Catmose College

Catmose College is an oversubscribed and successful 11-16 Academy, part of the Rutland and District Schools’ Federation which currently consists of Catmose College, Catmose Primary and Harington School, an academic sixth-form. This provides wider opportunities for staff, giving them broader experience across different organisations, should their skills and experience be appropriate. Appropriate training will be provided as necessary. 

In addition, we are proud to be one of the highest performing schools in Leicestershire and Rutland. 

We moved to a completely rebuilt campus in February 2011; the facilities are designed to offer learning opportunities suitable for the 21st Century.  ICT features extensively across the College, this includes a wireless connection for laptops and iPads, the use of which is encouraged. We know that our students want to work hard, do well and enjoy College. As a result, there are no locked doors and our facilities are freely available for students to use throughout the day from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.  This is an exciting time to join the College and shape its future. 

Situated in Rutland, the College serves the county town of Oakham and its surrounding villages.  It also draws students from a wider catchment area through parental choice.  The College serves a rural area but is only 20 miles from the urban centres of Leicester, Peterborough and Nottingham. 

The Federation encompasses a student population of 1000 students, aged from 4 years up to 18 years of age.  We work very closely with our partner primary school, Catmose Primary.  We also have Harington School, which moved into its new purpose-built building in October 2016, located on the same site as Catmose College. 

We are an inclusive College with a strong commitment to supporting the most vulnerable young people.  We have a designated enhanced SEN provision for 25 students and provide an environment in which all staff can expect to work with all students. 

We are a specialist College for the visual arts but have developed an integrated approach that combines both the visual and performing arts.  We have our own theatre and offer a full programme of concerts and theatrical performances.  A recent production, Madagascar, involved around 70 students performing, choreography, playing in the orchestra or providing technical support. We are already in rehearsals for our next production of Sister Act. 

On Wednesday afternoons, Catmose College students participate in the Electives programme. This is a comprehensive programme of over 120 different activities ranging from Swahili and Kenyan culture, journalism, photography and jewellery making to ice skating, boxercise and watersports.  The activities are delivered by all College staff and by experts in their field.  We expect all new staff appointments to participate in this exciting programme. 

On Wednesday the College day ends at 2.30pm to allow staff to participate in continuous professional development. 

We offer breakfast and a range of after College activities in the arts, music, sport and additional study; we expect our senior managers to be available from 8am until 5pm each day. 

Visitors always remark on the happy, calm and purposeful working atmosphere within the College.  Our students behave well and show high levels of concentration.  Relationships within the College are excellent.  We wish to develop staff who are reflective practitioners, continuously committed to evaluating the quality of the service they offer.  The governors are actively involved in the work of the College and are generous in the amount of time they give to help to plan and support this work. 

Our parents can be assured of the excellent support for their children. We actively engage parents through regular contact such as our in-house publication Connect, plus a carefully managed website and formal reports including progress evenings.