Truro and Penwith College and the Cornish Pirates are building on a relationship spanning more than a decade with an ambitious new education partnership designed to create outstanding opportunities for students and help develop Cornwall’s future workforce through sport.
The College has become the Official Education Partner of the Cornish Pirates, marking the next chapter in a long-standing association between two organisations deeply rooted in Cornwall and committed to raising aspirations, developing talent and creating opportunities for young people across the county.
Over many years, the College and the Pirates have worked together to support students, celebrate sporting achievement and strengthen connections between education and professional rugby. This enhanced agreement will take that relationship further, creating more structured and visible opportunities for students to engage with the club, its players and the wide range of professionals working behind the scenes including coaching, physiotherapy, sports science, media, marketing, events, hospitality and business.
The enhanced partnership will also have a prominent matchday presence throughout the season, with Truro and Penwith College featuring as a named sponsor on the Cornish Pirates’ first-team playing shirts. The College will also sponsor Pirates player and former Truro and Penwith College student Barnaby Elderkin, providing a powerful example of the pathways that can take students from College into professional sport.
Barnaby’s journey will be celebrated through the partnership’s programme of player and alumni stories, helping current and prospective students see where their talent, commitment and College experience could take them.
The latest Cornish Pirates talent ID day will also take place at the Penwith Campus this year, with full details to be confirmed in due course.
Truro and Penwith College Principal and CEO Carl Riding said: “Truro and Penwith College has enjoyed a strong relationship with the Cornish Pirates for more than a decade, and we are incredibly proud to take that association into an ambitious new phase as the club’s Official Education Partner.
“This partnership is fundamentally about creating opportunities for our students. Working alongside the Pirates will give them access to professional environments, industry expertise and experiences that can help them grow in confidence, develop valuable skills and take important steps towards their future careers.
“It is particularly special that the partnership includes our sponsorship of Barnaby Elderkin, a former College student who is now representing the Cornish Pirates. His journey demonstrates exactly why relationships like this matter and will provide real inspiration for the students following in his footsteps.
“Together with our other outstanding sporting relationships, this further strengthens Truro and Penwith College’s position as the home of professional sport partnerships and pathways in Cornwall.”
Cornish Pirates Chief Executive Officer Sally Pettipher spoke of her delight at strengthening the partnership: “We are delighted to have renewed and strengthened our long-term partnership with Truro and Penwith College. We have added new West Cornwall initiatives that will help develop our own playing talent, alongside programmes supporting the education and development of young people across the Duchy, particularly here in our heartland around Penzance.”