Thomas Bennett Community College
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| Thomas Bennett Community College | |
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| Motto | Working together for success, happiness and respect for all |
| Established | 1959 |
| Type | Comprehensive Secondary |
| Headteacher | Ms Y Maskatiya |
| Chair of Governors | Mr R Bates |
| Specialism | Sports College |
| Location | Ashdown Drive Crawley West Sussex RH10 5AD England  |
| LEA | West Sussex County Council |
| Ofsted number | 126075 |
| Students | c.1400 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11 to 18 |
| Houses | Hepburn, Parker, Roberts, Wallis |
| School colours | Yellow & Navy |
| Website | www.thomasbennett.org.uk |
| Coordinates: | |
Thomas Bennett Community College (TBCC) is a maintained comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18. It caters for around 1400 pupils in years 7 to 13, including nearly 200 in its sixth form. It is now a sports college
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[edit] History
The school was planned as part of the development of Crawley as a new town in the late 1940s. Originally it had been intended to open a grammar school and two secondary modern schools on the Tilgate campus, although by the time the school was built, this plan was changed to provide for a comprehensive secondary school for boys and girls.[1]
The school was named after the chairman of the development corporation which had overseen the development of the New Town, Sir Thomas Bennett. It was officially opened by him in 1959 (the first pupils having joined the school in 1958). The original school comprised first two and then three main buildings at opposite ends of the campus. Facilities were provided at the adjoining Ashdown and Southgate buildings, with a further building - known as the Canterbury building - approximately 1/4 mile to the south-east. Uses of the buildings varied. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Canterbury building was used for 'lower school' pupils in the first two years of school, with 'upper school' pupils in fourth and fifth forms moving to the Southgate building, and sixth formers based in Ashdown building. By the 1990s, pupils in the main part of the school were split equally between Canterbury and Southgate buildings, depending on their house.
In 2005, a new school building opened in the centre of the campus, with the old buildings being demolished.
[edit] Campus
The campus for the school was set aside in the masterplan for Crawley New Town in the south-west corner of the neighbourhood of Tilgate between the A23 and Tilgate Forest. It contained both the Thomas Bennett school and the local primary school - Desmond Anderson School. Both schools were re-built, opening in entirely new buildings in 2005. The campus is now shared with the town's main leisure facilities: K2
The current building houses all pupils from all year groups in a building built under a Private Finance Initiative scheme which replaced several schools in the town in the period 2004-2005. The building is reported to have been well-designed according to an audit by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. [2]
[edit] Students
The school is entirely comprehensive, providing education for around 1400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 of all abilities. The school was formerly much larger with around 2000 pupils, but has reduced in recent years.
The school is organised into four houses, named after the original house masters/mistresses when the school opened in the 1950s, each of which was allocated a colour:
- Hepburn (Yellow)
- Parker (Green)
- Roberts (Blue)
- Wallis (Red)
Most pupils attending the school live within the catchment area, and transfer from one of the local primary schools:
- Desmond Anderson Primary School
- The Oaks Primary School
- Broadfield East Junior School
- Seymour Primary School
- Southgate Primary School
- Hilltop Primary School
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Hudson, T.P. (ed.) [1987]. "Crawley New Town: Education", A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 3: Bramber Rape (North-Eastern Part) including Crawley New Town. Oxford: Institute of Historical Research by Oxford University Press, pp93-95. ISBN 0197227686. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ Milne, Jonathan. "High-class but poor quality", Times Educational Supplement, TSL Education Ltd, 2006-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
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