Year 7 are raising money for their chosen charity by staging an ‘Oathall’s Got Talent’ show. The show is being held on 18 June in the drama studio between 4.30 and 6.30pm. Tickets are on sale now for £1 from room 84 at tutor time. All proceeds raised will go to Chailey Heritage School.
Students in Year 7 and 8 are being encouraged to develop a habit of reading for pleasure by coming into the library and reading to ‘Tilly’ a seven month old, miniature Schnauzer dog belonging to Mr Blackholly, head of vocational learning at Oathall.
Reading to Tilly works with readers of all abilities, creating positive associations with reading and the library. The difference in achievement between children who read for half an hour a day in their spare time and those who do not is huge – as much as a year’s education by the time they are 15.
Mrs Evans, English faculty leader said:
“Having a dog in the library encourages students to relax and feel less self-conscious, dogs provide comfort, are perfect listeners and importantly they are non-judgemental, inspiring even the most reluctant readers to have fun and enjoy reading.”
Students from Oathall recently took part in the annual Central Mid-Sussex Schools Gifted & Talented festival. The event is in its third year and each year goes from strength to strength.
Gifted and Talented students with examples of their work being exhibited int he Headteacher’s office.
Workshops and activities were offered in a range of subjects such as maths, creative writing, poetry, science, ICT and philosophy as well as creative arts including pottery, sewing and textiles.
Oathall students were winners in Art and Poetry categories with a number of other students being runners up or being highly commended by the judges. A list of winners can be found on the Central Mid Sussex Schools website.
The response from the children who took part in the festival has been extremely positive, with almost 90% rating the activities in which they took part as either good or brilliant. Many children were particularly enthusiastic about having had the opportunity to learn news skills whilst working with, and making friends with, children from other schools.
You can see photos of some of our successful students on our Flickr pages.
Oathall’s BCS students visit to Caffyns in Haywards Heath
GCSE Business and Communication students recently paid a fact-finding visit to Caffyns VW showroom in Haywards Heath. Caffyns’ Regional Director, Mr Patrick Conway, answered students’ questions about the communication systems that the business employs to contact existing and potential customers. Students will be writing a business report on these communication systems for the controlled assessment element of their GCSE. The visit got the coursework off to a roaring start. Now there’s only 15 hours of classroom graft left to get to the chequered flag!
Y10 Geography students visited Alfriston in East Sussex last week as part of their GCSE studies. Students have been studying tourism and in particular ‘honeypot sites’.
Surveying pollution levels by sampling street furniture
On a hot, sunny, day students visited the pretty village of Alfriston. Situated in the South Downs National Park, Alfriston is renowned for its historical buildings and beauty and is subsequently a popular destination for tourists. Students spent the day gathering data for their GCSE controlled assessment, they surveyed traffic, measured pollution and interviewed visitors and residents.
This information will form part of students GCSE examination.
Class of 2014 Oathall students received graduation certificates in front of family, friends and representatives from the local community at the first ever Oathall Graduation Evening on Thursday 8 May.
From left to right: Headteacher Mr Rodriguez, Deputy Head Boy James Habineza, Head Girl Shannon King, Year Leader Mr Wright, Peter Waterfield, Nile Jones Head Boy and Keris Self Deputy Head Girl.
Mr Wright, Year leader created the ‘Oathall Challenge’ scheme for students in his year group to provide a way of celebrating and recognising students who showed commitment to the core values of the college, above and beyond academic achievement. To succeed at the challenge, students through years 10 and 11 had to demonstrate acceptable levels of punctuality, attendance and behaviour as well as taking part in activities such as prefecting, mentoring younger students, helping out at school events and organising their own charity function.
The keynote speaker at the event was Mr Peter Waterfield, British Diver and Olympic Silver medallist 2004. Addressing the audience he gave an inspiring speech about dedication to the task and personal achievement. Afterwards he said:
“I am simply amazed at how committed the students here are; taking part in and leading extra-curricular activities and in supporting their school.”
We are seeking to appoint a well-qualified, full-time leader of our Inclusion Faculty which includes the role of SENCO with effect from 1 September 2014. The successful candidate will be an innovative and strategic professional, driven to ensure that all students achieve the very best they can. The position would suit a candidate looking to gain wider leadership experience.
Completed application forms should be returned to Sue Watkin as soon as possible but no later than Monday 19th May 2014 together with a letter of application (no more than two sides of A4).
We are seeking to appoint a full-time Computing and ICT teacher at KS3 and KS4 with effect from September 2014 to join a strong and successful Art, Design and Technology faculty. We have a popular and established GCSE computing course. The ability to teach Electronics would also be an advantage.
Oathall is an ambitious and forward thinking 11-16 community college with 1000 students. We are a specialist Science and Visual Arts college and are strategic partners in a local Teaching School Alliance. We are an ambitious school and are characterised by our high expectations and an absolute commitment to raising standards and achievement for all. We are committed to Continuing Professional Development through a strong training programme.
Completed forms should be returned as soon as possible but no later than Monday 12th May 2014 to Sue Watkin, Personnel Officer.
Last Chance today to see the 2014 GCSE Art & Photography exhibition showcases the work of students completing their Art & Photography GCSE’s.
Parents, students and our local community are invited to visit Oathall today before 2pm to view our exhibition and appreciate the impressive range of talent and creativity demonstrated in the works on display.
The exhibition features final exam pieces along with sketchbooks, coursework, sculpture, paintings and photographs undertaken over the two years of the course. The theme for this year’s work was ‘Texture’ for those students studying art and for students taking photography the themes were ‘Disguise’ and ‘Street Photography’. A selection of photographs of the exhibition can be seen on the Oathall Flickr site
