Benfield School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

located in Walkergate, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Its pupils come from a large area of Newcastle's east end including

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

, Heaton,

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

Walkergate Walkergate is an area and electoral ward in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is in the east of the city, north of Walker proper, east of the Heaton area and west of Wallsend. Areas within the Walkergate ward include Daisy Hill, Eas ...

and Walkerville. Benfield was opened in 1967 as one of the first purpose-built comprehensive schools in England, and over the years has built up a reputation as a sports college. The school is also the North of England gymnastics centre and has all-weather floodlit football, rugby and basketball pitches, badminton courts along with ordinary pitches, tennis courts, a gym and a recently renovated swimming pool. Previously a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools. Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework A ...

administered by

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

, in May 2017 Benfield School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by the NEAT Academy Trust.

Facilities

Benfield School is renowned locally and regionally for its fantastic sport and creative arts facilities. Below are a number of examples of the facilities available at the school to students and the community:- * Swimming Pool - 20m x 9m Swimming Pool with swimming a part of the curriculum offer for students. * Floodlit 3G Pitch - which supports the work of the Benfield Elite Football Academy. * Gymnastics Centre - 2336 square meters of floor gymnastics space. * Fitness Suite - a mixture of cardio and weights in a large and spacious space. * Staged Drama and Dance Studio - a versatile performance space with light rigging in place with two fixed stages.

Alumni

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

, English legendary football manager and former footballer * Lee Clark, English football manager and former footballer *

Lee Hall (playwright) Lee Hall (born 20 September 1966) is an English playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and lyricist. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the film ''Billy Elliot'' (2000) and the book and lyrics for its adaptation as a stage m ...

, English playwright and screenwriter most famous for his

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-nominated screenplay for the 1999 film

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy wh ...

. *

David Nellist David John Nellist (born 16 July 1952) is a British Trotskyist activist who was the MP for the constituency of Coventry South East from 1983 to 1992. Elected as a Labour MP, his support for the Militant tendency led to his eventual expulsion f ...

, Actor - known for starring in Sherlock and 55 Degrees North *

Trevor Fox Trevor (Trefor (disambiguation), Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh language, Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', ...

, Actor - known for starring in

and

Bridget Jones Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is based on Fielding's 1 ...

Vineeta Rishi Vineeta Rishi, is an English actress, known for playing Jas Khella in the BBC One soap opera '' Doctors''. Born in Bracknell, Berkshire to Indian parents, Rishi grew up in Walkergate, Newcastle upon Tyne where she attended Walkergate Primary a ...

, Actress know for starring in

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years wit ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

and

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

References

External links

Official website
Secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Academies in Newcastle upon Tyne {{TyneandWear-school-stub