DOBWALLS Primary School has joined an elite group of Cornish schools after being awarded the prestigious Go Cornish Bronze Award, becoming the 12th school in the county to achieve this recognition.

The Go Cornish initiative, commissioned by Cornwall Council, and masterminded by Golden Tree Productions, is available to all primary schools in Cornwall for free. Teachers don’t necessarily need to speak Cornish themselves at entry level, and it requires little time commitment or admin.

The programme provides: easy to follow, professionally designed, click and play lessons/resources; a whole school approach to embedding the language; cross-curricular and Cornish language resources (Key Stage 1 and 2); games, songs, rhymes, colouring-in-sheets and lots more; interactive learning tools, building pupil confidence to use the language at school and at home; ‘Champion & Teacher How-to’ videos; and access to the Go Cornish school network, with opportunities to learn from others.

Go Cornish offers a range of benefits for pupils, making learning fun for children, teachers and families, while language learning enhances memory, focus and creative thinking.

Creators of the initiative say it helps pupils connect more deeply with their own Cornish culture and encourages appreciation of other traditions and languages. Most importantly, it builds confidence; stepping outside their comfort zones to try Cornish gives students a real sense of achievement when they successfully use the language with others.

Over the past year, Dobwalls Primary has incorporated the language and Cornish traditions into daily school life.

Pupils have learnt and performed songs in Cornish, created festive cards for Christmas and Mother’s Day using the language and taken part in local celebrations. The school’s brass band even learnt to play the traditional Floral Dance, which was enjoyed by pupils, staff and visitors alike.

Cornish signage has also been introduced around the school, while Cornish heritage is now woven into the curriculum.

Headteacher Kathryn Pipe expressed her pride in the school’s achievement.

She said: “I am thrilled that we have been awarded the Go Cornish Bronze Award. I’m very proud of our wonderful children and staff who have embraced the programme with real enthusiasm.

“We will continue our work with the Go Cornish project to give children the opportunity to embrace their own sense of Cornishness, learn a little of the place in which they live and to contribute to the future of our unique language.”

The award was formally presented during a special assembly. Guests included Go Cornish Director Will Coleman, School Project Officer Nia Robertson, Cornish Language Lead Jowdy Davey, together with several local councillors including Hilary Frank, Sarah Preece and Jane Pascoe. Kayleigh Dring, Chief of Staff to Anna Gelderd MP, was also in attendance.

Kate Evan-Hughes, strategic director for Together for Families at Cornwall Council, added: “Go Cornish supports our development of the broader curriculum and our aspiration that every child growing up in Cornwall has the opportunity to learn something of the Cornish language. Most importantly, the resources make learning fun!”

The event concluded with a celebratory cream tea provided by the school’s PTFA, which included donations from Trewithen Dairy and Morrisons.