Tapton School
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| Motto | Valuing everyone, Caring for each other, Achieving excellence |
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| Established | 1960 |
| Type | State, Comprehensive School |
| Head Teacher | Mr David Bowes |
| Specialism | Formerly Science College & Arts Alliance |
| Location | Darwin Lane Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 5RG England |
| Local authority | City of Sheffield |
| DfE URN | 107131 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | over 100 |
| Students | 1,720 |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | www.taptonschool.co.uk |
Coordinates: 53°22′36″N 1°31′03″W / 53.3766°N 1.5174°W
Tapton Secondary School, is a Comprehensive school located in Crosspool, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is a state school, sited next to another secondary, King Edward VII School, and near to Lydgate Junior School, Lydgate Infant School and Notre Dame High School. Tapton School has over 1,600 pupils, aged between 11 and 18 years old. Tapton officially opened in 1960, however in 2000, the school was rebuilt under the Private Finance Initiative.[citation needed] Students and faculties officially moved to the new building in September 2001.
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[edit] Formation
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.
[edit] Reconstruction
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. The new buildings include 13 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.
[edit] Success
Academically, Tapton is one of the most successful state 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. teams of pupils have won or placed high 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".[1]
[edit] Academy
From April 2011, the school has been affected by changes in the funding of 6th formers and the removal of specialist school status from all schools. The 6th form funding change was apparently intended[says who?] to align tertiary college and school funding for similar pupils on similar courses, unfortunately this was done by putting schools' funding down, rather than college funding up.[says who?] The funding changes resulted in the school budget being reduced by approximately £500,000. Exact figures are hard to come by at the moment of writing[by whom?] and would, in any case, contain significant unreliability as predicted estimates only.[citation needed]
As a result of this funding change, Tapton governors have sought Academy status, which has been approved, the changeover date is expected to be August 2011. The different methods of calculating funding for Academy status schools should ensure that Tapton's budget is not cut so severely.[says who?]
[edit] Prime Minister's Global Fellowship
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.[2]
[edit] Notable former pupils
Tapton's alumni include the athletes Sebastian Coe[3][dead link] and Becky Lyne,[4] the novelist and critic Philip Hensher,[5] three of the founding members of Def Leppard (Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Tony Kenning),[6][unreliable source?] Labour MP John Woodcock,[7][dead link] Richard McCourt, better known as Dick from Dick and Dom,[8] footballer Aymen Tahar who played for Sheffield United[citation needed], and sports TV presenter Charlie Webster.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ "Tapton School", Ofsted inspection report 2007. Pdf download required. Retrieved 7 January 2012
- ^ British Council website "Fellows" accessed 10 November 2009.
- ^ Made in Sheffield website http://www.made-in-sheffield.com/People/sebastianCoe.htm
- ^ Daily Telegraph, My School Sport: Becky Lyne http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/2315155/My-School-Sport-Becky-Lyne.html
- ^ BBC South Yorkshire Philip Hensher's Sheffield http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/articles/2008/10/29/philip_hensher_northern_clemency_feature.shtml
- ^ Def Leppard Bebo profile http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=4553911219&ShowSims=Y
- ^ Tapton School Wednesday Letter May 26th 2010 http://www.taptonschool.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=150&type=pdf
- ^ Sheffield Star, Bully for you as Dick beats school thugs http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Bully-for-you-as-Dick.996163.jp
- ^ Sheffield Star, Charlie Webster article http://www.thestar.co.uk/features/Talented-Charlie-Webster39s-got-her.5310306.jp
