Ladypool Primary School (formerly Stratford Road School) is a 3–11 mixed,

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

Sparkbrook Sparkbrook is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, England. It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within Birmingham City Council. Etymology The area receives its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, West Midlands, England. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and stands next to St Agatha's Church.

History

It was built as Stratford Road School in 1885 by architects

Martin & Chamberlain John Henry Chamberlain, William Martin, and Frederick Martin were architects in Victorian Birmingham, England. Their names are attributed singly or pairs to many red brick and terracotta buildings, particularly 41 of the forty-odd Birmingham b ...

as a Birmingham board school, one of around forty schools built by that firm in an innovative style as a result of the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities wit ...

. The school was extensively damaged by the Birmingham tornado on 28 July 2005 and lost its distinctive Martin & Chamberlain tower. The school proposed building a replica of the tower. On 26 October 2006,

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

Planning Department decided that the

planning application Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

should be referred to the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...

Gallery

Ladypool School Sparkbrook.jpg, Post-tornado view of school without tower.

References

* ''Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham'', Andy Foster, 2005, * ''Victorian Architecture in Britain - Blue Guide'', Julian Orbach, 1987,
Planning application for the reconstruction of tower

External links

* Primary schools in Birmingham, West Midlands Community schools in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Educational institutions established in 1885 1885 establishments in England {{WestMidlands-struct-stub