Tiffin Life

At Tiffin School we provide high quality teaching and provision which is accessible to all. Students who attract Pupil Premium receive the support and opportunities needed to achieve in line with their non-Pupil Premium peers.  The school’s values of Belonging, Learning, and Giving are accessible to all of our students, regardless of background or the challenges they may face.

At Tiffin School we narrow progress, attainment and engagement gaps through:

• Consistently strong teaching and learning across all subjects, with a particular focus upon inclusion and challenge for all
• Consistently strong and personalised pastoral support to promote excellent attendance, behaviour, wellbeing, and engagement for all
• Targeted academic intervention and support informed by assessment and progress data
• Ensuing all students have access to resources, equipment, educational visits, and a vast range of extracurricular opportunities to ensure full curriculum entitlement and the growth of cultural capital
• Regular monitoring of individual students and groups to adapt provision and meet the learning needs of all, responding to any emerging individual needs
• Clear and responsive leadership that is evidence based and data driven, with particular attention to inclusion and disadvantages students

Our Pupil Premium Statement details our school’s use of Pupil Premium funding to help improve the attainment of our disadvantaged students.

In line with the school’s values of Belonging, Learning and Giving, we aim to remove any obstacles to disadvantaged students accessing the same high-quality curriculum, enrichment opportunities, and higher education pathways as their non-Pupil Premium peers. The impact of Pupil Premium funding is monitored through attainment, progress, attendance, behaviour, and destination data, alongside qualitative evidence such as pupil voice and parental feedback. Outcomes at the end of Key Stage 4 and 5 show that disadvantaged students make strong progress in line with our non-disadvantaged students and exceed national comparators. Gaps between Pupil Premium and non-Pupil Premium students are closing, reflecting the effectiveness of the school’s targeted provision and inclusive culture.

The following figures show the recent performance and wider outcomes of our Pupil Premium students:

Attainment and progress at Key Stage 4 

Post-18 destinations

Our Pupil Premium and 16-19 bursary funded students progress to a wide range of highly selective universities, apprenticeships and professional pathways, reflecting high aspiration and strong guidance.

Attendance

Attendance for Pupil Premium students at Tiffin remains strong and in line with or exceeding that of non-Pupil Premium peers, supported by close monitoring and timely pastoral intervention.  In the last academic year 2024-25, whole school attendance was 95%, attendance for pupil premium students was 97.5%.

A central element of our Pupil Premium strategy is ensuring full access to the school’s rich co-curricular and enrichment programme. Funding is used to prioritise and/or subsidise:

• Educational visits and residential trips, both in the UK and overseas
• Co-curricular activities – sport, clubs and societies
• Music bursary for tuition, instrumental hire and performance opportunities
• University outreach programmes, mentoring and priority careers guidance
• Stationery and revision materials, equipment and specialist resources, including a fully subsidised Chromebook from year 7
•  Uniform

These priorities ensure that disadvantaged students are able to build confidence, develop cultural capital, and benefit fully from the breadth of opportunities that define a Tiffin education.

Outreach – Shaping Futures 

Shaping Futures is an outreach programme run by Tiffin School for Year 5 pupils from local primary schools, launched in Spring Term 2025. The programme aims to widen access and raise aspirations by providing high-quality enrichment and academic support, particularly for Pupil Premium pupils and others who may not usually have access to such opportunities. Schools are invited to nominate up to five pupils who would benefit most.

The programme consists of

• Five two-hour sessions over a ten-week period
• Enrichment and extracurricular activities
• Targeted English and Maths support delivered by trained Sixth Form mentors and supervised by Tiffin staff
• Free access to an online learning platform to support ongoing development at home

Students who attend all five Shaping Futures sessions will also be given a place for a 11+ Kingston Familiarisation Test. The initiative is designed to broaden horizons, build confidence, support academic development, ease transition to secondary education, and encourage families to consider selective education where appropriate.

Free Familiarisation 

We recognise that the grammar school admissions process can feel daunting for families who may not have previous experience of it.

To support this, we provide:

• Free familiarisation materials and guidance through Atom Learning for all Pupil Premium pupils.
  • To access this support, if your child has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, please fill in this form. They will be given free access to Atom Home when their Pupil Premium status has been verified by their primary school.
• Clear, transparent information about our test structure provided on our website via FAQs, illustrative questions and sample answer sheets
• Direct communication with primary schools in our local community

As a selective school, places are allocated on the basis of academic ability. However, within our admissions arrangements we have built in a number of mechanisms to widen access and ensure that boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are able to compete fairly and confidently.

10% Leeway in the Admissions Process  

At Stage One of our entrance test process, we apply a 10% leeway to support eligible Pupil Premium applicants within our Priority Area.

This leeway applies to:

• Boys who are eligible for Pupil Premium
• Looked After and Previously Looked After Children
• Boys who demonstrate aptitude in Sport
• Boys who demonstrate aptitude in Music

The policy ensures that if an eligible candidate’s Stage One score falls within 10% of the lowest qualifying score for progression to Stage Two, they will also be invited to sit the Stage Two Test where a more generous threshold is also applied. This approach does not alter individual marks. Instead, it ensures that talented boys who may face disadvantage are not narrowly excluded.

Our Commitment

Our admissions policy and outreach work reflect a clear commitment:

• To widen participation
• To recognise potential in different forms
• To support disadvantaged pupils within our Priority Area
• To ensure that access to Tiffin is based on ability and aptitude, not background

We are proud of the steps we have taken and continue to review and refine our approach to ensure it remains fair, rigorous and inclusive.

For further information about admissions, sporting or musical aptitude assessments, or the Shaping Futures programme, please contact our Admissions Team.