About

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Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School (formerly Chatham House and Clarendon House Grammar Schools) has a long history of providing high quality education in Thanet.

The school continues to move with the times, embracing new approaches to learning, technology and developing a progressive, outward-looking curriculum, preparing their students well for the inevitable challenges of change which the 21st century will bring.

The Technology Department

Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School have nine specialist rooms spread over the urban campus, including: design suites, computer suites, workshops, kitchens, and a 3D HUB. The school pride themselves on delivering a curriculum that nurtures creativity and supports independent student learning. Chatham & Clarendon students enjoy extra curricular clubs, entering national competitions, university visits and teaching from talented and committed members of staff. Students have also had national competition success in KS4 and KS5 in product design through the makeIT competitions and in KS3 students won awards in the Thanet earth cookery competition.

3D HUB

Chatham & Clarendon Grammar School are proud to be a CREATE Education 3D HUB. The HUB offers ten 3D printers (7 Ultimaker 2s, two makerbot fifth generations and a Denford UP). The school also utilise Solidworks as their predominant CAD designing tool.

The 3D HUB coordinator is an undergraduate university placement student facilitating the printing of parts for students, other schools, companies, and national 3D printing projects. Hornby and Plymouth marine laboratory are just two examples of the companies the HUB works closely with.

Competition and departmental extra curricular clubs.

Senior school departmental clubs

  • Product Design CLUB, the club allows students to access the department’s practical, CAD, and CAM facilities.
  • MakeIT wood is a national competition run for year ten students
  • MakeIT furniture is a national competition for year twelve students.

Courses

Key Stage 3

In year seven, eight, and nine students move between three areas: Product Design, Catering, and 3D Graphical Design. The KS3 curriculum is being continually refined to keep up with national changes. Projects within KS3 are designed to be engaging, fun, and of high worth.

Key Stage 4

Product Design – central to the course is understanding the ‘design process’, following the format used in industry and requires skill in graphics and modelling. The ‘making’ element of the course expands on the skills and knowledge that the student has gained during years seven to nine.

Product Design is an excellent course for any student wishing to enter into a wide variety of areas, and was recently voted by teachers across the country as the “most valuable subject for learning skills”. The disciplined ‘Problem Solving’ nature of the subject lends itself to virtually every area of learning, and therefore can serve to complement any other subject.

Catering – the course is very practical, students will learn about the Hospitality and Catering industry as a whole including specific job roles.

Sixth form

Product Design – the Product Design course has been designed to encourage candidates to take a broad view of design and technology, to develop their capacity to design and make products and to appreciate the complex relations between design, materials, manufacture and marketing.

A2 Course

At A2, the specification offers candidates the opportunity to further develop the knowledge and practical skills from AS. Candidates will continue to develop a body of coursework alongside an understanding of the processes and procedures of commercial production and manufacture: Unit 3 Design and Manufacture, Unit 4 Design and Making Practice.

Progression

Design Technology is recognised by many Universities as being one of the most useful subjects available, due to the analytical and creative thinking elements that it focuses upon. The course enables students to be inspired, moved and challenged by following a broad, coherent and worthwhile course of study, that also gives an insight into related sectors, such as manufacturing and engineering. The course has been a ‘springboard’ into a wide variety of courses and careers. Previous students have gone on to study: Industrial Design, Product Design, Engineering, Industrial Design and Engineering, Civil engineering, Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Automotive design, and Computer illustration in some of the best universities in the country as well as apprenticeships and direct employment using Computer Aided Design.

Facilities

  • Two dedicated product design classrooms – with computers and a design space for practical and graphical work. SolidWorks and Adobe Creative Suite are provided at the core of the designing software.
  • The ‘Workshop’ – a well-equipped teaching space. Bag pressing, rotational moulding and plastic casting are examples of the school’s practical approach to student learning. Exploration through 3D iterative modelling is a core value at GCSE and A-level – the workshop is equipped to take this approach.
  • Computer Aided Manufacturing rooms – two CAM (computer aided manufacturing) rooms, which are very well equipped with a variety of high quality machines. Two Denford Mirco Routers, Universal V3.5 Lasercutter, Mercury Lasercutter, Denford Router 2600pro, Roland Camm1 Vinyl cutter, and Roland Camm 2.
  • 3D HUB – the 3D HUB is a dedicated space for ten 3D printers including seven Ultimaker 2s, two MakerBot Fifth Generations and a Denford UP printer. These machines give students the opportunity to realise high quality complex outcomes, complicated and advanced computer aided designed outcomes (CAD) students have produced can now be printed in ABS, PLA, and XT-copolyester.