The Poly and The Falmouth Hotel join forces to celebrate outstanding Cornish talent

The Falmouth Hotel (Cornwall Hotel Collection) is partnering with The Poly to host the 2026 Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society (RCPS) Medal Awards. The Award ceremony will take place at Falmouth’s landmark hotel early next year.

The RCPS Medal Awards champion excellence in science, industry and the arts in Cornwall. First awarded in the 1830s, the medals played a pivotal role in The Poly’s early history. Relaunched a few years ago they aim to celebrate the range of exciting, innovative work taking place in Cornwall across these categories today.

The Poly is Falmouth's cherished community arts and culture venue, while The Falmouth Hotel is known as the 'Grande Dame of Falmouth' thanks to its impressive Victorian architecture and stunning setting. Both have been pivotal in the town’s history since the 1800s, an era marked by extraordinary technological developments and the transformation of communication networks with the arrival of the Great Western Railway. Through their collaboration these longstanding Falmouth-based institutions aim to promote current innovation and encourage its future.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with The Poly to present the RCPS Medal Awards in 2026. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and support Cornwall’s outstanding talent. We’re excited to be hosting the awards at The Falmouth, with its rich history and breathtaking setting, and our team looks forward to welcoming guests for a very special awards ceremony.” – Ben Young, Managing Director, The Falmouth Hotel

“We’re very grateful to Ben Young and the Falmouth Hotel for partnering with us to deliver the Medal Awards for Cornwall. While these are very much Cornwall-wide awards, our partnership shows that Falmouth’s collaborative spirit is alive and well and we hope it will encourage other cross sector initiatives.” – Ginny Button, Chair of The Poly

ENDS: 25th August 2025