Thank you to all parents, students and staff for their positive support of the school during the recent Ofsted inspection. The inspection letter will be published in approximately 21 days.
During this period of very cold weather, we have amended our normal arrangements at break and lunchtimes; students will be allowed to remain indoors. Our usual uniform policy still applies. Blazers should be worn at all times and students may wear the Oathall black jumper under their blazer.
In extreme or severe weather conditions a decision about whether the college will be closed will be made as soon as possible. Many factors need to be considered in determining if we can operate the college safely. Please appreciate that this may take time. If a decision is taken to close the college this information will be posted on our website. Parents and students are encouraged to look there in the first instance. Further to this, local radio stations will be informed and a message confirming the closure will be sent via email or SMS. Staff will always be on site to look after any students who may have left for school before the final decision was made.
On Tuesday 30th January, students from Oathall took part in the 2018 Rock Challenge Competition. Although we weren’t placed this year, the achievement from each and every student was outstanding. This was the culmination of 7 months hard work and dedication from the performers, stage crew and lighting team.
Our performance this year was titled ‘Is it in my head’. This was a contemporary piece looking at aspects on mental health. The concept was based on the on the quote;
‘We are so accepting of any body part breaking down, other than our brains. That is ignorance, pure ignorance. That world has created a world that doesn’t understand depression, that doesn’t understand mental health’.
The Rock Challenge was established in order to combine the benefits of taking part in a large scale dance production with involvement in a positive ‘drug free’ activity. I am proud that at Oathall the Rock Challenge brings students of all ages, backgrounds and gender together in order to work collaboratively on a brilliant production. The students take charge not only of choreography but costumes, sound, lighting, scenery and video direction.
The actual Rock Challenge day is a blur of pre performance nerves and energetic preparation. The students are able to watch other schools rehearse as well as take part in mass warm up, dance sessions and competitions. Each school gives a performance of 8 minutes which seems to go by in a flash following all the hard work and anticipation. Our students all performed magnificently, every single one giving 100% effort. It is always a joy to see how the all students work together as a team, and really reflects the ‘community’ aspect of Oathall.
I would like to thank every student who took part in and contributed to this year’s production, you were all pleasure to work with. With special thanks to Kaytlin Smith and Florence Gaskell in year 11, their hard work and commitment did not go unnoticed. Thank you also to all the staff who gave their help to the running of the event.
Although Oathall did not win, yet again we swept the board gaining awards in the following;
• Award of Excellence in Lighting
• Award of Excellence for Concept
• Award of Excellence in Entertainment
Finally thank you to all the parents who kindly support dance at Oathall and help to encourage our students to achieve amazing things.
The Year 11 Parents’ evening will be held on Wednesday 7 February from 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm. Parents’ evenings are held to discuss the progress of students based upon their academic grades. (more…)
15 girls in Year 8 spent the day meeting and talking to inspirational women yesterday at a special STEM for Girls event held at the AMEX stadium in Brighton. The event organised by Albion in the Community gave groups of girls from schools across Sussex the opportunity to meet with women who have built successful careers using their knowledge of STEM subjects. The event is part of a programme which aims to increase the number of girls choosing STEM subjects at school and as future careers.
The following girls attended the event along with Maths teachers Ms Calleja and Mrs Gaston:
Scarlett Billson, Fatou Colley, Isobelle Deeble,Zoe Downey, Simonne Gautron, Nicola Harris, Milena Karwat, Charlotte Jones, Meg Kneller, Fionnuala Lingard, Ella Otero, Grace Owen, Isobel Robinson, Hannah Taylor and Bethany Thomas
You are warmly invited to attend an expert presentation called ‘Mindsets and Motivation – a parent’s guide’ on Thursday 1 February 2018 from 7.00 – 8.30 pm.
At Oathall, we have been embracing and embedding a new educational idea called mindset theory – the work of Professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University. We believe that every parent should know of Dweck’s work. We are therefore delighted to tell you that we have organised a parent presentation on this theme.
The session will be delivered by Robin Launder, an expert in the subject. Robin has presented at schools, colleges and universities across the UK and abroad. His talk has been described as “an inspiration”, “uplifting”, “a lightbulb moment”. It’s fast-paced, entertaining and full of strategies to help you help your child get the most out of education and more than that, prepare him or her for life after Oathall.
The Year 9 Parents’ evening will be held on Thursday 18 January from 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm. Parents’ evenings are held to discuss the progress of students based upon their academic grades. (more…)
We have been informed by Public Health England about a recent rise in Measles in our local area and we have been asked to urgently raise awareness of Measles and MMR vaccination. If you or your child has never previously had MMR vaccine or have only had one dose of it, you should contact your GP surgery to catch up with your outstanding doses. Please read this leaflet for more information.
