| Established | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Closed | 31 December 2006[1] |
| Type | Comprehensive community school |
| Location | Moat Road Oldbury West Midlands B68 8ED England |
| Local authority | Sandwell |
| Students | 580 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Ages | 11–16 |
| Houses | Trinity. Kings. Queens. School. |
Oldbury Grammar School, later known as Langley High School, Oldbury High School or Oldbury College of Sport, was a secondary school located in Oldbury, West Midlands, England. It served the Warley (Smethwick, Oldbury, Whiteheath) area of Sandwell (West Bromwich and Warley) and was situated in Moat Road, Langley. It was east of the M5, between Oldbury and Smethwick.
Contents |
Oldbury Grammar School originally opened as Oldbury County High School in 1926,[2] situated next to Barnford Hill Park in Langley Green following the transfer of Oldbury Secondary School, founded in 1904, from Flash Road, Oldbury. In 1944, following the new Education Act, the County High, originally co-opting its location within Worcestershire, became Oldbury Grammar School.
In 1929, local glass artists Tom Stokes and Bill Pardoe created a window for Oldbury Grammar's main school hall as a memorial to the Old Boys of the school who died in the 1914 war. It consists of eight lights with the allegorical figures of Justice, Courage and Fortitude and with extracts from the story of the Peloponnesian War, specially selected by Mr Willis Bond, that great figure in Worcestershire education of those days. Around the same time, money was raised for a multi-pipe church-style organ. "I Vow To Thee My Country" became a regular fixture of morning assembly.
The school motto was Cresco (I Grow) and former Grammar school pupils are known as "Old Cresconians".
Serving a mainly working class area, the school acted as a bridge to University education and a career in the professions. A thriving Sixth Form, lost when the school changed to a comprehensive in 1974, saw many pupils attain sufficient quality A levels to attend Russell Group universities and gain social mobility.
A history of Oldbury Grammar School 1904-1974 was written by former history teacher at the school Mr A.A.L Pearce and published in 1979.[3]
As a selective Grammar with open entry dictated only by academic ability at 11+ rather than the ability to afford school fees, the school not only promoted similar levels of academic excellence to that of private schools but adopted many of their trappings including a House system, winter and summer school uniform (which included distinctive striped blazers and straw boater hats for girls) and a school song which drew on the working class roots of the area.
The school became a non-selective comprehensive school in September 1974 when many of the former Grammar School teaching staff retired or left for posts in other schools and pupils seeking A level education left to continue education at new Sixth Form Colleges established at the premises of the former Holly Lodge Grammar School in Smethwick and Rowley Regis Grammar School in Rowley Regis On becoming a comprehensive, the school marked the move away from selective intakes with a name change to Oldbury High School and a smaller, more localised, catchment area . The name change coincided with the Warley (which included the school and Oldbury, Smethwick and Rowley Regis) and West Bromwich county boroughs merging to become known as Sandwell. Oldbury High School merged with comprehensive Albright High School in September 1983 to become Langley High School.[4]
Plans were announced in 2006 to merge Langley High with nearby Bristnall. These plans coincided with the school finishing lowest of 18 secondary schools in Sandwell, when a mere 16% of GCSE students attained 5 or more 'A' to 'C' grades compared to 95%+ of pupils gaining 5 or more 'O' Levels at grades 1-5 (A-C) when the school held Grammar status and a majority successfully passing 8 'O' Levels.[5]
However, the school later merged with nearby Warley High School (Oldbury Tech), becoming Oldbury College of Sport and it was announced that Bristnall Hall Technology College (formerly Bristnall Hall Secondary School) was to be rebuilt on the Moat Road site, with the relocation expected to take place during the early 2010s.
The merger took place halfway through an academic year, which meant that Langley High closed its doors for the last time in December 2006.