Chaucer Technology School
Encyclopedia
Chaucer Technology School is a mixed ability comprehensive school
, with designated technology status situated in Canterbury
, Kent
. It encompasses years 7 to 11 as well as a sixth form college
. The current head teacher is Simon Murphy who joined the school on 2 September 2006, replacing the previous headteacher Mike Mayers.
Chaucer Technology School claims it offers its pupils an unrivalled technological education
and also claims to have outstanding ICT facilities and an emphasis upon developing cross curriculum problem solving
skills and
is part of the non-selective state secondary schools in Canterbury along with The Canterbury High School, St Anselm's Catholic School, the Church of England's Archbishop's School; all of which in 2007 had less than 30% of their pupils gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths, except for the Archbishop's School which achieved 55%.
The school completed a new Sixth Form Building in October 2008. Named the Fuller Block, after a former Chair of the Governing Body who died, it houses a common room, assembly room, staff offices and multiple teaching rooms primarily for use by the Post 16 (or Sixth Form) of the school.
Around the same time as the implementation of the college system, the school uniform
was updated following a school-wide consultation, the senior management of the school was restructured and a re-branding of the school's image was completed, with the school now often referred to as "Chaucer Tech".
South East television news feature to highlight the issue of asbestos
in local school buildings. it was detected in two small cupboards that were used to store asbestos before it was linked with lung disorders. The school was used as the case study example of one of the 90% of local schools with asbestos. The school was found to have asbestos (like 554 out of 599 schools in Kent) but was shown to have effectively dealt with the problem.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, with designated technology status situated in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. It encompasses years 7 to 11 as well as a sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
. The current head teacher is Simon Murphy who joined the school on 2 September 2006, replacing the previous headteacher Mike Mayers.
Chaucer Technology School claims it offers its pupils an unrivalled technological education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and also claims to have outstanding ICT facilities and an emphasis upon developing cross curriculum problem solving
Problem solving
Problem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Consideredthe most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of...
skills and
is part of the non-selective state secondary schools in Canterbury along with The Canterbury High School, St Anselm's Catholic School, the Church of England's Archbishop's School; all of which in 2007 had less than 30% of their pupils gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths, except for the Archbishop's School which achieved 55%.
Expansion
Chaucer had a 12 classroom teaching block built. These previously housed a large majority of English and Maths Lessons, but now has been changed to cover Humanities subjects such as Geography and History (as a result of the College System). It is often referred to as the "Humanities Block", "H Block" or "W Block." W was after Graham Wade, the school's fifth headteacher, who died of cancer.The school completed a new Sixth Form Building in October 2008. Named the Fuller Block, after a former Chair of the Governing Body who died, it houses a common room, assembly room, staff offices and multiple teaching rooms primarily for use by the Post 16 (or Sixth Form) of the school.
College System
In 2008, Chaucer introduced a new "Colleges of Learning" System, in which every student, aside from "Post 16/Sixth Form" students, are assigned into a specific subject group. The 5 colleges are named Da Vinci, Curie, Marlowe, Assisi and Athena and are made up of different subject areas (e.g. Da Vinci College includes Mathematics and Design Technology). Subject groups changed classrooms to reflect this shift and so generally the colleges are geographically situated around the school site.Around the same time as the implementation of the college system, the school uniform
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
was updated following a school-wide consultation, the senior management of the school was restructured and a re-branding of the school's image was completed, with the school now often referred to as "Chaucer Tech".
Press Coverage
In Spring 2009, Chaucer was used in a BBC Inside OutInside Out (BBC TV series)
Inside Out is the brand name for a number of regional television programmes in England broadcast on BBC One. Each series, made by a BBC region, focuses on stories from the local area...
South East television news feature to highlight the issue of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
in local school buildings. it was detected in two small cupboards that were used to store asbestos before it was linked with lung disorders. The school was used as the case study example of one of the 90% of local schools with asbestos. The school was found to have asbestos (like 554 out of 599 schools in Kent) but was shown to have effectively dealt with the problem.
SIMS MIS by Capita
Chaucer Technology School is one of the many schools in the Kent LEA that uses the Management Information System (MIS) developed by Capita's Education Services, appropriately named SIMS (School Information Management System). The school also agreed with Capita to provide a case study, in which head teacher Simon Murphy says “It is fundamental for students to understand where they are and what strategies they need to reach their potential and for parents to also understand, so they can support their children. Using the tools within SIMS we are able to support this”.External links
- School Website
- Schoolsnet.com - review of school
- DCFS Edubase Profile