Twitter @tcdskent

23/05/25

A big thank you to Rotary Club of Thanet for hosting our STEM Club leader, allowing him to present to the Club the ‘Disaster Relief Robot’ that pupils have designed, and programmed, in their after-school STEM Club. pic.twitter.com/Nxd7zvPh77

21/05/25

Bounce Forward, supported by the Harry Kane Foundation, are running a free online parent course focused on building resilience in young people and supporting parents in raising resilient young people https://t.co/yiV0EJTGQh pic.twitter.com/mlgkbl8OMV

20/05/25

A Big Shout Out, and thank you, to Dan Cooper Garden in Broadstairs, who has donated lots of items to our Gardening Club. Our green fingered gardeners were out in the sunshine last week planting and tidying the garden! pic.twitter.com/2a7mZhPi8u

15/05/25

As part of last week’s VE day celebrations, pupils created artwork to be a part of the exhibit organised by Broadstairs and St Peter’s Town Council, at Broadstairs Bandstand. We hope you had the chance to see some of the work there! Here’s a sample of our budding artists' work. pic.twitter.com/1CCpE8s7wa

15/05/25

Our last Cooking Life Skills session with Noi Silk had our budding chefs making Prawn Tom Yum (hot and sour) soup, using some of the biggest king prawns we have ever seen!#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/EHPkRh92vM

14/05/25

Building community is really important in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Please see the poster for some helpful tips from the National College for parents. pic.twitter.com/8K2dufuXw3

13/05/25

We have 32 entries in the Thanet Schools Artists Festival 2025, presented by Margate Rotary Club. The exhibition of all entries across Thanet will be on display in Sainsbury’s at Westwood Cross between 12th and 18th May. The award ceremony will take place on 17th May at 12pm. pic.twitter.com/vBSJLc9SAr

13/05/25

Year 7 got fully involved in a an immersive lifesaving experience! The ‘ Community Lifesavers’ visited CDS, where they communicated the importance of turning ‘bystanders into lifesavers’. They demonstrated how to administer CPR and how to use the defibrillator/AED. pic.twitter.com/PKxlb3O3sy

13/05/25

The last lesson for many Hospitality & Catering pupils was one to remember. After a 3 year journey we thought we would treat them to a practical lesson they wouldn't forget - Chocolate Pizza! Good luck to all our Year 11s as they take their exams and complete their time with us. pic.twitter.com/rAcT86KPNK

01/05/25

Tuesday was International Dance Day and our Matilda Jr cast enjoyed dancing and performing during their rehearsal. Here’s a sneak peek into the cast rehearsing ‘The School Song’ and spelling the alphabet out with their bodies.#cdscapa pic.twitter.com/8IC28GWkWp

15/04/25

One of our uniform suppliers, Monkhouse, is currently holding a 60% sale on CDS uniform items when you shop online. Grab yourself a bargain, while the offer lasts. pic.twitter.com/ssQB12ZHhu

06/03/25

Y11 HSC & CD pupils enjoyed a trip to CCCU Health and Social Care Simulation Suite. They engaged in lots of activities linked to future careers in the NHS and Social Care, including correct handwashing and CPR! An inspiring glimpse into University life!#cdschsc pic.twitter.com/RatINMFH1F

04/03/25

KS4 Cooking Skills Club embraced the season by making pancakes to celebrate Pancake Day. Enhanced with lemon, chocolate, strawberries, syrup and banana, we are pretty sure not many made it home!#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/jixKzHpz1d

03/03/25

Today marks the start of National Careers Week. The National Careers Week website has created a Virtual Careers Fayre where pupils get the opportunity to explore careers in a range of professions. The link to the website is below:https://t.co/URx6RoIyJP#cdscareers

14/02/25

Always ready to celebrate a day in the calendar, our ladies at Independent Catering, again, pulled out all the stops! Look at these wonderful cakes and biscuits, all made and iced with love for a special day – Happy Valentines everyone and have a great half term break! pic.twitter.com/udqs44vby4

14/02/25

Some lucky pupils across Years 8 to 10 had the pleasure of attending a performance of ‘Matilda’ at the Cambridge Theatre, in London. Pupils were far from “Revolting Children”, and were ecstatic in their praise for the production.#cdsdrama pic.twitter.com/TNLRfQflrf

13/02/25

For the final week of this term’s KS4 Cooking Club, pupils literally smashed it! Each made their own version of a smash burger, where the ground beef is smashed down in the pan as it cooks at a high heat to create a charred finish which is both tender and flavoursome.#cdsfood pic.twitter.com/9WZFBnXDi1

03/02/25

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, organised by Place2Be. The theme is “Know yourself, grow yourself” and this week, we will be discussing ways that pupils can look after their wellbeing develop their understanding of their own personal journey through Character. pic.twitter.com/WWWPaBt7Aw

31/01/25

Say “hello” to our phone holder, wooden robots proudly created by our Year 7 and 8 pupils who are just coming to the end of their 3 term rotation in Design Technology. Aren’t they quirky! Very colourful, and you would never forget where you put your phone!#cdsDT pic.twitter.com/nWAYaUF77L

31/01/25

CDS has achieved the Association of Character Education quality mark, one of few schools in the country who have achieved this . The quality mark provides recognition for transformative character education which is delivered in an explicit, planned and reflective way. pic.twitter.com/bklt0tLuOa

30/01/25

Y10 pupils attended the second Broadstairs Youth Forum having the opportunity to talk with Cllr Joanne Bright and the Mayor of Broadstairs & St. Peter’s. Their contributions were insightful and mature, showing real engagement in community issues. pic.twitter.com/p8Fc1Zs0Uo

29/01/25

Kooth Talks are running a free parent/carer webinar about the role of Kooth and Qwell in the care for young people with an eating difficulty, Tuesday 25 February and Thursday 27 February at 6pm. Please use this link if you would like to sign up.https://t.co/llyz9bR3sl pic.twitter.com/KFrD91IrLb

29/01/25

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28/01/25

“Cooking for life” KS4 Hospitality Club focused on making loaded potato skins, a great way to use up whatever you have in the fridge and the cupboards to create a delicious and nutritious meal. They tasted amazing! We think you’ll agree they look very tempting.#cdshospitality pic.twitter.com/5cfQJK8hJM

27/01/25

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Cultural Capital

Developing Cultural Capital

Cultural capital is defined as the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a student can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a student will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work. At The Charles Dickens School we work to build our student aspirations and expose them to a range of experiences to helps them achieve goals and become successful.

We recognise that for students to aspire and be successful academically and in the wider areas of their lives, they need to be given rich and varied opportunities to develop their cultural capital. We do this in many ways, for example, through our curriculum, cultural capital days, extra-curricular activities, trips and visits and careers activities.

At The Charles Dickens School pupils follow a Cultural Capital Journey which spans 5 year of rich and diverse opportunities, this is planned and continually evolved to ensure pupils are exposed to a range of high and popular culture, alongside enrichment based opportunities.

We recognise that there are six key areas of development that are interrelated and contribute to building a student’s cultural capital:

  1. Personal Development
  2. Social Development, including political, current affairs awareness and debate
  3. Physical development
  4. Spiritual development
  5. Moral development
  6. Cultural development

We strongly believe that there can be nothing can be more important for our children’s education than ensuring they are supported to be the best they can be within our ever changing, diverse society that ensures everyone has an equal opportunity to live, learn, and achieve.

 

Personal Development

Careers and Information, advice and guidance provision; 

Personal Finance Education;

Employability skills,  

Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum; 

The school’s wider pastoral programme, PSHE drop-down and bitesize sessions;

Transition support and induction; 

Work to develop confidence e.g. debate clubs and interview skills workshops; 

Scholars Programme and Brilliant Club;

College ‘Bowl’ Competitions;

Activities focused on building self-esteem; 

Mental Health & well-being provision – Wellbeing Club, Mindfulness Training; 

Thematic Assemblies and Contextual Safeguarding Calendar

Social Development

PSHE curriculum; 

Form time curriculum; 

Whole School Charity work and Year Group fundraising activities; 

Pupil Voice – Debate and Activism; 

Social and Emotional Interventions Access; 

DFE Healthy Schools’ Accreditation; 

Access to CDS three levels of support (universal, specialised and bespoke) 

College competitions; 

 

Physical Development

Physical Education curriculum; 

Links with local sports clubs; 

Healthy Eating policies and catering provision; 

Anti-bullying and safeguarding policies and strategies; 

The health, drugs, alcohol, smoking and sex and relationships and elements of the PSHE curriculum; 

Extra-curricular activities available including Duke of Edinburgh Award;

Activity-based residentials; 

Food preparation and nutrition curriculum; 

Spiritual Development

The Religious Education/Ethics and Philosophy Curriculum; 

Our collective acts of worship and reflection; 

Support for the expression of individual faiths; 

School-linking activities – locally, nationally and internationally; 

The Assembly programme; 

Christian Workers Charitable Trust assemblies and outreach; 

 

Moral Development

The Religious Education/Ethics and Philosophy Curriculum; 

Behaviour Management policies, a culture of restorative justice approaches

Contributions to local, national and international charitable projects; 

Christian Workers Charitable Trust assemblies and outreach; 

Pastoral Programme; 

 

Cultural Development

Cultural Capital Programme

Educate and Celebrate ‘Bronze’ Award 

Youth Pride Network and ‘Pride’ Ambassadors

Access to the Arts; 

Access to the languages and cultures of other countries through the curriculum and trips and visits; 

Access to both high and popular culture through curriculum intent and enrichment opportunities

Promotion of racial equality and community cohesion through the school’s ethos; 

CDS ‘CARE’ values; 

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors through the ‘Diana Award’.

Assembly programme; 

Pastoral Programme

 

 

Documents

Cultural Capital  
Cultural Capital Overview Download
Year 7 Route Map Download
Year 8 Route Map Download
Year 9 Route Map Download
Year 10 Route Map Download
Year 11 Route Map Download