Below is the April edition of the Oriel View newsletter. Our new e-newsletter aims to capture as much as possible of the breadth of activities that our students and staff participate in over a month.
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to our brilliant Year 7 football team, winners of the U12 Sussex Schools FA County Cup with a 4-0 win against Ardingly!
The Tute Live Revision Sessions are at the following dates/times.
Tute Maths Paper 3 – Calculator – Foundation – 10th June 6pm
Tute Maths Paper 3 – Calculator – Higher – 10th June 6pm
Oriel Sports Day 2025 will be held on Thursday the 19th of June at K2 Leisure Centre, between the times of 8:10am to 2:40pm.
Arrival times for different year groups are as follows:
Year 7: 8:10 am
Year 8: 8:20 am
Year 9: 8:30 am
Year 10: 8:40 am
Additional details can be found in the below letter and programme.
World Book Day 2025 took place on Thursday 6 March 2025. This annual celebration of authors, illustrators, books and the joy of reading is one of the highlights of our year at Oriel High School. Over 70 staff dressed up in colourful and creative costumes as part of the days’ challenges for our students. World Book Day provides a fantastic opportunity to focus on reading, supporting children’s autonomy in book choice, and embedding a habit of reading that brings a wide range of benefits.
Oriel Remembers – Armistice Day
At 11:00, the entire school community—from Year 7 – 13 including teaching and operational staff—came together in a moment of unified silence for our annual Remembrance Service, marking Armistice Day. The collective stillness and shared sense of togetherness fostered an atmosphere of profound poignancy and significance is always present.
On Monday morning, accompanied by the pulsating sound of drum, the school gathered respectfully in the main courtyard. Wreaths were laid to honour the fallen.
Mr Stack, Headteacher began the proceedings with an introduction, followed by the poignant readings by our Year 13 students Holly who read ‘Alive with Poppies’ and Jules who read ‘For the Fallen’.
Before the stirring notes of The Last Post echoed, and the school fell silent to remember the fallen the student choir sang ‘I Vow to Thee my Country’. The silence was then broken by the Reveille, transitioning into a further hymn sung by the choir ‘Jerusalem’. The service ending with the reading of the Kohima Epitaph by Mr Stack.
This ceremony remains an important event of our school year, bringing together over 1600 of the school community in a shared moment of stillness and reflection. The powerful symbolism and carefully chosen words make this a very memorable event, honouring the spirit of remembrance.
Lest we forget.
We are very proud that our 10-mile annual school sponsored walk along the Worth Way in June raised this wonderful total. This charity was selected by our Student Headship Team and is a worthy cause to support. We always have lots of fun on our sponsored walk day, and 20224 was no different. Again, the weather was kind to us and the staff and students enjoyed the day knowing their efforts were raising money for the Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance service. Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex – Saving lives (aakss.org.uk)
We have always been proud of all our fundraising efforts as a school and giving back to good causes is very important to our school community. Enrichment Leader Mrs Ashleigh-Morris said “I’d like to say thanks to our students and their families for their generous support of our chosen charity. The annual sponsored walk is very much part of our schools DNA. Each year we choose a different charity to support and each year we raise a marvellous amount”.
Oriel High School was delighted to receive news that we had been judged as a ‘Gold’ standard school in the provision of ‘Learning outside the Classroom’ opportunities for our students. Very few mainstream secondary schools nationally hold this level of award from the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom. Oriel has always prided itself on offering interesting and new opportunities for students to learn from trips, visits, and other enrichment activities. Post pandemic the school looked to further embed these activities alongside classroom activities and celebrate the impact they have on the behaviour and attitudes of students. This award is testament to that focus and work by staff.
Ryan Sallows, the schools Business Manager has been the schools Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) for the past 10 years. He said “Few mainstream secondary schools achieve Gold LOtC Mark, so for us this is a fantastic achievement for all the staff here as it shows that we have really put in the work to ensure our students have access to these opportunities to learn outside the classroom. “We also recognise the tremendous support we have from our parents and carers.
Helen Everitt, Deputy Headteacher (Curriculum) stated “We are determined that the quality of education our students receive is always at the forefront of our thinking. LOtC ensures that students at our school develop new skills and knowledge which enables them to be confident and happy at school”.
Dr Anne Hunt, Chief Executive of the Council for LOtC said: “Learning outside the classroom is well evidenced to deliver multiple co-benefits to learning, health & wellbeing, skills, and socio-emotional outcomes, as well as building much needed connections between schools and their communities near and far. It can help break down barriers and address inequalities. It also provides some of the most memorable experiences in our school life.
“Achieving the LOtC Mark reflects Oriel High Schools commitment to ‘extending the boundaries’ and providing opportunities for every young person to succeed by embedding a full range of learning outside the classroom experiences into each school’s unique approach. I congratulate all the schools on achieving the award, and I look forward to hearing how they continue to benefit from taking their teaching and learning above and beyond.”
The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom stated. The setting has demonstrated their commitment to LOtC through their focus on personal development for their young people, as well as clear curriculum links being made through their LOtC opportunities. LOtC provision for the students is well embedded into both the curriculum and wider school plans. It is excellent to see that there is a team of people involved in their delivery of LOtC, from curriculum leads, to SLT and governors. It was wonderful to hear the school leaders discuss LOtC and to be able to give interesting examples of how it is part of the fabric of the school.
To Oriel High School – Well done on all that you have achieved through your LOtC mark journey and well done to all the staff at the setting that support such high-quality provision.
Our Sixth Form Open Evening took place from 6-8pm on Thursday 24th October.
It was between the times of 6pm to 8pm.
We were pleased to invite students in Years 10 and 11 and their families to join us.