Thomas Becket Catholic School

Academy in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England

Thomas Becket Catholic School

Address

Becket Way

Northampton

Northamptonshire

NN3 6HT

England

Coordinates| 52°16′12″N 0°51′43″W﻿ / ﻿52.2701°N 0.8619°W﻿ / 52.2701; -0.8619
Information
Type| Academy
Motto| Christ's Love is Our Foundation
Religious affiliation(s)| Roman Catholic
Trust| OLICAT[1]
Department for Education URN| 142747 Tables
Ofsted| Reports
Chair| Chris Atkin
Headteacher| Paul McCahill
Gender| Mixed
Age| 11 to 18
Enrolment| 840
Website| www.thomasbecket.org.uk

Thomas Becket Catholic School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Northampton, United Kingdom.

## History

[edit]

The school was founded as Thomas Becket Roman Catholic Upper School; under construction through 1974[2] and 1975,[3] it had opened by March 1976.[4] It was named after Thomas Becket, 12th-century Archbishop of Canterbury. After Northamptonshire County Council, the local education authority, reverted from the three-tier system (13+ entry age) to the two-tier system (11+ entry), the school was renamed to Thomas Becket Catholic School.[5][6]

In 2004, following the reversion to the two-tier system and the resulting increase in student numbers, students in Years 7 and 8 had to be located in temporary classrooms on the tennis courts because of the insufficient room in the main building. The school authorities unsuccessfully applied to demolish and rebuild the school. The subsequent application to refurbish and extend the school, however, was accepted.[7] Upon the completion of the refurbishment, the school revealed plans to include a bar in the proposed £2 million sports complex which would have included half-a-dozen artificial turf pitches, a full sized pitch and state-of-the art floodlights, sparking controversy among local residents.[8] Following co-ordinated action by local residents, the planning permission application was withdrawn by the sponsor PlayFootball at the end of 2008.[9]

In September 2008, Thomas Becket Catholic School became a Specialist Sports College.[10][11] The Specialist Schools Programme ended in 2010 after a change in the national government.[12]

Previously a voluntary aided school administered by Northamptonshire County Council,[13] in April 2016 Thomas Becket Catholic School converted to an academy under the St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Academies Trust,[14] which via mergers became Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust (OLICAT), a multi-academy trust that also runs other Catholic schools in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.[1] The school continues to be under the guidance of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton.

As of 2016[update], Thomas Becket Catholic School is the only Catholic secondary school in the county.[15]

## Education

[edit]

Most students usually take ten subjects for GCSE, alongside Entry Level Physical Education and PHSE. All pupils must take English (Language and Literature), Double Science, Mathematics, Information Technology, Religious Studies and three other subjects of their choice. A-Level students not taking Religious Studies for A-Level have to take a Level 1 course in it.

The school's KS3 SATs results were over local and national averages in 2007.[16] Its GCSE performance trend rose above local and national averages to 52% in 2002 before falling to 42% in 2003.[17] In 2008, the pass rate in A-Level results rose from 75% to 91%, with a rise from 34.8% to 41% in the proportion of students getting grades A-C,[18] and the proportion of students getting grades A*-C at GCSE level rose to 48.35%, an increase of 11%, with a 5% increase to 34.62% in Maths and English.[19]

## See also

[edit]

* Northampton School for Boys – the county's boys-only state school
* Northampton School for Girls – the county's girls-only state school

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Our Schools". Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
2. ^ Northampton Development Corporation. Reports of the Development Corporations 31st March, 1974 (Report). House of Commons Sessional Papers. Vol. 13\. London: H.M. Stationery Office. 30 July 1974. p. 241. Retrieved 7 March 2021. "At Thomas Becket Catholic School for Roman Catholics, construction is well advanced."
3. ^ Northampton Development Corporation. Reports of the Development Corporations 31st March, 1975 (Report). House of Commons Sessional Papers. Vol. 27\. London: H.M. Stationery Office. 13 October 1975. p. 229. Retrieved 7 March 2021. "Also under construction are Thomas Becket Roman Catholic Upper School which will provide 630 places, and Spinney Hill Upper School, which is intended to be the major girls' school in the town"
4. ^ Northampton Development Corporation. Reports of the Development Corporations 31st March, 1976 (Report). House of Commons Sessional Papers. Vol. 36\. London: H.M. Stationery Office. 5 August 1976. p. 219. Retrieved 7 March 2021. "Nearly 1,500 additional school places were provided by the completion of Thomas Becket Roman Catholic Upper School and All Saints and Parklands Middle Schools."
5. ^ "Thomas Becket RC Upper School, Northampton, Northamptonshire". AXCIS Education Recruitment. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
6. ^ "Brief History". Information for schools. Northampton County Council. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
7. ^ "Development Control Committee – Northamptonshire County Council". Northamptonshire County Council.[permanent dead link] (HTML version on Google – Development Control Committee – Northampton County Council[permanent dead link]. Retrieved 23 July 2008)
8. ^ "Booze sale plan for school site". Chronicle & Echo. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
9. ^ "Disappointment as firm pulls out of school project". Chronicle & Echo. Johnston Publishing. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
10. ^ "Youth Sport Trust welcomes new Sports Colleges – SkillsActive". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011.
11. ^ "Inspection Report of Denominational Character and Religious Education – Thomas Becket Voluntary Aided Catholic School". Northampton Religious Education Service. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
12. ^ Paton, Graeme (19 October 2010). "Coalition to scrap specialist schools funding". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
13. ^ "Tables of findings in the three local authorities 3" (PDF). Department for Children, Schools and Families. 9 April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
14. ^ "Thomas Becket Catholic School - Local Offer". Northamptonshire County Council. 23 December 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021.
15. ^ "Thomas Becket Catholic School - Inspection Report". March 2007 Inspection Report. Ofsted. 26 March 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
16. ^ "Secondary School (Key Stage 3) Achievement and Attainment Tables 2007". Department for Children, Schools and Families. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
17. ^ "BBC NEWS Education League tables". BBC. 2 November 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
18. ^ "A-levels: Thomas Becket Catholic School – Northampton Chronicle and Echo". Chronicle & Echo. Johnston Publishing. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
19. ^ "GCSE 2008". Results Round-up. Chronicle & Echo. Johnston Publishing. 22 August 2008. p. 3.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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Schools in Northamptonshire, England1

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1includes schools in North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire.

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Diocese of Northampton

Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton

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* Churches

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* Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Cuthbert, Bedford
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* St Thomas More Catholic School, Bedford
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* St Paul's Catholic School, Milton Keynes
* Notre Dame High School, Northampton
* Thomas Becket Catholic School
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* St Joseph's Catholic High School, Slough

* See also:

* Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes
* Turvey Abbey
* Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District

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