Q3 Academy Tipton 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 ...

located in

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

in the West Midlands of England.

Admissions

Q3 Academy mainly serves children aged 11–16 years for KS3 and 16–18 for Sixth Form. Pupils who mainly live in the Great Bridge, Tibbington,

Horseley Heath Horseley Heath is a residential area of Tipton, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated around the main A461 road which links the major townships of Dudley and Walsall, and stands on the banks of the River Tame. Tipton was one of the mo ...

and

Tipton Green Tipton Green is the central area of Tipton, a town in the West Midlands of England. It was heavily developed for heavy industry and housing during the 19th century, as Tipton was one of the most significant towns during the Industrial Revolutio ...

areas of the town attend the school. It is situated on Alexandra Road (B4517) towards Toll End (and

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

) and near the crossroads with Church Lane (B4163) and the fire station. It is about a mile from the A41/ A461 roundabout at Great Bridge, and about a half-mile north of Dudley Port railway station.

History

Grammar school

The school was opened in 1927 as Tipton Central School. It served the local area as a grammar school for boys and girls, and its title was soon altered to Tipton County Grammar School, situated on Alexandra Road. It was administered by the South-West Divisional Executive of Staffordshire Education Committee (based in

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

), then West Bromwich Education Committee with around 700 boys and girls. The buildings were expanded in 1962 to include a new school hall, kitchen, dining hall, swimming pool, gymnasium and Science classrooms. This building was demolished in the mid-1990s following further extensions to the site.

Comprehensive

Tipton Grammar merged with nearby Park Lane Secondary School in Queens Road in September 1969 and became a comprehensive school. It took the title of Alexandra High School at this time. 'O' Level and 'A' Level pupils were educated at the original site in Alexandra Road, while the younger pupils mostly attended the Park Lane buildings (which dated back to 1904). New buildings were added to the Alexandra Road site at the beginning of the 1980s, giving younger pupils a chance to have three days a week at the main site, although they still used the Park Lane site twice a week until it closed in July 1990, being demolished the following year. Since September 1990, the school has also lost its popularity with children living in the

area of the town, with a significant percentage of children in this area selecting

Dormston School Dormston School is a coeducational secondary school in Sedgley, West Midlands, England. As of 2020, the school has approximately 1,100 pupils aged 11 to 16 on the roll, and approximately 80 permanent members of staff (including non-teaching st ...

High Arcal School Beacon Hill Academy, formerly known as The High Arcal School, is a secondary school in the Sedgley area of Dudley, in the English West Midlands. Originally opened as a grammar school in 1961, the school became a comprehensive in 1975. It ad ...

Sedgley Sedgley is a town in the north of the Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampton and Dudley, and was formerly the seat of an ancient ...

as their destination for secondary school following the reduction in the Dudley borough's secondary transfer age from 12 to 11, bringing it into line with Sandwell and the rest of the region. A new sixth form centre was built in 1995 and the early 1980s extensions were demolished in 2011 to make way for new classrooms. The school went through a £23 million redevelopment in 2012 with a new STEM block, with the school now being called Alexandra College of Enterprise.

Academy

The school converted to academy status on 1 March 2013, and was reopened by

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of K ...

as The ACE Academy. The school was sponsored by 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 ...

's Education Central Multi Academy Trust. The school changed hands in November 2018 and is now controlled by the Q3 Multi Academies Trust.

Academic performance

In 2006, 25% of

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

students attained 5 grades at 'C' or above. This placed the school at 13th out of 18 schools in

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough ...

. By 2009, it had progressed further with 38% of pupils achieving similar results, placing it as joint eighth of the 17 schools in the borough. This is well under the England average, similar to most schools in Sandwell: only two schools get GCSE results above average. At

A level 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 ...

, results are low, similar again to most schools in Sandwell that offer A levels. The average result in 2024, based on 37 students who sat A levels, was C- which is lower than the national average, B-.

Notable former pupils

Alexandra High School and Sixth Form Centre

* David Burrows, former

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

player * Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal and Ruhal Ahmed, incarcerated in

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

after being accused of fighting for the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

in Afghanistan; later released without charge

Tipton Grammar School

* Philip Bradbourn OBE, Conservative MEP since 1999 for the West Midlands *

Joe Mayo Joseph Mayo (born 25 May 1952) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with Walsall F.C., Walsall but struggled to break into the first team, joining West Bromwich Albion F. ...

, former

and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

footballer

References

External links

School's website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1927 Secondary schools in Sandwell Academies in Sandwell Tipton 1927 establishments in England