As well as being recognised as centres of educational excellence, some city technology colleges (CTCs) also have a reputation as centres of commerce. Thomas Telford in Shropshire and Kingshurst in Birmingham are two CTCs that have offered their teaching materials for sale.
Sawtry community college in Cambridgeshire has taken a different route: staff at the school, near Huntingdon, are putting materials on the web free for anyone to access. Headteacher Alan Stevens says: “This isn’t just a school but a connected learning community. The website is for teachers by teachers and it should be owned by them.”
There’s not much there at the moment as the project is in its infancy, but all departments in the school are committed to providing key stage 3 and 4 and post-16 materials for the web, he says.
If you want to get an idea of what will be on offer, take a look at the GNVQ leisure and tourism section, or head for the Year 8 ICT section. Both can be accessed via the Online Curriculum in the site’s Learning Centre.
As well as the quick reference guides to individual units, slide shows and tutorials, students can go to their year group and check each subject to see what areas they will be expected to cover during the year. There’s also a website gateway, with sites rated by the school’s teachers listed under 14 categories.
Sawtry has produced aCD-Rom on how to navigate the site. You can pick up a free copy at the school’s open day to promote the new resource (on December 13) or by sending a stamped addressed envelope to: Mrs Caslin, Sawtry community college, Fen Lane, Sawtry, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE17 5TQ. The website is at www.sawtrycc.com
