Thomas Tallis School
Thomas Tallis School is a large mixed comprehensive school for pupils aged 11–19, located in Kidbrooke in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom. The school is a specialist Arts College, Leading Edge School and national School of Creativity. Occupancy of the new school scheduled to take place in 7 November 2011.
The School was built in 1971, originally for 850 pupils.[citation needed] It now has nearly 2000 pupils.[citation needed] It is built on the site of a former RAF airfield. A blue plaque to recognise this has been put up on one of the corridors connecting the school's buildings.
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The school and its facilities [edit]
Thomas Tallis originally had two main buildings, which are joined together by two 'links'. In between the two buildings is a concourse area. The school opened in 1973. The school has expanded with a series of temporary schoolrooms being built around the two main buildings. The school currently uses the front fields while the re-build of the school is taking place. In 2004 an obstacle course including climbing facilities was constructed behind one of the school buildings on the opposite side of the school to the main field. This was demolished as part of the new school programme as well as reported cases of Asbestos. The school itself has one sports hall, gym hall, general rooms, science labs, I.C.T rooms a specialised deaf support centre and other on-site facilities. This old, somewhat decrepit (but lovable) site is now being demolished after the movement to the new school site.
Criminal incidents [edit]
Richard Reid, also known as "The Shoe Bomber," attended the school.[1] In 1997, fifteen-year-old pupil Nathan Brown, a member of a gang called the Golden Snakes, murdered CJ Rickard, 14, from the neighbouring Kidbrooke School, with a 17-inch machete. Six other pupils at the school were jailed for a total of twenty years after admitting conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent.[2]
The past [edit]
In 1998, the school was awarded Specialist Arts College status and has successfully been re-designated twice. In 2005 the school was awarded Leading Edge. The school has belonged to the Creative Partnerships network of schools since 2005.In May 2008, the school became one of only thirty schools in the country to be awarded the status of School of Creativity.The school is also acknowledged for its Deaf and Hearing unit (to which several rooms are dedicated), in which deaf and hearing impaired students can interact more socially and achieve good results.
The school has also once in the past been in the news for being involved in TV chef Jamie Oliver's campaign to improve school dinners in Britain. It features in his TV series Jamie's School Dinners, where the said chef showed the process of making chicken nuggets, thus putting-off students from ever eating meat again.
A text book designed by German publisher Ernst Klett Verlag uses pictures of the school and, as a consequence, German students frequently contact Thomas Tallis in search of pen pals.
In 2007, the school was featured in the Channel 4 documentary Make Me a Tory, directed by former pupil Daniel Cormack.
The present [edit]
The school has undergone a £50 million pound renovation as part of the Greenwich Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF).
The interior design utilities colour-coding and clear signage for greater accessibility. The majority of the teaching spaces are housed in three blocks to the west of the site. Rooms will benefit from full height windows(half the windows cannot be opened) and a mixture of natural ventilation and air management. Significantly enhanced sports facilities, a student cafe(seated for 50 people 6form consists of 250 with more to come), performing arts spaces and other classrooms make up the other blocks. The school has also paid close attention to the dining area and toilets, areas which are of particular interest to students and which deserve to be of the highest standards.
Also, the school has significant additional specialist spaces providing the whole community with state of the art facilities and enabling us to deliver an exciting curriculum for students of all abilities and talents. Access to community facilities has been made easier and circulation around the building will be enhanced by multi-level walkways. There is a close connection between indoor learning facilities.
The school will soon have access to extra recreation space, including outdoor classrooms and a small market garden, once the old building has been demolished (June 2012).
Notable alumni [edit]
- Ihsan Rustem - British dancer and choreographer
- Charley Kazim Uchea - Reality TV Contestant in Big Brother 2007 (UK) and lap-dancer
- Alex Slater - Reality TV Contestant in Beauty and the Geek (UK TV series)
- Richard Colvin Reid - failed terrorist
- Dominic Cooper - Actor
- Patrick van den Hauwe, professional footballer, attended from 1972-1977
- Matthew Collins, ex-NF leader and now renowned antifascist campaigner, writer and author
References [edit]
- ^ Nzerem, Keme (2002-02-28). "At School with the Shoe Bomber". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ^ "Cj's Murderer To Appeal Against Sentence". News Shopper. 1998-06-20. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
External links [edit]
- Thomas Tallis website
- Creative Learning website
- Twitter feed
- The school's Post 16 website
- Case Study on the School's Eco Programme by The Sustainable Development Commission
Coordinates: 51°27′53″N 0°01′36″E / 51.4647°N 0.0266°E
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