Catmose College


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.
In 2010, Catmose College federated with Southfield Community Primary School which became Catmose Primary. The addition of Catmose Nursery in 2012 means that Catmose Federation provides for children from 3 months to 16 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.
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.

History

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. There is also the Catmose Gallery and the Catmose Theatre.

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.

Sports

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 12:45 to 2:15 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

The full Catmose College uniform policy can be found on the

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