Nathan Davidson

Author Archives Nathan Davidson

Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday recognised in school

14th May 2026Nathan Davidson

On Friday last week, Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday was celebrated across the school – but particularly within the Science faculty.

We wanted to share one activity which hopefully represents how our students excelled in their activities in recognition of this broadcasting titan.

This Y8 class completed a board display. The students showed an amazing ability to work independently as a team to produce what I’m sure you’ll agree is an amazing piece of work.

There were four different teams, each focusing on their own task. Within each team, there was a student who managed the activities of the group.

The Construction team, took down the old display and prepared the display board for the new one
The Artistic team, drew several pieces, including a portrait of Sir David. They were also in charge of design
The Research team, put together a very well-thought out pack of incredible highlights from his life; including some iconic pictures of Sir David with his favourite animals
The Title team, in charge of getting the title and other details finalised.

I am very proud of this group, they truly worked as a team and gave it their all.
Mr F Rivadulla Salgueiro, Science teacher

Battle Of The Bands 2026 was a triumph

13th May 2026Nathan Davidson

Nine bands featuring students from Oathall competed on Wednesday last week in the Battle Of The Bands showdown.

It was a thoroughly entertaining event which saw the students perform one song each to over 100 captivated parents at The Albemarle Centre.

Linkin Playground
Untitled
Metal Kestrels
Deathwish
Cheddar Goblins
The Goats
3 direction
Echo Chamber
The The and the And
Our esteemed judges
The audience
Sound & light crew

They selected and performed songs including The White Stripes’s Seven Nation Army, Radiohead’s Creep and Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name.

It was such a pleasure to witness their musical skills first hand and the camaraderie they’ve clearly developed in their respective groups. And to perform with such confidence on a stage to a packed house was something to behold.

As a reward, the overall winners (Deathwish), runners-up (Cheddar Goblins and 3 direction) and Golden Buzzer act (The The and the And) – will receive certificates and have been asked to perform again at Oathall’s Summer Concert next month.

There were also individual awards as below:

Stage Presence – Teddy McKewan
Best Ensemble Skills – The Goats
The Groove Doctor – Micah Tyler, 3 direction
Virtuoso – Ava Dunn, The Goats
The Voice – Luca Baker-Schiau, Untitled

Huge thanks to everyone that organised this event, participated, helped set up – including all the sound and lighting guys – and to the parents of the musicians for their continued support.

You can watch a short montage of the performances below – which you can also find on our YouTube channel.

Y9 student selected for Taekwon-Do World Cup in Spain

12th May 2026Nathan Davidson

Y9 student selected for Taekwon-Do World Cup later this year in Spain, featured image

We wanted to celebrate our Y9 student Chloe W who has been selected to participate in the Taekwon-Do World Cup later this year.

Chloe’s been practicing Taekwon-Do since she was 3 years old and currently trains twice a week and attends camps and international competitions throughout the year. In fact she’s medalled at every international competition she’s attended since she started competing three years ago.

Chloe will be representing ITF England, Vision Taekwon-Do and the All England Taekwon-Do Association at the ITF World Cup competition which takes place in Benidorm, Spain from 26th September-4th October 2026.

Her family are extremely proud of her and the amount of effort and dedication she has had to put into this – and we are too. We wish her all the best for the competition and beyond.

Tickets for the Drama & Production Showcase are now available

12th May 2026Nathan Davidson

Our drama students are preparing something very special for you. It’s now time to get your tickets before they disappear…

The Drama & Production Showcase – Tuesday 7th July from 6:00pm in the Drama and Dance Studio – will celebrate the many and varied talents of our KS3 and KS4 students. For one-night only they will perform original pieces, with support from our lighting and sound team, which they have written and directed themselves.

The evening will feature presenters, comedy, drama, and improvisation. We invite you to come along and support our students.

Tickets are now available via ParentPay at just £3 each. The cost of the tickets will cover the costs of putting on this production and future productions.

Primary schools visit the farm to learn about animal life cycles

8th May 2026Nathan Davidson

Lindfield Primary visit the farm to learn about animal life cycles, gallery 4

The end of last month was a busy one, as we welcomed pupils from both Lindfield Primary Academy and Blackthorns Community Primary Academy to visit Oathall Farm.

Lindfield Primary’s three classes of Reception pupils had the opportunity to meet some of the animals to bring to life their learning about animal life cycles, with sessions designed and run by our Farm Education & Engagement Officer Mx Sveinsson. The pupils clearly enjoyed the chance to meet, handle and assist in the feeding of our chickens, pigs, new lambs and more during their visit.

One particular highlight was when Dottie – one of our pigs – drew attention from a small group of pupils as she luxuriated in a muddy puddle, only to get out and shake herself off over everyone in the near vicinity!

Lindfield Primary visit the farm to learn about animal life cycles, gallery 1

Blackthorns Primary’s Y2 class were welcomed back to Oathall to follow up on their previous visit. They were especially excited to meet and assist in the feeding of the boisterous sheep with their lambs, and as part of their focus on plants had the opportunity to learn about the life cycles of Oathall’s historic oak trees.

Lindfield Primary visit the farm to learn about animal life cycles, gallery 3

Inviting our local primary schools to visit the farm reminds us of what an essential and unique resource this is to both our students and the local community.

We look forward to welcoming them back soon.

Y7s and 8s invited to enter competition for National Numeracy Day

8th May 2026Nathan Davidson

Oathall acknowledge National Numeracy Day on 20 May, by inviting Y7 & Y8 students to enter the Number Heroes competition to win prizes for the school and themselves in the Secondary A category!

The video below explains the idea – but essentially, they need to create a picture telling the judges how people use numbers in their neighbourhood, club or community.

Students can download a worksheet to take part and submit their entries on this page.

The closing date for the competition is 10 June 2026. Good luck!

Celebration brunch for students who completed their HPQs

7th May 2026Nathan Davidson

20 Year 10 students have just completed their HPQs – a qualification worth half a GCSE – and in recognition of this, were rewarded with a celebration brunch attended by our Headteacher and HPQ coordinator Ms Cooper.

To earn their HPQ, students needed to research a topic or specific question of their own choosing, and produce a 2,000 word report or a shorter report with an artefact or production.

HPQs are largely independent projects which help develop skills such as research, time management, presentation and more.

Our students submitted a wide range of projects, from researching the impacts of the Lionesses back-to-back Euro victories, to a report about the accessibility of the entertainment sector for deaf/hard of hearing people, to a student teaching themselves how to produce an item of clothing, to a student engineering a bin that can gauge how full it is, and many more.

We are so impressed with the final products and the effort these students put in.

Celebration brunch for students who completed their HPQs

Wellbeing Ambassadors congregate to discuss belonging at Oathall

1st May 2026Nathan Davidson

Earlier this week our Wellbeing Ambassadors – of which there are two per tutor group – had the opportunity to work with Helen Pinney, Advisory Teacher from Thoughtful Mental Health Support Teams in Schools.

During the interactive session they considered the subject of belonging exploring ideas for how any isolated students can feel more connected to the school.

Wellbeing Ambassadors congregate to discuss belonging at Oathall, gallery 1

They discussed how extra-curricular clubs, representing the school and the overall school learning environment can foster positive connections to the school and to their fellow students.

Together they started to form an action plan to improve on existing practices and generate new ideas.

We look forward to the next session.

Wellbeing Ambassadors congregate to discuss belonging at Oathall, gallery 2

Maths takes centre stage at Federation Schools event

28th April 2026Nathan Davidson

Earlier this week Oathall welcomed a number of Y9 students from our Federation schools Downlands Community School, Imberhorne School and Sackville School – to compete in a Maths competition.

It was a hotly contested event which included a Group round, a Countdown-themed round, a crossnumber round (a crossword with number answers) and finally a relay round where mathematical prowess and athleticism were equally important!

The event was devised firstly to promote mathematics, to convey the importance of teamwork to the students and to further develop relations between the Federation Schools.

There had to be a winning team. Congratulations to Downlands 1 for finishing in first place overall. Their prize? Chocolate Counters of course.

1st Downlands 1
2nd Sackville 2
3rd Oathall 3
4th Imberhorne 1

We look forward to doing this again next year.

Maths takes centre stage at Federation Schools event, gallery 1

Roll up, roll up! Oathall Bake Off 2026 competition launched

27th April 2026Nathan Davidson

The theme for the Oathall Bake Off – our every-popular, annual in-school live baking event – has been confirmed, as has the deadline for entries – and the date for the bake off itself.

The theme this year is The Circus. Think Big Top. Clowns. Trapeze artists. Fire eaters perhaps?

If you are one of the eight students selected to participate on the day, the school will provide the main ingredients, they’ll just need to bring any items to decorate their cake and a cake board and box to take it home in.

The deadline for entries – photos of your cakes and recipes please – is Monday 1 June. The live event is Friday 12 June.

Entries should be emailed to Mrs Kirkpatrick

Ready, steady…. bake!