Welcome to all of our new students.
Our aim is to make all students who are joining the school feel welcome and safe. We know that joining a new school can be worrying and stressful. Our aim is to make sure you settle in quickly and find your feet straightaway.
See 2025 transition events and information letter
Y6 to Y7 Transition team
Our transition leaders; Head of Year, Mrs Powell, Assistant Head of Year, Mrs Staplehurst and Assistant Headteacher, Mrs Griffiths have been working with our local primary schools to prepare students for moving on to secondary school.
Setting up ParentPay our online payment system
Oathall is a cashless school, we currently use ParentPay as an online payment system. This can be used to pay for canteen meals, trips and events and other resources.Ā Details of how to set up your child’s online payment account will be sent to you in advance of your child joining the school. If you don’t have access to the internet we can provide you with PayPoint vouchers as an alternative means of payment. Please contact the school if you want to use these.
Who to contact if you have a problem or just want some advice
- For students in year 6 joining Oathall in September, you can email general enquiries to [email protected]
- For enquiries about transition arrangements please contact Mrs Staplehurst, Transition Coordinator [email protected]
- For enquiries/discussion about children with medical conditions please contact Mrs Staplehurst [email protected]
- For all other questions, please contact [email protected]. Your message will be directed to a member of Oathall staff who is in the best position to help you.
Parents of new year 7 students are emailed information packs in March. 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.
At the new parent’s evening, we show you a presentation about the first few weeks.
Class of 2025 Useful Resources:Ā
New parents evening presentation 10 July 2024
What learning looks like in year 7
Top tips from our current year 7 studentsĀ
Top tips on your journey to your new school
Meet your Learning Support Team
Oathall library newsletter & reading list
You may also find this information of use.
Starting Secondary School – A Parent’s Guide
Starting Secondary School checklist
Term & other school events dates
Information about term dates, INSET days and other school events can be found here.
These dates should be noted for your diary:
- Settling in evening – TBC 2025 4.30 pm – 7.30 pm – face to face in school.
- Y7 Parents evening – TBC 2025- 4.30 pm – 7.30 pm – virtual event.
Details about these events will be sent out closer to the dates.
Dates for students joining in September 2025
Transition Day ā Wednesday 2 July 2025 8.35 am to 3 pm
On this day students will attend Oathall on a regular school day.Ā They will attend four lessons, undertake a tour, meet their future group tutor, eat a complimentary lunch in the dining hall and attend a year group assembly.Ā This will be an opportunity to make new friends and familiarise themselves with the surroundings of their new school. We ask that students attend in their primary school uniform and wear trainers.Ā They should arrive at 8.35am and go straight to the hall. The school day will end at 3pm when they will be dismissed from the hall.
Y7 intake evening for parents – Wednesday 9 July 2025 6.00 pm to 7.00 pmĀ
On this evening there will be a presentation led by Mr Houghton, Headteacher, followed by an opportunity to meet your childās group tutor.Ā The evening is principally for parents and will take place in the hall.
Equipment
Students need to be prepared for lessons at all times. Our Be Ready For Learning Ā leaflet provides you with details of the equipment that we expect students to carry with them in school. We recommend students check their timetables the night before to ensure they are prepared for the next day.
Uniform 2025 – 2026
New students starting at Oathall in September 2025 will be required to wear the Oathall uniform.
Using the canteen and canteen account registration
Students are expected to remain in the college during break and lunchtimes. Students may bring their own food to eat or they may eat in the canteen. Students who bring a packed lunch are asked to adhere to healthy eating guidelines and dispose of any rubbish responsibly. We are a nut-free school so please make sure lunches do not contain any nut-containing products.
Students are automatically provided with a cashless canteen account (whether it is used or not). On year 7’s first day at Oathall in September, students will be biometrically registered after which they can use their finger to access their canteen account and pay for food or drink. If you do do not consent to biometric registration your child will receive an account card which they can use instead.
As soon as parents have set up their ParentPayĀ account they can pay funds into their child’s school meals account so it is ready to use as soon as they start.
If in doubt, please provide your child with a packed lunch until you know the account has been set up.
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 siteĀ 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.
