Pool pupils surf the waves on their eco boards

After months of preparation, students from Pool Business and Enterprise College have taken to the waves at Gwithian Beach on individually created belly boards inspired by life in Cornwall, and made out of recycled wood.

Panels of un-used wood, which were collected from Heartlands at Robinson's Shaft in Pool by the year nine students, have been transformed into eco-friendly belly boards. The boards have been illustrated with images chosen by the pupils, which depict stories they have gathered from their family members and local residents about life in Pool.

The project, named 'Lost Words, Found Objects', involves working with the local community to help develop the project and inspire the artists and designers working at Heartlands. This strand of the project was led by local artist Ben Cook.

Ben said the event at Gwithian Beach named 'Exhibition in the Sea' gave pupils the opportunity to showcase their boards both in and out of the water.

"After a professional surf lesson the pupils had a fantastic time trying out their boards. The belly boards are completely unique and the images that the pupils have chosen are all personal to their experiences of Pool's past and how they see the future of the area."

Ben added: "This has been an exciting project for the pupils to get involved with and they have learnt that sustainable living can be fun. Raw materials, which were no longer of use on the Heartlands site and have now been transformed into fantastic original belly boards for the pupils to surf on and will later be exhibited at Heartlands for all to see."

The pupils boards were judged by Debbie Luffman, designer from Finisterre, which sells surfinspired, environmentally-focused technical clothes. Members from the Cornwall Council’s west Cornwall outreach team also joined in the day’s event.

We were also very lucky to have myCornwall.tv film all the bellyboard action from start to finish .