Benton Park School

Benton Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Rawdon, West Yorkshire, England. Formerly a technology college, it has over 1,400 students.

Benton Park School
Benton Park School in 2009
Address
Harrogate Road Rawdon , West Yorkshire , LS19 6LX England
Coordinates	53.8558°N 1.6829°W / 53.8558; -1.6829
Information
Type	Community school
Established	11 March 1961
Local authority	Leeds City Council
Department for Education URN	108083 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Nicholas Skilton
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1,496 as of February 2023[update]
Website	http://www.bentonpark.org.uk

Status and awards

The school achieved Beacon status in 1998.^[1] The school gained Technology College status in 2002, after the head teacher advertised in Private Eye for sponsorship for the Technology College application^[2]

Awards received include Sportsmark Award, Artsmark Gold and International School Award.^[1]

History

Advertisement for Benton Park School with a line drawing of the building.

Benton Park school was built in the grounds of old Benton Park house. The school was established by Joseph Riley in 1838 and by 1851 he had 33 boys in residence. His son John was also a teacher there.^[3] In the 1860s it was bought by the Milligan family for use as a private home and was not used as an educational establishment until Littlemoor School utilized the premises as a senior department from 1951 until 1957 when the building was demolished.

The new school was built in contemporary brutalist style by Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners in the late 1950s and early 1960s, being formally opened by Lord ST. Oswald on Saturday 11 March 1961.^[4] In 2015, the Yorkshire Evening Post published an investigation into the risks posed by asbestos in the structure of the main school building.^[5] Consequently, in February 2019, Leeds City Council approved a £20 million project to rebuild the school, citing the poor condition of some of the school buildings.^[6] Building for the project began in June 2020.^[7] The new school building opened to students on 3 November 2021^[8] and demolition of the old building began in March 2022.^[9]

Notable alumni

• Anna Blyth, member of Great Britain Cycling team and past British Track Champion.^[10]
• Elizabeth Keates, actress.^{[citation needed]}
• David Miliband, former UK Foreign Secretary and MP for South Shields.^[11]
• Billy Pearce, comedian (Known then as Stephen Cookson).^[12]
• Oliver Wainwright, architecture and design critic for The Guardian.^[13]
• Joe Tasker, YouTuber and CBBC presenter.^[14]
• George Webster, Cbeebies presenter and Down syndrome activist.^[15]
• Ranjodh Bains, award-winning software developer recognised by the UK Government's Department for Education.^[16]
• Adam Reed, entrepreneur and philanthropist recognised in Forbes magazine's 30 under 30.^[17]