Tapton School is a secondary school with
academy status located in
Crosspool
Crosspool is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, located west of the city centre. The suburb falls within the Crookes ward of the City of Sheffield. It is a middle class residential area''"Approach To Urban Sociology" ...
, in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
, England. It is sited next to another secondary,
King Edward VII School in Sheffield, and near to
Lydgate Junior School in
Crosspool
Crosspool is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, located west of the city centre. The suburb falls within the Crookes ward of the City of Sheffield. It is a middle class residential area''"Approach To Urban Sociology" ...
, Lydgate Infant School in Sheffield and
Notre Dame Catholic High School in Sheffield. Tapton School has approximately 1,650 pupils, aged between 11 and 18 years old.
[ Tapton officially opened in 1960, but in 2000 the school was rebuilt under the Private Finance Initiative. Students and faculties officially moved to the new building in September 2001.
]
History
Tapton Secondary School opened in 1960 with 660 pupils. The pupils came from three local schools who lost their senior school to provide the pupils. These three schools, Springfield County, Nethergreen, and Crookes Endowed, became Junior schools.
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
Interserve is a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and which is expected to be wound up in 2024. At that time, the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and h ...
PLC.
After April 2011 the school was affected by changes in the funding of 6th formers and the discontinuation of the specialist schools programme
The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...
. As a result of this funding change, Tapton governors sought academy status, which was approved, the changeover date being August 2011.
School site
New buildings include 15 science laboratories, a technology block with 10 classrooms, a music block with dedicated practice rooms, a drama studio, and a gym and sports hall. Outside, there is also a floodlit astroturf and tennis court
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...
, used by local organisations and other schools for a range of sports. In October 2015, a new building opened, with 4 new geography classrooms and a dance studio which is often used as an assembly hall.
Recognition
Academically, Tapton is one of the most successful state-funded schools in Sheffield. Results at A level and GCSE are consistently above the National average. In the academic year 2009–10, 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.
The school was inspected by Ofsted on 29 January 2007 and rated as "outstanding".
School students have attained places on the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship The Global Fellowship programme (previously The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship) works with 18- and 19-year-old students from England to give them a strong foundation in interacting with one of the three major emerging economies. It began in 2008 ...
programme. The school achieved its first student in the inaugural year of the programme, 2008, and in 2009 had another successful applicant.
Tapton Youth Brass Band
Tapton Youth Brass Band' is a brass band formed in 1994 as the Tapton School band.
Notable former pupils
* Kate Bottley, Anglican priest, TV personality, and journalist
* Sebastian Coe, British politician, former athlete, former head of the British Olympic Association
* Matt Fitzpatrick
Matthew Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 1 September 1994) is an English professional golfer. After winning the 2013 U.S. Amateur, he later won his first professional tournament at the 2015 British Masters. In 2022 he won his first major championship ...
, golfer, winner of the 2022 U.S. Open
* Philip Hensher
Philip Michael Hensher FRSL (born 20 February 1965) is an English novelist, critic and journalist.
Biography
Son of Raymond J. and Miriam Hensher, his father a bank manager and composer and his mother a university librarian, Hensher was born in ...
, novelist and critic
* Adam Johnson, cricketer
* Becky Lyne, athlete
* Richard McCourt
Richard "Dick" McCourt (born 12 August 1976) is an English entertainer and presenter. He is best known as one half of the comic duo Dick and Dom, with the other being Dominic Wood. His older brother is fellow television presenter James McCou ...
, better known as Dick from Dick and Dom
Dick and Dom (originally Richard and Dominic) are a British comedy double act consisting of the presenters Richard "Dick" McCourt and Dominic "Dom" Wood. They are primarily known for presenting 'the broom cupboard' presentation links on Childr ...
* David James Richards
David James Richards (born 13 November 1970) is a British Silicon Valley entrepreneur and technology executive. He currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of WANdisco, an Anglo-American software company specialising in distributed computing. ...
, Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
entrepreneur and technology executive
* Rick Savage
Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original ...
, Pete Willis
Peter Andrew Willis (born 16 February 1960) is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the band Def Leppard. He co-wrote many tracks and played guitar on the band's first three albums: ''On Through th ...
and Tony Kenning, three of the founding members of Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
* Charlie Webster, sports TV presenter
* Dr James Whitworth, cartoonist (Sheffield Star, Sheffield Telegraph, Private Eye), academic and writer (DCI Miller novels & journalism)
* John Woodcock, Baron Walney, former Labour MP
* James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...
, freeskier
References
External links
Tapton School Official Website
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1960
Secondary schools in Sheffield
Academies in Sheffield
1960 establishments in England