Tanbridge House School

Tanbridge House School
Address
Farthings Hill Horsham , West Sussex , RH12 1SR England
Coordinates	51°03′53″N 0°21′04″W
Information
Motto	"Exceptional everyday"
Established	1976 (current site built in 1994)
Local authority	West Sussex
Specialist	Science College, Maths and Computing College
Department for Education URN	126064 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Mr Bob Dulieu
Headteacher	Mr Jules White
Staff	170+
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 16
Enrollment	1268+
Houses	Redgrave, Radcliffe, Wilkinson
Colour(s)
Website	http://www.tanbridge-house-sch.co.uk

Tanbridge House School is a secondary school in Horsham, West Sussex. It is a specialist school of IT, Maths and Science. Its current head master is Mr Jules White who started in January 2008. Previous heads include Ms J Ball, Mr Neil Chapman, Dr Peter Thomas & Ms Maureen Johnson. The school teaches a wide variety of subjects across the curriculum. In 2012 95.7% of students achieved A*-C grades at GCSE. Of those, 79% achieved 5 A*-C including English and Maths.

In November 2012, the school achieved an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating in all four key areas of inspection. This placed it in the top three percent of secondary schools in the country and made it one of only seven 'Outstanding' secondary schools in the county.

School Information

There is a very active 'Student Voice' at Tanbridge which involves over 100 student representatives, who are actively involved in interviewing potential staff, leading on environmental and charitable issues and helping new pupils make the transition from primary to secondary school. In addition to this, the school was one of the first schools in West Sussex to achieve a Rights Respecting Schools Award (UNICEF).

Technology is also very modern at the school, with SMART boards in every classroom, nine dedicated IT suites in addition to another five computer areas and iPads to enhance learning. Since 2008, the school has had a Virtual Learning Environment and Moodle. The school also has its own Learning Resource Centre.

The annual school production is held every summer at The Capitol Theatre in Horsham; West Side Story (2008) Sweeney Todd (2009) Les Miserables (2010), Evita (2011), The Phantom of the Opera (2012) and Miss Saigon (2013) were all sell out shows.

There is a great deal of sporting success at Tanbridge House School with an emphasis on individual excellence right through to positive team participation. Most recent (Summer 2012) school honours included : Under 12 girls' football team were winners of North and Mid-Sussex 6-a-side competitions, the Year 9 boys' cricket team reached the County Finals, and Jade Brewster (Year 11) is ranked number one in the country for the pole vault. Every year, the school organises a sponsored walk. The school's Sports Hall has seating for 450 spectators and is adjacent to the gymnasium.

Other successes include Year 9 student Chris Purdy, who won a Children's BAFTA for video game design. The school's first aid team also reached the national finals in 2012.

Further Education

Many of the students progress to colleges across the county, with the majority going to The College of Richard Collyer in Horsham although other colleges include Northbrook College in Worthing, Central Sussex College in Crawley, Brinsbury College in Pulborough and Chichester College.

Houses

The school has three houses, which are all namesakes of famous English sportspeople. They are:

• Redgrave, after Steve Redgrave
• Radcliffe, after Paula Radcliffe
• Wilkinson, after Jonny Wilkinson

School Achievements

The school has achieved the following in recent years

• Ofsted Outstanding
• Rights Respecting Schools Award (UNICEF)
• Eco Schools Award
• Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
• Healthy Schools
• Specialist Science College
• Specialist Maths & Computing School
• Artsmark Silver
• Investors In People

School Timeline

Date	Notes
1627	Original site built by Richard Nye
1887	The second site was built by Thomas Oliver. It was one of the first houses with electricity in Horsham and was an example of neo-Jacobean architecture. It is the building in Worthing Road and is still existent today.
1920	Thomas Oliver dies; the building was sold to the county council for £7000
1924	The building becomes the Horsham High School for Girls
1968	The building was described as "a fine example of the revived Wealden tradition"
1976	The High School site is merged with the site at Manor House school and becomes Tanbridge House School, a mixed comprehensive. The former school buildings from the Manor House site were demolished and is now a supermarket.
1988	The school was due to be demolished but Audrey Robinson; a teacher at the school launched a successful campaign to save the building
1993	Foundation Stone for the new school laid by Sir Philip Ward
1994	The current school site is built, adjacent to the A24 road (England).

Notable alumni

• Robin Goodridge - drummer in rock band Bush
• Mark Hawkins - handball player, represented Great Britain
• Jamie Hewlett - artist/cartoonist and developer of the comic strip Tank Girl, and co-creator of the band Gorillaz
• Rob Leggatt - nominated for a Grammy award, while running BlueSource.
• Vincent Moss - Journalist (former Political Editor of the Sunday Mirror).
• Tim Slade - Founder of Fat Face Clothing Brand.

Three of the schools pupils have been nominated for a Grammy award. Robin Goodridge (as a drummer with Bush), Jamie Hewlett (with Gorillaz), and Rob Leggatt (with Leigh Marling at BlueSource).

External links

• http://www.tanbridge-house-sch.co.uk
• Tanbridge House School Worthing Road site