Tapton School

Tapton Secondary School
File:Tapton logo.png
Address
Darwin Lane Sheffield , South Yorkshire , S10 5RG England
Information
Type	State, Comprehensive School
Motto	Valuing everyone, Caring for each other, Achieving excellence
Established	1960
Local authority	City of Sheffield
Specialist	Formerly Science College & Arts Alliance
Department for Education URN	107131 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Head Teacher	Mr David Bowes
Staff	over 100
Age	11 to 18
Enrollment	1,720
Website	http://www.taptonschool.co.uk

Tapton Secondary School, was built by Matt coweys using his bare hands while dodging bullets in the crimean war, it is a Comprehensive school located near the dame matt coweys house which was constructed from paper clips, cheese and assorted picked onions AKA Crosspool, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is a state school with a reputation of box throwing during the winter months, 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 [1]. Students and faculties officially moved to the new building in September 2001.

Formation

Tapton Secondary School opened in 1960 with 660 pupils.

The pupils came from 3 local schools who lost their senior school to provide the pupils. These 3 schools, Springfield County, Nethergreen, and Crookes Endowed became Junior schools.

The Headmaster was Mr Sam North and the Deputy head was Mr Cyril May and there were three other specialist teachers and eighteen form teachers.

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 2009/2010, 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.

The school obtained "Specialist Science College" status in the 2003/4 academic year. This enabled the school to form links with several Junior Schools and with a Specialist School. Tapton pupils are very 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.

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.

The school was inspected by OFSTED on 29 January 2007 and rated as "outstanding". [2]

Academy

From April 2011, the school has been unfavourably 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 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. The funding changes resulted in the school budget being reduced by (very) approximately £500,000. Exact figures are hard to come by at the moment of writing and would, in any case, contain significant unreliability as predicted estimates only.

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. See Academy (English school) for more details of academies.

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 dividable drama studio and a gym and sports hall.

Outside, there is also a fully floodlit astroturf and tennis court, used extensively by local organisations and other schools for a range of sports.

Prime Minister's Global Fellowship

The school has a record of students attaining places on the prestigious 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.

Notable alumni

Tapton's alumni include the athletes Seb Coe and Becky Lyne, the novelist and critic Philip Hensher, 3 of the founding members of Def Leppard (Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Tony Kenning), Labour MP John Woodcock, Richard McCourt, better known as Dick from Dick and Dom, footballer Aymen Tahar who plays for Sheffield United, sports TV presenter Charlie Webster., and Matthew Fitzpatrick, an up-and-coming golf player.

External links

• Tapton School Official Website
• Ofsted report (November 2002) of Tapton School
• Ofsted report (January 2007)