CSIA launches Growing Together project for its 70th anniversary

The first pupils walked through the doors in 1956, back when the school had a different name and Camborne looked rather different too. Some of them have now come back to put a tree in the ground.

Camborne Science and International Academy (CSIA), part of Athena Learning Trust, has launched a community project to mark its 70th anniversary. It is called Growing Together: 70 Connections, and it started with a tree-planting ceremony that brought together some of the school’s earliest students and its current ones.

📷Students and former pupils plant a fruit tree to mark the launch of Growing Together (002)

A school with three names

The school first opened on 18th May 1956 as Treswithian County Secondary School. It later became Camborne Community College before turning into Camborne Science and International Academy in 2011.

For the ceremony, a fruit tree was planted in the school’s new garden area. The school says this supports its work on sustainability and the growing of fresh produce for the canteen.

📷Sonya Mankee former student speaks with current pupils about her experiences at the school (002)

Familiar faces

Among those who returned was former Head Boy Anthony Roberts, who was part of the very first intake. Anthony shared his memories of the school and reflected on the friendships, opportunities and sense of belonging that shaped his time there.

Other former students took part too, including Angela Bradshaw, Sonya Mankee, Barbara Yeoman and Jan Sullivan. In a moment linking past and present, Jan’s grandson Henry, now a Year 10 prefect, joined the planting alongside current students.

Archive photographs, school reports and memories from school camps were shared on the day. Current students looked through material from the school’s earliest years with help from Nostalgic Camborne, Kresen Kernow and Camborne Old Cornwall Society.

The project is built around the theme “Honouring our roots. Growing our future.” The school says it reflects its values of ambition, altruism, respect, resilience and integrity.

Throughout the anniversary year, Growing Together: 70 Connections will create chances for former students, staff, families and the wider community to reconnect with the school and support future generations.

📷Anthony Roberts former Head Boy from the schools first intake shares memories and reflections with current students during the 7

A feast cooked by pupils

There is more to come. On 25th June the school is hosting a student-led Community Feast, where pupils will cook and serve a locally sourced, ultra-processed-free meal to show what school food can be.

One of the youngest involved is Georgia N, a Year 7 student who helped with the planting. She said:

“My great uncle Ron Stimpson was the caretaker at the school in the 1970s, so being part of the Community Feast project and helping in our school garden feels really special to me and honours my family legacy. I love being a student at CSIA, and it makes me happy to know that we’re planting a tree that will be growing for our future.”

Emma Haase, Principal of Camborne Science and International Academy, said:

“Our 70th anniversary is not only a celebration of the school’s history, but also an opportunity to strengthen the connections between past, present and future generations of our community. The tree planting represents the roots we share and the future we continue to grow together.”

Susan Gellatly, Character and Careers Lead, said:

“70 Connections will inspire our students to dream bigger and aim higher. By connecting them with people who once walked the same corridors, we are showing them what’s possible. Learning from the experiences of the past and present empowers our students to shape ambitious futures of their own. We continue to embrace our motto of ‘Learning to be Extraordinary’, and those connections only make the experience stronger.”

📷Generations of students gather in the school grounds as part of the 70th anniversary Growing Together initiative