Oathall pond rejuvenation work begins

24th February 2026Nathan Davidson

Pete the pond, pond rejuvenation work February 2026Meet Pete. Pete the Pond.

Pete and his team will be working here for the rest of the week on the pond at Oathall. As part of the schools biodiversity work, his team will be renovating the pond which will involve a huge clear out and replanting project. Also they’ll build new fencing and a dipping platform so our students can enjoy exploring what species have made it their home over the years.

Pete is a qualified amphibian surveyor and holds a Great Crested Newt license. The pond renovation is taking place before the breeding season is in full swing to prevent disturbing any breeding newts.

It’s an exciting development for the school and we’ll keep you posted as to how they’re getting on throughout the week.

His obedient parrot is called Mango by the way. Where Pete goes, Mango goes.

All eight ewes are pregnant – seven with twins

28th January 2026Nathan Davidson

All eight ewes are pregnant, seven with twinsThere was much excitement on the Farm on Monday as it was revealed that all eight of our ewes are pregnant, and seven of them are carrying twins.

Our sheep scanner Malcolm’s visit was incorporated in an impromptu way into the Y10 Animal Care practical lesson. A small number of Animal Care students were able to observe the scanning and marking of the ewes to determine whether they were pregnant with singles, twins or triplets.

I’m pleased to say it appears all 8 ewes are pregnant, with 7 expecting twins and one expecting a single lamb. The ewes are now marked with spray paint accordingly, with blue for two and red for one.

Tabi Sveinsson, Farm Education and Engagement Officer

Four adorable, baby guinea pigs welcomed to the Farm

19th January 2026Nathan Davidson

Oathall are excited to announce that four guinea pigs – each only 15 weeks old – have been introduced to the Farm, and are reported to be settling in nicely.

The herd includes one albino (Bailey), one with all-white colouring (Daisy), another jet back (Orio) and a black and white mix with a touch of ginger (Jessie).

They are pictured here with Year 10 students – Willow, Annabel, Seema and Akira – who are working towards gaining their Animal Care BTEC qualification next year.

The two adults – Tigger and Bean – have certainly welcomed them into the fold, and appear pleased to have the company and have been active in their preening.

As the new guinea pigs are still settling in, we are keeping their interactions quite small at the moment. Students who take part in Farm Club and Animal Care will be able to meet them, and in time classes and tutors will be able to book a slot to come down and see them under supervision.

Senior Farm Technician, Clara Farmer

Oathall’s outdoor learning hub

19th May 2021J Godbolt

After a year or more of stops and starts the Oathall forest school programme is now up and running and an established part of the curriculum at Oathall.

The programme based predominantly on the farm offers short courses to students in years 7 and 8. Students are encouraged to take part in outdoor learning activities with cooking over an open fire being a big hit. Students are responsible for fire lighting and using hand tools to build resources and cooking tools from wood. Equipment and resources for this new addition to the curriculum have been supported by a generous donation from Fairfax Properties ‘Building Young Futures programme’

Mr Blackholly, said

I am delighted with the way that student’s are progressing and we are hoping to develop the resource further making it into an outdoor learning hub for the school.

Oathall farm wins national farming award

18th May 2021J Godbolt

The hard work of students who help to run the college’s farm has been rewarded by being successful in their entry in the Social Farm & Gardens 40th Anniversary Awards.  At the virtual awards event, Oathall won the school farms award for ‘the best involvement in running a school farm’.

Head of Farm, John Blackholly, said:

Despite 2020 being a unique and challenging year we decided to enter the school farm awards competition. I am delighted that we won the award and I am particularly proud that the involvement of our students has been recognised in this way.

Getting creative in the great outdoors

15th January 2021J Godbolt

Students at Oathall have recently benefited from a generous donation from the Fairfax “Building Young Futures” education support programme. The programme has helped to fund a new outdoor learning hub on Oathall’s farm where students will be taught to develop skills using the Forest Schools ethos of learning. The new hub and resources will be used by students across all year groups helping them to develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on activities and experiences gained in an outdoor setting.

An activity week is also being planned for summer 2021 where young people will be able to enjoy a week of fun and challenging activities, all provided by Fairfax.

Mr Blackholly, Head of Farm, said,

“I would like to thank the ‘Building Young Futures’ initiative for their generous support of Oathall students. We are especially grateful to Mr Peter Chisholm MBE for his help and support for this project. We are looking forward to inviting him and Fairfax representatives back to Oathall to see how their support has helped to transform young lives”.

 

Oathall at the South of England Show

12th June 2019J Godbolt
This year, over 60 farm club students attended and helped out at the South of England show at Ardingly.
 
The South of England society provided the college with a large marquee to display a selection of our chickens, lambs and pigs to the public. Visitors were then able to get up close to the animals and our students were on hand to answer questions. The event gave our students the opportunity to show their knowledge and skills to the public.
 
Students also took part in the main livestock parade. They walked in front of the cattle holding up the cattle breed boards. We also showed our three commercial pigs, and the judges awarded them third in their class.

Carols in the barn

12th December 2017J Godbolt

Our annual carols in the barn service will be held on Monday 18 December from 7.00pm until 8.00pm. Join us in the Oathall farm barn for carol singing surrounded as usual by some of our farm animals. Music will be provided by members of the Oathall orchestra and choir. Refreshments including mulled wine, hot drinks and mince pies will be available. Wrap up warm, we look forward to seeing you there.

 

Oathall success at South of England show

20th June 2017J Godbolt

From left to right: Jordan Hards, James Guy, Rhys Chester (in green), Aaron Head (all Oathall Year 10 students), Luke Timms, Cameron Terry, Angel Knott, Liam Rollings. (All Woodlands Meed Year 11) Back row: Mr John Blackholly and Ms Chris Candy from Woodlands Meed.

Oathall’s students were celebrating after being awarded first place for their garden design entry at the South of England show in June. First place was well deserved with our students competing against garden design students from Brinsbury and Plumpton Colleges. Well done to James Guy, Jordan Hards, Rhys Chester and Aaron Head who gave up much of their own time in support of the project and learnt much throughout the process.

It wasn’t just about garden design. As is our usual tradition Oathall students participated fully in the show helping out in the parade and showing our pigs and cattle. Harry Woodington was successful in showing our large white adult breeding sow. She came first in the large white class, a testament to all the early starts and hard work that Harry put in to prepare her for the show. Jacob Wall also did well, coming second in his cattle handling class.

Mr John Blackholly said,

“Well done to everyone associated with Oathall Farm It was a massive team effort from all concerned and we are justifiably proud of all our achievements. Thank you to all the students but in particular to all the staff, parents and former Oathall students who gave up their time to support our efforts.”

Farm Open Day – Sunday 30 April

4th April 2017J Godbolt

lamb-2

This year, the farm open day will be held on Sunday 30 April. We are holding the event a bit earlier this year to give our visitors a chance to see our spring lambs. Admission is free and visitors will have a chance to see all of our animals around the farm. We will be open from 11 am until 3 pm. Teas, cakes and a BBQ will also be available.

Little-Lucky

This is Lucky, one of our very first lambs. Lucky had a difficult start in life but thanks to some careful nursing and TLC from students, parents and staff she is now doing well.