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Welcome to the Oathall Farm website
Few schools can boast a farm and we are delighted to have such a valuable and unusual feature as a school facility. Our extensive fields, animal enclosures, barn and farming equipment enable us to keep a wide variety of livestock. The farm creates many opportunities for learning across the curriculum. Oathall Farm's contribution both across the curriculum and to students' personal development is nationally recognised as outstanding.
Oathall Students Plant Jubilee Tree
Year 11 students from our Level 2 Environmental and Land-Based Diploma Course took part in the planting of an American Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) on Friday 23rd November 2012.
The planting at Muster Green was one of 60 trees planted throughout Britain to mark the Queen's Jubilee and were donated by The Tree Council.
We hope that our students will work alongside Haywards Heath Tree Warden Alan Colgate in the future as they continue their studies.
Oathall Farm Hits the Headlines Again!
Our latest bid to take over the airwaves sees us featured in a news item on Meridian News.
Presenter Rachel Hepworth joined us a couple of weeks ago armed with just a camera and loads of enthusiasm for the Oathall Farm story.
Students Rosanna Curtis and Katie Russell were fabulous in front of the camera and gave a great overview of how the farm and the school work together for the benefit of all the students and staff too.
Teacher Emma Rimmer had a cameo appearance when she came in to buy her weekly shop but as always the stars of the show were the piglets!
A Successful South of England Show for Oathall Farm
It was a wet and windy South of England Show this year but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the 35 Oathall students who helped out every day. Supported by six ex-students and staff the students were involved in showing and stewarding and also led the famous cattle parade each day.
We brought home a number of rosettes, winning the best pair of pigs out of ten pairs on display and winning the best pair of calves too. Our students showed champion commercial pigs on behalf of Andrew Strong of Field Place Farm and the champion and reserve champion Lleyn Sheep on behalf of Peter Sutton of Rout Farm.
The show was rounded off nicely with not only a sunny day but with Oathall Farm students receiving the Richard Dean Trophy for tidiest cattle lines and best turned out cattle.
Oathall School and Farm mentioned on the RHS Chelsea Flower Show!
We were delighted to hit the big screen recently when Alan Titchmarsh described us as 'wonderful' in episode 14 of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on BBC1.
In a discussion about the importance of ensuring that children learn about food and farming as part of their general education Alan described us as somewhere that has 'got it right'.
To watch the clip please click here
Alan Titchmarsh Visits the Farm
Students at Oathall were privileged to give TV personality and renowned horticulturist Alan Titchmarsh a guided tour of the farm and growing areas on Friday.
Arriving at Oathall to officially open the farm shop, Alan Titchmarsh said that his visit to Oathall was "nothing more than a dream come true" and that Oathall was "a beacon of light in a world that needs to know how to grow".
Mr Titchmarsh was visiting the college to officially open the farm shop. The shop has been developed with support from a number of benefactors and organisations and will be open two days a week on Friday and Saturday selling farm and local produce to the community. Students are involved in all aspects of the operation from meat production to managing a commercial enterprise.
Success for Young Countrymen
Oathall Young Farmers put out their youngest ever team for the annual Sussex County YFC Competitions Day held at Plumpton College on Sunday 4 March 2012. The youngsters, many of whom had never competed before and who were aged 11-16, came away with a host of prize cards and ten individual cups or trophies.
Competitions included stock judging, animal husbandry, countryside knowledge, tractor driving, pottery, cycle safety, flower arranging and egg painting. Other more light hearted classes involved eating doughnuts, and chocolate washed down with lemonade all against the clock.
The students are grateful for the support they receive from local farmers and would like to thank Anthony Hole and sons from Burgess Hill who provided expert cycle safety training. Club leader and teacher Howard Wood commented “I never fail to be amazed by the talents, enthusiasm and hard work displayed by the young people of today, they earn all their successes”
We often welcome visitors from other schools and youth organisations to the farm but in September we received an enquiry from a group of friends who had a very specific request. As it happened they just wanted to see a cow being milked as they hadn't seen this before and we were only too happy to help.
Arjuna was one of the vistors that day and she sent us a report of their visit:
'This summer has been a lot less productive than expected, so instead of sitting at home all day we, Bonnie-Marie Abhayaratne, Arjuna Chandrakumar and Divya Vamathevan, decided to spend a day at Oathall Community College Farm. Our main reason was to experience milking a cow because we were curious to know exactly how it was done. However, we did a lot more along the way such as feeding the calves and holding a piglet and chicken. It was a fantastic experience and we enjoyed ourselves despite the rain throughout the whole day!
As well as being an enjoyable experience, we learnt a lot about the farm as an industry. The first thing we did was visit the pigs and piglets (they were so cute!). We then learnt how to properly hold them but they were very loud - the squeal of the piglet reminded us of a human baby!
After that we moved onto seeing the chickens and were told the specific technique to hold them. After a close call seeing the chicken poo, we were reluctant to hold it! Next, we learnt about how milk is extracted from a cow and how it was stored and processed, ready to be used. We also tasted some milk that had been taken from a cow that morning; which was more refreshing compared to standard green-lid Tesco milk. Finally, we were allowed to feed two calves, with buckets of milk. The bigger calf drank its milk extremely quickly and even tried drinking the milk for meant for the smaller calf! Even after all that milk, they were licking the milk off our hands!
Overall, our visit to the farm was an amazing experience and we would recommend it to anybody. We learned so much and the staff were really friendly, we particularly owe Howard Wood a huge thank you for showing us around and organising the day especially for us.'
There are some lovely images from the visit on our blog at oathallfarm.blogspot.com
If you would like to visit us here at the farm just email clare@oathallfarm.org.uk or phone on 01444 883211
Successes at the South of England 9/10/11th June 2011
Oathall livestock came away with numerous first prizes at this years show in the cattle and pig sections, including the overall livestock exhibitors award in the pig section. Highlights were our Large White boar Oathall Viking 6th winning the traditional breeds championship, and there were also firsts for sows Emma (Mrs. Rimmer) and Jill (Head teacher Mrs. Wilson) Our pair of Large White porkers were reserve champions in the commercial pig category.
Frazer Wilson showed the champion dairy calf in the calf rearing classes, winning the Heasman trophy and then the West Sussex Times Challenge cup for the best overall exhibit ( dairy and beef calves) Joining forces with Rosanna Curtis the two of them showed the champion pair of calves. Oathall Rustic Milkmaid 2 won her Ayrshire breed class, she is the mother of our champion calf.
Frazer, with his trophies!
Another 1st place for our Show Garden!
Our 2011 Show Garden entry A Guiding Hand has been awarded 1st place, at the South of England Show, Ardingly. This is the fourth of our Show Gardens to win this award.
The design aims to symbolically represent the nurturing and supporting hand that is given to young people by their parents, teachers and many others as they make their journey through life.
Our hope is that this nurturing garden provides a safe haven for young people; a place to sit and enjoy, a place to relax and reflect, but most of all a place to feel a sense of reassurance, A Guiding Hand from those around us who care.
All students, as part of the Land Based Studies course and extra curricular club, have contributed to the design, construction and planning of this garden.
Heathfield Show 28th May 2011
Ben Keegan The Henry Noakes Young Achiever 2011
We took 7 cattle to the show and came away with 4 first prize cards. Our star performers were Oathall Rustic Milkmaid 2 in the dry cow class, her daughter Oathall Rustic Milkmaid 5 in the heifer calf class, and Ava Frohmader in the handlers class. Oathall Rustic Milkmaid 5 won the East Sussex Ayrshire Cattle Club Perpetual Tankard.
Student Ben Keegan was the winner of one of the most prestigious awards to be handed out at this years show. Fifteen year old Ben who recently completed a land-based course at Oathall, scooped The Henry Noakes Young Achiever Trophy, named after one of Heathfield Agricultural Society’s founding members. Ben was presented with his trophy by Angela Deakin, the daughter of Henry Noakes.
Ben has been a star student at Oathall but it was his work with the colleges pig herd and his support for younger students on the farm which prompted Mr Wood to write a testimonial on his behalf. Ben has reared his own pigs and turned them into sausages and joints some of which were enjoyed by fellow pig keepers at the stockman’s BBQ at the south of England show recently.
Oathall's first lambs of 2011
Monday 14th March 2011
Oathall's first lambs of 2011(twins) were born to a three year old Suffolk & North Country Mule ewe sired by a Texel ram. We expect 70 lambs to be born in the last 3 weeks of term. Yr11 student Ben Keegan assisted with the early morning birth.
Sussex Federation of Young Farmers Clubs Annual Competitions Day
Sunday 6th March 2011
The Oathall team did the college proud securing a long list of first prize winners, on a very cold day at Plumpton College.
Community Project 9th March 2011
Another job well done by Oathall Farm & Garden students
Year 11 NVQ vocational students completed a community project for St Peters School , Ardingly. Repairing and moving a large woodern planter for their school garden.
Oathall's 2010 Ofsted inspection report was unstinting in its praise for the farm. It was cited as 'an example of outstanding practice as an integral part of the college and its community, making a significant contribution to learning in many subjects and also to students' personal development'.
Digging for Victory in 1940 and students on the farm in 2011
Set up in 1940 as part of the 'dig for victory' initiative, the farm has developed and grown and is now an integral part of the college. Today it reaches across the college providing useful resources for many subject areas. In the last decade it has developed and expanded its own curriculum - offering vocational courses for students at Oathall and for students from surrounding schools. It also provides resources and facilities for schools and colleges in the local community and beyond. All the work on the farm including stock tasks, feeding, cleaning out and milking is carried out by students aged 11-16 before and after school during holidays and at weekends.
The farm continues to change and grow. Increasingly environmental issues and sustainable development are the driving force behind new developments. This can be seen in the links with the Food for Life campaign, the setting up of a farm shop and the development of the new Virtual Learning Centre built using a range of sustainable building techniques.
