Newlyn School workshops

Gareth in his Home Guard uniform welcoming Newlyn School
Gareth in his WW2 uniform welcoming Newlyn School

 

Our Trengwainton heritage project will work with five schools over the period of the project.  Different themes inspired by Trengwainton's history will link with each school.

Newlyn School's class 5 and 6 visited Trengwainton this Autumn and learnt about WW2. The workshops explored the 'Dig for Victory' campaign, the 'make do and mend' ethos, the different roles men and women played during the war and how the war affected Trengwainton and Penzance.

The best part was when we got to hold and wear the helmets and bombs. When we got back to school we all couldn't stop talking about it. It was the best workshop ever!
Newlyn School pupil

In 1943 three Land Girls and two boys were employed at Trengwainton garden.  The main lawns and the Terrace were ploughed up and planted with vegetables, the produce being sent to London to feed the troops.

Gareth, one of Trengwainton's full time Gardeners of 27 years, has a large collection of wartime memorabilia and ran for us an inspirational workshop to highlight the war effort.  At Trengwainton a 'Dig for Victory' area is now dedicated to that period of time.

Newlyn School pupils at the Dig for Victory area at Trengwainton
Gareth dressed in his WW2 army uniform
Newlyn School pupils looking in the WW2 shelter
Newlyn school at Trengwainton
Newlyn School pupils looking in the WW2 shelter
Gareth explaining about the 'Dig for Victory' campaign
Gareth explaining about gas masks
Newlyn school at Trengwainton
Bombs and rations
Newlyn school at Trengwainton
Explaining food rationing
Food rations
The trip was fantastic. It was amazing to see the bomb shelter, I think to actually sleep in one would be freezing, damp and uncomfortable
Newlyn School pupil
Angie Butler's Women's Land Army workshop
Angie Butler's Women's Land Army workshop

A week after Gareth's workshop Angie Butler, a local writer and poet, ran a captivating Woman's Land Army workshop with the same classes.  The workshop looked at WW2 from a woman's perspective. 

The children's work will become part of next year's outputs and will be displayed at our Sharing Day, 5th December at The Exchange Gallery.

"The children had first-hand experience of artefacts and came back with a wealth of new ideas and local stories from the past.  They had a much better idea of what life would have been like for ordinary Cornish folks It led on perfectly from our immersive learning evironment - it was the outdoors part!". Jo Fitzgerald, Newlyn School

Angie Butler dressed as a Land Girl
Class 5 and 6 listening to Angie Butler talking about Land Girls
Girls trying out Women's Land Army clothes
Board of words relating to WW2
We are very happy for all the things you taught us. Everything was very amazing and interesting.
Newlyn School pupil