesday 5th June 2024
Wednesday 18th June 2024
Wednesday 3rd July 2024
Wednesday 17th July 2024

These dates are for students who may require additional and/or bespoke support in stepping up to secondary school. Parents/carers of invited pupils will be contacted separately in May with information on which session(s) they are welcome to attend.

Primary School Visits
We have started contacting all of our feeder schools to arrange visits from our Penrice Transition Team. Parents/carers will receive a separate communication as and when a date is fixed for their child’s school.

Essential Enrolment Data Request

A heads up that later today you will receive an email from our admissions platform. This is the secure online system that we use to gather all necessary details for your child’s enrolment. The process should take approximately 20-minutes to complete.

Please complete this data capture process before the end of the Easter holidays as it is required for us to provide a smooth start for your child as well as keeping them safe by making us aware of any pre-existing medical conditions amongst many other things.

Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) – Applications Now Open!

An enormous thank you to all those who attended Mandarin Taster Lessons this week. We hope that both students and parents/carers enjoyed the experience and better understand the 5-year course.

As promised, we are delighted to announce that the MEP Application Window is now open! If you would like to apply, there are two parts to the application. The first is a form for students to complete with the assistance of their parents/carers, the second is a reference form to be completed by your child’s Year 6 teacher.

*Closes on Monday 15th April at 23:59.

*Closes on Monday 22nd April at 23:59.

Please make sure your child takes the time to write a strong application. We can only take a maximum of 30 students on the course, so not all applications will be successful.

Thank You

Finally, thank you to all families who have so far completed our Parent/Carer and Student Transition Surveys. This information will really help our Transition Team and Year 7 Tutors (when appointed) to really get to know your child before meeting them.

In the event that you have not yet completed the Transition Surveys for your child, it’s not too late! Please scroll down on this page to see our communication from 12th March 2024 where you can access the relevant forms.

Wishing everyone a happy Easter!

12th March 2024

We hope that your child is beginning to feel excited about joining Penrice following our welcome message on the 1st March!

Getting to know your child better

For the next step in our transition process, we are asking to get to know your child better via two short survey forms below. One survey is for parents and carers to complete, whilst the other is for your child to complete with your assistance.

The information you share in the forms below will be used by our transition team and September’s Year 7 tutors to make your child’s step up to secondary school as smooth as possible.

Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) – Taster Lessons

We are also delighted to share more information about Penrice Academy’s Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) – an exciting and rare opportunity for your child to really shine by learning the second most spoken language in the world.

Launched in 2016, the MEP is a Department for Education initiative in partnership with the British Council. In 2022, Penrice passed the stringent qualifying criteria to join this flagship language programme, making us the only school in Cornwall to offer this as part of the curriculum. We now hope to bring on board our next group of 25 keen linguistic students ready to begin the programme when they start Year 7 in September.
 
To help students and families better understand the course, we are pleased to be offering Mandarin Taster Lessons (pictures from last year below).

 
You can pick from Monday 25th or Tuesday 26th March, 4:30-5:30pm. Full information and a link to the registration form can be found on our MEP webpage (below).

1st March 2024

Congratulations on gaining a place at Penrice Academy!!! We very much look forward to welcoming your family into our school community and supporting your child through their transition to secondary school and beyond. We understand that this can be both an exciting and nerve-racking time, but please rest assured that we are here to make the transition process as smooth as possible and help all pupils settle happily into student life at Penrice Academy.

Regular updates will be posted on this page between now and September to keep all parents updated regarding the transition process.

Things to look forward to

Primary School Visits – April to June: You will be visited by a Penrice teacher and some current Year 7 students in your own classroom at primary school. This is a great opportunity for you to ask questions and get to know the school better. Exact dates will be shared on the Penrice Transition Hub over the coming weeks and months.

Welcome Day(s) – June and July, exact dates to follow: You will spend time getting to know Penrice and experiencing a range of subject specialist learning. You will also get to make new friends within your Year 7 tutor group. Additional welcome events will be available for those who would benefit from extra support in the transition to Penrice.

Welcome Evening – July, exact date to follow: You will have the opportunity to show your parents to your new tutor room and introduce them to your new teachers. Parents and carers will find out everything they need to know in order to help you excel Penrice Academy.

First Day of Year 7 – Thursday 5th September: We look forward to greeting you through the school gates on your first official day at Penrice Academy! This will be a quieter day than usual as only Year 7 and Year 11 will attend. The other year groups will start the following day.

Communications During the Transition Process

We are communicating to all families via the email addresses provided to us by Cornwall Council following the application process. On rare occasions where email addresses are missing, a postal communication will be sent to your physical address.