“Pupils appreciate the opportunities they have to learn beyond the classroom. Many join sports clubs and go on trips abroad. They particularly like the summer activities week when they can try out new things.” – Ofsted 2019

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.

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.”

We pride ourself on our provision and range of trips and visits, including residential and foreign activities. At Oriel we believe that these activities enhance both the learning and life experience of our students and are important in contextualising the work done in the classroom.

We have increased the number and quality of these trips over the past few years and they now include trips that both enhance the learning that goes on in the classroom and also provide additional activities that many students would otherwise not experience.

Each year we also run a 3 day ‘Activities week’ during which all students are off timetable and can participate in extra-curricular activities both in school, on day trips and during residential trips. These activities have included Extreme sports trips to Hemel Hempstead and Milton Keynes Snow domes to ski, snowboard, rock climb and indoor skydive. Plus day trips Mountain biking around the local off-road routes. There have been trips to theme parks, Harry Potter world and paintballing and we have also taken a large group of student up to Chelsea Football Club’s Cobham training ground to train at their world class facilities with their Chelsea Foundation coaches for the 3 days.

Whilst we strive to ensure that students are fulfilling their academic potential, we are committed to providing it is also about providing opportunities for students to have experiences that they will never forget.  Our trips and visits, along with our extra-curricular after-school provision ensure that we accomplish that.

Miss H Ashley-Morris –  Enrichment leader. 

Enrichment

Oriel High School aims to provide high quality outdoor education, by doing so we see young people who:
1. Enjoy participating in outdoor activities and adopt a positive attitude to challenge and adventure.
2. Are gaining personal confidence and self-esteem through taking on challenges and achieving success.
3. Are developing their self-awareness and social skills, and their appreciation of the contributions and achievements of themselves and of others.
4. Are becoming alive to the natural environment and understand the importance of conservation and sustainable development.
5. Are acquiring and developing a range of skills in outdoor activities, expeditions and exploration.
6. Are demonstrating increased initiative, self-reliance, responsibility, perseverance and commitment.
7. Are developing and extending their key skills of communication, problem
solving, leadership and teamwork.
8. Are learning to appreciate the benefits of physical fitness and the lifelong value of participation in healthy leisure activities.
9. Are displaying an increased motivation and appetite for learning that is contributing to raised levels of attainment in other aspects of their education.
10. Are broadening their horizons and becoming open to a wider range of employment opportunities and life chances.

Duke of Edinburgh

If you are in Year 9 or 10 have you thought about starting your DofE Award? By doing your DofE at Oriel High School, you’re in for an amazing adventure and masses of fun as you take part in a range of activities, all leading to the achievement of an Award that is highly valued by universities and employers alike.

What is the DofE all about?

A DofE programme is a real adventure from beginning to end. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. You just need to be aged between 13 and 24 and realise there’s more to life than sitting on a sofa watching life pass you by.

Levels

At Oriel we currently offer two levels, which when completed, lead to a Bronze, or Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Bronze award – aimed towards our Year 9s.

Silver award – aimed towards our Year 10.

If you are in year 12 and are interested in Gold, please contact the youth wing as they may be able to help you find an alternative provider.

Sections

You achieve your Award by completing a personal programme of activities in four sections – Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition. You’ll find yourself helping people or the community, getting fitter, developing skills, going on an expedition

The best bit is – you get to choose what you do!

Your programme can be full of activities and projects that get you buzzing, and along the way you’ll pick up experiences, friends and talents that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Training sessions are on Thursdays in the Youth Wing. Bronze from 2:40-3:40, Silver from 3:45-4:45

If you need any further information, you can e-mail tmills@oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk 

Activities Week

During early July every student at Oriel has the opportunity to take part in an enrichment activity as part of our annual Activities Week.

Activities have included, Paris Arts trip, Belgium Music trip, Extreme Sports residential to Nottingham, London extravaganza, mountain biking, comic book workshops, Thorpe Park & Chessington trips, Cadburys World & Alton Towers trip, Astronomy, Outward bounds, World War 1 history trip, Marine biology, Barcelona, plus others.

All students in Year’s 7 – 10 are able to select up to two choices at the start of the Autumn term. The students are then notified if they got their 1st or 2nd choice. Activities Week is very popular with all our students and staff.

The students always act as excellent representatives for the school and themselves when taking part in many of the activities staff provide for them, both home and abroad. The week is hard work but great fun.

Year 9 – Preparing for Success

As the process of finalising Year 10 options choices for our current Year 9 students continues, it is natural that our thoughts start to turn to the opportunities and challenges that face these students when they begin Key Stage 4 in September.

Whilst we fully believe that Years 7, 8 and 9 build the foundations of skills and knowledge needed for success in students’ final examinations in Year 11, we do recognise that Key stage 4 does bring new subjects for many, the start of examinations and a sense of anticipation and for some trepidation.

To support the development of our Year 9 students as they head towards Year 10, we organise a series of activities using our own staff and external organisations over three days in June where we focus on skills and learning behaviours. Thes three days are very much valued by our students.

Forest School – A classroom without walls

Forest School is inspirational, opinion changing and challenging. It is personally and socially uplifting, so laying firm foundations for other learning. Unlike other forms of outdoor education which generally concentrate on team building, challenging activities or competitiveness, Forest School embraces an entirely different approach through the nurturing, support and development of the self-esteem of participants. Students are encouraged to take part in student led activities which allow them to build their resilience, confidence and team work skills. Students are also given the opportunity to achieve AQA Awards for the work and skills they have shown throughout the programme.

The students will do the following activities while on the weekly course.

• Fire-lighting skills
• Outdoor cooking
• Basic tool use to make a variety of artefacts
• Building shelters
• Art projects
• Games/challenges
• Learn about the environment and how to manage it
• Link all that we do to the National Curriculum especially in areas like science, maths, English, geography and history
• Become confident public speakers

Mrs Jordan coordinates our Forest School programme kjordan@oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk. Some students who have completed Forest School also train to be Student Leaders and assist with our local infant schools on their Forest School programme.