In 1960 it moved to the site of Toulston Lodge, just outside Tadcaster. Although Toulston Lodge has now been converted into classrooms, as opposed to living quarters, the original fireplace is still in place, as is the skylight and the wooden elephants that surround it. There is a claim that Toulston Lodge once belonged to Oliver Cromwell.
Since 2000 new school buildings added include a science block, library and an extension to the design technology block. In addition, a new sixth-form block was constructed which also houses religious education classrooms, and there is a new entrance area with three business classrooms. Overall it includes three business rooms, one law room, three computer rooms, two science classrooms and three religious education rooms. In 2020, the religious education classrooms were converted to life skills classrooms, as the former rooms were moved to be closer to other humanities.
During the summer of 2006 a new entrance was built with automatic doors, a new disabled ramp was built for access to the science block and a new path was built along the school car park to the pottery shed. Also, during summer 2009, a new disabled ramp was built for access into the English temporary buildings. New wooden fencing was added in and around the school car park. Another addition to the school was a wooden sculpture at the entrance. This was erected in memory of the fallen Old Tree, formerly a school landmark since the change of site in 1960.
The school became a specialist Business and Enterprise College in 2003 and received High Performing Specialist School Status in 2007, with the school achieving some of the best GCSE and A-Level results in the county of North Yorkshire. In May 2012 the school received an Ofsted rating of 'Good' overall, with 'Outstanding' behaviour and safety of pupils. The school has retained its name but is now a comprehensive school. Originally under the grammar school system, pupils who failed their 11-plus exam would have attended Wetherby Secondary Modern School. Since Tadcaster is now in the district of Selby and Wetherby is in the City of Leeds, it is a difficult and bureaucratic process to educate pupils on the opposite side of the borderline to where they live. The school is most commonly organised through horizontal year group forms, dictated by the five houses. The houses include the established houses of Oglethorpe and Dawson, named after the two merging schools' founders, Fairfax, after the English Civil War commander-in-chief and alumnus Thomas Fairfax and Calcaria, the Roman name for Tadcaster, and Toulston, whose name was selected by pupils. Another house, Wharfe, previously existed but was removed at the end of the 2019/2020 academic year; it was introduced at the same time as Toulston and was also named by students.
Calcaria House — after the Roman name for Tadcaster. Red
Toulston House — after school building Toulston Lodge, former residence of Oliver Cromwell. Orange
Notable former pupils
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (October 2013)
Alumni of Tadcaster Grammar School are referred to as 'Old Tadites'. Some notable 'Tadites' include:
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