Year 6 Visit to Truro Cathedral

Over the past term, Year 6 have been working hard on the humanities section of their Year 6 Diploma. This project, which explores life in Victorian Truro, allows them to develop their curiosity, confidence, and independence.  

Pupils choose their specific project from a broad range of tasks, such as the history of Truro School or the history of the workhouse in Victorian Truro. They develop essential learning skills, including independent research, reasoning and critical thinking.

In their geography project, some chose to explore the history of Lemon Street and Boscawen Street and their links to Cornwall’s mining heritage. Others chose to examine the arrival of the railways in Cornwall, with some pupils uncovering fascinating facts about the Tamar bridge and its celebrated architect, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Other pupils discovered that there were mixed opinions at the time about the arrival of the railways in Truro.  

Most importantly, this diploma project helps our pupils to discover a sense of place. Several parents shared their positive feedback about the impact of this, ranging from interesting conversations with their children in the car, to spontaneous requests to visit St. Agnes railway station or Truro Cathedral to take photographs at the weekend. 

It was a pleasure to take Year 6 to Truro Cathedral for the final part of their diploma project. This was a unique opportunity for the pupils to sit alongside our choristers and gain a deeper understanding of the importance of their role in the daily life of the Cathedral.  Our Cathedral guides, Stephen and Simon, were excellent and informative about both the history of the Cathedral and the stained-glass windows.

Highlights for the children included standing beneath the tallest spire to stare at all three rose windows at the same time, reading the foundation stone, finding the John Wesley stained-glass window, and listening in the stalls to the organ being played in the Quire in an impromptu demonstration. This was a unique opportunity for the pupils to sit alongside our choristers and gain a deeper understanding of the importance of their role in the daily life of the Cathedral. 

Thank you to all of the staff at Truro School who made this wonderful trip possible, and to the Cathedral team, for such an inspiring visit and end to our pupils’ diploma studies.