| Motto | Faire sans dire (To do without speaking) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1880 |
| Type | Grammar Academy |
| Headteacher | Hilda Clarke BA |
| Chair | Phil Phillips |
| Founders | John and Thomas Tiffin |
| Specialism | Arts, Language |
| Location | Queen Elizabeth Road Kingston upon Thames Greater London KT2 6RL England |
| Local authority | Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames |
| DfE URN | 102605 |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | 95 |
| Students | 1059 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | Red, blue |
| Publication | TiffNews |
| Former pupils | Old Tiffinians |
| Website | Tiffin School |
Tiffin School is a selective boys' grammar school, situated in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It has specialist Performing Arts College status and has gained a second specialism in modern foreign languages. The school moved from voluntary aided status to became an Academy School on 1 July 2011, but still raises additional funds through special events. Founded in 1880, Tiffin School educates over 1,000 students.
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Entry into the school is by academic selection, using both a verbal reasoning test and a non-verbal reasoning test. Over 1,300 candidates applied for 11+ entry in 2010.[1]
The school colours - red and blue - date from the time of its original foundation in the 19th century. The school's crest with three salmon is based on that of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
The school motto is Faire sans dire which, literally translated from French, means "to do without speaking". This calls to mind the phrase "Actions speak louder than words", and shows that students should perform, showing the world what they can do, rather than telling the world what they can do. The vision statement is "A leading creative community; an enduring love of learning".
There were originally four houses. Churchill and Montgomery were added after the Second World War. Every pupil at the school is a member of a house throughout their education at the school.
Each house has a House Master, with House Captains selected from the Upper VI each September, responsible for overall control and discipline of the house. Houses compete annually for the House Trophy which is awarded to the winning house at the end of the competition, which consists of academic and sporting events, and is usually presented on Sports Day, the Wednesday of the last week of the Summer Term. The current holders of the house cup are Kingsley-Montgomery, who were victorious in the 2010-2011 house competition.
| House | House Colour | Tie Colours |
|---|---|---|
| Raleigh | Maroon and White | |
| Drake | Black and Red | |
| Kingsley-Montgomery | Black and Green | |
| Churchill-Gordon | Black and White | |
| Livingstone | Blue and Marigold (formerly Brown and Marigold) | |
| Scott | Blue and White |
The school also operates a head boy and prefect system. Boys in the upper sixth are appointed prefects. When on duty, the head boy wears a blue gown and the senior prefects a red gown.
Two prosperous brewers from Kingston, John and Thomas Tiffin, left money in their wills in 1638 for the education of local people. At first the money was used for scholarships to attend local schools. However, the fund grew through investment returns and additional donations, so by the 1820s nearly 110 children were benefiting from the fund.
By 1869, when the charity schools had closed and the money was no longer needed by the Public Secondary School, the charity's trustees proposed to support Kingston Grammar School. There was a debate until 1872 when it was decided that Kingston Grammar School should receive no more than a quarter of the income from the charity.
Plans were therefore drawn up in 1874 for two new schools; Tiffin Boys' School and Tiffin Girls' School, each taking 150 pupils. A single building by the Fairfield housing both schools was opened in January 1880.[2]
In 1929 the Boys' School moved to its present site, in Queen Elizabeth Road near the centre of Kingston.[2] It became a grammar school in 1943 and changed from being voluntary-controlled to being grant-maintained in 1992. On 1 July 2011 the school achieved Academy status.
In 1937 a new building was opened for the Girls' School for 480 pupils, they had previously been in the same building as the Boys' School.[3]
The school site campus has expanded and now has a Sports Centre, an Arts block, the South Building and the Judge Lecture Theatre and Learning Resource Centre (named the Dempsey Centre after a former head).
There are plans to replace the old 1940s refectory with a modern canteen and sixth-form centre, which will be connected to the Dempsey Centre.
There are between 140 to 150 boys in each year, and about 340 in the Sixth Form, taught by 65 teaching staff.[4] The Dempsey Centre, named after Dr Tony Dempsey, who retired as head in 2004, was opened in September of that year. It contains ICT suites, a lecture theatre, a library and a new careers office.[5][6]
Hilda Clarke, was appointed head of Tiffin School in September 2009 replacing Sean Heslop, who had left in January 2009 to take up a headship in another school. Hilda Clarke is Tiffin's first female head.[7] She was the former head of Langley Grammar School in Slough and former deputy head of Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames.
The Ofsted report in 2002 stated that "the school is very popular; annually, it receives around 1,300 applications for the 140 available places. Very nearly all 16-year-olds continue into the Sixth Form and around 40 more join the Sixth Form each year from other schools. On entry, the pupils’ and Sixth Form students’ attainment is very high compared with the national average." In the 2007 Ofsted Report, Tiffin was rated outstanding (grade 1) in every area.[8]
The school is strong academically and regularly sends approximately 20 boys to the Oxbridge Universities each year, and for posterity their names are recorded on wood paneling in the main school hall. The majority of boys do end up going to either the Russell Group or the 1994 Group of research intensive universities.
According to the Sunday Times, Parent Power Guide, the school is ranked 10th in the top 100 State Secondary Schools based on 2011 examination results. The 2011 results for the school are:-
A-level %A*-B: 90.9
GCSE %A*-A: 82.8
The school has a choir and several musical ensembles, including a swing band and the Thames Youth Orchestra.[9] Every year, the school performs an oratorio, which consists of students, parents, staff and friends and is accompanied by either the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, the London Mozart Players or the Sinfonia Britannica.[10]
The Tiffin Boys' Choir, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, performs at notable venues including the Royal Opera House, the Royal Festival Hall, and the Barbican with London orchestras, and it regularly goes on tour.[11] The choir has also recorded CDs, such as Rejoice in the Lamb and Christmas at Tiffin. It has also appeared on recordings of Mahler with Klaus Tennstedt, Puccini's Tosca with Antonio Pappano and Britten's War Requiem with Kurt Masur.[12] In addition to this, the choir has featured on the last ever episode of TFI Friday, on the soundtrack of A Christmas Carol, starring Kate Winslet, and on the subsequently released top-ten Kate Winslet Single "What If".[12] The choir has made tours to Germany, Romania, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, China and New Zealand. Currently, the Conductor for the Tiffin Boys' Choir is Simon Toyne - the Music Director of Tiffin School.
Tiffin school contributes a significant number of the musicians in the Thames Youth Orchestra.
Drama has been a long-standing Tiffin tradition and, with the status of Performing Arts College granted in 2003, this continues. The main school production is put on in the first week of December and there is usually a smaller production in the summer. Previous productions have included School for Scandal, Macbeth, The Odyssey, The Government Inspector, Playing the Victim and Hit the Gold Trail (in collaboration with NYMT).
Tiffin School is active in all the main sports.[13] It has facilities for rugby, football and cricket at a large area of ground near Hampton Court, known as Grist's (named after a former headmaster).[14] Tiffin School Boat Club is based at the boathouse, which is shared with Kingston Rowing Club along the Thames at Canbury Gardens.[15] The school is particularly strong in rugby, cricket, basket ball and rowing.
The school has a sports hall which is open to the public after normal school hours.
The Tiffin shop is a charitable business, that sells the school uniform, sports kit (rugby, cricket), various stationery items and textbooks. Because the shop is connected to the school, the school receives all surplus income. The shop relocated to the 'Elmfield' building in February 2007.[16]
Former pupils are known as Old Tiffinians.[17] The Tiffinian Association seeks to arrange reunion events such as dinners[18] and sports fixtures.[19] All alumni, parents of alumni, former staff, governors, and friends of the school are welcome to participate in these events.