Thomas Bennett Community College
Encyclopedia
Thomas Bennett Community College (TBCC) is a maintained comprehensive
secondary school
for pupils aged 11 to 18. It caters to approximately 1500 pupils in Years 7 to 13, including nearly 200 in its sixth form
. It now specialises
as a mixed school.
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 changed to provide a bilateral secondary school for boys and girls for a trial period of two years. This entitled the school to run separate grammar and secondary modern departments as part of one school.
The school was named after the chairman of the development corporation which had overseen the development of the New Town
, Sir Thomas Bennett
. Bennett officially opened the school in 1959 (the first pupils having joined the school in 1958). Although originally intended as a bilateral school, the staff of the school organised classes along comprehensive lines, with students work in sets depending on their ability in subjects, rather than broad streams. This idea proven so popular, that the school became formally comprehensive by the end of the trial in 1960.
In 1974, local schools were reorganised in the area, and Thomas Bennett School became an Upper school
for students aged 12 to 18, with former first year students remaining for an additional year in primary middle school
s. This situation was then reversed in 2004, when reorganisation again returned the school to a full 11-18 secondary.
between the A23
and Tilgate Forest. The campus contained both the Thomas Bennett school and the local primary school - Desmond Anderson School.
The original school comprised first two and then three main buildings at opposite ends of the campus. The adjoining Ashdown and Southgate buildings provided facilities, 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 the 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.
Both Thomas Bennett and Desmond Anderson schools were re-built, opening in entirely new buildings in 2005. The campus is now shared with the town's main leisure facilities: K2 Leisure Centre. 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. An Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
audit reported that the building was well-designed.
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:
Most pupils attending the school live within the catchment area, and transfer from one of the local primary schools:
Notable alumni include travel writer Simon Calder
and Dawn Primarolo
.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
for pupils aged 11 to 18. It caters to approximately 1500 pupils in Years 7 to 13, including nearly 200 in its sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
. It now specialises
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
as a mixed school.
History
The school was planned as part of the development of CrawleyCrawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
as a new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
in the late 1940s. Originally it had been intended to open a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
and two secondary modern schools on the Tilgate campus, although by the time the school was built, this plan changed to provide a bilateral secondary school for boys and girls for a trial period of two years. This entitled the school to run separate grammar and secondary modern departments as part of one school.
The school was named after the chairman of the development corporation which had overseen the development of the New Town
New Town
New Town may refer to:*New town, a generic name for a planned city development or expansion*In the United Kingdom, any of a specific set of towns created under various Acts of Parliament for population moved out of overcrowded conurbations-Places:...
, Sir Thomas Bennett
Thomas Bennett (architect)
Sir Thomas Penberthy Bennett KBE FRIBA was a renowned British architect, responsible for much of the development of the new towns of Crawley and Stevenage....
. Bennett officially opened the school in 1959 (the first pupils having joined the school in 1958). Although originally intended as a bilateral school, the staff of the school organised classes along comprehensive lines, with students work in sets depending on their ability in subjects, rather than broad streams. This idea proven so popular, that the school became formally comprehensive by the end of the trial in 1960.
In 1974, local schools were reorganised in the area, and Thomas Bennett School became an Upper school
Upper school
Upper Schools tend to be schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. There is some variation in the use of the term in England.-State Maintained Schools:...
for students aged 12 to 18, with former first year students remaining for an additional year in primary middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s. This situation was then reversed in 2004, when reorganisation again returned the school to a full 11-18 secondary.
Campus
The masterplan for Crawley New Town set aside the campus for the split-site school in the south-west corner of the neighbourhood of TilgateTilgate, Crawley
Tilgate is a neighbourhood within the town of Crawley in West Sussex, England. The area contains a mixture of privately developed housing, self build groups and ex-council housing...
between the A23
A23 road
The A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex. It became an arterial route following the construction of Westminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by the Turnpike Trusts...
and Tilgate Forest. The campus contained both the Thomas Bennett school and the local primary school - Desmond Anderson School.
The original school comprised first two and then three main buildings at opposite ends of the campus. The adjoining Ashdown and Southgate buildings provided facilities, 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 the 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.
Both Thomas Bennett and Desmond Anderson schools were re-built, opening in entirely new buildings in 2005. The campus is now shared with the town's main leisure facilities: K2 Leisure Centre. The current building houses all pupils from all year groups in a building built under a Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
scheme which replaced several schools in the town in the period 2004-2005. An Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government.-Function:CABE was the...
audit reported that the building was well-designed.
Students
The school is entirely comprehensive, providing education for approximately 1500 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:
- Broadfield East Junior School
- Desmond Anderson Primary School
- Hilltop Primary School
- Seymour Primary School
- Southgate Primary School
- The Oaks Primary School
Notable alumni include travel writer Simon Calder
Simon Calder
Simon Calder , is an English travel writer, currently the senior travel editor for The Independent newspaper.-Biography:...
and Dawn Primarolo
Dawn Primarolo
Dawn Primarolo is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bristol South since 1987. She was Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families at the Department for Children, Schools and Families from June 2009 to May 2010 and is now a Deputy Speaker of...
.