A secondary school has decided to take some of its pupils surfing because they have never been to a beach in their life - even though they live just a few miles away. Penair School in Truro has teamed up with Piran Surf in Perranporth for the unique lesson plan.
They want to give pupils who may have never had the opportunity to go to their local beach, let alone try surfing, the chance to discover the amazing natural resources that exist on their doorstep. The school, which has 1,200 pupils, said that every year, the government offers special grants to schools to ensure equality of opportunity for all children.
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Headteacher James Davidson said around 220 pupils have been benefiting from this funding. Mr Davidson, an active member of the Perranporth Surf lifesaving club, approached Mark Thorn, owner of Piran Surf and surf brand Hot Surf 69, to make the opportunity happen.
He asked Mark if he would extend his beach school that has been running with Goonhavern Primary School for the last six years to some of the Penair students. Mark said the idea is not to turn every kid into the next Kelly Slater but to widen young people's horizons and show them what the natural wonders of Cornwall.
He said: "People think that because we live in Cornwall everyone goes to the beach all the time or is a surfer. There are children who live a few miles from the beach who have never been. I find that astonishing really.
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"With Goonhavern Primary we get the kids to do a beach clean and learn about the environment too. We thought we could do the same with a secondary school but just with the surfing. We spoke to the head and the head of PE at Penair and it all happened.
"It's one of the things we can do to give back to the community. The beach and the ocean are such incredible resources. We want as many young people to have access to it."
Over the last six weeks of term, groups of 12 Year 8 and 9 pupils at the school, have been bused to Perranporth beach where they have been using boards and wetsuits provided for free by Piran Surf with coach lessons from one of the surf schools in the seaside resort.
Mr Davidson added: "Each week we have taken at least 12. Pupils loved the experience with many asking to go again if anyone drops out, explaining to me and staff that they had never been surfing before and that they had done this for the first time and really enjoyed the buzz of being in the water and learning to surf.
"Importantly for me, it means that these students get a chance to go to the beach and learn to be safe in the water. I have been working in schools in Cornwall for 25 years and I am always stunned that some children have never or rarely go to the beach."
He added: "We hope that we will be able to repeat the surfing on an annual basis and benefit more children. We certainly could not have done this without the help and support of Mark, the staff and surf coaches associated with Piran surf. We are very grateful for him supporting the young people in our community. I would also like to thank Miss Bucknole and Miss Bales our brilliant PE staff for accompanying the students and working with Mark."
