Joining Penrice: Transition Hub

Welcome to the Penrice Transition Hub, for pupils and their parents who plan on starting with us in September 2023. Regular updates will be posted on this page to keep all parents updated regarding the transition process.

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 Penrice Academy.

Mr Darbourne Talks Through our Key Dates

A Welcome from the Head of Year 7

Words by: Mr Darbourne
Head of Year 7 for September 2023

To Our New Year 7s,

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome and congratulate you on getting a place at Penrice Academy. The transition from primary to secondary school is one of the biggest and most exciting changes that you will make!

I would also like to say that this will be my first year at Penrice too. I am so excited to start this momentous milestone together – what a privilege it is for me to be begin my next chapter at the same time you begin yours!

As Head of Year 7, my main role will be to ensure that you have as smooth a transition into ‘Big School’ as possible. I have already been working with your Year 6 teachers and our very talented staff here at Penrice Academy to organise your tutor groups into a class where everyone feels safe and secure. The start of your day is very important and we want to make sure you are ready from the minute you arrive. Once you have settled into your tutor groups, I will be the one who monitors your attendance, behaviour, uniform and progress. It is vital that we all share the same goal and work towards making Year 7 a great year.

We want to make sure that you are happy, proud, respectful, successful and enjoy all of the opportunities that Penrice Academy will offer you! We want you to develop into the best version of yourself by working together. I can’t wait to see you all soon!

Mr Darbourne, Head of Year 7

Transition Timeline

 
Primary School Visits

SEND Transition Days
Various events/activities were planned on 5th, 6th, 14th and 20th June. Thank you to those who attended these days. Please contact our Operational SENDCo, Abby Macdonald, if you have any questions (amacdonald@penrice.org.uk).

Welcome Day & Evening
A massive thank you to our wonderful new students and families who attended the Year 6 Welcome Day and Evening yesterday (Monday 3rd July).

Students started the day with an assembly and were introduced to Mr Darbourne who will be their Head of Year. They then attended two lessons in the morning before enjoying their chosen Penrice Plus Taster Activity! The sample activity options included Archery, Art Club, Chess and Board Games, Coding/Robtics, Drama Club, DT Club, Five-A-Side Football, Penrice Bake Off, Penrice Farm, and Rounders.

The day ended with our new Year 6 families visiting the school for a Welcome Evening, receiving lots of essential information from Mr Darbourne and the Senior Leadership Team.

Some follow up communications will be sent over the next few weeks, including how to book a private welcome appointment with a member of our Senior Leadership Team and news of our Summer School provision (Tuesday 29th August to Thursday 31st August).

In the meantime, please be sure to complete our Data Capture Process (if you haven’t done so already) so that we have all of your child’s essential information and your family’s contact details ready for September. As always, all updates will be shared on the Transition Hub.

For those who missed the Transition Event, copies of the essential information will be on their way in the post. Alternatively, you can download our Welcome Brochure and Mr Darbourne’s Summer Challenge in the ‘Resources’ section at the bottom of this page.

Private Welcome Meetings
Weekdays, 10th July – 21st July.

Summer School
Tuesday 29th August to Thursday 31st August.

The Penrice Academy Summer School is now fully booked. Thank you for your interest and we look forward to sharing this fabulous transition experience with those who have successfully applied.

First Day of Year 7
Tuesday 5th September

What else to look out for

The Data Capture Enrolment Process
We’ll require you to share key information such as your contact details, if your child has any medical conditions, any allergy information and to grant or decline various consent requests.

Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP)
We’re privileged to be offering new Year 7s the chance to study Mandarin! Penrice Academy is the only school in Cornwall to offer the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP), so this is a really rare opportunity. This course is designed to push the most academically able and will open many doors and career opportunities to students in later life.

The application process for our Mandarin Excellence Programme is now closed.

Penrice Plus Sign Up

Students joining in September 2023 are being asked to submit their preferences for Penrice Plus over the summer holidays. The links below contain the full information brochure and the Year 7 Preferences Form.

Where to explore next?

Personal Development and Character
Built on our core values of Pride, Respect and Success, you will experience a breadth of opportunities to help you develop your character and flourish into a confident, well-rounded and independent young adult. Find out more here.

Enrichment
From September 2023, after school each day, you will have the opportunity to choose from the massive range of enrichment activities called Penrice+ as well as taking part in numerous other extra-curricular opportunities. Find out more here.

Parents of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or on the pathway

We plan on running advanced Parent Cafes for parents/carers of incoming Year 7 students with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder or on the pathway. Such events present informal opportunities for you as parents to visit the school, meet the team and view our setting and give you the chance to discuss any concerns that you may have. Please contact Abby Macdonald (amacdonald@penrice.org.uk) for further information.

Uniform

We take great pride in our uniform here at Penrice. You can find out everything you need to know and links to our suppliers on our uniform page.

Breakfast Club

We run a school Breakfast Club every school day where students can enjoy cereal, fruit, toast and warm drinks to start the day.

Family Financial Support

The Pastoral Support Mentors can also provide support, advice and information to families experiencing short or long-term difficulties, including financial support with Foodbank Vouchers, school uniform or equipment, all of which may impact on a child’s education, behaviour and wellbeing. Lots of information on school support can be found on our Cost of Living Support page. For further information and advice, please contact Kirstin Hooper, Student Support Lead – khooper@penrice.org.uk.

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 have been sent to your physical address. If, as a family, you have not yet received any communications from Penrice regarding the transition process then please check your junk/spam first. If you cannot see any emails from us, please contact the school via transition@penrice.org.uk with your child’s full name and primary school so that we can follow up with you.