Inaugural Cornwall School Mining Games hailed a success

Inaugural Cornwall School Mining Games hailed a success

Cornish school children were given a fascinating insight into the county’s rich mining heritage when they took part in a recent special competition.

Year 8 pupils from across Cornwall competed in the inaugural Cornwall School Mining Games at the King Edward Mine at Troon.

The event, organised by the University of Exeter and King Edward Mine, saw the teams of 12-13 year olds compete in a range of exhilarating activities and contests based around age-old mining traditions, including panning for gold and hand drilling.

The competing schools - Brannel School, Redruth School, Richard Lander School, Helston Community College, Penryn College, Mounts Bay Academy, Wadebridge School and Cape Cornwall – have been trained and supported by students from Camborne School of Mines and the team at King Edward Mine.

The students competed in 7 events - Gold Panning, Track Laying, Hand drilling, Mucking Out, Surveying, Swede Saw and Mineral Processing – which mirrored those of the International Mining Games that took place over Easter.

Congratulations to the team from Redruth School, who were overall event winners and came away with the prestigious Kurt Jackson trophy, kindly donated by Kurt and Caroline Jackson.

Tina Sawalha, teacher of Maths at Redruth School said: “It’s great for them to be involved in such a practical activity, which also highlights the fantastic opportunities available in the field of mining engineering today. We have all learnt so much, and the students are already planning to pass on their new skills to next year’s team. They have been so enthusiastic, I hope it will provide an avenue to promote engineering as a career path to many more of our Redruth School students.”

Penryn College came second and Richard Lander School took third place, each team receiving specially commissioned trophies. Every competitor was presented with a medal and certificate.

Ruth Grimmer, from the University of Exeter, said: “This was an amazing day and a fantastic experience for the children. They have learnt about mining history and heritage and future employment opportunities in the mining industry, as well as getting hands-on experience of traditional mining techniques. It was great to see how well they embraced the challenges and pulled together as teams. Well done to everyone!”

Kevin Baker, Director of King Edward Mine: “This event would not have been possible without generous donations from the World Heritage Site, Cornwall Manufacturers Group, Cornwall and Isles of Scillies Local Enterprise Partnership, Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group. Thanks also to Macsalvors, Portreath Bakery and Phoenix Promotions for their support.”

Date: 5 April 2018