Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Democracy rules at Oakley School!

  Fri 04 May 2018

  On 2nd May 2018 our Chair of Governors, Alan Bernstein, came into school having been invited by our School Council to approve their charter on behalf of the governing body.

   

  Alan was delighted to be invited and as you can see from the photos, approved the charter and launched the vote for a Head Boy and Head Girl.  

   

  As well as creating a lot of excitement amongst our children and young people, the process also means pupils are learning about democracy and other important values and life skills, all of which form part of our SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural) curriculum.

  

• Presenting our new Eco Committee

  Fri 04 May 2018

  An enthusiastic group of Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils have been selected to form our new Eco committee.  With the support of some equally enthusiastic members of staff, they have already had their first committee meeting, written and launched a new Eco Code and invited a Governor to work with them.   

   

  

• Budding gardeners!

  Fri 04 May 2018

  Class 3LW on the Tunbridge Wells site are lucky enough to have a garden right outside their classroom. This term they have been working to make it into a sensory garden so that they can invite their friends across the school to come and enjoy it with them.

   

  They have made sensory boards for the fence from tiles, cutlery, bottle tops and shells and thanks to the kind donations of people from school and their families, they are creating a bottle top curtain. James and Class 4JC have also made 3LW some planters for herbs and flowers.

   

  The garden will be finished off with some butterfly feeders and colourful pictures the pupils hope will attract butterflies into the garden in the summer.

  

• Another Brighton Marathon, another Oakley Marathon Runner!

  Thu 03 May 2018

  "Congratulations" and "Thank you" to Kim Lonergan, Teacher who ran the Brighton Marathon on Sunday, 15th April. Kim was running to raise money for Oakley School and Hospice in the Weald. Kim ran the 26 miles in a very impressive 4 hours and 4 minutes.

   

  She has raised £710 from sponsorship and donations, including gift aid. The money raised will be shared equally between the two causes.

   

  Thank you to everyone who supported and donated.

  

• Year 11 Residential - outdoor learning in the widest sense

  Thu 26 Apr 2018
  Our Year 11 pupils are back from their residential to Windmill Hill. They had a fantastic time; abseiling, canoeing, raft building and so many more outdoor activities.  It was also a great opportunity for team building and for gaining confidence being more independent whilst away from home. They also had a lot of fun socially, particularly around the campfire with lots of singing! 

  

• Ski Trip Celebration Evening

  Tue 27 Mar 2018

  Following our amazing Skiing trip to Pila last month, we invited parents, carers and families to join the pupils and staff who went on the trip for a celebration evening; to share photos and videos and congratulate our young people on their achievements.

   

  All of the pupils deserved to win the Skiing Award, the staff were so proud of them all, but on the night it was awarded to Hannah. Not only did she show an enormous amount of determination and perseverance throughout, she gained so much socially from the experience and it was wonderful to see her relax, smile and laugh with her friends.

   

  The trip was such a success that planning for next year is already underway!

  

• Learning in the Community

  Tue 27 Mar 2018

  On the afternoon of Monday, 26th March, Giraffe Class had a great trip to Poundland. The pupils practiced their skills for life and independence and Maths; using a shopping basket, waiting in a queue at the checkout and counting out coins from a wallet or purse. Pupils also practiced their good talking at the till, saying ‘hello’, ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’, which took a lot of courage for some of them. 

  

• Oakley wins 'School of the Year' Award

  Fri 23 Mar 2018

  On Tuesday, 20th March inspirational young people, across Kent were joined by local training organisations and employers for a special awards ceremony, organised by Skills Training UK, an independent training provider.

   

  Awards were presented to young people aged 15 to 24 in 10 different categories, including ‘Learner Achievement’, ‘Learner Progression’ and ‘Apprentice of the Year’.  Each learner was nominated for an award by their training provider, in recognition and celebration of the progress and achievements they have made.

   

  The local training and education partners were also recognised, with the prestigious award for ‘School of the Year’ going to Oakley School.  The awards were presented by Medway Council’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Gloria Opara; Paul Winter, Chair of the Kent and Medway Skills Commission; Allan Baillie, Skills and Employability Manager, Kent County Council; and Mike Rayner, Participation and Progression Manager, Kent County Council. 

   

  Ros Leach, Further Education Leader and Josh Epstein, Learning Support Assistant collected the award on behalf of the School.

  

• Oakley School's first Easter Eggstravaganza

  Mon 19 Mar 2018
  On the evening of Thursday, 15th March our Key Stage 3 pupils and staff held Oakley's first ever "Easter Eggstravaganza". The Dining Hall on the Tunbridge Wells site was full to capacity with pupils, parents, carers and their friends and family, all playing bingo to win an Easter Egg (or two!) Everyone had a lovely evening, making Easter bonnets, buying and eating cakes made by pupils and staff, as well as playing bingo with our pupils calling the numbers, it was a great success. Well done to everyone who helped organise and the run the event and to all our families who supported what we hope will become an annual event.

  

• Key Stage 5 students try curling!

  Mon 19 Mar 2018

  This term our Key Stage 5 students have been learning about the Winter Olympics which seemed a really good opportunity to try out some winter sports!  So on Thursday, 15^th March Classes 5SS and 5TB went to the Tunbridge Wells curling rink. They watched a short video to tell them about how to play the game, after which they put on their special shoes and were shown how to push the ‘stones’ and brush the ice (to make the stone go further).

   

  They had a fantastic time, everyone enjoyed taking part. Thank you to Julia, our coach for the morning, she was really friendly and complimented everyone on their efforts.