Adverse weather procedures

26th February 2018J Godbolt

During this period of very cold weather, we have amended our normal arrangements at break and lunchtimes; students will be allowed to remain indoors. Our usual uniform policy still applies. Blazers should be worn at all times and students may wear the Oathall black jumper under their blazer.

In extreme or severe weather conditions a decision about whether the college will be closed will be made as soon as possible. Many factors need to be considered in determining if we can operate the college safely. Please appreciate that this may take time. If a decision is taken to close the college this information will be posted on our website. Parents and students are encouraged to look there in the first instance. Further to this, local radio stations will be informed and a message confirming the closure will be sent via email or SMS. Staff will always be on site to look after any students who may have left for school before the final decision was made.

Rock Challenge 2018

6th February 2018J Godbolt

On Tuesday 30th January, students from Oathall took part in the 2018 Rock Challenge Competition. Although we weren’t placed this year, the achievement from each and every student was outstanding. This was the culmination of 7 months hard work and dedication from the performers, stage crew and lighting team.

Our performance this year was titled ‘Is it in my head’. This was a contemporary piece looking at aspects on mental health. The concept was based on the on the quote;

‘We are so accepting of any body part breaking down, other than our brains. That is ignorance, pure ignorance. That world has created a world that doesn’t understand depression, that doesn’t understand mental health’.

The Rock Challenge was established in order to combine the benefits of taking part in a large scale dance production with involvement in a positive ‘drug free’ activity. I am proud that at Oathall the Rock Challenge brings students of all ages, backgrounds and gender together in order to work collaboratively on a brilliant production. The students take charge not only of choreography but costumes, sound, lighting, scenery and video direction.

The actual Rock Challenge day is a blur of pre performance nerves and energetic preparation. The students are able to watch other schools rehearse as well as take part in mass warm up, dance sessions and competitions. Each school gives a performance of 8 minutes which seems to go by in a flash following all the hard work and anticipation. Our students all performed magnificently, every single one giving 100% effort. It is always a joy to see how the all students work together as a team, and really reflects the ‘community’ aspect of Oathall.

I would like to thank every student who took part in and contributed to this year’s production, you were all pleasure to work with. With special thanks to Kaytlin Smith and Florence Gaskell in year 11, their hard work and commitment did not go unnoticed. Thank you also to all the staff who gave their help to the running of the event.

Although Oathall did not win, yet again we swept the board gaining awards in the following;

• Award of Excellence in Lighting
• Award of Excellence for Concept
• Award of Excellence in Entertainment

Finally thank you to all the parents who kindly support dance at Oathall and help to encourage our students to achieve amazing things.

STEM for Girls

30th January 2018J Godbolt

15 girls in Year 8 spent the day meeting and talking to inspirational women yesterday at a special STEM for Girls event held at the AMEX stadium in Brighton. The event organised by Albion in the Community gave groups of girls from schools across Sussex the opportunity to meet with women who have built successful careers using their knowledge of STEM subjects. The event is part of a programme which aims to increase the number of girls choosing STEM subjects at school and as future careers.

The following girls attended the event along with Maths teachers Ms Calleja and Mrs Gaston:

Scarlett Billson, Fatou Colley, Isobelle Deeble,Zoe Downey, Simonne Gautron, Nicola Harris, Milena Karwat, Charlotte Jones, Meg Kneller, Fionnuala Lingard, Ella Otero, Grace Owen, Isobel Robinson, Hannah Taylor and Bethany Thomas

 

 

 

 

Measles Advice

4th January 2018J Godbolt

 

We have been informed by Public Health England about a recent rise in Measles in our local area and we have been asked to urgently raise awareness of Measles and MMR vaccination. If you or your child has never previously had MMR vaccine or have only had one dose of it, you should contact your GP surgery to catch up with your outstanding doses. Please read this leaflet for more information.

 

Weather news from Oathall

2nd January 2018J Godbolt

In October 2013, Oathall took part in a project which meant the school benefited from the installation of a Sky View weather station on the school premises. The station is installed on the roof of the sports hall and records a great deal of information about our daily weather including temperatures, rainfall, and wind speeds. We now have 4 full years of weather data and so we can begin to make some year on year comparisons and record the highs and lows of our main weather indicators.

2017 did not experience any record lows or highs but the cold winter and early spring meant we had 35 days where temperatures were below 0C. This is the most days of sub-zero temperatures that we have recorded in one year. We had a mini heatwave in June where we had two days where temperatures rose above 32C. This is the only year where we have recorded temperatures this high in June. The highest temperature we recorded was on 21 June where the temperature hit 33.5C. It was a wet year as well with 66 days where rainfall was recorded over .1inch and 153 days where rainfall over .01in was recorded.

So, no significant records for 2017 but you can always keep an eye on the latest weather at Oathall in 2018 by following the link from the website here.

Carols in the barn

12th December 2017J Godbolt

Our annual carols in the barn service will be held on Monday 18 December from 7.00pm until 8.00pm. Join us in the Oathall farm barn for carol singing surrounded as usual by some of our farm animals. Music will be provided by members of the Oathall orchestra and choir. Refreshments including mulled wine, hot drinks and mince pies will be available. Wrap up warm, we look forward to seeing you there.

 

A postcode lottery for funding?

14th November 2017J Godbolt

Headteacher Mr Rodriguez, has headed to Downing Street today to support the West Sussex schools WorthLess? campaign for fairer funding.

Headteachers representing over 5000 schools from over 25 counties marched to Downing Street to hand over a letter to the Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP asking for fairer funding for schools.

Last nights coverage on BBC South Today highlights why this is such an important issue for schools.

Oathall’s Field of Remembrance

8th November 2017J Godbolt

This year, staff and students in Voyager House have come up with a new way of marking the Remembrance period and supporting The Royal British Legion, their chosen House Charity at the same time.

Inspired by the 2014 ‘Blood Swept Lands’ art installation of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, Voyager House decided to install a Field of Remembrance – a small patch of ground where pupils and staff could plant small wooden crosses dedicated to individuals who died as a result of armed conflict. This installation dedicated to the fallen will help focus minds during this period of remembrance.

The whole school is involved as the Field of Remembrance sits in the middle of the piazza and everyone will pass by it several times a day. Staff and students have been asked to dedicate a cross to family members or people of personal significance. Students in Voyager will be assisting Mr Parry, Head of Voyager House in placing out the crosses and maintaining the installation over the time it is in place.

Mr Parry said,
“I am very grateful to everyone who has supported this idea with their kind words and donations; in just one week we have raised over £100 for the Royal British Legion which is outstanding. ”

The crosses will be left in place until next week after which they can be taken away by the individuals who dedicated them. Any remaining crosses will be moved to the Haywards Heath War memorial.

House Challenge week

3rd November 2017J Godbolt

House Challenge Week prior to half term saw our students go head to head in House Challenges within their lessons taking part in a huge range of competitions from tower building to ‘maths ninjas’ to cross-country.

Over 3000 points were ‘up for grabs’ during the week and we are  pleased to announce the following results

Endeavour & Pioneer – 836 points
Voyager – 818
Discovery – 764

These points have now been added to the House Championship Table along with the winners for the first half term of ‘most credits’ won by Voyager and ‘best attendance’ won by Pioneer and Discovery.

Well done to all students and the staff for their inventiveness and enthusiasm.