Smestow Academy (formerly Smestow School), also known as simply Smestow (pronounced "smest-oh") 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 ...
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
and
sixth form
In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
located in the
Castlecroft
Castlecroft is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located on the edge of the city, WSW of the city centre. It is situated where the Merry Hill, and Tettenhall Wightwick wards meet, and also borders South Staffordshire.
History
The n ...
area of
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
, England.
History
The school was founded in 1964 under the authority of
Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includ ...
. Originally it was known as Tettenhall Number 2 with the number 1 school becoming Regis (now St Regis Church of England Academy). It is named after the
River Smestow
The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the River Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial develop ...
, to which it is very close, although the school grounds are actually bordered by the Finchfield Brook and the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the The Midlands, England, Midlands of England. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent a ...
. It was incorporated within Wolverhampton by the boundary changes accompanying local government reform in 1974, which brought Castlecroft and Tettenhall into Wolverhampton.
The school became a specialist
Sports college
Sports Colleges are senior secondary schools which promote sports alongside secondary education.
United Kingdom
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The programme enabled sec ...
, and was presented with
ARTSMARK
Artsmark is the quality standard for culture and creativity in schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England. The Artsmark award provides a clear framework for teachers and education professionals to plan, develop and evaluat ...
(alongside the previously awarded
SPORTSMARK
Sportsmark is Sport England's accreditation scheme for secondary schools. The scheme recognises a school's out of hours sports provision.academy status, and became part of the
University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...
Multi-Academy Trust. In January 2023 Smestow School was rebrokered, and was renamed Smestow Academy.
In January 2015 a new Sixth Form Study Centre and library opened to promote and support students studying at Smestow.
School Badge
The school badge has its origins in the
Tettenhall
Tettenhall is a historic village within the City of Wolverhampton, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Tettenhall became part of Wolverhampton district in 1966, along with Bilston, Wednesfield and parts of Willenhall, Coseley and ...
coat of arms.Reproduced at th Civic Heraldry of England website. The three roundels in the arms are of a special type, with a distinctive wavy pattern, known in
Heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
as fountains. They were considered to represent the
Severn
The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
watershed
Watershed may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage)
Music
* Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...
and the tributary rivers which originate in the area, which include the
River Smestow
The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the River Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial develop ...
. The original Tettenhall arms had three trees, representing the three great forests of southern Staffordshire which met at Tettenhall: the forests of Kinver, Brewood and Cannock. The school badge adapted this into a tree composed of four circles, representing the four houses of the school, which were named after the new Universities of Lancaster, Sussex, Warwick and York, founded around the same time as the school. The badge also contains allusions to other features of the Tettenhall arms: the
Windmill
A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery.
Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
Battle of Tettenhall
The Battle of Tettenhall (sometimes called the Battle of Wednesfield or Wōdnesfeld) took place, according to the chronicler Æthelweard (historian), Æthelweard, near Tettenhall on 5 August 910. The allied forces of Mercia and Wessex met an a ...
which took place on 5 August 910.
Notable former pupils
*
Suzi Perry
Suzi Perry (born May 1970) is a British television presenter covering Grand Prix motorcycle racing for BT Sport. She is known for covering Grand Prix motorcycle racing for the BBC for 13 years, ''The Gadget Show'' on Channel 5 for eight years an ...
, English television presenter, columnist and model
*
Sam Winnall
Sam Thomas Winnall (born 19 January 1991) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Career Wolverhampton Wanderers
Winnall joined the youth ranks of Wolverhampton Wanderers as a teenager, before signing professional ...
Andy Tennant
Andrew Wellman Tennant (born June 15, 1955) is an American screenwriter, film and television director, actor, and dancer.
Early life
Tennant was born June 15, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicag ...
, European Track Champion Cyclist for Great Britain (2006)
*
Satnam Rana
Satnam Rana is a presenter for the BBC, currently presenting on BBC news programme ''Midlands Today'' and features on BBC Radio WM. She worked at Five Live for two years then came to BBC Birmingham where she has been working since 2002.
Early l ...
,
BBC Midlands Today
''BBC Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasti ...
television presenter
* Rob Manuel, Web Media Producer
* Lisa PottsGM, former nursery teacher
* Sam Andrew Gumbley, better known by his stage name S-X, is a British record producer, singer and songwriter