15 children in Reception are amongst the first pupils to attend the brand new school, which is also welcoming 7 nursery children in this inaugural year on the Eden Project site, a first for the home of the iconic Biomes.
Whilst Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery await the completion of its permanent site at the West Carclaze Garden Village, the first cohort of children will take lessons in a bespoke timber structure with outdoor learning zones located within the Eden Project’s beautiful Outdoor Estate. From day one children will use the school as a base and actively explore the world around them (e.g. the Eden Project, local beaches, areas identified as sites of special scientific and historical interest, and innovative projects in engineering, science and the arts). “The curriculum at Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery is exciting and innovative where children will learn through active engagement with the local and global community.” Emma Vyvyan, Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery Headteacher.
Samuel, from Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery Reception Class, said: “It’s amazing and I have loads of great teachers.”
Dorian Beresford, West Carclaze Garden Village, said: “The children and families of this new school will benefit from being on the doorstep of the emerging village with a 350-acre country park, lakes, trails and more as it develops in the next 3-5 years.”
The school’s focus on local connections and communities, as well as global citizenship, has been driven by Headteacher, Emma Vyvyan, since her appointment back in January 2022.
Emma Vyvyan, Headteacher, said: “At Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery teachers will work with the Eden Project and the local community to nurture our children, enabling them to grow from little acorns into wise oak trees. To do this we will harness the rich cultural heritage, innovative STEM and Arts Projects, such as Eden Geothermal, ESAM, Wheal Martyn, and Austell Project, and through a programme of ‘Great Works Events’. We are also working with Falmouth University architecture students to develop bespoke state-of-the-art outdoor learning structures and furniture. We hope that local and global links such as these will become the culture at Sky, enriching children’s learning about the world and their place in it.”
Gill Harper, Kernow Learning Project Lead, said: “Emma has developed the proposed vision for this school with clear values and ‘ways of being’, putting them in language, and through visuals, that young children can understand and champion themselves out in the local community. Over this past year, we have utilised resources such as the Good Life Goals, the Harmony Project approach, enquiry-based learning and character-based education to shape a really exciting curriculum for our children, helping them to fully understand sustainability and global citizenship and hopefully become the change makers of the future. We want our children to look to the future, and the challenges that they inevitably face, with determination, resilience and importantly positivity.”
The architects and main contractor have now been appointed to deliver the permanent build of the flagship school at the heart of the West Carclaze Garden Village with a scheduled 2023 opening.
It is hoped that the permanent school building will become a beacon of good practice for all new school buildings and that it will inspire research and development into how existing school buildings can benefit from a net zero carbon policy, too.
Kernow Learning CEO, Clare Crowle, said: “We will put our heart and soul into providing an outstanding education for the children of this new school, which, due to its location, and links with the Eden Project, will provide unique opportunities for outdoor based learning.”
Emily Ford, Early Years Foundation Teacher, said: “I have been teaching children within the Early Years Foundation Stage for the past seven years and feel lucky to be able to fully embrace learning beyond the classroom with Sky children right at the beginning of their Sky learning adventures. I am really looking forward to getting to know our first little acorns and their families as well as the communities that this brand-new school will be a part of.”
Sam Kendall, Eden Project Education Manager, said: “It’s been great to see the first cohort of children arriving on what is really a momentous day for Eden, being our very first school on site. We meet tens of thousands of children and young people each year through our in-person and online programmes, but the opportunity to work and learn with the Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery children and their teachers every day is something very special.”
To find out more about Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery, including admissions for September 2023 and nursery admission throughout the year, please visit the school website – www.sky.kernowlearning.co.uk or get in touch via sky@kernowlearning.co.uk
