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.

Miss Calleja’s Bizcocho cake & maths challenge

2nd March 2021J Godbolt

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!

Students’ artistic talents on show in lockdown

1st February 2021J Godbolt

Students may not have access to the full range of school art resources at present but that hasn’t stopped them from getting creative at home.

In their remote lessons, students in key stage 3 and key stage 4 have been working on a number of topics and creating a range of pieces using photography, video, painting, drawing and collage.

Year 9 students have been tasked with creating a digital drawing using the Banksy artwork ‘Girl with a red balloon’ as inspiration, whilst students in year 7 were asked to observe and record the views from their windows in a media of their choosing.

This presentation gives you a flavour of some of the amazing work that has been created.

Oathall wins competition to name wind turbine!

8th December 2020J Godbolt

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm’s first operational turbine in the array off the Sussex coast will be named Veranzio Turbine.

Veranzio Turbine was the name put forward by Oathall’s Year 7 eco-club, EcOathall and which went on to win a public vote.

“We are delighted to have a really worthy name for the first operational turbine at Rampion and would like to thank everyone who suggested some fantastic names and all those who voted this week,” said Katie Scanlan, Rampion Visitor Centre Manager.

The team at Rampion Offshore Wind Farm’s Visitor Centre shortlisted 5 names for turbine F04, the first operational turbine installed in the array off the Sussex coast.  Oathall’s year 7 Eco club had its entry to name the turbine chosen & shortlisted for a public vote.

Fausto Veranzio was a Croatian inventor interested in science and engineering. He described one of the first-ever wind turbine designs in his book Machinae Novae published in 1616. He also wrote about solar and water energy; truly ahead of his time.

Geography teacher Mrs Lindsley said

“It’s fantastic that Oathall students have named Brighton’s first operational wind turbine in the array offshore. 953 votes were cast and ECOathall secured 70% of the vote. The wind farm technicians will put the name on the actual turbine in the spring when the weather conditions and accessibility is better. The students also are invited for a visit to the visitor centre and will each get a goody bag!

Thank you to everyone for supporting us, ECOathall members are over the moon – such a lovely end to a tumultuous year for them.”

School Tours

29th September 2020J Godbolt

Whilst the best way to see Oathall is in person during the school day, we are unable to offer our open mornings and tours of the school this year as we would have wanted to. 

In response to a number of requests, it may be possible to arrange a short visit to the site after school hours. This is really intended for those families unfamiliar with Oathall.

Due to the latest restrictions, we will only be able to offer a limited number of such visits and these will be on a first-come-first-served basis. They will take place between 4 and 5 pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, starting on Wednesday, 7th October until Friday, 23rd October. Alternatively, visits are available on a Saturday morning, either at 9.00 am, 10.00 am or 11.00 am on 10th, 17th or 24th October.

Please note that we are limiting the numbers of visitors on to the school site to comply with current government coronavirus guidelines. Consequently, our visits are restricted to a maximum of 2 families made up of one Year 6 student (or twins) and one parent per family.

To book, please telephone the school office on 01444 414001