Catmose College

52°35′16.00″N 0°43′30.00″W

Catmose College
Catmose College, Oakham, main building
Address
Huntsmans Drive

Oakham
,
Rutland
,
LE15 6RP

England
Information
TypeAcademy
MottoEqual Value, Outstanding Progress
Established1920
Department for Education URN136530 Tables
OfstedReports
PrincipalStuart Williams
Age11 to 16
Colour(s)green  
Websitehttp://www.catmosecollege.com

Catmose College is a secondary academy school on Huntsmans Drive in Oakham, Rutland. The catchment area covers the county town of Oakham and surrounding villages, although students are drawn from a wider area through parental choice. From 1972 until 2009 the school name was Vale of Catmose College.

In 2009, the college in partnership with Rutland County Council started construction of a £23m new campus which opened in 2011. The new building, designed by Jonathan Ellis Miller, combines a 900 pupil academy, Sure Start centre, sports building, outdoor pitches, and a learning disability resource centre.[1]

In 2010, Catmose College federated with Southfield Community Primary School which became Catmose Primary. The addition of Catmose Nursery in 2012 and the sixth form Harington school in 2015 means that Catmose Federation provides care for children from 3 months to 19 years.

Catmose College specialises in Visual Arts. The Catmose Gallery, opened in May 2003 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, was the first public art gallery located in a community college. The gallery provided students and the public with a programme of high calibre national, local and student exhibitions before in July 2011 the college governors decided on the closure of the gallery to the public.[2]

With 90% of students achieving five GCSE grades A*-C the college is one of highest attaining in Rutland and Leicestershire. The Ofsted report in February 2012 rated the College 'Outstanding' in all 4 categories and overall.[3]

History
Catmose College students learning French on the Hellerup
  • 1920 – Oakham Central School
  • 1937 – Secondary Modern School
  • 1946 – Oakham County Secondary School
  • 1962 – Vale of Catmose Village College
  • 1968 – New classroom block erected
  • 1972 – Vale of Catmose College
  • 1974 – New language department with language laboratory
  • 1976 – New library and new science block
  • 1981 – New Swimming Pool
  • 2003 – Art Gallery
  • 2006 – Announcement of rebuild as part of Government's Building Schools for the Future programme[4]
  • 2007 – Swimming pool refurbished
  • 2009 – Catmose College
  • 2010 – Southfield Community Primary School entered a federation with Catmose College[5] and changed its name to Catmose Primary
  • 2011 – Moved to new campus
  • 2011 – Became an academy
  • 2011 – Closure of Catmose Gallery
  • 2012 – Graded 'Outstanding' by Ofsted in all 4 categories and overall[6]

Facilities

The Catmose Sports Centre includes a gym, 2 dance studios, 8 court sports hall, floodlit synthetic pitch, netball & tennis courts and coffee house plus the existing 25-metre swimming pool which was refurbished in 2007.[7] There is also the Catmose Gallery and the Catmose Theatre.

Catmose College students perform Hairspray

Catmose College is a technology-led facility and offers a range of devices for student use. PCs are located throughout the college building and each student is given a unique login to give them access to the machines at any time during the day. Available from the library, students are able to borrow a range of fiction and non-fiction books, iPads, laptops, digital cameras, broadcast quality video cameras, audio recorders and microphones.

Within the music department there is a Pro Tools equipped multitrack recording studio complete with a live and control room. There are 5 practice rooms for student use including Yamaha pianos, guitar amps and a set of Roland V Drums.

The college theatre is equipped with professional grade sound, light and AV equipment. It is used for presentations, assemblies and College productions. Recent productions have included Hairspray the musical and Alice in Wonderland.[8]

Sports
Catmose College students practising rugby drills

Sport at Catmose is integrated within the college's core curriculum, as an examination subject, and as a key component of the extracurricular opportunities available.

Each student participates in two physical education lessons per week, and has the opportunity to study GCSE PE or BTEC Sport in years 10 and 11.

The college offers over twenty five sports throughout the academic year through core physical education, extracurricular sport, the electives programme and examination PE.

Music

Student participation in the extra-curricular programme is around a hundred students and the range of activities on offer is extensive and includes a Chamber Choir for higher-ability students, a Samba Band for the percussionists to practice ensemble skills, a classical guitar group and a recorder club.

These groups perform for the college and wider community throughout the year, highlights include five lunch recitals at the church, eleven recitals in the Gallery, a joint concert in the Museum with students from Uppingham Community College and Oakham School, and various Performing Arts tours to countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany.

Electives

The Catmose College electives programme forms a central part of the extra-curricular and enrichment life of the college. All students at the college elect to take short courses that take place on Wednesday afternoons from 1:40 to 2:40 pm. They are led by college staff and visiting tutors.

Electives run at different times during the year and there are compulsory courses that students are required to follow. In year 7 the compulsory course takes place in term 1 and contains a range of sessions designed to smooth the transition from primary to secondary school.

School uniform
  • White shirt with full length sleeves worn with school tie
  • Black jumper with Catmose College logo (a grey jumper for year 11 pupils is optional)
  • Black leather shoes
  • Black trousers or a black College skirt
  • Black Blazer with Catmose College logo

The full Catmose College uniform policy can be found on the College website

Harington School

In September 2015 Harington School opened at the Catmose College campus. Harington School is a sixth form provision offering A-level courses for students from the whole of Rutland. It relocated to a new dedicated building next to Catmose College in October 2016.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Designs for learning: An innovative Rutland school shows that low-cost needn't mean second-rate" by Jay Merrick; The Independent 9 June 2011
  2. Catmose College to close gallery Rutland Times 23 July 2011
  3. Catmose College Ofsted report
  4. "Press release". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  5. "Primary and secondary schools to join forces – Local". Stamford Mercury. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  6. Catmose College Ofsted report Archived 26 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Catmose Sports". Stevenage-leisure.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  8. "Catmose College Drama". Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
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