The Maths Faculty wanted to share that Casio are running two free GCSE Maths revision webinars, one for Foundation and one for Higher. There are a few dates to choose from which will be useful as revision ahead of their calculator maths GCSE exams on Wednesday 3rd and 10th June.
Casio say the webinars are “focused on tricky exam questions, problem-solving, and getting the most from their calculators.”
They simply need to go to the Casio website to sign up.
Oathall acknowledge National Numeracy Day on 20 May, by inviting Y7 & Y8 students to enter the Number Heroes competition to win prizes for the school and themselves in the Secondary A category!
The video below explains the idea – but essentially, they need to create a picture telling the judges how people use numbers in their neighbourhood, club or community.
Students can download a worksheet to take part and submit their entries on this page.
The closing date for the competition is 10 June 2026. Good luck!
Earlier this week Oathall welcomed a number of Y9 students from our Federation schools Downlands Community School, Imberhorne School and Sackville School – to compete in a Maths competition.
It was a hotly contested event which included a Group round, a Countdown-themed round, a crossnumber round (a crossword with number answers) and finally a relay round where mathematical prowess and athleticism were equally important!
The event was devised firstly to promote mathematics, to convey the importance of teamwork to the students and to further develop relations between the Federation Schools.
There had to be a winning team. Congratulations to Downlands 1 for finishing in first place overall. Their prize? Chocolate Counters of course.
We look forward to doing this again next year.
You may recall earlier in the year Oathall hosted a UK Maths Trust Intermediate Mathematical Challenge for Years 9-11. Well now it’s the Year 7 and 8’s turn!
It’s time for them to sign up for the Junior Mathematical Challenge which is taking place in school on Wednesday 29th April.
The deadline to sign up – using this Form – is Wednesday 22nd April.
The Junior Mathematical Challenge is a 60 minute, 25 multiple choice question challenge. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency to make students think.
If students wanted to get a feel for the sort of questions they may be challenged with, they can see some past papers on the UKMT website.
This is a great opportunity for budding mathematicians to shine – but also for all students to take part in a nationwide challenge representing their school.
Once again, they need to sign up by 22nd April 2026.
Celebrated every year on 14 March – our American cousins notate this as 3/14, which hopefully goes someway to explaining why it’s celebrated then – Pi Day is just round the corner, and plans are afoot in the maths department to celebrate its arrival.
There are two strands to this.
First, there’s the Pi Recital event. Students are invited to M1 at lunchtime on Friday 13 March where they can write down as many digits of Pi, in sequential order, as they can remember. Legend has it the school record is over 100 characters which itself is mind boggling. Whisper it, there may be prizes. They could include Galaxy Counters, but this is subject to change!
In addition there’s the house competition, where students are challenged to represent Pi in a “creative way”. The deadline for submissions for this is tutor time on the aforementioned Friday. They should let their imagination fly.
We encourage all students to take part in these initiatives in recognition of this mysterious and magical number.
On Wednesday 28th January, students across years 9, 10 and 11, will take part in the UK Maths Trust’s (UKMT) Intermediate Mathematical Challenge.
Each year, Oathall enters students into the Challenge – and those that score highly enough, are invited to take part in further maths challenges including Junior Kangaroo and Junior Mathematical Olympiad – as well as earn Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates in school. Certificates are also awarded for best in school and best in year.
The UKMT was established to advance the education of children and young people in mathematics. They aim to achieve this in particular, but not exclusively, by organising and running mathematics competitions.
The Intermediate Mathematical Challenge is a 60 minute, 25 multiple choice challenge. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency to make students think. The problems are mostly accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience.
Students from years 7 and 8 will take part in their own Challenge later this year.
We’ll keep you posted on how our students participate and achieve in these events.
Just before half term, all students in KS3 were invited to take part in a maths competition with a difference. The challenge involved recreating Miss Calleja’s recipe for a Spanish sponge cake, Bizcocho 1, 2, 3 using volumetric ratio.
The recipe is easy: You need 125g of yoghurt, follow with oil, sugar and flour in the volumetric ratio 1:2:3. Add three eggs and a teaspoon of baking powder. The challenge was for students to make their recipe their own by adding their own ingredients or twist to this basic recipe. Additionally, students could look at changing the recipe for a different number of people and the ratio calculations for weight, instead of volume.
The winners were Francesca and Flora in year 7, Lucy in year 8 and Grace in year 9. Prizes were also awarded for best presentation and ‘most out there’ decoration.
Congratulations to the winners!
The Maths department has been celebrating the Rugby World Cup in recent weeks.
Students have been taking part in lessons that link Maths to the great game of rugby. We have learnt about how we collect data and then how we can represent that data in many different ways. Students in Year 10 & 11 have been able to link this work to cumulative frequency diagrams and Trigonometry. Students have really enjoyed linking Maths to this real-life environment.
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
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.
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
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!”
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.
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:
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.
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 [email protected] 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.
On Friday 9 November, Headteacher Mr Edward Rodriguez was delighted to welcome Sir Paul Nurse FRS, Nobel Prize winner and Chief Executive of the Francis Crick Institute, to Oathall to formally open the newly refurbished maths and science faculty building.
As well as formally opening the building, Sir Paul hosted a question and answer session with students where he was asked about his career in science and questions were put to him on scientific topics.
In cutting the ribbon to officially open the building, Sir Paul thanked our parents for their fundraising efforts and said that promoting the importance of maths and science was
“Looking to the future; the future of your children but also the future of your children’s children”
Some of our students filmed the evening’s proceedings and have put together a video edit of the event.
In a statement on the completion of the building, Edward Rodriguez said,
“I am extremely pleased to welcome Sir Paul Nurse to Oathall to formally open our newest facility. From the start of this project, we have been driven to create classrooms and laboratories and provide resources that will inspire our students to further develop a passion for maths and science. We want our students to experience these subjects through the skill and enthusiasm of our teaching staff, combined with cutting-edge technology and a truly inspiring learning environment. This effort has been encouraged by many different individuals and organisations. Notably, WSCC, who financially backed and supported the project and the successful crowdfunding campaign run by the PTA which raised over £30,000 to fund additional exciting teaching resources.
Having such an eminent scientist visit the school and meet our students is a real honour and a fitting way to celebrate the achievements of all who worked so hard to complete this project.”
