So... they are going to refurbish the old school then?

If you know anything about the old Regis Comp now called the King's CE School you will know that the place was built circa 1955 and has had its highs and lows over the years. Well, having narrowly escaped closure in 1998 it is now being fully refurbished/modernised by the goverments initiative called Building Schools for the Future or, BSF for short!
No mean feat I can tell you as, although, the school has had extensive maintenance this last ten years or so, the "ol' girl" is in a bit of a sorry state in places. Yes, we have nice Sports facilities, a new Art block and Library but if you think back to your old classroom, other than decoration, new lights, carpets etc. the place is pretty much the same as it was back in the summer of ol' '55! The swimming pool has not changed since I was here as a kiddy in 1972... Ç'est la vie!

 
What can I tell you about the buildings history?
This from the Times Education Supplement may help!

Arriving in Wolverhampton from the Isle of Man - where comprehensive education already existed - Sir Godfrey Cretney established Regis School in 1955 in the upmarket area of Tettenhall.

It was one of the first four comprehensive schools to be launched in England and considered revolutionary at the time.

When the school opened in September 1955 with 206 pupils, many of the buildings were only half-finished but the idea behind the new establishment was fully developed. "Sir Godfrey was totally committed to comprehensive education and took in pupils of all abilities," said Eva Johnson, secretary to Sir Godfrey from the school's opening until his death in 1971 aged 59.

"Although they were 11-year-olds many couldn't read or write when they arrived but caught up during their time at the school and even went on to university.

"Sir Godfrey was an exceptional man. He was strict, but his charm and appeal to children meant he could always get them to do what he wanted."

"He attracted the best teachers from all over the country to come and work at the school and visitors from all over the world came to see an experiment in practice."

Adapted from an article first published in The TES on 20 February, 1998 | By: Elaine Carlton

Sir Godfrey was here when I arrived in '67 and I remember him talking to us in class about the school in a very reverent way. He did love the school and was often seen out and about the large playing fields picking up litter in his dinner break!

The school was well equipped by 1967, we had a real cinder running track, tennis courts, all weather cricket pitches, two Gymnasiums, cricket/football/rugby and hockey pitches all over it's twenty seven acres and its piece de la resistance...an open air swimming pool!

I found this whilst "Googling" about the school and I make no apologies for "pinching the detail" from an excellent site...


The Regis School was one of the first comprehensive schools to be built in Staffordshire and opened on 8th September 1955 with 207 eleven year old children from the Tettenhall area. At that time, the pupils occupied seven classrooms on the top floor of the classroom block and dined in one of the art rooms, where they also had assembly, whilst the rest of the school buildings were built around them. Further intakes of eleven year olds were admitted in September 1956 and September 1957. By January 1958 there were 622 pupils in the school. The completion of the school buildings was marked by the first school assembly in the hall on 5th July 1957.

The sixth-form block, named after the first headmaster of the school, the late Sir Godfrey Cretney, was opened in 1972 by Lady Cretney. The library in the Cretney building included a collection of reference books worth £750, which were purchased as a result of a memorial appeal set up following Sir Godfrey's death in 1971.


HALL
The Assembly Hall was considered to be one of the most unusual features of the school building, with the roof being a modification of normal shell roofing, also forming an entrance foyer under the balcony. A few years after we left the school, the balcony was condemned as a fire hazard and is now no longer used. During our time, it served as as the seating area for the fifth and sixth forms during assemblies, as well as a gallery for school productions.
School Hall
The programme for Calamity Jane in 1983 notes that the balcony cannot be used for seating as a result of increasingly strict enforcement of the Theatres Act/Fire Regulations.

BADGE
Regis School badge

The school badge was approved during the first year and was designed to represent the school as part of Tettenhall and Staffordshire (as it was until 1966). The badge, therefore, incorporated elements from the coats of arms of both Staffordshire County Council and Tettenhall Urban District Council.

The tree is taken from the Tettenhall coat of arms, which includes three trees representing the three forests that bordered the area - those of Cannock, Kinver and Brewood.

The two springs on either side of the motto at the base are also from the Tettenhall coat of arms and symbolise that the area is a watershed from which flow streams that eventually meet the rivers Trent and Severn. The rivers also gave their names to two of the school Houses.



The tree is surmounted by the Staffordshire mural crown, which refers to the school name 'Regis'. The name also refers to 'Tettenhall Regis', the historic name for the district, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book.

The Staffordshire Knot symbolises unity and the motto is taken from the Tettenhall Urban District - respice, aspice, prospice - which approximates to 'Look Back, Look Up, Look Forward'.

HOUSE SYSTEM
During our time at Regis, the House system was based on rivers and consisted of four houses - SEVERN (house colour red) , THAMES (yellow), TRENT (green) and MERSEY (blue). This system was changed in 1995/6 and a competition amongst pupils, parents and staff resulted in six houses named after precious stones - AMBER, JADE, OPAL, RUBY, SAPPHIRE and TOPAZ.


MERGERS AND CLOSURE


In 1966, Tettenhall became part of its larger neighbour, Wolverhampton, and the school became part of Wolverhampton Education Authority. It remained popular and there are stories of families moving into the area simply to be in the catchment area for Regis.

With the end of the 'baby boom' pupil numbers began to fall and it became clear that the Council had too many spare school places. In 1984, it was proposed that, together with Heath Park, Wards Bridge and the Girls' High School, Regis should close. However, a 'Save Our School' campaign under the action group R.A.G.E. (Regis Action Group for Education) was ultimately successful and the school remained open, although nearby Valley Park was closed in 1996. However, parental confidence was shattered and many still felt the future of Regis was uncertain. As a result, large numbers of local children attended other schools and an increasing proportion of pupils came from further afield. Many people think that the school never really recovered from the threat of closure and pupil numbers continued to dwindle.

By the late 1990s, it was feared that Regis was in danger of failing its forthcoming OFSTED inspection and efforts were made to secure the future of the school. It was felt that the best way to achieve this would be to have a 'fresh start' and so Regis closed overnight on 31st August 1998, re-opening the following day as The King's School, a Church of England Voluntary Aided School, run in partnership with St Peter's School.

As a farewell to Regis, the King's School held an open day in October 1998, organised by Carol Dixon, for former pupils to see the changes in the new school. Most amazing for those of us who attended was probably the transformation of the science block and the enclosure of 'The Bridge', which now houses the staff room (the previous staff room has now become the resources department).

Most of the school records (although not individual pupil files) have now been transferred to Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies where they are available for consultation. However, restrictions apply to some records (particularly admissions registers (confidential for 30 years), log books (50 years), punishment books (75 years) and governors' minutes (30 years)) and a letter of authorisation from the King's School is needed first. Archives staff can advise on the necessary procedures for the documents you wish to see.
Regis Alumni http://website.lineone.net/~regisweb/history.htm

Next post...The Kings C of E School