Wood Green Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

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 ...

with academy status 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 ...

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 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 northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 2009,

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

listed Wood Green as one of 12 outstanding schools serving disadvantaged communities.

Admissions

The head teacher is James Topham, who started the role in September 2014, taking over from Pank Patel. Pank succeeded the retiring Enid Bibby, who had been head teacher for eight years and became a

dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

in 2004 following a significant increase in academic results at the school during her tenure. The school is situated on the A461 Wood Green Road which connects Wednesbury 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 ...

History

Grammar school

The school was originally named ''Wednesbury Boys' High School''. It was a

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 ...

that opened in Wood Green House, St. Paul's Road in 1924 under the headship of C. H. S. Kipping. The school was sometimes also referred to as Wednesbury Grammar School. The school's motto was ''Arte Marte Vigore'', which was also the motto of the Borough of Wednesbury. Former members of the school are known as "Old Wodens" and The Old Wodens Society still meets bi-annually.

Comprehensive

The buildings were expanded during the 1950s, and by 1970 the school had been converted to a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

. In 1968, it merged with Wood Green Secondary Modern School to become Wood Green Bilateral School. The Wednesbury Girls' High School, a girls' grammar school, merged into the sixth form. It became Wood Green High School in September 1969, serving pupils of both sexes. The school includes a sixth form for pupils aged over 16. In 2023 the school was found to have some potentially structurally unsound classrooms due to the use of

reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a lightweight, precast, foam concrete building material suitable for producing concrete masonry unit like blocks. Composed of quartz sand (SiO2 with impurities), calcined calcium sulfate (CaSO4, a.k. ...

as a building material.

Academic performance

In 2013, 68% of students achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including Maths and English. 100% of students passed their

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

Alumni

Wood Green Academy

Jaydon Paddock Jaydon Paddock (born 2001 in Walsall) is a British athlete who competes in trampoline gymnastics. Paddock attended Wood Green Academy in Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is loc ...

Wednesbury Boys' High School

* John Morgan CBE, Managing Director from 1965-8 of

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

- AEI Machines Group, Chairman from 1984-8 of

AMEC Amec Foster Wheeler plc was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. In October 2017, it was acquired by Wood Group. It was focused on the Oil, Gas & Chemicals, M ...

* Sir

Kevin Satchwell Sir Kevin Joseph Satchwell is a British educator who is headmaster of Thomas Telford School in Shropshire and the founding Chief Executive (CEO) to the Thomas Telford Multi Academy Trust (TTMAT). Satchwell was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire ...

References

External links

Former school

EduBase
{{authority control Academies in Sandwell Educational institutions established in 1924 Wednesbury Secondary schools in Sandwell 1924 establishments in England