Tiffin School
Template:Infobox UK schools Tiffin School is a selective boys' grammar school in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England, with Specialist Performing Arts College status. The school is mainly voluntarily aided but raises additional funds through special events.
The school colours - red and blue - date from the time of its original foundation. The school's crest with three salmon is based on that of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
The school motto is Faire Sans Dire which, literally translated from French, means 'do without speaking', or 'actions not words'. The vision statement is A leading creative community; an enduring love of learning.
History
Two prosperous brewers from Kingston, John and Thomas Tiffin, left money in their wills in 1638 for the education of the locals. At first the money was used for scholarships to attend local schools, but the fund grew through astute investment and additional donations, so by the 1820s nearly 110 children were benefiting from the fund.
By 1869, when the charity schools had closed and the money was no longer needed by the Public Secondary School, the charity's trustees proposed to support Kingston Grammar School. There was a great debate until 1872 when it was decided that Kingston Grammar School should receive no more than a quarter of the income from the charity. Plans were therefore drawn up in 1874 for two new schools: Tiffin Boys' School and Tiffin Girls' School, each taking 150 pupils. A single building by the Fairfield housing both schools was opened in January 1880. In 2005 the schools celebrated their 125th anniversaries.
In 1929 the Boys' School moved to its present site, near the centre of Kingston. It became a grammar school in 1943 and changed from being voluntary-controlled to being grant-maintained in 1992.
Present day
There are around 140 boys in each year and about 340 in the Sixth Form. The present headmaster is Sean Heslop who was appointed after the previous head, Dr Tony Dempsey, retired in 2004. The teaching staff numbers 65 with ample support from other staff such as technicians, administrative and grounds staff.
A Learning Resources Centre, named The Dempsey Centre after the previous headmaster, was opened in September 2004, and contains ICT suites, a lecture theatre, a library, and a new careers office.
Music
The school has a choir and several musical ensembles including a swing band and the Thames Youth Orchestra. The choir, that in 2007 celebrated its 50th anniversary, performs at notable venues including the Royal Opera House, the Royal Festival Hall, and the Barbican with London orchestras, and it regularly goes on tour. The swing band joined the choir on its tour of Poland in summer 2005.
Drama
Drama has been a longstanding Tiffin tradition and, with the status of Performing Arts College granted in 2003, this continues. The main school production is put on in the first week of December and there is usually a smaller production in the summer. Previous productions have included School for Scandal, Macbeth, The Odyssey, The Goverment Inspector, Playing the Victim and Hit the Gold Trail (in collaboration with NYMT).
The House Drama event is popular and showcases pieces of drama written, directed and performed by the pupils. Awards are given for Best Writer, Best Actor and Best Production. While Raleigh House has been dominant in this competition with a history of awards in 2007 Scott House won with Unhand by Nick Goodman.
Sports
Tiffin School is active in Rugby, Cricket, Tennis, Rowing, Badminton and Athletics. Tiffin School owns a large area of ground near Hampton Court known as Grists (after it was donated by a former headmaster of the same name). Here there are 4 Rugby Fields, 2 Football Pitches, 2 Cricket Fields and 4 Tennis Courts. The Old Boy's Pavillion is also found here. The school also has a boathouse along the Thames at Canbury Gardens.
The House System
Houses have played a large part in day-to-day school life for many years. Today, six houses exist, named after notable explorers from British history (with Churchill and Montgomery added after the Second World War). Every pupil at the school is a member of a house throughout their education at the school, with staff also taking an active role in the support and success of their house.
Each house has a House Master, with House Captains elected from the Upper VI each September, responsible for overall control and discipline of the house. Houses compete annually for the House Trophy which is awarded to the winning house at the end of the competition and is usually presented on Sport's Day. Events for competition are wide-ranging, including Tennis, Swimming, Rugby, Cricket, Rowing, Drama, Chess, Public Speaking, Foreign Language Public Speaking, Sports Day and the gruelling Grists Run. The annual highlights include the House Regatta, House Drama, Public Speaking, and the House Swimming Gala. The House Competition culminates each year with Sports Day which is held at Kingsmeadow Sports Ground (home of Kingston AFC).
| House | House Colour | Tie Colours |
|---|---|---|
| Raleigh | Maroon and White | |
| Drake | Black and Red | |
| Kinglsey-Montgomery | Black and Green | |
| Churchill-Gordon | Black and White | |
| Livingstone | Blue and Marigold (Formerly Brown and Marigold) | |
| Scott | Prussian Blue and White |
Old Tiffinians
Leavers and ex-pupils are known as Old Tiffinians. The Old Tiffinians' Association seeks to arrange frequent events for such individuals such as dinners, sports fixtures and speeches.
Extract from Ofsted Report
The Ofsted Report in 2002 stated that "the school is very popular; annually, it receives around 1200 applications for the 140 available places. Very nearly all 16-year-olds continue into the Sixth Form and around 40 more join the Sixth Form each year from other schools. On entry, the pupils’ and Sixth Form students’ attainment is very high compared with the national average."
Tiffin Shop
The Tiffin Shop is a business, connected to the school which gets all profits, that sells school uniform, stationery and textbooks.
Notable alumni
- Dennis Lindley, statistician
- Alec Stewart, professional cricketer and one-time England cricket captain
- Chris Heaton-Harris, Conservative MEP
- Jonny Lee Miller, actor and ex-husband of Angelina Jolie
Notable students
- Ali Zahoor, child actor