On Wednesday 4^th February, Felpham Community College held their first Eco Clothes Swap. Students were invited to give in donations of clothes the week before the event, which were swapped for tokens. Tokens could then be exchanged for new items of fashion at the event. Items could also be purchased for the bargain price of 50p an item!

Hattie Middleton, Sixth Form Head Student i/c of Community and Environment commented:
“When I started my role as Head Student, I came up with the idea for this event. The idea is to help students recycle clothes, have fun, save money – and help save the environment at the same time. We had lots of donations which was fantastic but we had no idea how many students would actually turn up to choose something back, so it was great to see the idea work and students have fun. A few students left with whole bin bags of pre-loved fashion to update their wardrobes with! Clothes not rehomed have now been donated to a local charity which supports them fundraising as well, so overall we have been really pleased with how the first event has gone. We are already planning on doing it bigger and better next year!

Ms Kelly, Deputy Headteacher, commented:
“It was so lovely to see the excitement students had for grabbing new outfits. With the positive messages around sustainability, ethical fashion and the UN global goals, alongside the sheer enjoyment of ‘shopping’ with friends and exercising free choice, it was a great opportunity to give our students. Well done and thank you to Hattie and the sixth form charity committee for organising”.

On Tuesday 27^th January, Felpham Community College welcomed year 5 students from Nyewood Junior School.

Students had a tour of Felpham and took part in a science workshop, titled ‘Dragon Slaying’ – trying to tame the FCC Dragon!  Year 9 students supported the event, answering questions about secondary school life, supporting the workshops and showing the visitors around school.

Mr Summers, Assistant Headteacher commented:

“We run these events throughout the academic year for a number of local primary schools, as a chance for younger students to see what the next stage of their education may look like. Our year 9 helpers are fantastic and it is great to hear them working with the year 5s and answering a wide variety of questions – from what PE clubs do we have, to what happens if you don’t do your homework. Nyewood was our first school for this academic year and they were brilliant, very enthusiastic and keen to tame the FCC dragon!”

Dear Students, Parents, Carers and members of our community,

Thank you all for participating in our lockdown procedure drill this afternoon. I am exceedingly proud of the fact that our first practice was very successful – everyone played their part and did their best to keep the people around them safe. Thank you, too, to all parents and carers for not contacting us, and allowing our emergency procedures to play out as planned.

We will of course be using this opportunity to learn any lessons – students have been given time to reflect and evaluate with their teachers this afternoon, but please do engage in conversation about what went well, and what we can do even better next time we practice, and if the need should ever arise.

Thank you, and well done 😊

Best wishes

Suzanne Pike
Headteacher

On Thursday 4^th December, 22 Felpham Community College students visited the Houses of Parliament and met with Ms Alison Griffiths, MP for Bognor and Littlehampton.

Students from the FCC Student Council were chosen to attend the trip, as they play an active part with student voice at Felpham and helping to make a difference with the school and local community.

Students, from years 7-10 and also year 13, toured Parliament, including seeing live debates in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. They also took part in an interactive workshop looking at the skills needed for writing a petition, and competed against each other to find the best idea to take forward. They finished the trip with a question and answer session with Ms Griffiths, who commented on what excellent, well-informed questions FCC students had.

Mr Summers, Assistant Headteacher at Felpham Community College commented: “Students were impressed with the tour, seeing the different buildings, the history, and learning about how Parliament works. We were there the same day as the President of Germany! It was great to meet Ms Griffiths again and our students had some good questions about SEN provision in our area. Our students were a credit to FCC. This is the second time we have done this trip and both groups of students have really enjoyed it.”

Felpham Community College held a month-long donation drive for Bognor Foodbank this November.

Year 7 and 8 Whole School Council Representatives visited the Foodbank at the beginning of the month, to see how it operates and meet with some of the volunteers. They then, along with the rest of the FCC School Council and Charity Committee, promoted the initiative around school for the month, giving every Form Room a donation bag and poster and encouraging everyone – students and staff – to bring in a donation.     

On the 4^th December, Student Council Reps sorted all the donations – more than 20 crates! – filling a mini bus and a car. Year 9 and 10 Whole School Council Representatives then delivered it all to the Foodbank in Bognor.

Claire, Co-Ordinator at the Foodbank commented:
“Thank you so much for such an incredible amount donated, it is fantastic to see such a great school effort and it will really help make a difference to local people.”

Mr Summers, Assistant Headteacher at Felpham Community College, commented:
“We run this initiative every year and it is great that our Student Council take such an active role in promoting and running it. We manage to get more donations each year which is a fantastic FCC community effort.”