Dance students from Felpham Community College are celebrating a successful performance at ‘Dance House’, held on Wednesday 9^th November at the Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis.

The extra-curricular FCC Dance Team, representing students from years 7-10, started work on their performance piece back in September. Under the direction of the drama and dance teachers at Felpham, the team choreographed and produced the piece under the theme of ‘Unity’. They then performed to a sold-out audience on the 9^th November, along with 7 other local schools who also took part on that day.

Miss Crocker, Teacher of Dance and Drama commented: “I am really proud of the group. They showed true commitment; working hard on their performance, attending rehearsals twice a week, and rehearsing at home until they felt it was perfect. It was a great experience for them to perform in a professional theatre to a paying audience and they were very excited about the whole event. We are now busy planning our entry for the next Dance House to be held next term, as well as starting to prepare pieces for our Summer Term FCC Dance Showcase, an event which we are excited to be holding for the first time in 2023.”

Students across year groups at Felpham Community College have created a visual memorial for Remembrance Day and The Royal British Legion poppy appeal.

Every student in years 7,8 and 9 within their art classes this half term, created an individual poppy out of recycled egg boxes. Year 10 students and the Creative Club (extra-curricular art club for years 7,8 and 9) also used a variety of mixed media recycled materials to create larger poppies, using wire, wax, fabric, pebbles and plastics.

Mr Anstiss, Headteacher commented: “We are proud of the students for producing such an impressive and moving piece of art, to remember and honour the men and woman who have served their country. Our Student Council Reps have also been working hard these last 2 weeks, giving up their break and lunch times to sell poppies around the school site.”

Mrs Tomkins, Curriculum Leader for Art and Design commented: “You cannot help but say ‘Wow!’ when you see the finished memorial as it is so eye catching. Students worked incredibly hard on their poppies and the level of detail on some of them is inspiring. The display is currently on show at the FCC main reception and then we hope to donate it locally.”

40 FCC students from years 10 to 13 went to Jaen in the south of Spain on Friday 21st October for 4 nights / 5 days over half term.

Organised through the languages department, the trip included a guided tour of Madrid and meeting their student pen pals. They then went on to Granada and visited the city centre and science park.

Within the action-packed trip, they also fitted in a Masterchef competition, shopping, a visit to the local beach, a disco, Spanish cuisine tasting, visiting a UNESCO heritage site, bowling and a hike to a castle.

Arriving home at 2am on Wednesday morning, students and staff were worn out and excited to tell everyone about their adventures!

Each academic year, Felpham Community College host a number of events in support of local, national and international charities. Organised and co-ordinated by the sixth form student charity committee, under the direction of the Student Leadership Team, the events are held across year groups to support various charities which are nominated for by FCC students and staff.

On the 21^st October, FCC held one of the first activities of the year, a non-school uniform day in support of My Sister’s House. Celebrating the end of an incredibly busy half term, students and staff were encouraged to pay a £1 donation to ditch the uniform and wear what they want for the day. Sixth formers got involved and were encouraged to come in Halloween fancy dress!

Georgia Robson, Sixth Form Leadership Team in charge of charity commented: “It is great that students and staff at FCC want to support charity and help others and we enjoy sorting out a programme of events which is fun and gets everyone involved. Thank you to parents and carers and families who support our students with the events as we couldn’t do it without them either!”

For more information on My Sister’s House please see My Sisters’ House (mysistershouse.info)

On Tuesday 18^th November, over 70 students and staff from Felpham Community College completed a 10 mile charity dog walk around the local area. Organised as one of the many charity events of the school year, the walk was a brilliant success with students raising over £1200 through getting their dogs sponsored to take part.

The event was the final activity from the annual FCC youth action week that the school holds every Summer Term. It was agreed safer to walk the dogs in October than the July temperatures, and the dogs definitely seemed to enjoy their outing which took them from Felpham to Middleton to Aldwick to Felpham!

Money is still being counted, with FCC hoping to raise over £4000 as a combined amount from the Youth Action Week activities. Students and staff voted to support Macmillan Cancer Support, Chestnut Tree House and Blue Cross for Pets.

Mark Anstiss, Headteacher commented: “we run an excellent programme of events for charity throughout the school year, which we couldn’t do without the amazing support from our students and their parents / carers. On, and following, the dog walk we received positive praise from the public on both the event and our students, which was great to receive. Our students are always enthusiastic about giving something back to the community and to charity and we are already planning our events for next half term”

October 2022

More information on the charities the students were fundraising for is available on the following links:

Macmillan Cancer Support | The UK’s leading cancer care charity
Blue Cross | 125 years of changing pets’ lives
Chestnut Tree House – The children’s hospice for Sussex (chestnut-tree-house.org.uk)

The Geography Department are celebrating being awarded the nationally recognised Secondary Geography Quality Mark and Centre of Excellence. This reflects the high level of geography education students at FCC receive.

The department has been working towards this award for the last acaedmic year, undertaking an assessment framework to review the geography provided at FCC.  This collaborative process enabled the teachers to assess the standards and provide a portfolio of evidence that supported all areas that follow a structure of Intent, Implementation and Impact (Ofsted framework). The evidence is assessed by the Geographical Association and judged against a high-level set of criteria to ensure rigour in the awarding process.

Feedback from the assessors stated: “The Geography Department at Felpham Community College is forward-thinking and constantly eager to change and develop to improve the offering to students, showing a desire to continue to innovate and improve. The department supports all students to achieve and feedback to students is geography-specific, innovative and responsive to change. There are innovative approaches to classroom learning. Opportunities for the development of geographical skills are widespread, and inclusive fieldwork is clearly well-established and embedded within their curriculum”

Mrs Bloomfield, Assistant Headteacher commented: “Under the excellent guidance from Gayle Sloggett (Curriculum Leader for Geography) and her department, FCC were able to complete a comprehensive evidence portfolio to achieve this award, which we will have until 2025. Now we have the award we want to move further forward and provide students with more virtual, onsite and off-site experiences to enhance what they learn within the curriculum. Well done to the department and also to our geography students who work hard and show great enthusiasm for the projects and curriculum we run at Felpham across year groups”.

Students at Felpham achieved the best ever results in A-level subjects this year with over 30% of A level grades at A*-A. Vocational qualification results were equally impressive with 70% of grades at Distinction*/Distinction.

These amazing results mean that Felpham students can now take their preferred post-18 pathway with a high number continuing their education at university. The large sixth form, ably supported by their specialist teachers and the school governors, have been rewarded for their hard work and commitment. Students have shown a high-level determination despite the challenges of disrupted learning over the last two years.

Zoe Brixey, Head of Sixth Form, said, ‘We are overjoyed with the achievements of our students this year. These results are even better than last year and also previous years at the school. We are extremely proud of how our students have performed and coped with the stressful exam period given that they did not take GCSE exams two years ago. They have demonstrated impressive work ethic and independence. At Felpham we have created an ethos where staff know every student individually, this enables students to fulfil their potential. We also place a great importance on ensuring that our students leave the 6th form ready to progress to university or work.’

Although a large number of upper sixth students achieve brilliant results, of particular note are:

A Levels
William Andrews AAA
Emma Dobbin AAA
Toby Hackett A*AA
Matilda Hill A*A*A
Alexander Kissell A*AA
Antoana Micheva A*A*A*

Level 3
Mani Baker DDD*
Chloe Cox ADD*
Louisa Dooley AD*D*
Katie Ferris AD*D*
Monty Hawkins D*D*D*
Jodie Price D*D*D
Megan Reeves AAD*
Kaci Rowland D*DD
Oliver Stone AD*D*

Mark Anstiss, Headteacher, commented, ‘It has been a difficult time for our students over the last two years coupled with the fact that this year group have not sat formal exams since primary school. Despite these challenges, we are extremely pleased with the results received today. The success of the students was down to their hard work, confidence and determination. At Felpham we benefit from first class teaching, small groups and the excellent leadership of the 6th form. We are proud of every one of our students and wish them well for the future.’

If you would like to consider studying at Felpham 6th Form this September, then you can contact the school at fcc@felpham.org.uk or find out more at www.felpham.com/SixthForm

On the 18^th and 19^th July, Felpham Community College successfully hosted First Aid workshops for all year 7 students.

Led by the Sixth Form Leadership Team and year 12 Health and Social Care students, the practical workshops gave students an opportunity to learn, or refresh their knowledge, of some vital first aid life-saving skills. These included CPR, bandaging, the recovery position and dealing with life threatening conditions such as choking.

Mr Treharne, Business and Vocational teacher commented: “Year 7 were on a rota for 3 lessons each to complete the course. Well done to all students for their hard work and enthusiasm, we hope they learnt some valuable skills. Also, a big thank you to our year 12 students who successfully ran the events and supported the younger ones with their learning”

On Friday 8th July, Felpham Community College held a Summer Social for Year 12 and 13 students. Held at Fontwell Park, it was a delightful evening to say goodbye to year 13 and celebrate the end of the academic year for all sixth form students.

Mrs Brixey, Sixth Form Year Leader commented:“It was a lovely evening. Students have worked really hard this year and achieved so much, this was a great chance to have some fun. Everyone had put in lots of effort with their outfits and they all looked amazing. It was fab to see everyone dressed up and enjoying themselves, especially after no school events like this for the last few years. We are now looking forward to seeing year 13 for results day in August and welcoming year 11 to our Sixth Form in September.  We have also started planning for the next Sixth Form Open evening at the beginning of October. Our FCC sixth form is going from strength to strength and evenings like this are great to see the students so relaxed and enjoying themselves.”

On Thursday 14^th July, Felpham Community College were delighted to open their doors and host the hugely popular Summer Arts evening, for the first time since 2019.

The event has always been a firm favourite in the school calendar, and it was great to welcome students, parents and carers, staff, Governors, students joining FCC in September and the local community for a fantastic evening showcasing some of the wide range of talents students have shown this year.

The evening was a celebration of art, photography, drama, music, textiles, resistant materials and food technology and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who attended.

Mrs Tompkins, Curriculum Leader for Art and Photography commented: “Thank you to the students who had their work displayed and for their hard work this year. We have such huge talent at FCC and it was fabulous to be able to show it off again after a couple of years of keeping it behind closed doors! We were really busy, thank you to everyone who supported us by attending, we received some great feedback on all the work. It has been a busy year and this was a lovely way to showcase it”