A Thornton Heath school has produced hundreds of masks for health workers and a dressmaking teacher is making much needed scrubs for NHS staff.

Teachers from the art and English department at Norbury Manor have been busy manufacturing personal protective equipment for NHS staff . While, Anne Blanchard, normally based at CALAT’s Zion Road site in Thornton Heath, where she teaches dressmaking is turning her hand to making NHS scrubs.

A team of volunteers led by Daneil Spiegel, head of the Art faculty at Norbury Manor used the school’s laser cutters to create masks from modified patterns. Around 200 protective masks have already been donated to King’s College Hospital with staff aiming to create a further 500 masks for Croydon-based healthcare workers. Students attending the school during the lockdown, the children of key workers, have been helping to assemble the masks. 

Anne who also runs a bridal wear business started has joined an army of volunteers makers throughout the country, using their skills to make a difference.

• CALAT courses are now online with the college using Zoom, Padlet and Google Drive to deliver lessons and they are being ‘really well received’, said Creative Arts and Crafts Programme Manager Mark Huggett. This includes all the Saturday Thornton Heath classes and Wednesday dressmaking classes. Students will soon be able to access an online knitting class and a WordPress develop your web site for beginners. www.calat.ac.uk