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The Blue Coat School, Dudley

1869 establishments in England1989 disestablishments in EnglandBluecoat schoolsDefunct schools in the Metropolitan Borough of DudleyEducational institutions disestablished in 1989
Educational institutions established in 1869Use British English from February 2023

The Blue Coat School was a mixed secondary school located in Dudley, England. It was opened in 1869 within buildings in Bean Road, several hundred yards east of Dudley town centre. It expanded in 1970 to take in the buildings of Rosland Secondary School, Beechwood Road, at nearby Kates Hill, but the Bean Road site was still used for some lessons until 1981, when it was finally declared redundant after 112 years and sold to make way for a residential development. Rosland Secondary School first opened in 1932, serving the new council estates which were being built as an extension to the 19th century Kates Hill area. Perhaps its most famous pupil was British comedian Lenny Henry, who attended from 1969 until 1974. Robert Hawthorne, the Sky Sports TV commentator, was also a pupil from 1977 to 1981, and James Whale was a student in the 1910s. The school traditionally had an entry age of 11 years, but in September 1972 it was redesignated as a 12-16 school (gaining comprehensive status three years later) and this age range remained in place until the school's closure. By 1988, the school's future was under threat as it was named by Dudley MBC as one of the schools being considered for closure as part of a restructuring of education in the borough. The Blue Coat School finally closed in August 1989 when it merged with The Dudley School to form Castle High School, although the Blue Coat buildings remained in use for the 1989/90 academic year to accommodate the oldest two year groups who had previously been at Blue Coat. By the time the Blue Coat as a separate school closed its doors for the last time on 14 July 1989, just 334 pupils were on the roll (averaging at 83 or 84 pupils per year group) and the closure was deemed necessary as it was too small for modern secondary school standards and the site was too confined for any substantial expansion; the re-opening of Dudley secondary schools to 11-year-olds in September 1990 would have created further difficulties in accommodating extra pupils at the school. The doors closed to pupils for the last time in July 1990, when the oldest year group finished their secondary education and the year group below transferred to the main Castle High site for the final year of their secondary education. In December 1985, Dudley council had considered creating a new school called the Ednam School by a merger between the Dudley School and at least one other smaller secondary school in the town - and the Blue Coat School had been one of the schools mentioned in these plans. However, by the time the 1988/89 academic year began, Blue Coat's future was still uncertain and there was even a suggestion that it could merge with Sir Gilbert Claughton School. However, it was decided in October 1988 that Blue Coat and Dudley School would merge to form a new school to be concentrated at the Dudley School site. The buildings at Beechwood Road were reutilised in 1991 as the base of St Thomas's Community Network, which closed in September 2015 and were demolished just over a year later. The Beechwood Road site has since been replaced with a new housing development called Blue Coat Drive.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article The Blue Coat School, Dudley (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

The Blue Coat School, Dudley
Beechwood Road,

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N 52.51137 ° E -2.06962 °
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Beechwood Road
DY2 7PZ
England, United Kingdom
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A4123 road
A4123 road

The A4123, is a major road in the West Midlands of the UK linking Wolverhampton with Birmingham via Dudley, also known as the Birmingham New Road (Wolverhampton to Dudley) and Wolverhampton Road (Dudley to Birmingham). It was one of the first major new roads constructed for use by motor traffic, and was designed as an unemployment relief project. It runs roughly northwest to southeast from the Wolverhampton Ring Road via Dudley to Harborne, west Birmingham. Until the 1960s, the road continued along the former B4123 to the A441 near Kings Norton. This became part of the A4040 during the 1960s when the Outer Ring Road came into existence. Construction of the road began on 4 February 1924, and was built in individual sections. The route went through Bury Hill Park in Rounds Green, which resulted in the park lodge and refreshment rooms having to be demolished and rebuilt. It provided jobs for at least 470 unemployed workers in surrounding areas including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, West Bromwich, Smethwick and Oldbury. It was opened by the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) on 2 November 1927.The road has previously been a Trunk Road (looked after by the Highways Agency), but was detrunked on 13 November 2008.National Express West Midlands services 8 and X8 serve the majority of the A4123 from Wolverhampton to Dudley while National Express West Midlands service 126 serves most of the section from Dudley to Birmingham.