Oathall takes delivery of brand new minibus

12th September 2018J Godbolt

Oathall was delighted to take delivery this week of a much-needed new school minibus. The acquisition of the new minibus was made possible by the kind generosity and support of Fairfax Properties who fully supported the purchase for the school.

The minibus has been designed specifically for school use and can transport up to 17 people; it has also been adapted so that it is fully accessible by wheelchair users.

Handing over the minibus keys, Fairfax Director, Jon Ball, said:

“We are proud to be able to support our local community in this way.”

Headteacher, Edward Rodriguez said:

“We are incredibly grateful to Fairfax Properties for their support of the school in this way. This new bus will be used extensively by the school and especially the PE department where it will enable teams and reserves to be transported to school fixtures without incurring additional transportation costs.”

 

Year 11 Post 16 Opportunities Evening

5th September 2018Mrs K Ferros

Year 11 students and their parents are invited to the Post 16 Opportunities Evening on Wednesday 12 September at 6.00pm in the hall.

This important event will begin with a short presentation about the range of routes and choices that young people can make post 16.  There will then be the opportunity to talk to representatives from all the local further education colleges and other training organisations about the range of courses that they have to offer.  This can be followed up by attending open evenings at the colleges during October and November.  A booklet with further details, including dates for college open evenings, will be distributed during the evening.

Students celebrating excellent results

23rd August 2018J Godbolt

Oathall students are deservedly celebrating their excellent GCSE results. Across all areas of the curriculum, the college has seen impressive outcomes.

In English, 75% of students achieved a grade 4 or above whilst in mathematics 77% of students achieved a grade 4 or higher. In science, 74% of students achieved 2 good science GCSE passes.

There were some exceptional individual performances with 10% of the cohort achieving 7 or more passes at grades 7, 8 or 9. This is all the more noteworthy given the recent reforms to the GCSE curriculum and the significantly more challenging examinations. Moreover, 22% of all grades awarded were 7 or higher.

Students of all abilities have excelled and achieved results of which they should be very proud. It is clear that their progress and attainment is significantly positive.  

Headteacher, Edward Rodriguez said,

“I would like to congratulate all students and staff on their hard work and commitment. They have responded so well to the challenges of the newly reformed GCSEs. These exceptional results are a testament to their enthusiasm and perseverance.“

Information for new students starting in September 2018

31st July 2018J Godbolt

Welcome to all of our new students.

Transition team

Our transition leaders, Mrs Jane Newnham and assistant Headteacher, Mrs Faye Hatchard have been working with our local primary schools to prepare students for moving on to secondary school. On July 10, your child will attend the induction day and meet their tutor. Your child’s tutor will be responsible for your child’s pastoral care. Mrs Newnham also works with our team of Assistant Heads of House. They provide pastoral support for all of our students.

  • For enquiries about transition arrangements please contact Mrs Jane Newnham, Transition Coordinator jnewnham@oathall.org.
  • For enquiries/discussion about children with medical conditions please contact Mrs Polly McDonald pmcdonald@oathall.org.
  • For all other enquiries, please contact office@oathall.org. Your message will be directed to a member of Oathall staff who is in the best position to help you.

Information 

Parents of new year 7 students have been sent information packs in May. These contain forms and information about the transition process. Please refer to these if you are unsure about any of the arrangements for starting at Oathall.

In late August, we will contact you again with further information about the online systems we use for homework, timetables, school reports and our online payment system.

You may also find this information of use.

Starting Secondary School – A Parent’s Guide

Starting Secondary School checklist

Equipment 

Students need to be prepared for lessons at all times. Our ‘Be ready for learning’ leaflet provides you with details of the equipment that we expect students to carry with them in school.

In your first fortnight, you will find out what you need to bring for DT or PE lessons and your teachers will be happy to help you if you’re not sure.

We recommend students check their timetables the night before to ensure they are prepared for the next day.

Uniform 2018

New students starting at Oathall in September 2018 will be required to wear the Oathall uniform. All new students will be expected to wear a white collar shirt and Oathall tie as part of the uniform. 

Full details can be found here.

Food and drink at school

Students are expected to remain in the college during break and lunch times. Students may bring their own food to eat or they may eat in the canteen. Students will be registered with a canteen account on their first day. Information about the canteen and how this works is included in your information pack. Online payment details will be sent out in late August.

Travel to school

We expect all of our students to travel to school using sustainable transport. Most students walk to school or arrive by school bus. Students should enter by the Washington Road footpath, the Albemarle Drive or the Appledore Garden entrance. There are no other entry points into the school.

We expressly ask parents not to drive onto the school site to drop off or collect students in the morning or after school. The vehicle access into Oathall is narrow and not designed to allow for a large number of vehicles to arrive and turn around at the same time. This entrance is used by the school buses which must take priority over other vehicle users. The narrow drive entrance is also located in a residential area and a build-up of traffic at our entrance causes congestion and inconvenience to our neighbours. If you have to drop your child by car please drop them off or collect them at the Washington Road roundabout entrance where there is more space.

For evening events we allow parking on site.

Target reached!

21st June 2018J Godbolt

With only two more days to go, the PTA’s target to raise £25,000 for maths and science resources has been achieved and exceeded. The total currently stands at just over £26,000.

Thank you to everyone who has made a donation or contributed to the fundraising campaign. 

There are still 2 days left of the fundraising campaign so if you did mean to make a donation then there’s still time for you to go online and make a pledge on the Oathall PTA Crowdfunder page.

Thank you for all your support.

Crowdfunding update

14th June 2018J Godbolt

It’s official! We have crowdfunded over £18,000 of the £25,000 target for maths and science equipment. Thank you to all of our supporters. We now have until 23 June to raise the remaining £7,000.

That’s about £7 for every student at Oathall so please do dig deep and make a donation towards the education of the young people of Haywards Heath, Lindfield, Scaynes Hill, Ardingly and Horsted Keynes. Who knows one of these young people may be a Nobel laureate of the future. You can go online and donate here. 

Oathall Bake Off

8th June 2018J Godbolt

‘Royal Wedding’ was the theme in this year’s Bake-Off competition. The competition is run annually and is open to students in years 7,8, 9 and 10. The competition and prizes are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Haywards Heath and the entries are judged by the WI. Students are given 4 hours to bake and decorate a cake which is then judged on taste, appearance and technical difficulty. The winning entry was made by Emily, who has now won on three separate occasions. Well done to all of the students who took part.

Festival of Sport

8th June 2018J Godbolt

On Wednesday, 6th June 50 students in years 9 & 10 were given the opportunity to attend The Festival Of Sport at the University of Chichester. The Festival offered an arena for students to try out different sports, learn about the effects of exercise on the body and discover what facilities and courses were on offer.

Students participated in activities ranging from climbing, blind football, wheelchair hockey and rugby, as well as learning about the biomechanical and physiological effects of physical activity. Activities were run by world-leading researchers and external experts from local and national organisations.

“Many thanks for leading such a wonderful trip today. I and many others were able to enjoy the day and work independently on activities we wanted to whilst also having fun and enjoying ourselves. I for one found it very inspiring to see the different careers available in a sport as well as participating in the practical side of sport.”

Year 9 student.