Old Swinford Hospital from Hagley Road, Stourbridge
Old Swinford Hospital opened in the late summer of 1667. Originally called Stourbridge Hospital,[4] it was founded by Thomas Foley, an ironmaster and prominent local landowner, whose main estate was at Great Witley, west of Stourport in Worcestershire, but with strong Stourbridge connections. It was to educate 60 boys from "poor but honest" families nominated by specified parishes in Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The school was sometimes named as Foley's blue coat school[5] or hospital, or Oldswinford Hospital Endowed School.[6] The school had increased to 70 boys by 1868.[7][8][9]
The school experienced a period of growth following the appointment of William Maybury as headmaster, with the number of boys reaching 160 by 1883. To accommodate the increased enrollment, a new boarding house, named after Maybury, was constructed during this time. Additionally, a sanatorium (now known as Foster House) had been built by the early 1870s. Despite the construction of the Great Hall in 1905, the school's finances deteriorated by the early 1920s. This led the administration to limit enrollment, allowing the number of pupils to fall to 125. This decline continued dramatically, reaching a low of only 42 boys by 1947. The following year, 1948, marked the first record of parents making direct payments for their children's attendance.
Under the leadership of headmaster LWP Sheppard in the 1950s, the school encouraged students to remain and complete their O Levels, which led to the creation of a small Sixth Form. In 1979, with the support of the school governors and the local authority, plans were set in motion to significantly increase the school's capacity to 500 boys. This expansion was primarily funded by increased parental contributions for tuition. New boarding houses were constructed to support this growth.[10][11]
The school became one of the first in the country to adopt Grant Maintained Status. This allowed the institution to retain independent control over its administration and organization, moving beyond the direct authority of the local education authority. However, this status was abolished in 1997 following the election of the new Labour government.[12]
From 2004, Old Swinford Hospital allowed girls to enter the school from sixth form, and in 2021, the school became fully coeducational for the first time in its history with girls admitted from year 7 onwards.[13][14] As part of the expansion, the school acquired the former Stourbridge College site in 2019.[15]
Houses
The house system was established in 1929 with three houses using local place names; Stourbridge (briefly also known as School), Kidderminster and Dudley. In 1931 Stourbridge was renamed Foley, Kidderminster became Lyttleton and Dudley was rededicated after the Earls of Dudley (each being the name of a figure in the school history). This remains the basis of the house naming convention ever since.[16]
Named after the Lyttelton family who built nearby Hagley Hall[17]
Maybury
1845
William Maybury, headmaster of the school from 1883-1928
Stone
HC Stone, headmaster of the school from 1928–1951
Witley
1983
Witley Court, the Foley family mansion
Admissions
Admission to the school, irrespective of place type, primarily only happens in Years 7 or 12. There is no catchment area and admission is non-selective except for Flexi-Boarders who are subject to an aptitude test for year 7 entry. Boarding fees and day student facilities are charged but not tuition.[18]
Academics
Old Swinford Hospital is a specialist Business and Enterprise School, a Specialist Science School and has recently[when?] been awarded an Artsmark and Sportsmark.
GCSE results in 2024 were above the national average, 87.8% of grades awarded were awarded 9-4, meanwhile 40% achieved grade 7 or above in English and Maths. An average point score of 5.02 per student, mathced with 64.0% achieving 5 subjects at grade 5 or above including English and Maths. For A-Levels in the same year, across 104 students 68.5% achieved grades A*-C in all examinations. The average points per pupil was 94.08 - the UK average was 35.29.[19][20]
Ofsted
Old Swinford Hospital is currently rated as Good by Ofsted, as of the most recent inspection in 2022. The school has retained this level since 2010, having previously been rated Outstanding in 2006.[21][22]
Sport
Sport is a key part of Old Swinford Hospital school, with significant focus on Rugby Union. A number of former pupils have played professionally, and at international level. In 2023, the 1st XV and U15s achieved national champion status having won their respective Continental Tyres Vase Finals at Twickenham.[23]
In addition to Rugby, the school also offer a range of team sports including Basketball, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Netball and Tennis. Previously Badminton, Rounders and Rugby Sevens have also been offered.[24]
The school have extensive sports facilities on-site including numerous sports pitches for rugby, football and cricket, tennis, squash and basketball courts, cricket nets, two gymnasiums and two climbing walls.[25] In recent years Old Swinford Hospital has expanded sports facilities beyond the school. In 2006, plans were submitted to redevelop farmland at Treherns Fields near Hagley. The development caused concern locally, and was approved in 2007.[26][27] In 2025, the school approached the Ernest Stevens Trust to redevelop part of the Stanley Road Playing Fields in Norton. The school have proposed a £1m investment in new hockey, football and tennis facilities.[28] The school also own the land that Stourbridge Golf Club is built and operated from, with a long term lease between the two parties.[29]
International links
Old Swinford Hospital has international links with schools and educational establishments abroad.[citation needed] The three most notable are in the table below. Old Swinford has a history of raising money, and assisting in many ways with St. John's Secondary School in Nandere, Uganda through various charitable events and days and through the Uganda Link society. When the school had power issues in 2007, Old Swinford managed to raise the money needed to get power supplies back within one day.[citation needed]
Former students of the school are called Old Foleyans after the founder of the school, Thomas Foley.
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article and are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(August 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this message )
Charles McKeown - Academy award nominated actor and writer. Films include, Brazil (1985), Spies Like Us, Time Bandits, The Missionary and Life Of Brian.[32]
↑ Hopkins, Eric (June 1969). "A Charity School in the Nineteenth Century: Old Swinford Hospital School, 1815-1914". British Journal of Educational Studies. 17 (2): 177–192. doi:10.1080/00071005.1969.9973249. JSTOR3119259.
↑ Sheppard, L W (1953). "From charity foundation to residential technical school". The Vocational Aspect of Secondary and Further Education. 5 (10): 37–42. doi:10.1080/03057875380000041.
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