Gifted and Talented winners

11th June 2014J Godbolt

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.

G&T students with their work in the headteachers office

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.

All systems go!

21st May 2014J Godbolt
Caffyns-BCS visit

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!

Alfriston field trips

20th May 2014J Godbolt

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

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.

Brand new graduation ceremony for Oathall’s students

17th May 2014J Godbolt

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.

Pete Waterfield - Group picture

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.”

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Oathall’s cricketing girls book place at Lord’s

29th April 2014J Godbolt
Oathall U15 Girls Cricket team
Oathall’s under 15 girls indoor cricket team have booked their place in the 2014 Lady Taverners National finals at Lord’s. The Oathall team, representing all of Sussex won their place by beating off competition from Kent, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire in the group stages before knocking out Essex in the semi-final. The team then went on to face London and victory in the final match. The team will now represent the South East in the 2014 Lady Taverners girls cricket Indoor National finals to be held at Lord’s Cricket Ground on 7 May. (more…)

Duke of Edinburgh awards ceremony

28th April 2014J Godbolt
Mr Dore with successful Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award achievers.

Mr Dore with successful Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award achievers.

Current and former Oathall students and their families were present at the annual Duke of Edinburgh awards ceremony at Oathall last week. The evening celebrated the achievements of some 80 young people who had gained their Award at Bronze or Silver level.

Kate Hall, North Sussex Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator spoke about the award and presented the successful students with their certificates. Also speaking on the night were former Oathall students, Holly Maunders and Shannon Mactaggart, both of whom went on to achieve their Gold Award after leaving Oathall. They spoke about the experience and encouraged the students present to attempt the Gold. (more…)

Oathall performers rise to the challenge

25th March 2014Oathall

A large contingent of Oathall students took part in the Rock Challenge dance competition in Crawley on Monday 24 March.Rock Challenge 2014

Following a full day of technical rehearsals the troupe took to the stage at The Hawth and dazzled the crowds with their original dance routine which drew inspiration from traditional fairy tales.

Cinderella made an appearance during the show – which was set against the backdrop of an enchanted forest – along with a coven of terrifying witches!

Over 90 dancers in total took part in the Oathall performance whilst several other students helped out behind the scenes with staging, lighting, hair and make-up.

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