Brand new tractor!

2nd July 2014J Godbolt
Howard Wood and students take delivery of the new Massey Ferguson tractor.

Howard Wood and students take delivery of the new Massey Ferguson tractor.

The farm unit is now the proud owner of a new 75hp Massey Ferguson MF 5410 tractor. The tractor has been purchased as a result of generous donations made by farm sponsors and benefactors and replaces the 24 year old tractor that the college used on a daily basis.

Howard Wood, Head of the Farm, said
“We use a tractor regularly for typical farm operations and without it we would struggle to provide the farm educational facilities that we offer to students. Our old tractor had been a real workhorse for the farm but had come to the end of its useful life as a machine that could be used on a school farm. So we are very lucky and thankful for all the support and donations from our friends and sponsors from the farming community allowing us to make this much needed purchase.”

We are grateful to all of the following sponsors and benefactors who helped us to raise funds for the tractor.

Greenwood Trust
NFU West Sussex Old Scheme Funds
Garfield Weston Foundation
Coin Co International PLC
Educational Trust Fund of the West Sussex Branch of the NFU
Hurstpierpoint Ploughing Society
Mrs Maggie Chamberlain

Zimbe! Come sing the songs of Africa

30th June 2014J Godbolt
Zimbe performers at Ardingly

Oathall’s performers having a quick break in the summer sunshine at Ardingly.

Oathall’s choir joined over 500 hundred singers at Ardingly College last Wednesday for an epic performance of British composer Alexander L’Estrange’s African-Jazz choral masterpiece Zimbe!

Zimbe! is a fusion of traditional African song and jazz, in a format which is already drawing together singers of all ages, ability and nationalities across the globe. The music is accessible, instantly likeable and fun to learn as well as to perform.

The event was part of the Ardingly Arts Festival in support of Ardingly in Africa, staged in conjunction with West Sussex Music.

A talent for printmaking

25th June 2014J Godbolt

Oathall has once again played host to some fantastically gifted and talented artists from some of our local Primary schools. Pupils in Year 4 and 5 have attended 5 workshops at Oathall this year and have worked with Oathall’s art department developing their skills in drawing, painting, ceramics, mixed media and printing.

Primary Art

Primary pupils attend Oathall’s gifted and talented art master class.

The primary school pupils attended their final art workshop this month. Using a range of printmaking techniques inspired by the illustrator Carol Barker, students created artworks on the theme of owls and peacocks,

Art teacher Mrs Jo Smith-Hashim said:

“I’m really impressed with the standard of work that the students have produced, they have been really enthusiastic throughout the course and have produced some excellent and creative pieces of art.”

Once upon a time there was a dog called Tilly…

12th June 2014J Godbolt

Students in Year 7 and 8 are being encouraged to develop a habit of reading for pleasure by coming into the library and reading to ‘Tilly’ a seven month old, miniature Schnauzer dog belonging to Mr Blackholly, head of vocational learning at Oathall.tilly-reading dog

Reading to Tilly works with readers of all abilities, creating positive associations with reading and the library. The difference in achievement between children who read for half an hour a day in their spare time and those who do not is huge – as much as a year’s education by the time they are 15.

Mrs Evans, English faculty leader said:

“Having a dog in the library encourages students to relax and feel less self-conscious, dogs provide comfort, are perfect listeners and importantly they are non-judgemental, inspiring even the most reluctant readers to have fun and enjoy reading.”

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.

Chinese Club

29th May 2014Oathall

A little insight into a big culture! The club runs every Thursday from 1.15 to 1.40 in room 84.

Chinese club

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!