Youth Community Service Award
We are proud to announce that two of our students; Phoebe Davies (Year 10) and Jamie Christie (Year 11) have received a Youth Community Service Award from the Rotary Club Haywards Heath.
Jamie and Phoebe received the award for ‘exceptional work in the Community and dedication to others’, thus upholding the Rotary motto of “Service above Self ”. Congratulations to Phoebe and Jamie for the work they have done as volunteers and fundraisers, both within their local community and the college itself.
Taster Day Courses at Plumpton College
Plumpton College offers Taster Day Courses in 2017/18 during the October and February half-term holidays, for students in years 10 & 11. Please click on the link below for further details and application form.
Year 10 Work Related Learning Week 2017
Oathall’s year 10 students have just enjoyed a week of work related learning experiences. The week is designed to broaden their experience and understanding of the world of work and to support them as they consider their future career pathways.
The students were immersed in a wide range of work related learning activities:
Monday – The students chose to visit either Crawley College, the University of Sussex or Plumpton College. The students toured the campuses, learned about what life would be like as a student and participated in subject taster sessions.
Tuesday – We were very pleased to welcome back some former Oathall students: Sarah Caddy (Post-doctoral Research Fellow @ Cambridge University), Sarah Fairbairn (training to become a criminal barrister), Jo Taylor (Head of Production at Label1 Television Ltd), Trevor Butler (journalist), James Wilson (director of a national charity), David Amor (computer games designer) and David Marshall (Head of Customer Science, MoneySuperMarket.com). They came to talk to students about their career paths and experiences of the world of work. They are all members of the Oathall Alumni Association, which allows us to keep in touch with our former students.
Wednesday – The year group visited the Big Bang Fair, an event that focussed on career opportunities linked to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Thursday – The students spent this half term preparing for mock interviews. We had many business volunteers who acted as interviewers for our Year 10 students. The mock interviews helped to prepare our students for their college interviews. The business volunteers were very impressed by our students, stating that they were mature, polite and came very well prepared. In the afternoon, the students all attended an apprenticeship presentation. This gave them an opportunity to understand how the National Apprenticeship programme works.
Friday – Work Observation Day: The students were able to observe a parent, friend or relation at work. The students had to complete a world of work survey whilst on their placement too.
We always ask the students to evaluate the week. Here are some of the comments made:
- “ Every aspect of the week was fun and educational.”
- “I really enjoyed my visit to Sussex University because it helped me decide what I want to do when I am older.”
Oathall success at South of England show

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.”
Introducing our new senior prefect team

Following a rigorous selection process which involved staff and student votes, application letters and interviews with Mr Rodriguez and Ms Gyngell we have chosen our new senior prefects.
We are pleased to announce that Eleanor Grey and Max Whelan have been chosen to be Head Girl and Head Boy. Matthew Linbourne, Issy Peacock, Andrew Smith and Kaitlin Smith have also been selected to be Deputies.
We have also completed the selection process for House Captains for the next academic year. Students were selected following a process of staff and students votes and interviews with the Head of House and Assistant Head of House. This process means that the 2017 -2018 is now complete. We wish everyone luck in their new roles.

Year 10 Work Related Learning Week 2016
Students in year 10 have recently participated in a week of work-related activities aimed at broadening their experiences and helping to inform future career choices. (more…)
Students get a taste of work at Nestle
On 5 June, eight handpicked students spent the day at the Nestle offices at Gatwick. The visit was a follow-up to a Design Technology workshop held earlier in the year. On that occasion, Nestle staff visited students in Product Design classes. They worked alongside our students to talk about the design and manufacture process.
Following that workshop, Nestle selected eight of our students to visit their offices at Gatwick. They made their selection based on students’ problem-solving skills and leadership potential.
This visit was a competition to win a summer paid work-experience job with Nestle. Students worked with other young people from secondary schools and FE colleges completing activities and challenges and practising interview skills.
Accompanied by DT teacher Mr. Maier, the group found out more about Nestle, their product range and the career opportunities in their industry.
Meet the 2015-2016 Student Leadership team
We are pleased to announce the selection of 2015-2016 Head Boy, Head Girl and Senior prefects team. Students in Year 10 applied for the roles and then underwent a rigorous selection process. The first part of this involved writing a letter of application and a giving a short presentation at a year group assembly. This was followed by a staff and student vote. Headteacher, Mr Rodriguez and year 10 leader, Miss Gyngell interviewed the shortlisted students. After much deliberation, they made their final selection which we are pleased to announce here:

2015-2016 Prefects team
Head Boy and Head Girl
John Moore and Julia Karwat.
Deputy Head Boys and Girls
Azhar Ahmed, Petra Demjan, Freddie Guthrie and Freya McLennan
Senior Prefects
Mirabel Brown, Sam Candfield, Lucas Foreman, Victoria Gough, Alexandra Houlders-Worsfold, Tom Koniotes, Elliot Lewis, Amy Maitland, Niamh Noakes, Isabel Oakley, Isabelle Searle, Hannah Smith, Christopher Symes, Ed Thompson, Imogen Watmore, Jasmine Wickens.
An amuse-bouche of maths!
Last week, Lucas Foreman, Alex Houlders-Worsfold, John Moore, and Hannah Smith, four of Oathall’s brightest Year 10 mathematicians travelled to Brighton to compete in this year’s ‘Year 10 Maths Feast’ competition.
Organised by the Further Maths Support Programme, the ‘Maths Feast’ is a competition with a menu of challenges designed to test students’ creativity in problem solving, team working and communication skills. (more…)
















