Wodensborough Ormiston Academy 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) ...

located in

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

in the

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 ...

of England. It is located on Hydes Road near the border with

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

, and most of the pupils live in the

Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. ...

and

Hateley Heath Hateley Heath is a residential area of West Bromwich, West Midlands.The population of the Sandwell ward taken at the 2011 census was 14,227. History Although the first major housing developments around Hateley Heath took place in the Heath Lane a ...

areas. The school is sponsored by the

Ormiston Academies Trust Ormiston Trust is a charitable trust based in London, England. It is a grant-making trust that chiefly assists schools and organisations supporting children and young people. The trust was established in the memory of Fiona Ormiston Murray who d ...

. Wodensborough High School was formed in September 1968, by the amalgamation of a girls’

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

and two

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 ...

s. In September 1990, Wodensborough High School was expanded to take in the youngest two year groups from

Hill Top High School This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in Sandwell in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. For details of currently operating schools in Sandwell, please see: ''List of schools in Sandwell''. Albri ...

in nearby Hill Top, which closed completely two years later. This led to a substantial increase in the school's capacity, as since then it has taken in pupils who would have gone to Hill Top had it remained open. During the

specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

the school gained specialist

Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 59 ...

status and was renamed Wodensborough Community Technology College. A newly built block was opened September 2005, aimed at replacing some of the school's ageing teaching areas. It was named the Vernon Building and has facilities for both physical education and sciences such as a gymnasium, dance hall and eight science laboratories. The North Block of the school was closed in December 2010, revamped and extended on, and reopened in December 2011. The South Block was remodelled during 2012 and opened in time for the new term in September. The plans are estimated to have cost around £20 million. The school was converted to academy status on 1 November 2013, and was renamed Wodensborough Ormiston Academy.

Notable former pupils

* Aaron Williams, footballer with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

and

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

(2005–2010)

References

Secondary schools in Sandwell Educational institutions established in 1968 1968 establishments in England Wednesbury Academies in Sandwell Ormiston Academies {{WestMidlands-school-stub