2018 end of year Teaching and Learning Bulletin

17th December 2018Mrs D Perrin

Respect Aspire Achieve Enjoy

We are now approaching the end of what no doubt seems to many as being a very long term.  Of course, it has been a very full and exciting one too.  The paragraphs that follow in this latest learning bulletin will serve in giving you a sense of just how active and involved Oathall students have been over the past few weeks.

I was delighted to able to attend the Youth Speaks public speaking competition held here at Oathall recently.  The standards were extremely high and the performances of all our teams were outstanding.  I look forward to seeing how they progress in the future rounds of the competition next year.

There is a theme threading throughout this bulletin revealing how our students actively engage in activities that support others. A variety of learning mentor programmes see benefits for all involved and I am really pleased to see that the ‘Them and Us’ project is developing so well.

The last few days of term always feels particularly busy. Just two nights ago we held a splendid winter concert.  I received many exclamations of the breadth and indeed depth of the talent amongst Oathall students across all year groups.  It really was a wonderful evening and my thanks go to all those involved.  The Christmas lunch and our traditional ‘Carols in the Barn’ will seal the end of another successful term at Oathall.

On behalf of the governors and staff, may I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very happy 2019

Mr Edward Rodriguez – Headteacher

Learning in a variety of ways

Geography Homework interpreted differently – Alice Burwell explains the homework
This term in geography, we were given a sheet with a range of projects to choose from and given roughly two weeks to complete a series of tasks. The activities were categorized into three different levels, there was a starter, main and dessert. It was compulsory to complete a task from the main course. The tasks ranged in ability, we were encouraged to try the hardest ones. I chose to create a 3D model of a volcano and the other task I did was research a volcano and write a fact file on it. The volcano I chose for the fact file was Mt Vesuvius in Italy. I was among a number of students who were chosen to show their homework to Mr Rodriguez.  I know we all felt very proud of having achieved this honour.  

Carla Muskasa and Jennifer Woods made a video of ‘Tectonic Poetry’ to demonstrate their understanding of the topic and Niamh, Bella and Alice wrote a poem.

Art students have embraced a Masterclass to stretch their knowledge
A group of seven brilliant Art students have been coming to a lino printing masterclass after school, namely Isla McPherson in Year 7, Paige Nesbitt, Mollie Hooper, Annabel Gale, Sarah Galt, Finley Jenner and Charlie Rouse in Year 8. They are working through the process of designing and creating lino prints of animals. They start by transferring their drawings onto lino and then cut the design away using lino cutting tools. They have then used printing ink to print them and some have created colourful backgrounds too. I think you’ll agree that they are beautiful!

Peer Mentoring helps our younger students learn from our older students
Language Mentors
The Language Mentor scheme runs every Friday during afternoon registration. Keen and able students in Years 8 and 11 were nominated at the start of the year by their language teachers to take part in the scheme. Every Friday we meet in the library and Year 11 students lead language learning tasks with our Year 8 linguists. There is always a fantastic atmosphere and Year 11 students have shown creativity and flair in their leadership of the activities.

Maths Mentors
Our mentors have been doing a fantastic job for the last two years in supporting students in achieving their full potential, and in sharing and developing in others their love for learning maths. With the arrival of the December mocks, their work has come to an end and we are looking forward to selecting students in Year 10 that would like to continue their efforts.

The maths mentoring scheme is a very successful one where students in Years 10 and 11 support some very able mathematicians from year 7 students in theirs. Their work ranges from extending Year 7 work by working on higher topics, revision sessions and preparation for the junior maths challenges. If you would like to get involved speak to Miss Calleja or your maths teacher.

Reading Mentors
This year sees the third anniversary of the library reading mentor scheme. It takes place during Tuesday and Wednesday tutor times and is designed to encourage reluctant and struggling year 7 readers.

Mentees are identified through their Accelerated Reader scores and paired up with year 9 and 10 mentors. The mentors have volunteered for this role and received training to equip them. During the 20 minutes available to them, year 7s read to their mentors, who will listen, clarify, help, ask questions and encourage. It is an informal time, but students are still expected to read and they do engage very well with the format.

Our mentors are highly motivated as there was oversubscription for the role and some of them were mentees themselves three years ago and have now come back to the scheme to encourage and support the new year 7s with their reading. As the year progresses, we will start reading in larger groups; we will read plays and poetry, flash fiction and, of course, books on the Accelerated Reader programme. There are currently over 30 year 7s on the programme, all of whom really seem to enjoy the experience and the relationships they are building.  

Rewarding and helping

Maths goes to the movies – Ms L Griffiths
On Tuesday the 27th of November the Maths department held a film night for our Year 10 girls. We watched the incredibly inspiring film Hidden Figures. The film tells the story of three brilliant African-American women working at NASA who served as the mathematical brains behind the USA’s launch into orbit  They had to overcome many barriers due to their race and gender.

Maths students enjoying the film, The Christmas Chronicles.

In a largely male-dominated field, we want to encourage our girls, to demonstrate that there are no obstacles standing in their way that they cannot overcome. If they want to have a career in the sciences it is so important they know they can achieve this. And of course, it wouldn’t have been a successful night without bags of popcorn!

On Tuesday the 4th of December the Maths department held a Key Stage 3 reward evening. Each teacher selected a handful of students who had consistently shown outstanding effort in Maths this term. 45 students from Year 7, 8 and 9 came along to an evening of popcorn, sweets and the new Netflix film The Christmas Chronicles. It was a really enjoyable experience to acknowledge all their hard work!

Them and Us, the ripple effect

Tutor group 7ELMS wrote a thank you postcard to a member of staff who has helped them settle into Oathall or who has inspired them in lessons.
Ms Sandford received a beautiful card from a Year 8 student to say thank you for helping her. Ms Sandford said, ” I was delighted as it was so unexpected!”
A lovely gift from a student in 7VAS which is going into one of our Christmas boxes for the YMCA DownsLink Group. The student has donated 5 books and has written this note in each one.

Rewarding Readers – Mrs D Perrin
Students who have read over a million words on the Accelerated reader scheme were rewarded with certificates in their House assemblies. Congratulations to the following students, you are all amazing! To find out more about Accelerated Reader, please read the library news further on in the bulletin.

Two of our Year 8 students have achieved outstanding word counts on Accelerated Reader. To date, Niamh Chapman has read 8,277,770 words and Tasha Lawrence has read 7,956,724. Well done girls, I suspect these numbers will have increased before long!

Tasha & Niamh, word multi-millionaires

Word Millionaires in Year 7
Archie Ramsden, Bobbie Clark, Dan Polhill, Ebba Wilson, Emily Jones, Freya Josephs, Harry Musson, Isobel Dupee, Megan Williams and Olivia Beck.

Word Millionaires in Year 8
Anna Bedingham, Harry Banks, Jake MacMahon, Marissa Joseph, Niamh Chapman, Tasha Lawrence and Bea Carter.

Word Millionaires in Year 9
Amie Moxon, Bobbie Steel, Deacon Stephens and Henry Tucker.

Challenging other schools

Taking part in ‘Youth Speaks’ – Ms C Slade
On Monday 26th of November, Oathall hosted the annual Youth Speaks competition with the Rotary Club. Youth Speaks objectives are to:

  • Challenge your public speaking abilities and perform, persuade and entertain the audience with your display of wit and knowledge of a topic.
  • In teams of three participants present arguments and points of discussion, before taking questions from the judging panel who are, themselves, skilled orators.
  • Participants can select a topic which is important to them, giving them an opportunity to delve deep into research, formulate ideas and build confidence.
We had four teams in this heat and they were obviously keen to go through to the next round, especially competing on home turf! The teams had been working really hard after school and in their lunchtimes in order to be ready – the juniors, in particular, were against some pretty tough competition.
Senior team 2 – Ben McDowell, Henry Forrest and Felix Carter are through to the District round, winning the overall competition in their age group. Ben McDowell also received Best Speaker, Kitty Underhill got Best Chairperson and Felix Carter got Best Vote of Thanks.
In the Junior competition – Oathall 1 – Molly Jordan, Matty Mackay and Tom Underhill beat Great Walsted A and B teams to go through to the District round! Matty Mackay took Best Chairperson, Bea Carter took Best Speaker and Great Walsted took Best Vote of Thanks.  Mollie McConnell also deserves recognition, after her teammates dropped out in the early stages of preparation, she could not compete but she chose to turn up to every practice to coach and work with the others. She also attended the evening to support all the teams. Well done Mollie!

Entering the ‘Senior Maths Challenge’ – Miss M Calleja
Following the success from last year, fifteen Year 11 students took part in the Senior Maths Challenge with over half of them obtaining a bronze award or better.  The Senior Maths Challenge is run by the UK Mathematics Trust and is supported by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. It is aimed at those in Years 13 and below and mostly taken by students in Further Education so we are very pleased with the success of our students. Our pupils achieved 2 silver and 8 bronze certificates in this competition taken by over 80,000 students from across the UK. A special mention should be made for Toby Watkinson and Jack Townsend who obtained silver awards. We wish our students good luck and further success in these competitions!

Matt Curtis, Jon Harper, Eliana Harrison, Harrison Kane, Alex Korniotis, Teddy Kell, Ted Maslin, Ed Mason, Rachel Neller, Alex Rhys-Williams, Mehul Rodney, Lauren Schou, Georgie Tingley, Jack Townsend, Toby Watkinson, Aoife Wright.

Demonstrating sporting prowess against Millais School – Ms Z Froud
I would like to congratulate the Under 12 Girls football team for holding Millais to a 1-1 draw in the County League recently. Both teams were unbeaten going into this match and it was a nail-biter! Player of the match nominated by the Millais team was Goalkeeper Millie Hopkins who made some exceptional saves. She was thrilled as I am sure you can imagine.

Under 12s Girls’ Football Team

Oathall Big Sing 2018 – Mrs C Mactaggart
We were very privileged to welcome international tenor Andrew Rees to lead our Oathall Big Sing 2018. What a brilliant morning of beautiful choral and contemporary singing by our primary feeder schools, led by the Oathall School Choir and accompanied by the very talented musicians from the College Jazz Band, Orchestra and Rock Band.

Miss Holmes from West Sussex Music who also attended the morning was very impressed by the standard of musicianship on display. She was able to promote vocal and instrumental lessons which are offered by West Sussex Music in schools across the County or at the Saturday morning school at Oathall, to inspire our next generation of musicians.
Mrs Mactaggart, Head of Music at Oathall commented on how much she is looking forward welcoming the Big Sing 2018 attendees to our choir and ensembles when they join the College next year and encouraged the wonderful young singers to consider joining the local Cora Nuova Youth Choir which is directed to Andrew Rees to further their skills.

Big Sing 2018

Oathall Marks the Centenary of World War One
The centenary of the end of World War One was marked by staff and students in a number of ways this year.  Mr Parry organised our ‘Field of Remembrance’ which gave students and staff the opportunity to honour and remember individuals from a number of past conflicts by donating to the Royal British Legion and dedicating a wooden cross to a particular soldier. The subsequent field of crosses in our piazza area provided a focal point for our remembrance and it was here we held a short ceremony on Friday 9th November, led by Mr Rodriguez.  Against the poignant backdrop of our ‘Field of Remembrance,’ we held a one minute’s silence and Felix Carter (Year 10) played a rendition of The Last Post and the Reveille in this incredibly well-attended ceremony.

Year 9 also gathered in the hall on 9th November to watch an advance screening of ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’, an Imperial War Museum film commissioned to mark the centenary of World War One where original footage from the trenches was brought to life with the use of colour and sound technology.

Other activities included a poetry competition open to all year groups, tutor time activities and House assemblies led by Mr Hastings. Our students have, as always, impressed us with their response to the various remembrance events and we were honoured to have played our part in commemorating this important anniversary.

Winners and runners-up of the poetry competition received prizes, certificates and House points from Head Teacher, Mr Rodriguez.

Cuckfield Remembers concert
Students from Oathall Community College and Warden Park Academy joined forces to perform Holt’s Mars and Elgar’s Nimrod at the Cuckfield remembers Community Concert under the batons of Carol Mac Taggart and Martijn Van Galen. The pieces were well received and students were complimented on the high standard of the music as well as the respectful and friendly conduct of our students. We are all now very much looking forward to the launch of the WISDOM orchestral day to be held at Oathall on the 11th January 2019 where all the local Mid Sussex schools will be performing together like a symphony orchestra in a project led by local Heads of Music and the West Sussex Music Hub

Library news
The library has been as busy as ever, supporting our students with their reading and research during lesson times and encouraging them to engage in a variety of activities at break and lunchtimes. There is a lovely atmosphere in the library, it’s a busy place with lots going on.

Accelerated Reader
This is our second year using the Accelerated Reader programme. Over the next few issues of the bulletin, we would like to take the opportunity to explain in more detail what this means for your child. All year 7 & 8 students, plus a few additional students in years 9 & 10, are enrolled automatically on the scheme. So far this year, students have completed two STAR tests (multiple choice quiz style test) and they now have their reading ranges from which to chose a reading book. We have purchased books to support readers at all levels and we encourage students to challenge themselves to read a variety of genres.

Students on the Accelerated Reading scheme have read over 84 million words in 1,669 books since September, an amazing achievement.

Here are some reading suggestions for over the holiday period you might like to share with your children.

Puffin Books reading suggestions  

Winter reading challenge here  

Geography faculty suggested reading

https://www.readbrightly.com/why-reading-aloud-with-older-kids-is-best/

TV programmes based on books being shown over the Christmas period have been shared by a librarian colleague and can be found  here

Battle of the Books
We have also started up a new book club this term called Battle of the Books. Based on an American competition that has been running since the 1930s, it is a reading incentive programme where students read chosen books, organise themselves into teams and then ‘battle’ against each other to see who knows the most. Each question starts ‘in which book’ which eliminates potential confusion and there is a bonus if teams can remember the author of the book. Students from Year 7 and 8 have been reading since October and we now have five teams ready to start ‘battling’ in the new year. Our highlight will be when we ‘battle’ a teacher team during World Book Week in March. The students have been a delight, they are keen and organised – a librarians’ dream.

Scholastic Book Fair
We also had an incredibly successful Scholastic Half Price Book Fair where we sold over £815 worth of books. Not only do your children benefit by getting everything at a 50% discount, but the library can then chose books to the value of £81, all at half price. We are thrilled with our selection and they are now available for your children to borrow.

Lindfield Life
We are also lucky to have the opportunity to submit book reviews for the Lindfield Life magazine. If your child wants to see their name in print, all they need to do is to write not more than 250 words about a book they have recently read and email it to the librarians at lrc@oathall.org and we will do the rest. When it is published, they can come and collect a copy of the magazine.

Fun in the library
The idea that a library is a place of silence, that librarians go around saying ‘shush’ all the time is well and truly gone. Libraries are a hive of activity, the only rule being that your noise doesn’t impact on someone else’s activity. During break and lunchtimes, our library is transformed into a bustling place, full of students swapping their books, checking their homework, printing out whatever they need for their studies, reading our magazines and chatting to friends. They also play chess and yu-gi-oh plus there is a drop-in, student-led origami club on Fridays.

Happy Christmas from all the staff at Oathall

Winners of the best jumper award went to the Maths faculty.

Teaching and Learning Bulletin – Back to School 2018

22nd November 2018Mrs D Perrin

Respect Aspire Achieve Enjoy

We have had a busy start to the autumn term and our latest teaching and learning bulletin provides an insight to much that is new in the school.

Significantly, I was so pleased that our new Maths and Science block opened on time for the start of the new academic year. This major project has seen these critical facilities in the school completely transformed. The recent formal opening of the block was an excellent event and I am so delighted that Sir Paul Nurse FRS was able to attend as our guest of honour. Discussing science and sharing practical experiences with a Nobel laureate are not everyday experiences and will certainly become a cherished memory for all involved, both staff and students. The evening welcomed many visitors to the school including a number of parents and donors who had supported the school so generously through our recent PTA organised crowdfunding event.

Our whole-school ‘Drop Everything and Read’ (DEAR) programme is really turning Oathall into a ‘Reading School’. Pioneered by Ms Chinn in the English faculty, an almost eerie silence descends on the school during those allotted periods when students and staff take out a book from their bags and read. Developing a reading culture is critical in so many aspects of learning and I am delighted to see how quickly this practice has become embedded in the school.

In many ways, DEAR is part of a strategy to enhance our school culture. Very much on that theme is the ‘Them and Us’ project launched by Mr Parry earlier in the term. I am really excited by the potential of this work and look forward to seeing this develop over the coming weeks at Oathall.

A celebration of Whole School Activities

Drop Everything And Read, otherwise known as DEAR time, happening around the school.

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“Them and Us” Launch

Mr M Parry

This week, we have launched the “Them and Us” programme at Oathall. It is an exciting project being run in hundreds of schools across the country with the intention of helping young people understand those who are different to them. It focuses on 3 areas – Kindness, Respect and Living Without Harm. We will be focusing on Kindness and Respect with sessions being run in tutor groups to explore the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect. Projects will be running throughout the school year such as “Random Acts of Kindness Week” when students will be encouraged to carry out small acts of kindness to anyone and everyone. Staff and students are excited about what this will do to our school atmosphere and community as a whole. It has already begun with students helping staff pick up litter without being asked, teachers, receiving gifts from students and a little hum of excitement which feels like it could develop into a roar any day!

Thanks go to this group of students who picked up litter without being asked.

Using the new Science & Maths Building (SAM)

Ms E Costelloe

We have had a great start to the year back in the SAM building. The facilities are fantastic and we are loving teaching and learning in our brand new rooms. Year 7 and 8 have been busily getting their bunsen burner licenses and our fortnightly Science club is oversubscribed with budding young scientists. So far they have made bath bombs, slime and set alight to gas bubbles! We are extremely grateful for the fundraising by OPTA and the new equipment is starting to arrive. Mrs Isley and Mrs Pringle particularly enjoyed showing our visitors our new thermal imaging camera on Open Day!

 

Full circle farms project

Ms A Murray

We started our ‘Full circle farms project’ two weeks ago.  Tom Morphew, who is a former Oathall student, asked us to get involved.  He runs his own sustainable food company that uses waste from top London restaurants to make compost.  He then grows amazing vegetables, spices and herbs with this compost to sell back to the restaurants to use as ingredients in their tasty meals.  In our first week, we planted over 4000 seeds!  It has been great to start to see the seeds growing and we are looking forward to tasting the finished product.  Tom has recently appeared on Saturday Kitchen on BBC One to talk about his company.

National Poetry Day

Ms P Sullivan

On 4th October our students celebrated National Poetry Day in the style we are accustomed to: with one of our termly Open Mic Sessions! 

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Students from across the years came to read out poetry – some that they had written themselves and others that have been published. There was a fantastic array of poetry and excellent readings, with a couple of brave souls reciting their chosen poem from memory.

Well done to everyone who took part and thanks to David and Josh in Year 10 for setting up the sound system for us.

Freshers Fair

Ms L Gyngell
Year 7s were given the opportunity to attend our first ever ‘Freshers Fair’ this half term.
Clubs were represented by Oathall students and staff, giving Year 7 the perfect opportunity to find out more about the vast array of clubs on offer at the college from War Hammer to Maths Digit Doctors!
For more information regarding the clubs on offer please visit our website and click on the link ‘School Life‘.
Great to see a Harry Potter bag at the Library stall!

Investigative, creative and physical learning throughout our faculties.

In Music 

Mrs C Mactaggart

Oathall musicians in all years are very busy rehearsing for the performances this term. We are looking forward to performing at The Big Sing with our local primary schools on the 30th October, Cuckfield Remembers concert on the 10th November and of course our own Christmas Concert and Carols In The Barn in December.

In Science 

Ms K Pettingel
This half term as part of their energy topic, year 8 have been investigating the best materials to insulate a house. Through a series of lessons, students have tested different materials and looked at heat loss in buildings using our new thermal imaging camera’s. Students then designed and built their houses and tested how well the house contained the heat through quantitative tests and observations with the thermal camera. In our final lesson, they presented their ideas to each other and showed off their fabulous work. Fantastic investigation skills year 8!

Ms Z Froud

Year 8 gymnasts explored different forms of sports acrobatics and partner and group balances this half term to produce an outstanding final piece for their assessment. They showed maturity, teamwork, focus and resilience to perform some stunning balances.

The Under 12s played their first game of the seasons (and for some their first ever game of Football) at Burgess Hill Academy last night and secured an emphatic victory 7-1. All players were marvellous, Player of the match was Ella Chatfield who scored 5 goals!

Under 12s football team

The Under 14 Football team gave a fantastic display of resilience, determination and dedication during their 3-3 draw against Sackville in their first game of the season. This was the first time the girls had played collectively as a team and some Year 8 students even played up a year group. They went behind 3 times in the game but would not be beaten!
Player of the match was Molly Aplin selected by the Sackville players.

Under 14s football team

 

The PE department’s extra-curricular programme has had a fantastic start with great numbers of students from all year groups attending a range of clubs from Dance to Football and Fitness to Frisbee. Here are the Football girls after a training session in the sunshine. Keep it up, girls!

Football girls

Year 7s making a start…

In English

Ms L Fisher

Continuing with their creative journals that they began over the summer, many Year 7 students created their own Coat of Arms in English lessons. The students drew inspiration from famous Coats of Arms, such as Queen Elizabeth’s and Meghan Markle’s. Ultimately, each student’s Coat of Arms exemplified their unique origins through symbols, colours, and mottoes. The students explained each part of their Coat of Arms in writing and then displayed their finished work using a gallery experience during the lesson.

 

 

In Music

Year 7s have gotten off to a cracking start in the Music Department at Oathall and we have been delighted to welcome them as new members of the school orchestra, various choirs and our Jazz Band. They were treated to a wonderful performance by one of our school bands as well as watching a presentation from West Sussex Music teachers designed to introduce the instrumental and vocal lessons on offer to them at the College.

In the library

Mrs D Perrin
Our Year 7s have now had their induction into the Oathall library. Over four lessons they have learned how the library is organised and how to chose a book that is right for them; they have taken the STAR test which has given them all their individual reading level for the Accelerated Reader scheme; they have learned about the library software system, done two library quizzes and finally, put it all into practice by taking part in a Roald Dahl Treasure Hunt around the library. Lots of fun and lots of learning took place and we are delighted that they are discovering the books we have on our shelves and are excited about borrowing them.

2018: The Year Of Engineering – Women In Engineering Conference – Mathematics

Mrs P Gaston

On Thursday 20th September 2018, a group of our talented Year 10 female mathematicians headed off to the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent for a one day “Women in Engineering Conference”. The Year of Engineering aims to encourage young people to realise the potential of a career in engineering. 
 
Our wonderful group of students stood out for their excellent prior knowledge, their teamwork and their great respect for the highly acclaimed lecturers, speakers and organisers. 
 

Students had the opportunity to meet leading Female Engineers from Universities, from Industry and from the Engineering division of the Army. They had a chance to develop and use Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics during a series of practical workshops. There was also time to visit the Royal Engineers Museum during the day

. The practical activities were interspersed with inspirational talks from female engineers who all had links with the Trust, the Museum, STEM Ambassador Hub South East England, and the University of Greenwich at Medway
 
The event was organised by our Mathematics Enrichment Leader Ms Calleja as part of the National Year of Engineering.
The students were accompanied by Mrs Gaston & Mrs Ransom who were thrilled to report that Oathall students were “totally engaged in the subject and interesting & polite company for the day”. A number of the organisers made a point of complimenting our students on their behaviour and positive attitude. A truly great experience!

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.

TEACHING AND LEARNING BULLETIN – SUMMER 2018

30th July 2018Mrs D Perrin

Respect Aspire Achieve Enjoy

I write as we approach the end of another busy and successful term.  Just last evening we hosted our annual celebration evening in the college hall. It is so important that we are able to stand back and say well done to all our students who have worked so hard throughout the year, contributed so much, made excellent progress and achieved so highly. I was delighted that so many parents could join us for this evening of celebration.

The most exciting news to share of course is that the major re-development of our maths and science block is now complete with the building being handed back to school last week. The final pieces of new furniture and equipment are currently being installed and staff are busy ensuring all is ready for the students to return in September.

The new facilities really are exceptional with 8 brand new maths classrooms, 8 brand new science laboratories and a computing suite.

As you know, our extraordinary Parents’ Association managed to raise a staggering amount of money to provide additional equipment that will significantly enhance the learning of the students. I am truly humbled by and profoundly grateful for the generosity of so many people.

Whilst the block will be open for teaching from the first day of the autumn term we are currently organising an official opening event that will take place later in the term. I look forward to sharing more details of this in due course.

In meantime, do enjoy reading the articles in this latest teaching and learning bulletin and on behalf of the governors and staff at Oathall, may I wish you and you families a restful summer break.

I look forward to seeing everyone again when we return in September.

Mr E Rodriguez

Headteacher

Radio Two’s “500 Words” success

At 5am on 8th June, we jumped onto our bikes and cycled the 3 miles along the towpath to Hampton Court Palace to go and watch the final of Radio 2’s competition “500 words”.  I had submitted my story as my English holiday homework and couldn’t believe my eyes when an email came through inviting me to be part of the audience.
On arrival, we were greeted with a massive queue which we joined wondering whether we would ever make it in as it was moving so slowly.  Before we knew it we were weaving our way to our seats.

A jester warmed the audience up practising cheering and clapping for the show and then Chris Evans and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

I got to see 3 live bands and watched famous people reading out the talented winners stories.  It was such an exciting morning and being so close to the live radio show action was a real experience.

The icing on the cake was being able to meet some of the famous people. My favourite story was The Poo Fairy read by David Williams. I also got the chance to have my photo taken with some of the famous people most excitingly with Malorie Blackman because we have just read her book Noughts and Crosses in our class. It was a morning that I won’t forget for a long time.

By Joby Barnaby

With Malorie Blackman
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
With Dara O’Brien

Showcasing Art in the wider community

At the National Students’ Art Exhibition 2018

We are delighted that Oathall’s Year 11 Art GCSE work was recently selected to be exhibited at the NSAE, Mall Galleries, London. The opening of the exhibition was the 18th of July and it celebrates the best of students’ artwork from across the country.
Mr C J Russell, Founder NSAE, “The standard of submissions has again been extraordinarily high. It is a marvellous accolade for the artists and schools selected”.
Congratulations to Honey Latter, Molly Watts, Maddie Wareham and Nina Kashdan who all had their work exhibited and well done to Mia Jones whose pieces were highly commended.

Ms J Smith-Hashim

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At the Haywards Heath Twinning Association Community Art Project

This year Haywards Heath celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Twinning with Traunstein and the 20th Anniversary with Bondues.

To mark this special occasion Haywards Heath Twinning Association created a Community Art Project on the theme of “Friendship”.

Lead by textile artist and teacher, Jan Hunt, three wall hangings were produced which express the theme of Friendship between Haywards Heath and the two twin towns. Oathall students and local Primary schools participated in workshops with Jan. Community groups also took part making the project uniquely intergenerational.

Year 9 student Izzy Hateley created original graffiti lettering designs and year 10 students Bradley Turner, Izzy Bain, Lily McDonald, Freya Smit, Lottie Brooks, Kerry McCarthy and Emily Brock created impressive textile art pieces.

At a formal ceremony on the 30th June, two of the wall hangings were presented by Mayor Jim Knight to Mayor Christian Kegel and Mayor Patrick Delebarre as symbols of their enduring relationship.   The third wall hanging will be displayed in the Town Hall.

 

Learning to care for the next generation

Year 10 girls recently completed their child first-aid course over two lessons in the Albe for part of their Child Development course. They all did really well and had lots of fun doing a practical element to the course. They learnt CPR, how to treat cuts and burns and dealing with choking both on a child and a baby.

Mrs S Kirkpatrick

Learning by experiencing 

At Hampton Court Palace

Over two days, 115 Year 8 students recently visited Hampton Court Palace on a History school trip.  We spent the day participating in a variety of educational activities, including team building skills, fact hunting and exploring the historical palace and grounds.  We enjoyed getting lost in the oldest standing maze in the country. We discovered a range of intriguing and interesting facts.  For example, did you know that back in the Tudor era, the residents and guests of the palace drank an astonishing 600,000 gallons of beer in only one year!
Ms Z Froud
 A Year 8 student said, ‘visiting Hampton Court Palace has made me more enthusiastic about History and has inspired me to take it for GCSE.’

In Ypres

On Friday 8th of June, a group of around 30 students and some teachers and teaching assistants went on a history trip to the battlegrounds of Ypres in Belgium. After a five-hour coach journey, our first stop was the Hooge Crater Museum. It was very interesting as we got to see a lot of the weapons used in the First World War, as well as things like medicine in those times, gas masks and the soldiers’ uniforms. We also stopped for a while to be shown where we were on a map and how the Battles of Ypres progressed around the Ypres Salient. We then went to Hooge Chateau, which was an old battleground, where we got to walk through some of the old trenches.

After that, we went to the Hooge Crater Cemetery, where 5,916 World War One soldiers are commemorated. We found the gravestone of H.S.Tindall, who was a British soldier in the Royal Berkshire Regiment. We found out he lived on Oathall Road, which we found was very interesting. We laid a cross on his grave to commemorate him. Then, at Essex Farm, we found a Muslim grave, which I found very interesting; to show respect, instead of putting flowers around it, people place stones on top. We also found the grave of a fifteen-year-old soldier, Valentine Strudwick, who died fighting.

Then we went to Tyne Cot Cemetery, where there are records of 11,956 people who gave their lives in WW1, 8,369 of which are unidentified. There were hundreds of white marble graves, but there was also a long wall around one edge of the cemetery, commemorated to those whose bodies were never found. It was very emotional to see all the thousands of people who died fighting for their country: for all of us.

Finally, we went to Ypres town for dinner and for the Menin Gate wreath ceremony, where Felix and I got to lay the school wreath in front of a crowd of people. It was a bit scary to do it but I was glad we got to pay tribute to all those who gave their lives for us. It was a very fun trip and I was glad I got the opportunity to go on it as it was very interesting and gave me a much better insight into what actually happened in the War, and it gave us a much better idea of the vast amounts of sacrifices made.

By Esme Brigden

In the west of France

Travelling along the motorway to the beautifully stunning La Rochelle provided our students with their first opportunity to practise their French as we stopped for a traditional French breakfast of pastries and coffee at the service station.  Although some were initially timid, all students spoke with their best French accent when purchasing their products.

After dinner at the hostel, Auberge de Junesse staff and students experienced the delights of La Rochelle harbour, beach and evening market.

When presented with a myriad of ice-cream(s) to devour on the golden sands of Les Minimes beach, students couldn’t wait to use their French to order the delights on offer.

Students found the seafront night market an exciting occasion to immerse themselves in traditional French culture, products and atmosphere.

Following an early morning start on Tuesday, students learnt about the historic three towers of La Rochelle while waiting for the boat to Ile d’Oleron.

The journey to Ile d’Oleron took us past the historic 17th Century Fort Boyard.

Ile d’Oleron gave students the chance to mix history and culture.  Visiting the traditional French indoor food market in the market town of St Pierre d’Oleron, walking through the cobbled streets surrounded by picturesque stone buildings was a real treat.  Here students explored the vast amount of products on offer and independently used their skills to buy gifts, order food and navigate their way around the area.

Puy du Fou Grand Parc was a truly exhilarating and memorable experience.   Experiencing five events in one day was a challenge planned with military precision by Monsieur Henri which resulted in all students and staff watching wonderful and amazing shows.  Each show was narrative as well as visually spectacular thus students had to use their knowledge of spoken language to understand the plot.

The aquarium in La Rochelle was beautiful and fascinating.  To learn about the creatures students were encouraged to read the information provided next to each marine feature.

Our final destination was Futuroscope – wow, a genuinely unique, stimulating and thrilling experience!  Entering a world of 3D, 4D and now 5D is an adventure not to be missed.  Within the theme park, students had to use all their speaking, listening and reading skills to either understand the stories/information being told on the rides, ordering food, understanding what an attraction offered or simply navigating where to go.

 At Cuckmere Haven

120 students from Year 7 went to Cuckmere Haven to study a variety of geography themes including river meanders and management, the impact of tourism on the area and the geology and erosion of the coastal cliffs.  Students also scaled the chalk cliffs / first peak of the Seven Sisters cliffs to experience the amazing view of the whole Cuckmere Valley.

Year 10 Work Related Learning Week

Oathall’s Year 10 students have recently enjoyed a week of work-related learning experiences.  The week allowed students a taste of college/university life as well as an insight into possible career paths.

Monday – The week began with college taster days at Crawley and Plumpton college and the University of Sussex.  The students participated in subject taster sessions of their choice at Crawley and Plumpton.  The Motor Vehicle session was reported as being fantastic!

A most enjoyable and informative day was had at the University of Sussex.

Tuesday – We were very pleased to welcome back some former Oathall students: Sarah Caddy (Post-doctoral Research Fellow @ Cambridge University), David Amor (Computer Games designer), Ben Higgins (Head of Human Resources at Societe Generale), Hilary Cornish (Research, Evidence and Learning Adviser at Christian Aid), Petr Esposito (Architect at MATT Architecture) and Rebecca Cooney (Attorney/Lawyer at Floran Glennon).  They came to talk to our students about their career paths and work experience and are all members of the Oathall Alumni Association, which allows us to keep in touch with our former students.

Wednesday – The students spent this half term preparing for ‘mock interviews’.  We had many business volunteers who acted as interviewers for our Year 10 students.  Our mock Interviewers were very impressed with them and commented that they were well presented, personable and polite, enthusiastic, very engaged and asked some good questions.  The employers enjoyed the experience and said it was a pleasure to meet such lovely young people and that the school should be very proud.

Apprenticeships – In the afternoon we were visited by an education expert who delivered a presentation on apprenticeships.  This gave our students an opportunity to understand how the national apprenticeship programme works.

Thursday – Our visit to the Big Bang fair was a great experience for many of our students as they were able to find out about various vocations in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Friday – Work observation day – The students organised their own work observation days where they were able to observe a parent, friend or relation at work.  As part of this, the students completed a world of work survey.

Mrs K Ferros

Public Speaking competition results

Winners of the Year 7 public speaking competition. From the left: Tasha Lawrence (end), Paige Nesbitt (joint 3rd), Ben Tame (1st) and Matty Mackay (joint 3rd).

Year 7 winners

 

Winners of the Year 8 public speaking competition. From the left: Ella Tingley 93rd place), Molly Aplin (2nd place) and Dominika Knotkova-Hanley (1st place).

 

Year 8 winners

Well done to all the finalists who represented their classes. They did themselves proud.

Ms P Sullivan

Mid-Sussex sports

Mid Sussex Athletics competition

On Thursday 28th June Mr Mills along with 19 Sports Leaders from Year 8 organised a ran the Year 7 Mid-Sussex Athletics competition at Broadbridge Heath.
The leaders were absolutely superb and ran a seamless competition demonstrating great organisation, fantastic communication and a level of maturity beyond their years.
In addition to this, I am also extremely pleased to tell you that our Year 7 boys team came first in the event beating 11 schools from the Mid-Sussex area. A fantastic achievement. The girls’ team were stretched due to injury and illness of a number of the team so didn’t place on this occasion. They did, however, do Oathall proud and should be commended for their attitude and commitment.
Ms Z Froud

Festival of Sport

On Wednesday, 6 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 were able to learn from world-leading researchers and external experts from local and national organisations. Students participated in activities ranging from climbing, blind football, wheelchair hockey and rugby, alongside the biomechanical and physiological effects of physical activity. Activities were run as either drop-in sessions in which students could dip in and out of, and throughout the day and scheduled for 30-minute sessions.

 “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.

Ms C Avery

Junior Maths Challenge Success 2018

Pupils at Oathall achieved 8 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze certificates in this year’s UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. Over 260,000 pupils from across the UK sat the Junior Maths Challenge with roughly the top 6% receiving a gold certificate, the next 13% silver and the next 21% bronze.

Students with the highest results are invited to sit a follow-on competition: up to 1200 top JMC scorers are invited to take the Junior Mathematical Olympiad and the next approximately 7000 take the Junior Kangaroo. Congratulations to Daniel Reed (7VMT), Ella Tingley (8VRB), Afdhal Azard (8VRB), Molly Hord (8DSA), Nathanael Brown (8ESML) and Toby Colvin (8PCAS) as they qualified for these follow up rounds. A special mention should be made to Toby Colvin and Daniel Reed who achieved a merit from Junior Maths Kangaroo and Olympiad, respectively. Daniel is our youngest student ever to go on to qualify and succeed in the Olympiad round!

The Junior Maths Challenge is run by the UK Mathematics Trust and supported by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. It is aimed at those in Years 7 and 8 and is sat in schools The UKMT is a registered charity whose aim is to advance the education of children and young people in mathematics. It organises national mathematics competitions and other mathematical enrichment activities for UK secondary schools pupils. Further information about the Trust and its activities is available at www.ukmt.org.uk

“The Maths Challenges provide material to provoke student’s mathematical thinking and test their problem-solving skills in an accessible and yet challenging way. Many congratulations to Oathall Community College on their success in the Junior Maths Challenge; it is great to see achievement in mathematics recognised.”

Rachel Greenhalgh, UKMT Executive Director

Sample question from this year’s Junior Maths Challenge (answer on UKMT’s website)

Gill scored a goal halfway through the second quarter of a ‘teachers versus pupils’ netball match. At that point, what fraction of the whole match remained to be played?

A  ¼ B ⅜ C ½ D ⅝ E ¾

If you could work out the answer to this problem and you will be a year 7 or 8 student next year, then you may have the desired skills to succeed in this competition. Oathall’s maths faculty also runs the Intermediate and Senior Maths Challenges for years 9, 10 and 11 with similar success.  Letters will be sent home soon with more details about these competitions. For more information, you can ask your teacher or speak to Miss Calleja

Ms M Calleja

Reading activities in the classroom and in the library

At Oathall we’re thrilled that our Year 7 and 8 students have engaged so well with the Accelerated Reader scheme. We’ve found that on the whole students have enjoyed silent reading time within their English lessons and a chance to explore new authors and the range of books that we stock in the library.

In the last two weeks, we have awarded certificates to students who have made progress in terms of the amount that they have read in their spare time and those who have read the most words in their year group.
Year 7 winners
Some Year 8 winners
According to our Renaissance software, Molly in Year 7 has managed to read 5,949,661 words this year (71 books). Well done Molly!

Ms A Chinn

For this final term in English, Year 9 students have been exploring Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s seminal story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the issues around it, such as mental health and gender roles. Students were assigned an independent creative project that linked to the story. Miss Evans and Ms Fisher were treated to a wide range of interpretations including displays, film trailers, new excerpts, art, research, and speeches. Hopefully, this will inspire students to read more widely in preparation for the challenge of GCSE. Please visit the English corridor to marvel at our students’ excellent work.

Ms L Fisher

Summer reading suggestions

Keen to keep your child reading over the long summer break? Why not try reading as a family? Here are some suggestions of how you can make reading fun and spend quality time together. Summer can be a time to relax together as a family,

  • Start a family reading club. Each person chose a book, promote your book to each other and then everyone votes for their favourite book. Read it aloud to each other or silently to yourself, draw characters from the book, make up a different ending, draw an alternative cover – have fun with the book.
  • Get a book of science experiments and have a go – remember, everyone must help clean up afterwards!
  • Play an audiobook to everyone in the car on a long journey
  • Talk about what you are all reading around the dinner table, share what you are reading as well as finding out what your children are reading
  • Watch a film based on a book you’ve read and then compare which you prefer and why.
  • Use the public library, it’s free!
  • Enter the Jacqueline Wilson writing competition
  • https://www.penguin.co.uk/puffin/articles/competitions/the-jacqueline-wilson-creative-writing-prize-20

Here are some useful links for book titles

Mrs D Perrin