The Phoenix Collegiate is a foundation

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

Hateley Heath Hateley Heath is a residential area of West Bromwich, West Midlands.The population of the Sandwell ward taken at the 2011 census was 14,227. History Although the first major housing developments around Hateley Heath took place in the Heath Lane ...

area of

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 ...

, a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the West Midlands of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The school was formed in September 2010 from the merger of Menzies High School and Manor High School, both located in the

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

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 ...

. Originally operating from both former school sites, the Phoenix Collegiate has been based entirely at the former Menzies High School site in Clarke's Lane, West Bromwich. This follows the closure of the former Manor High School buildings on the Friar Park estate in

Wednesbury Wednesbury ( ) is a market town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England; it was historically in Staffordshire. It is located near the source of the River Tame, West Midlands, River Tame and ...

due to asbestos.

History

The origins of the school can be traced to West Bromwich Municipal Secondary School at th
West Bromwich Institute
which opened in 1902 on Lodge Road, West Bromwich. It was funded by Sir George Kenrick. It became West Bromwich Grammar School in 1944, and moved to new buildings on Clarkes Lane in 1964. It was only a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

at this site for five years, becoming a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

in September 1969 when West Bromwich borough council (which merged with Warley five years later to form

) decided to make comprehensive education universal. The Menzies buildings were used as one of the filming locations for the 1986 film ''

Clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

'', starring

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

. Manor High School opened in 1968 on the Friar Park estate, but exam results attained by school leavers were constantly low, and demand for places was falling by the 1990s as many pupils living in the catchment area chose to attend other schools. The two schools merged in September 2010 to form The Phoenix Collegiate, although the new school operates from both sites for two years until the Manor High buildings were closed in July 2012. From 1986/1987 the school had a mural by the artist

Paula Woof Paula Woof is a British artist, best known as a painter, sculptor, muralist, mosaicist and art teacher. She has a number of works of public art, some in her on name and some made collaboratively with other artists, on display in the English Midl ...

Notable former pupils

West Bromwich Grammar School

Madeleine Carroll Marie-Madeleine Bernadette O'Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and in America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Ca ...

, actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s. * Prof Reginald Foakes, Professor of English from 1983–93 at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) *

Peter Griffiths Peter Harry Steve Griffiths (Not to be confused with Peter Griffin) (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2013) was a British Conservative politician best known for gaining the Smethwick seat by defeating the Shadow Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Wa ...

MP (1928-2013) from 1964-66 for

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

, and from 1979-97 for Portsmouth North * Idris Jones,

Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway The Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Scottish Episcopal Church Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. Brief history When the dioceses of Glasgow and Galloway were combined in 1837, Michael Russell, the then ...

from 1998-2009 * Prof

Berrick Saul Samuel Berrick Saul (30 October 1924 – 24 May 2016) was Vice-Chancellor of the University of York from 1979 to 1993.

CBE, Vice-Chancellor from 1979–93 of the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

* David Smith, Assistant Editor of '' The over exaggerating Times'' since 1998, and Economics Editor since 1989 *

Brian Walden Alastair Brian Walden (8 July 1932 – 9 May 2019) was a British journalist and broadcaster who spent over a decade as a Labour politician and Member of Parliament (MP). He was considered one of the finest political interviewers in the histor ...

, television presenter and former Labour MP from 1964–74 for Birmingham All Saints, and from 1974–77 for

Birmingham Ladywood Birmingham Ladywood is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in the city of Birmingham that was created in 1918. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the Unit ...

References

External links

The Phoenix Collegiate homepage

Old Throstles Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix Collegiate Secondary schools in Sandwell Educational institutions established in 1902 1902 establishments in England Foundation schools in Sandwell