Colton Hills Community School is a mixed

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

situated in the

Goldthorn Park Goldthorn Park is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands. It is situated to the south of the city centre within the Blakenhall ward. It mostly consists of nearly 2,000 private houses built in the 1920s and 1940s. The original plan for the est ...

area of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, England.

Admissions

The school has over 1100 pupils on its roll, including sixth formers. It is situated halfway between Goldthorn Park and Penn. Park Hill is to the east, and the school is close to the LEA boundary with Dudley (

Sedgley Sedgley is a town in the north of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampt ...

). Access is via the A4039, to the north, and is not far from the

A449 The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire. The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the tru ...

, to the west.

History

Grammar school

Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School was on Newhampton Road East, run by Wolverhampton Education Committee, and was co-educational, when Wolverhampton was in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. The building is now the Newhampton Centre of

City of Wolverhampton College City of Wolverhampton College is a further education college located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. History The college was formed in September 1999 as the result of a merger of Wulfrun College in Wolverhampton and Bilston Community ...

. It was known as the

Higher Grade School A Higher Grade School was a kind of educational establishment which flourished in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies ...

from 1894 to 1921, and Wolverhampton Municipal Secondary School from 1921 to 1945. From 1977, the building was used by Valley Park School until 1989. The school was commonly known as the 'Muni', and its motto was '' Post Tenebras Lux'', which means 'Out of Darkness Comes Light', which is also the motto of the City of Wolverhampton itself. Colton Hills Community School currently houses 1,009 students.

Comprehensive

Graiseley Secondary School was a coeducational

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

, formed in 1963. It is now Graiseley Primary School on Graiseley Hill. There had been a Graiseley Boys' Secondary School and a Graiseley Girls' Secondary School. Penn Secondary School was on Manor Road in Penn. Colton Hills School was formed in September 1974 from a merger of Graiseley and Penn secondary modern schools in the

Graiseley Graiseley is both an inner-city area of Wolverhampton, situated immediately to the south-west of the city centre, and the name of a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. Place-name The most likely origin of the Graiseley name is from the Old Engli ...

district of

and of Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School in

Whitmore Reans Whitmore Reans is in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north-west of the city centre, in the city council's Park and St Peter's wards. History The name 'Whitmore' is said by toponymists to come from the Old English ...

. It initially existed within the buildings of these two schools before relocating to th
site
at Goldthorn Park during 1975, on land which Wolverhampton had gained from

in the local government reorganisation of 1966. It was initially known as Colton Hills Upper School, with the Newhampton Road site briefly used. The Lower School, comprising the first two years of secondary, was at the Manor Road site until 1992-3 when these years moved to the main site. The Manor Road site was later demolished and replaced by Penn Medical Centre and housing. It has had specialist languages designation since 2006 and been a Creative Partnership school since 2008. Its student population is ethnically diverse, with the highest proportion having an Indian heritage.

Facilities

The school's facilities include a swimming pool which is also open to public use. It also has a field, an AstroTurf, theatre, sports hall and dance studio.

Notable former pupils

Kevin Darley Kevin Darley (born 5 August 1960, in Penn, Wolverhampton) is a retired jockey, and a co-president of the Jockeys' Association of Great Britain. He was British flat racing Champion Apprentice in 1978 with 70 wins and Champion Jockey in 2000 wi ...

, jockey * Delicious Orie, boxer, winner of gold medal at

Commonwealth Games 2022 The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

, actress *

Howard R. Davies Howard R. Davies (27 June 1895 – 3 January 1973), was an English motorcycle racing champion, motorcycle designer and originator of the 'HRD' marque which later became Vincent-HRD motorcycles. He died in January 1973. Early life Howard R ...

, motorcycle racing champion *

Jon Raven Jon Raven (1940–2015) was an English author and musician. Early life Jon Raven was the brother of author and musician Michael Raven (author), Michael Raven, father of the late Ministry (band), Ministry and Killing Joke bassist Paul Raven (mus ...

, musician

References

External links

Colton Hills Community School official website

EduBase

Graiseley Secondary School archives
{{authority control Secondary schools in Wolverhampton Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Community schools in Wolverhampton Higher grade schools Specialist language colleges in England