Welcome to the official website of the Old Penwithians Association

“Old Penwithians” is an association of former pupils and members of staff who, at any time in its 70-year history, attended the Penzance County School for boys, which became first the Penzance County Grammar School and then the Humphry Davy Grammar School. It aims to provide a link where old boys can keep in touch with each other and maintains a database of names and addresses. An annual reunion is held at the Queen’s Hotel, Penzance, on the 29th of December each year and there are also occasional year group reunions and pub meetings throughout the year. Members of the association receive an annual newsletter entitled New Penwithian. A single subscription of just £10.00 secures life membership. See the “Database” page for details. The association has also updated and reprinted the book Three Score Years and Ten, the history of the school first published in 1980, and has commissioned an association tie. See the “Merchandise” page. Over the years the association has built up a large collection of original photographs and other memorabilia. This archive is now housed in the Morrab Library in Penzance for safe keeping but all of the old photographs have been digitised and are available in our online gallery. We are slowly adding names to this large collection of mostly class and team photographs. We hope, with your help, that our collection will continue to grow. See the “Gallery” page.

Working closely with the present day Humphry Davy School the association was heavily involved in a number of events during 2010, the school’s Centenary Year. In addition to this it has funded two major projects at the school: the design, manufacture and installation of a stained glass window, a memorial to two former headmasters, Mr. Bradley and Mr. Rising and the restoration and re-dedication of the Old Penwithians War Memorial in the old school hall. In 2018 the association commissioned a new Old Penwithians World War II Memorial to be installed in the hall at the school. This was unveiled and dedicated in a ceremony on 19 Oct 2018. This project was jointly funded by the school and the association.

Download an application form here [The PDF form may be saved to your downloads folder]