Lead Professional English

In the mid-1990s, Regis School was on the point of closure, having dropped from its former position as Wolverhampton’s premier comprehensive. There were around 500 students on roll, and the school had lost the support of the local community. A bold and innovative solution was adopted, which saw The King’s School opening in September 1998 and Regis School ceasing to exist. However, the premises, pupils and staff remained unchanged, but crucially a new head had been appointed to take charge of a new Church of England VA school. In addition to commitments of support from the Local Authority and the Lichfield Diocese, the school joined with S Peter’s C of E (VA) School as the two partner members of the Lichfield Foundation in order to provide opportunities for mutual support and collaboration.

The early stages were a struggle, especially given the lack of funds, but designation as a Specialist Visual Arts college and then as a Fresh Start school brought real opportunities to refurbish and enhance the buildings. At the same time, the efforts of the Head and the staff, together with very strong support from governors, started to pay off, as community support for the school re-emerged. This included not only the local residents, but also support from a variety of Faith Groups within Wolverhampton. This latter support has been particularly important since the school’s admissions policy is deliberately intended to make King’s School an inclusive school where pupils of all faiths, and no faith, are respected and valued and in recognition as ‘Outstanding’ by the Church of England inspection in 2007 – perhaps quite remarkable when the multi-ethnic and multi-faith nature of the school is taken into account.

The school is in Tettenhall which is a very attractive village on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. We are a couple of miles away from the Shropshire and Staffordshire countryside and colleagues come to us from all directions. Our students come from all over the city. There are currently around 800 of them on roll.