Hassocks Artists Open Houses trail this July 2022

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After a four-year gap, Hassocks Artists Open House Trail will take place in the first weekend of July.

During the pandemic, the group held indoor exhibitions in 2019 and a wider publicised event at Downlands School in 2021, but now Hassocks Artists Open Houses are back! Between 11am and 4pm, use this map to follow the trail on Saturday and Sunday the 2nd and 3rd July to meet the artists.

Local teacher and artist, Ellie Drake-Lee says: “I’m thrilled to be exhibiting as part of the Hassocks Artists Open Houses. We’ve got a diverse range of creative arts from photography and ceramics to stained glass and illustrations so there’s something for everyone.”

The trail includes many local artists, including Pippa Aldridge, Jackie Bass, Dinah Beaton, Clare Bishop, Andrew Chapman, Sue Collins, Ricky Delaney, Ashley Hutchinson, Susie Garner, Dawn Mead, Joanne Miles, Ruth Mullan, Joanne Miles, Ginny Pickles, John Rees, Caroline Saunders, Sheila Southwell, Linda Tucker, Nicola Twaites, Liz Warne, Ruth Waters, Laura Westmacott and Louisa White.

Ellie says: “Please come and enjoy viewing original artwork in our houses and studios. There are so many creative people living in Hassocks and we can’t wait to meet everyone who is interested to see what we do.”

Please click the image to see an enlarged version.

Downlands Summer Fayre: June 26th 2021

By Kelly Foley

It’s been a tough year for trying to raise funds for Downlands, but we are excited to say that our Summer Fayre will be going ahead on Saturday 26th June. This is the Downlands School Association’s (DSA) biggest fundraiser. The Downlands School Association is made up of a combination of friendly, dedicated parents and staff who work as a team to raise funds to enhance the school’s environment.

Every student will benefit from the fundraising efforts of the Downlands School Association and in the past year new picnic tables have been financed by them, so the students have more places to sit. We are now fundraising for shelters so the students can have cover whilst being outside.

Please support Downlands and pop along on Saturday 26th June, where we will have something for everyone to enjoy and our very popular dog show, organised by Mews Vets. Also, look out for our fantastic prize draw, which is supported by so many local businesses.

Follow us on Facebook (@Downlands School Association) and Instagram (@downlands_school_association).

500 homes, community centre, primary school and pedestrian tunnel planned

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Taylor Wimpey South Thames has announced the completion of the purchase of land off Ockley Lane with outline planning permission to build 500 new homes in the village.

The homebuilder will provide a mixture of private and affordable housing and is in the process of working up its reserved matters planning application in the coming months. The proposal is set to be one to five bedroom properties, of which 150 will be ‘affordable’. The planning permission should also see a pedestrian tunnel under the London to Brighton railway line, a community building and a primary school delivered (although not by Taylor Wimpey).

Although housebuilding is always controversial – outline permission was granted by MSDC in February last year. Taylor Wimpey state on its website, it will be investing nearly £5.5m into local education as part of the development – which will fund the delivery of a new primary school as well as expansion at Downlands School and Haywards Heath Sixth Form College.

Another £1.4m of funding is also expected to be allocated locally including development of Hassocks Library and infrastructure improvements at Hassocks Health Centre. A new bridleway connecting Hassocks and Burgess Hill is also in the scheme.

The housebuilder is hoping to deliver the first completions on the site from 2023.

Downlands Community School celebrates it’s 60th anniversary

Dale Avenue 1955 (courtesy of Francis Firth Collection)

It makes you wonder what the residents of Hassocks and in particular Dale Avenue and Windmill Avenue, thought in 1955 when it was proposed to build a new school right on their doorstep.

By Mark Wignall, Headteacher and Diana Hunt, Chair of Governors

Downlands School opened in September 1960 as the local secondary school for children who had failed their 11+. Then when comprehensive education started in 1965 it eventually opened its doors to all the local children and became Downlands Community School.

Back in 1960 approximately 450 pupils attended and over the years pupil numbers have grown and this September there will be 1200 students making their way up the school drive along with 130 of our staff plus 18 canteen and Freedom Leisure staff members.

From fairly small beginnings it has grown into an Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding’ school valued by many families in the area.

Over the years there have been many changes to accommodate the rise in numbers but we are sure past pupils would still recognise certain parts of the school.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary, we are looking to produce a photobook to show the life of the school, it’s pupils and staff from 1960 to 2020.

If you or somebody you know attended or taught at Downlands we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for old photos of the school, staff, pupils or school events. We would be very grateful if you could send them, together with a short caption, to school (Dale Avenue, Hassocks BN6 8LP) and marked 60th Anniversary. Originals would be better in terms of reproduction quality. We would then scan them at high resolution and return them to you. Please include your name and return address.

If you only have scanned copies please send them to the email address below.

If you have a special memory that has stayed with you over the years, then please send a few lines that may be included in the book.

If you are in touch with others who no longer live locally, we would be grateful if you could let them know.

We have set up an email address for this project so please send scanned photos and memories to: downlandsat60@downlands.org.

Mr Wignall - Village People interview

By David Tingley

If you want to learn something about community, just have a chat with Mark Wignall, Headteacher at Downlands Community School.

Although born in London, Mark spent most of his childhood in the Midlands – living just down the road from the Cadburys factory; anyone who has heard him talk in an assembly has heard his soft ‘brummy’ accent. Mark has been married to Lynne for 24 years and they have three children Ellen, Harry and Joe. He describes his devotion to Birmingham City Football Club as ‘a life sentence’!

Mark has always been keen on sport. He has always loved rugby, football, cricket and squash, to name but a few, so it is no surprise that he went on to study Sports Science at Brighton Polytechnic. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the time, but I did love sport,” he explains, “although there weren’t as many options for a Sports Science graduate back then.”

Mark started his working life as a fitness instructor in the gym at the House of Commons; a role which ranged from designing personal fitness programmes for MPs, to collecting towels. After moving up to Harrogate to work at a luxury hotel doing a similar role, it wasn’t long before Mark asked himself: ‘Is this the rewarding career I really want?’. After some soul-searching, he returned to Sussex to complete a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with a view to being a teacher. Placements during his course were in secondary schools in Bexhill and Cuckfield.

[Read the full story in the May 2019 issue of Hassocks Life magazine…]