The school was opened in 1880 on Wolverhampton Street in the west of Dudley town centre, an area which was heavily developed for housing during the 19th century to accommodate workers drawn to the town as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
The school's most notable pupil, Duncan Edwards, started in 1948 and left in 1952. He was a highly successful member of the school's football team and also represented the England team at schoolboy level, as well as several other teams outside the school. He signed for Manchester United on leaving school and within three years had gained full international recognition, regarded by many as the finest footballer of the decade. He was capped 18 times by England and gaining two Football League championship medals with Manchester United before he died in February 1958, aged 21, from injuries sustained in the Munich air disaster.
By the start of the 1960s, the Wolverhampton Street School buildings were becoming increasingly dilapidated and unsuitable for modern standards. In response to this, Dudley council drew up plans to relocate the school to a new site. Construction work began in 1963 on a new school on Wrens Hill Road, which runs between the Wren's Nest and Priory estates approximately one mile to the north of Dudley town centre. The new school was opened in April 1965 and named Wren's Nest Secondary School, becoming Mons Hill School a decade later. This school in turn closed in July 1990, after only 25 years in use, with pupils and staff being split between Castle High and The Coseley School and the Mons Hill buildings being taken over by Dudley College.
Meanwhile, the Wolverhampton Street School was demolished in 1966 and the site redeveloped as a public car park, although the schoolhouse at the rear of where the school building once stood remains standing to this day.
West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. It embraces seven metropolitan boroughs: the cities of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, and the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall. The county is overseen by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which covers all seven boroughs and other non-constituent councils, on economy, transport and housing.
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southeast of Wolverhampton and 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley; in 2011 it had a population of 79,379. The Metropolitan Borough, which includes the towns of Stourbridge and Halesowen, had a population of 312,900. In 2014 the borough council named Dudley as the capital of the Black Country.
Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) northwest of Birmingham.
Smethwick is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before being placed into then West Midlands County.
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stourbridge and Halesowen.
Duncan Edwards was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and the England national team. He was one of the Busby Babes, the young United team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s, playing 177 matches for the club. He was noted for his physical strength, toughness, and level of authority on the pitch, and has been ranked amongst the toughest players of all time. One of eight players who died as a result of the Munich air disaster, he survived initially but succumbed to his injuries in hospital two weeks later. Many of his contemporaries have described him as one of the best, if not the best, players with whom they had played.
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a population of 13,935 at the 2011 census. It is best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although industry has declined considerably since the 1970s. One of the largest factories in the area was the Round Oak Steelworks, which closed down and was redeveloped in the 1980s to become the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Brierley Hill was originally in Staffordshire.
Sedgley is a town in the north of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.
Coseley is a village in the north of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the English West Midlands. Part of the Black Country, it is situated approximately three miles north of Dudley itself, on the border with Wolverhampton. Though it is a part of Dudley for statistical and administrative purposes, it is divided between the Bilston and Tipton postal districts, and mostly falls within the Wolverhampton South-East parliamentary constituency.
Blakenhall is a suburb and ward in Wolverhampton, England.
The Priory Estate is a housing estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England, which has largely been developed since 1929.
St James Academy is a secondary school located in Dudley, West Midlands, England for pupils 11 to 16 years. It is also a specialist Arts College.
Kates Hill, or Kate's Hill, is a residential area in Dudley, West Midlands, England.
Pensnett High School was a secondary school located in the Pensnett area of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands of England. There were around 150 pupils aged 14–16 on the school roll before closure.
Dudley Museum and Art Gallery was a public museum and art gallery located in the town centre of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1883, situated within buildings on St James's Road, and remained at that site until its closure in 2016. Some of the museum collections have since been relocated to the Dudley Archives centre on Tipton Road.
Mons Hill is a hill situated in Dudley, West Midlands, England.
Thorns Collegiate Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England.
Park Secondary School was a secondary school located in Dudley, West Midlands, England.
The Wren's Nest Estate is a housing estate located to the north west of the town centre of Dudley, West Midlands, England.
This article details a number of defunct schools that were once located in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. For details of currently operating schools in the area, please see: List of schools in Dudley.
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