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The school was originally in Wednesbury, and founded by
the Wednesbury School Board. On 1st April, 1966, King's Hill
became part of Walsall Metropolitan Borough, as did
Darlaston, under the terms of the Local Government
Reform Act. In 1888 the Wednesbury School Board built
King's Hill School in Old Park Road, as a replacement
for the Old Park British School which was closed by the
Patent Shaft & Axletree Company. The new school catered
for 733 children, 317 boys, 209 girls, and 207 infants.
There were ten classrooms, four for the boys, three for
the girls, and three for the infants. There was also a
larger room, separated from one of the boys' classrooms,
and one of the girls' classrooms by moveable glass
partitions, which allowed the room to be extended for
assemblies and meetings. There were separate cloak rooms
and toilet facilities for the boys and girls, and a
staff room. The school was built and furnished at a cost
of £8,820.
The official opening took place on Monday 9th
January, 1888. The building was officially opened by
James Slater, the chairman of the School Board. After
the ceremony a tea was provided for the pupils, followed
by a magic lantern show given by the Rev. J. Wilkinson,
vicar of All Saints' Church, Darlaston. In the evening
Mr. Slater gave a speech to a large gathering of parents
and friends in the large room at the school, which was
followed by a concert.
The staff in 1888 were:
|
Boys' department |
|
|
| Head Master |
|
Mr. S. Tranter |
| Assistant Masters |
|
Mr. H. Davies |
| |
|
Mr. H. H. Middleton |
| Pupil Teachers |
|
Mr. R. H. Parsons |
| |
|
Mr. F. Norton |
| |
|
Mr. F. Whittingham |
| |
|
Mr. W. H. Griffiths |
|
Girls' Department |
|
|
| Head Mistress |
|
Miss A. Chumbley |
| Assistant Mistresses |
|
Miss F. H. Austin |
| |
|
Miss A. E. Ellis |
| Pupil Teacher |
|
Miss E. Wood |
| Monitresses |
|
Miss M. Morgan |
| |
|
Miss E. Hall |
In 1909 the senior members of staff were as follows:
Mr. S. Tranter - Head
Master, Miss M. Dunn - Head Mistress, and Miss L. Davies
in charge of the infants.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, several government
reports were produced by a number of committees, under the chairmanship of Sir William Henry Hadow. They became known as the Hadow
Reports, and had
a great impact on education at the time. The reports
recommended a division of elementary schools, into
primary schools for children under the age of 11, and
senior schools for older children. This necessitated the
building of many new schools, including King's Hill
Secondary Modern School, on the other side of Old Park
Road. It had accommodation for 800 children. The old
school then became King's Hill Primary School.
It remained as such until another reorganisation of
education in the area led to the closure of King's Hill
Secondary Modern School, and the transfer of the old
primary school into the newer Secondary Modern Building.
King's Hill Secondary Modern then became King's Hill
Primary School, and the old school closed.
Unfortunately after several years of dereliction, the
old building was the victim of a mindless arson attack,
which destroyed much of the school. As a result it was
demolished, early in 1992. The following photographs
were taken by Ian Bott, who kindly lent them to me via
Tony Highfield. |
