At Felpham Community College, the Student Council plays a vital role with student voice and helping make vairous decisions about school life. The Council is made up of Representatives from each year group, and over the last few years has grown considerably in popularity with now over 120 Reps in total.  They are headed up by the Student Leadership Team, 6 year 13 students who have specific leadership roles.

The Council is involved with a wide varity of activites – from supporting charity events, to being the student voice for form groups with information and events, to giving opinions on things such as canteen and curriculum provision. They have also recently been involved with staff interviews, and tours for Korean visitors to FCC.

On Tuesday 2^nd June, FCC held an End of Year Student Council Event, a chance to say thank you and well done to Student Council Representatives for their work this year.

Mr Summers, Assistant Headteacher, commented:
“Being part of the Council is voluntary, and students meet once a half term within each year group and then complete actions from these meetings throughout the school year. It is great to have so many students putting themselves forward for this role. Our End of Year Event was a good opportunity for everyone to meet together and see what we have achieved over the year. We wanted to give students a chance to develop skills, but also have some fun! Workshops included getting creative with lego and visualising our Rights (from our Rights Respcting Gold Award), taste testing new canteen ideas and giving feedback on our canteen provision, becoming literacy short story specialists, learning team working skills and even learning how to work as a team and play Boom Whackers!

We are grateful we have such a strong Student Counicil at Felpham and look forward to continue to grow this next academic year”

A selected group of year 9 students from Felpham Community College enjoyed a fabulous experience in March, working with Chichester University students at the Goodwood Estate.

Students spent 5 mornings on the Estate, learning forest and team building skills

Riley and Eddie, year 9 students commented:
“We really enjoyed the experience. We learnt how to make forest dens and how to make a fire safely. We did team building games like ‘Catch the Flag’. It was great to work with students in our year who we aren’t particularly friends with, and learn new wilderness skills and how to work well in a team.”

On Tuesday 14^th and Wednesday 15^th April, Felpham Community College welcomed over 140 year 5 students from Downview, South Bersted and Arundel primary schools.

Students attended a ‘Magic’ session – an introduction to secondary school. Visiting students worked with year 9 helpers, taking part in an activity and having a tour of the school and question and answer session.

Ms Pike, Headteacher at FCC, commented:
“These sessions are a great opportunity for students to experience how secondary school is different to primary school, and that moving up to their next stage of education is something to be excited about. It was great to see the students enjoying their activity working in either food technology or with our languages department. Their enthusiasm and the questions they asked were fabulous!”

Felpham Community College were excited to welcome Anthony Mcgowan, author and Carnegie Medal winner, on Wednesday 18^th March.

Anthony spent the day working with year 7 students, running interactive workshops to inspire writing and ethuse

the joy of reading. Students have been reading and enjoying his book ‘I am a Minotaur’ this academic year in school. He has written a number of other popular books for children, teenagers and adults, including the trilogy ‘Brock’, ‘Pike’ and ‘Rook’, and the Carnegie Medal-winning ‘Lark’.

Students enjoyed hearing about Antony’s career path and his inspirations, as well as having the opportunity to have their books signed by him. He commented how impressed he was with the detailed and mature questions Felpham students quizzed him with.

Ms Kelly, Deputy Headteacher commented:
“So often, authors remain faceless names on the front cover of a book.  Meeting Anthony McGowen in person allowed our students to see that a book they have all engaged with was in fact written by a real person – if he can do it, maybe they will too!”

Felpham Community College hosted their hotly anticipated annual Charity Talent Show on Tuesday 10^th March.

Auditions for the show took place at the beginning of this term, and then the acts who made it through to the live shows had 6 weeks to practice.

Students from years 7 right the way through to year 13 were chosen for the event, covering a wide range of talents – singers, dancers, musicians, gymnasts and even comedy. The FCC fabulous Sixth Form Student Leadership Team were comperes for the evening, and sixth form students ran the stage, sound, photography and refreshment / ticket / programme sales. They also mentored students in the run up to the event to help them prepare.

There were over 400 tickets sold over the afternoon and evening show, with enthusiastic audiences supporting all the acts and also voting for their audience choice award.

Mr Summers, Assistant Headteacher, commented:
“I was lucky to sit on the judging panel for the event and it was great to see all the performers giving it their all. You could really see how they have improved since the auditions back at the beginning of term. Both shows had brilliant atmospheres and it was great to see everyone enjoying themselves – performers as well as the audiences! The event raised over £1500 for charity which is a fantastic achievement. All the acts were amazing and deserve a huge well done, and also a well done to the students who supported the event by helping to run it – and to everyone for supporting us and buying tickets – thank you!

Felpham Community College celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 5^th March by running events for both students and staff.

Over 60 students from years 8 and 9 took part in a creative writing workshop, with FCC’s very own published author, Mr Bulpett. He shared tips and tricks to help improve creative writing with students, who then created their own short stories.

Mr Bulpett, Key Stage 5 Lead for English at Felpham, is the published author of books including The Hidden Horizons Trilogy: The Art of Hiding, Blood Ties and White Lies and The Lost Sister.

Across departments, staff were invited to dress up as their favourite book character. Students spent the day guessing who was who, and all students and staff had the opportunity to vote for their favourite.

The final event in the FCC calendar for World Book Day is planned for the 18^th March. Year 7 students will be taking part in an interactive workshop with Anthony McGowan, Carnegie Medal winning author. Students have been reading his book ‘I am the Minotaur’ this academic year.   Ms Kelly, Deputy Headteacher, commented: “In a world full of uncertainty, books remain a central source of escapism, and a gateway to bigger, brighter futures.  Reading just 10 minutes a day increases vocabulary, boosts cognitive development and helps us to focus.  Add to that to positive impact on our wellbeing and why wouldn’t you? Go on, celebrate with us and pick up a book”.

On Friday 27^th February, a small group of Felpham Community College Student Council Representatives, attended Oakland Court Residential Care Home in Felpham. They took part in an art and craft workshop, making cardboard daffodils, to celebrate St David’s Day.

Students volunteered for the event, to work with residents to support them with the crafting and also to chat about student life at FCC.

The event was held to celebrate St David’s Day which was on the 1^st March. St David is the Patron Saint of Wales.

Mr Summers, Assistant Headteacher at Felpham, commented:
“It was an ideal opportunity for our students to be reminded that charity work is not just about fundraising, and that time is just as precious and important to a lot of people. The residents commented how lovely it was to have our students visit them. We did it at Christmas and it now looks likely that it will be a regularly termly event.

Our students who attended were brilliant, so helpful with the making the crafts and supportive, and really enthusiastic with the conversations! It was also really nice to have so many of our Council Reps volunteer to go, we have had to promise some that they can go next time as we had too many put themselves forward for the activity. Thank you to Oakland Court for inviting us in”.

For a week in February, Felpham Community College welcomed a group of international teachers, as part of an exchange programme between the South Korean government and Chichester University.

The South Korean teachers have come to the UK to gain a deeper understanding of our language, culture and educational system. They teach English as a second language in their home country. Within their week at Felpham, they have observed a number of lessons across different year groups and departments – including English, languages, history and geography. They have also taught lessons to FCC students – including learning about festivals and traditions in Korea, different traditional Korean games and even how to write your name in Korean.  

Myung, one of the Korean Visitors, commented:
“The visit to Felpham Community College was much more than a simple school observation; it was a profound journey of professional reflection. From the moment we arrived, the exceptionally warm welcome from the staff and students reflected the inclusive and supportive spirit that defines the school’s community. It was truly inspiring to witness the collaborative atmosphere among the teachers, whose willingness to help and share their expertise offered a powerful model of a thriving educational environment.

However, the most valuable aspect of this experience was the interaction with the students. Their genuine curiosity about our culture and their enthusiastic participation in our lessons – despite our own initial nerves – were deeply moving. This engagement reminded us that the heart of education lies not just in the delivery of knowledge, but in mutual respect and the courage to explore new perspectives together. This visit has become a significant milestone in our teaching careers, providing us with invaluable insights that we will carry back to our classrooms in Korea. We would also like to express our profound gratitude to Felpham Community College for providing us with this extraordinary and rare opportunity to learn and grow as educators”

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”.