Tapton School

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Tapton School
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Darwin Lane Sheffield , South Yorkshire , S10 5RG England
Coordinates	53°22′36″N 1°31′03″W / 53.3766°N 1.5174°W / 53.3766; -1.5174Coordinates: 53°22′36″N 1°31′03″W / 53.3766°N 1.5174°W / 53.3766; -1.5174
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Valuing everyone, Caring for each other, Achieving excellence
Established	1959 – Crosspool, Sheffield
Local authority	City of Sheffield
Specialist	Formerly Science College & Arts Alliance
Department for Education URN	138069 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Head Teacher	Kathryn Rhodes [1]
Staff	over 100
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	approx. 1,650[2]
Website	http://www.taptonschool.co.uk

Tapton School is a secondary school with academy status located in Crosspool, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is sited next to another secondary, King Edward VII School in Sheffield, and near to Lydgate Junior School in Crosspool, Lydgate Infant School in Sheffield and Notre Dame Catholic High School in Sheffield. Tapton School has approximately 1,650 pupils, aged between 11 and 18 years old.^[2] Tapton officially opened in 1960, but in 2000 the school was rebuilt under the Private Finance Initiative.^[3] Students and faculties officially moved to the new building in September 2001.

History[]

Tapton School (1979)

Tapton Secondary School opened in 1960 with 660 pupils. The pupils came from three local schools who lost their senior school to provide the pupils. These three schools, Springfield County, Nethergreen, and Crookes Endowed, became Junior schools.

The original 1950s school was knocked down and replaced by new premises under the private Finance Initiative in 2001 and is rented from its landlords, Interserve PLC.

After April 2011 the school was affected by changes in the funding of 6th formers and the removal of specialist school status from all schools. As a result of this funding change, Tapton governors sought academy status, which was approved, the changeover date being August 2011.

School site[]

New buildings include 15 science laboratories, a technology block with 10 classrooms, a music block with dedicated practice rooms, a drama studio, and a gym and sports hall. Outside, there is also a floodlit astroturf and tennis court, used by local organisations and other schools for a range of sports. In October 2015, a new building opened, with 4 new geography classrooms and a quiet area dedicated to the study of poetry.

Recognition[]

Academically, Tapton is one of the most successful state-funded schools in Sheffield. Results at A level and GCSE are consistently above the National average. In the academic year 2009–10, GCSE results placed Tapton 1st in the whole city and A level results were equally good. The Times best schools list 2007 puts the school around 200th in the country, second in Sheffield, though results at GCSE and A level in 2007 would put Tapton first. In recent years, various pupils have excelled in sports with badminton teams and the 6th form basketball team winning national competitions and one pupil running in the Sheffield Marathon.^{[citation needed]}

The school obtained "Specialist Science College" status in the 2003–04 academic year. This enabled the school to form links with several Junior Schools and with a Specialist School. Tapton pupils are successful at science A levels, and at GCSE, most pupils take "triple", that is, separate, sciences, the remainder taking "dual" science as in all secondary schools. Pupil teams have won or placed highly in several national science quizzes.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2007 the school obtained a status in Arts, enhancing the school's reputation and facilities in three departments – Art, Drama and Music. Members of successful bands such as Def Leppard attended the school.^{[citation needed]}

The school was inspected by Ofsted on 29 January 2007 and rated as "outstanding".^[4]

School students have attained places on the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme. The school achieved its first student in the inaugural year of the programme, 2008, and in 2009 had another successful applicant.^[5]

Tapton Youth Brass Band[]

Tapton Youth Brass Band' is a brass band formed in 1994 as the Tapton School band. Its musical director is Pat Phillips. It now attracts interest from outside the School. Tapton Youth Brass Band has played in many different countries whilst on tour and has collaborated with professional brass bands.

Notable former pupils[]

This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (January 2015)

• Kate Bottley, Anglican priest, TV personality, and journalist
• Sebastian Coe, British politician, former athlete, former head of the British Olympic Association
• Matthew Fitzpatrick, golfer, winner US Amateur 2013
• Philip Hensher, novelist and critic^[6]
• Adam Johnson, cricketer
• Paul Kirby, Feature film Production Designer. Credits include Captain Phillips, Kingsman. The Secret Service and Hellboy.^[7][8]
• Becky Lyne, athlete^[9]
• Richard McCourt, better known as Dick from Dick and Dom,^[10]
• David James Richards, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and technology executive^[11]
• Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Tony Kenning, three of the founding members of Def Leppard^{[12][failed verification]}
• Charlie Webster, sports TV presenter.^[13]
• Dr James Whitworth, cartoonist (Sheffield Star, Sheffield Telegraph, Private Eye), academic and writer (DCI Miller novels & journalism)
• John Woodcock, Labour MP
• James Woods, freeskier^[14]

References[]

External links[]

• Tapton School Official Website