Moseley School
Encyclopedia
Moseley School: A Language College (incorporating Spring Hill College) is a large comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...

 in the Moseley
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...

 area of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England. It has a predominantly male, Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 student population. 86% of its students are Asian, with substantial numbers from Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

 and Arabic speaking backgrounds, and the school has a formal teaching partnership with the Hamza Mosque and Islamic Centre. Once dubbed, by the Daily Mirror, the most dilapidated school in the country, the older part of the school, Spring Hill College (built in the 1850s), was fully restored and refurbished in 1998. The school made headlines again in 2009 when a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 girl was attacked by 15 or more fellow pupils shouting "Kill all Jews", and one of its teachers, Jane Turner, was convicted of a race crime for calling a child "white trash". The school's main entrance is situated on College Road (B4217), near the Stratford Road (A34) junction between Wake Green
Wake Green
Wake Green is a historical area in south Birmingham, England between Moseley, Kings Heath, and Hall Green.Like nearby Sarehole it is no longer a postal address. It used to straddle the parish boundary of Yardley and Kings Norton and was an area of 'waste land', that is, land which had not yet...

 and Sparkhill
Sparkhill
Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.-Etymology:Sparkhill takes its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that flows from Moseley to the River Cole in Small Heath. It was, as the name suggests, a hill that was situated...

. It lies in the parish of St Christopher, Springfield
Springfield, Birmingham
Springfield is a ward in south east Birmingham, England, created in 2004 from much of the old Sparkhill ward. It is a part of the formal district of Hall Green.-Places of interest:...

.

School history

The history of what is now Moseley School is somewhat convoluted, but can be traced back to 1838 when a private house in Spring Hill, Hockley, Birmingham, was opened as a training college for Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

 ministers – under the patronage of George Storer Mansfield (1764-1837) and his two sisters Sarah (1767-1853) and Elizabeth (1772-1847). Twenty years later, in 1857, after expansion to include a further three private houses, the establishment, still named Spring Hill College, moved to new, much larger, purpose-built premises on Wake Green Road in what was then rural Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

, some miles south of the city. This striking Gothic revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 building was designed by the architect Joseph James, and is particularly noted for its gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...

s.

In 1886, the college was closed and a replacement establishment founded in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, known as Mansfield College
Mansfield College, Oxford
Mansfield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Of the colleges that accept both undergraduate and graduate students Mansfield College is one of the smallest, comprising approximately 210 undergraduates, 130 graduates, 35 visiting students and 50...

 (which is now part of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

). Meanwhile, the Wake Green Road buildings were re-opened as the 'Pine Dell Hydropathic Establishment and Moseley Botanical Gardens', which entailed the construction of a swimming bath (with highly decorative ceiling) and greenhouses. At the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in 1914, the building was commandeered by the government for use as a military barracks. After a brief period as an orphanage, the building returned to academic use in 1921 as a teacher-training facility (under the name Springfield College).

Finally, in 1923, the premises were handed over to Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...

 which opened them as Moseley Secondary School, with Major Ernest Robinson serving as headmaster until 1956. The study bedrooms of Spring Hill College were merged in pairs to form classrooms, and the former hydropathic swimming bath was boarded over to serve as the assembly hall. An extension was built to house laboratories and further classrooms. A unique feature of the school was that the headmaster would live on the premises, which remained the case until 1972. Boys-only with a selective entrance exam, the school changed its name to Moseley Grammar School in 1939. In 1955, the city council opened a separate school, known as Moseley Mixed Secondary Modern School, fronting College Road, on what had previously been a playing field adjacent to the grammar school site. This new school, with Miss Eileen Cohen (later Mrs Eileen North) as headmistress until 1967, was both co-educational and non-selective, and was to specialise in performing arts such as theatre and music. Only a fence separated the two schools, and relations between the two sets of pupils were not always peaceful. It was during this period, under the headmastership of Bruce Gaskin from 1956 to 1972, that Moseley Grammar acquired its reputation for academic excellence, having previously been known more for its sporting achievements, particularly in rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

. In 1968 it acquired a former inn near Abergavenny
Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...

, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 known as the Old Grouse Cottage, for outdoor activities and field trips, which the current school still retains. The grammar school became a Grade II listed building in the year of Mr Gaskin's retirement.

Eventually, in 1974, after two years of uncertainty over the issue, Moseley Grammar and Moseley Modern were suddenly merged, with only a few weeks' formal notice, in a shotgun wedding that was resented by some, but warmly embraced by others (among the latter, Mr Gaskin, who after his retirement remained active on the school's Board of Governors until the 1980s). The combined establishment, known simply as Moseley School, became one of the largest comprehensives in Birmingham, and initially at least, inherited the good reputations of its predecessors in their respective fields. Donald Wilford, headmaster of Moseley Modern since 1967, was keen on being appointed head of the combined school (Moseley Grammar had been without a headmaster since 1972), but in the event the job went to an outsider, Alan Goodfellow, who was on record as being bitterly critical of comprehensive education. He was also plagued by ill-health, finally dying, still in office, in 1981. Another period of uncertainty ensued, seemingly ended by the appointment of David Swinfen as head the following year. His ambitious plans, however, were overwhelmed by events, when the former grammar school building, known since the amalgamation as the West Wing, began falling apart as a result of decades of neglect and under-funding. In 1986 the roof of the library was declared unsafe halfway through an exam, and the entire building was closed and earmarked for demolition – the latter prevented only by Mr Swinfen's speedily organised campaign and the resultant public outcry. By the end of his tenure in 1992 the school had also undergone a radical change of character, following the redrawing of its catchment area in 1987/88. Hitherto, Moseley School had taken a majority of its pupils from the (then) largely white area of Hall Green
Hall Green
Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

, but now it would take them from the mainly Asian area of Sparkhill
Sparkhill
Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.-Etymology:Sparkhill takes its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that flows from Moseley to the River Cole in Small Heath. It was, as the name suggests, a hill that was situated...

.

The campaign for the restoration of the West Wing would drag on for many years. As part of it, in 1995 Mrs Mary Miles, head teacher from 1992 to 2001, authorised the formation of the Moseleians Association, for former students and staff of the grammar school, secondary modern school, and comprehensive school. It publishes the twice-yearly Moseleian Gazette, and organises regular reunions and many other events. Continuing the work of the Old Moseleians Association – founded by Major Robinson in 1927, but with which the school had severed links in 1968 – the Moseleians Association has assumed an increasingly important role in school life, sponsoring competitions and prizes for pupils, raising funds for the school cottage, planting trees on the school grounds, and taking over the administration of the school archives.

After more than a decade of being closed and shored up with scaffolding, in 1998 – with financial assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...

 and the European Regional Development Fund
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund is a fund allocated by the European Union.-History:During the 1960s, the European Commission occasionally tried to establish a regional fund. Only Italy ever supported this, however, and nothing came of it. Britain made it an issue for their accession in...

 – the West Wing was completely refurbished, and re-opened under its original name of Spring Hill College (as the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...

 of Moseley School). To coincide with its re-opening, the three daughters of Mr Gaskin published Moseley into the Millennium: Story of Moseley School, detailing and celebrating the history of the school.

Into the millennium

Since 2000, Moseley School has styled itself as 'A Language College', offering foreign language qualifications to its students in their own native languages, such as Urdu and Arabic, and in 2007, as an extension of this policy, David Peck, head teacher from 2001, negotiated a formal teaching partnership with the Hamza Mosque and Islamic Centre, Church Road, Moseley. A majority of the school's Board of Governors also wanted to introduce Islamic assemblies, and when this was vetoed, refused to co-operate in the day-to-day running of the school, eventually forcing Mr Peck to resign in December 2008 (though 95% of the students had signed a petition expressing their support for him). The following year, in a highly unusual move, the Board of Governors was itself dismissed by means of an order obtained by Birmingham City Council from the Department for Education
Department for Education
The Department for Education is a department of the UK government responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education....

, after relations broke down between it and its own appointee as interim head, Tim Boyes, who was also head of nearby Queensbridge School
Queensbridge School
Queensbridge School is a mixed, 11-16 comprehensive school in Moseley, West Midlands. The school has been awarded specialist Arts College status.-Academics:...

. Mr Boyes was subsequently confirmed in that position by the school's Interim Executive Board, which had replaced the Board of Governors. In April 2011 Moseley School formally became a foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....

, having hitherto been a community school
Community school
The term "community school" refers to types of publicly funded school in England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to a school that serves as both an educational institution and a centre of community life. A community school is both a place and a...

. The Board of Governors of a foundation school has greater control over school finances, employment of staff and admissions policy, and less representation from the local community. In Moseley's case, since it remains without a Board of Governors, it is unclear how this change in status will be implemented. In September 2011, Mr Boyes returned to Queensbridge School and was replaced as head of Moseley School by Craig Jansen.

As part of the government's 'Building Schools for the Future' (BSF) strategy, in 2009 Moseley School had received the go ahead for a massive new rebuilding programme, involving the complete demolition of the East Wing (the former Moseley Modern School, now in a bad state of repair), with the exception of its more recently built sporting facilities. The rest of the area would become the school's main car park, and meanwhile a new building would be constructed straddling the boundary between the former grammar and secondary modern sites, partially on stilts to accommodate the steep incline from the latter to the former. The old grammar school building, or West Wing (Spring Hill College), would also have a number of alterations carried out to increase its capacity. These plans survived the Coalition Government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...

's cuts almost completely intact, and work began in summer 2011.

List of head teachers

The following is a list of all those who have held the office of head teacher (earlier, headmaster or headmistress), or acted as such during vacancies, of Moseley School or its predecessor institutions, since the first secondary school was opened on the site in 1923.
Moseley Grammar School Moseley Modern School
Major Ernest H. Robinson 1923-1956
Mr D. Bruce Gaskin 1956-1972 Mrs Eileen North, née Cohen 1955-1967
Mr Derek Moore (acting) 1972-1974 Mr Donald Wilford 1967-1974
Moseley (Comprehensive) School
Mr Alan Goodfellow 1974-1981
Mr Phil Bullock (acting) 1981
Mr John Lockwood (acting) 1981-1982
Mr David Swinfen 1982-1992
Mrs Mary Miles 1992-2001
Mr David Peck 2001-2008
Mr Tim Boyes (interim, also head of Queensbridge School) 2008-2011
Mr Craig Jansen 2011-

Alumni

The individuals below are listed by the Moseleians Association as famous Moseleians, former pupils of Moseley Grammar School (MGS), Moseley Modern School (MMS), or Moseley School (MS). Those who were pupils at the time of the merger are identified according to the school they started at.
  • Sir Alan Cottrell
    Alan Cottrell
    Sir Alan Howard Cottrell, FRS is a British metallurgist and physicist. He received his BSc degree from the University of Birmingham in 1939 and a PhD for research on welding in 1942. He joined the staff as a lecturer at Birmingham, being made professor in 1949, and transforming the teaching of...

     (MGS). Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.
  • Anthony Carthew (MGS). ITN News Reporter.
  • Anthony Jackson
    Anthony Jackson (actor)
    Anthony Thomas Jackson was an English actor, who reached his widest audiences as founder of the eponymous ghost hiring agency in the long-running BBC children's comedy series Rentaghost. Jackson began his career with the Birmingham Repertory. He studied at Rose Bruford College and won the BBC...

     (MGS). Actor.
  • Anton Lesser
    Anton Lesser
    Anton Lesser is a British actor. He attended Moseley Grammar School and the University of Liverpool before going to RADA in 1977 where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year....

     (MGS). Actor.
  • Barry Pritchard (MGS). Musician, The Fortunes.
  • Bev Bevan
    Bev Bevan
    Bev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...

     (MGS). Drummer.
  • Carl Chinn
    Carl Chinn
    Professor Carl Stephen Alfred Chinn MBE, Ph.D. is an English historian, writer, radio presenter, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, media personality, local celebrity, and famous Brummie, whose working life has been devoted to the study and popularisation of the city of Birmingham in England...

     (Prof.) (MGS). Historian & Broadcaster.
  • Chris Spedding
    Chris Spedding
    Chris Spedding is an English rock and roll and jazz guitarist, best known for his session work. Allmusic states - "Spedding is one of the UK's most versatile session guitarists, and has had a long career on two continents that saw him tackle nearly every style of rock and roll, as well as...

     (MGS). Musician.
  • Daphne Slater
    Daphne Arden
    Daphne Arden is a British athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres.She competed for Great Britain in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan in the 200 metres, finishing 8th in the final; and in the 4 x 100 metres, where she won the bronze medal with her team mates Janet Simpson, long...

     (MMS). Olympic Sportswoman.
  • David Bell (MGS). Mayor of Solihull 2008/09.
  • Derek Hathaway OBE (MGS). Businessman.
  • Frank Ifield
    Frank Ifield
    Francis Edward Ifield is an early Australian-English easy listening and country music singer. He achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Chart, where he had four Number 1 hits between 1962 and 1963....

     (MMS). Singer.
  • Geoffrey Gibbins (Dr) (MGS). Lawyer, Judge & Organist.
  • Gladstone Small
    Gladstone Small
    Gladstone Cleophas Small is an English former cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and fifty three ODIs for England....

     (MS). International Sportsman.
  • Jasper Carrott
    Jasper Carrott
    Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...

     OBE (Bob Davies) (MGS). Comedian.
  • Joanne Malin
    Joanne Malin
    Joanne Malin is a British radio and television presenter. She was an anchor on Central News in the West Midlands alongside Bob Warman for many years. She currently presents a show on BBC WM.- Biography :...

     (MS). Radio & TV Presenter.
  • John Masding (Rev.) (MGS). Chairman of the English Clergy Association.
  • John Taylor, Lord Taylor of Warwick
    John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick
    John David Beckett, Baron Taylor of Warwick is a British member of the House of Lords who became the first black Conservative peer in 1996, after unsuccessfully standing as their parliamentary candidate in Cheltenham in the 1992 general election. Taylor initially practised as a barrister and has...

     (MGS). Politician & Convicted Fraudster.
  • Kabir Ali
    Kabir Ali
    Kabir Ali is an English cricketer who currently plays for Hampshire in the English County Championship. A right-arm seam bowler and useful lower-order right-handed batsman, outside cricket he works as a model...

     (MS). Sportsman.
  • Martin Woodhead (MGS). Professor of Childhood Studies.
  • Maurice Herriott
    Maurice Herriott
    Maurice Herriott was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 3000 metre steeplechase.He competed for Great Britain in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan in the 3000 metre steeple chase where he won the silver medal. He also competed in the same event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in...

     (MMS). Olympic Sportsman.
  • Mickey Lewis
    Mickey Lewis
    Michael "Mickey" Lewis, , is a former English professional footballer who played for West Bromwich Albion, Derby County and Oxford United. He later became caretaker manager and is currently the assistant manager at Oxford United....

     (MS). Footballer, League Player & Manager.
  • Nisar Chaudhry (MMS). International Sportsman.
  • Noel Luke
    Noel Luke
    Noel Luke is an English-born footballer who played as a right back and winger in the Football League during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably with Peterborough United....

     (MS). Footballer, League Player.
  • Philip Walking (Prof.) (MGS). Pro-Vice-Chancellor at UCE.
  • Richard Tandy
    Richard Tandy
    Richard Tandy , is best known as the keyboard player in the rock band, Electric Light Orchestra...

    (MGS). Musician.
  • Rod Allen (Rodney Bainbridge) (MGS). Musician, The Fortunes.
  • Roy Massey MBE (Dr) (MGS). Organist.
  • Sharon Corbett (MMS). Commonwealth Sportswoman.
  • Steve Rouse (MMS). Edgbaston Head Groundsman.
  • Stuart Burgess (Rev. Dr) (MGS). The Highest Office in the Methodist Church.

External links

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