Thomas Hepburn Community Academy

Thomas Hepburn Community Academy

Established	1990
Type	Academy
Principal	Lesley Craig
Senior Vice Principal	Ian Tempest
Chair	Mr J Mertz
Location	Swards Road Felling, Gateshead Tyne and Wear NE10 9UZ England
DfE number	390/4000
DfE URN	140035 Tables
Ofsted	Reports Pre-academy reports
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–16
Houses	Atwood, Forster, Jude, Larkin
Colours	Purple and Grey
Website	School website

Thomas Hepburn Community Academy (formerly Thomas Hepburn Community School) is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The school serves about 700 pupils aged 11–16.

History

Thomas Hepburn Community School was founded in 1990 following the merger of Sheriff Hill and Highfield Schools, based at the Highfield site. The original headmaster was Mr. C.B. Buddle who had previously been headmaster at Sheriff Hill.

In 2009 the school started an extensive rebuild project which saw the demolition of North and South block, the school hall, sports hall and gym as well as the refurbishment of the Technology block which now is home to the Art, Humanities and ICT departments. The Lifelong Learning building was refurbished over the summer break in 2011.

In 2012 Thomas Hepburn was judged to be "Unsatisfactory" by Ofsted, and the 2012 Exam results placed the school among the 200 lowest attaining schools in the country. In January 2013 the Department of Education made the decision to convert the school into an academy, which formally occurred in October 2013. The school was then renamed Thomas Hepburn Community Academy. In 2015 a new system of a "mini school" took place, letting the year 7 students be free from the older students.