davinci community college

If you have driven past our college this week you will have seen a large silver lorry parked in the car park. This was the exciting Food for Life Cooking Bus, a huge specialist-built articulated lorry which opens out into a spectacular purpose-built kitchen/classroom. Many of our partner schools visited the bus to learn how to cook healthily. Young people from 5 years to 18 years worked on the bus creating healthy dishes to take home and share with their families. Students from Cavendish Close School, Breadsall Hilltop Infants, Park View School, St Andrews Special School, Beaufort Junior School and our own students took part in the various sessions.

A group of local business leaders representing such businesses as Barratts Homes, Bowmer and Kirkland, Nelson Solicitors, Serco Rail, Yorkshire Bank, University of Derby, JobCentrePlus and Derby College spent the  day in the Chaddesden area last week , based at da Vinci. The business leaders visited places in the area including ‘Sure Start’ and da Vinci, meeting young people from this area. Da Vinci hosted a breakfast meeting where the visitors enjoyed bacon rolls served by Kiera Gibbons, a student studying GCSE Hospitality and Catering.

Another successful charity coffee morning was organised and run by the year 10 GCSE Hospitality and Catering students. A wide range of biscuits and cakes were sold along side tea and coffee. In only 30 minutes students raised over £50 for this year’s school charity – Great Ormond Street Hospital. By taking part in this event students learn the skills of planning, risk assessment, practical skills and customer care. Comments such as ‘ are they really home made they look so professional’ and ‘ the presentation is just like in a cafe’ reflected the standard of work the students achieved.

Thanks go to the Year 10 students and staff and parents who supported the event. 

Click read more for other pictures.

On 25th June 2009 the first Derbyshire Design & Technology / STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Exhibition took place in the main hall at da Vinci Community College in Derby.

As part of their exam, students designed their menus, planned and served the meals and are now evaluating the whole event. The standard of food was very high with products ranging from homemade soups, breads, quiches and cheesecakes. All food was served to a professional standard and enjoyed by all. Many parents and teachers have asked for recipes to try at home.

da Vinci Community College was invited to plan, organise and deliver a catering event with a prestigious fine dining company, Masa restaurant, renowned for its excellent service and high quality food.  A number of our Year 10 students organised an event.  This enabled them to see how a professional business is run from the planning stage right through to the delivery of the event. 

This years charity coffee morning run by the GCSE Hospitality and Catering group was an overwhelming success. Students raised over £100 for the following charities – NSPCC, British Heart Foundation, The Blue Cross, Breast Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK and Leukemia Research.

This year the Government published a new, free cookbook for all 11-year-olds, to help them learn healthy versions of old favourites – including spaghetti bolognese; risotto; lamb hot pot; lamb rogan josh; roast chicken legs; chow mein; and apple crumble.