Pelsall Comprehensive School
Encyclopedia
Pelsall Comprehensive School was a secondary school located in Pelsall
, an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
in the West Midlands
of England
.
It opened in September 1963 as Pelsall Secondary Modern (serving pupils aged 11 upwards), becoming a 13-18 comprehensive school in September 1972 under a local reorganisation of education by Aldridge
Brownhills
council, which would be absorbed into the Walsall borough two years later.
A new Science block was added in about 1980. In September 1986, the school's age range was altered to 11-16 as the former Aldridge Brownhills Rural District area was brought into the line with the remainder of the Walsall borough, with all children transferring to secondary school at the age of 11.
The school closed in July 1994 after serving the community of Pelsall for 31 years.
18 months before its closure, the school suffered a tragedy when 13-year-old pupil Donna Cooper was killed by a speeding stolen car near the school during lunchtime on 6 January 1993. The driver of the car, 17-year-old Carl Sherwood from Goscote
, was found guilty of manslaughter later that year and sentenced to seven years in youth custody. His accomplice, 26-year-old Blakenall Heath
man Nigel Button, received a four-and-a-half year sentence (later reduced by a year on appeal) for two charges of aggravated vehicle taking. Three other occupants of the car received supervision orders.
The buildings are now home to Rushall JMI School, Education Walsall offices and a teacher training centre. Most of the playing fields were redeveloped as housing.
Pelsall
Pelsall is an area of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Parliamentary Constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills.- History :Pelsall was first mentioned in a charter of 994, when it was amongst various lands given to the monastery at Heantune by Wulfrun, a Mercian noblewoman...
, an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a local government district in the Black Country part of the West Midlands, England, with the status of a metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes the towns of Aldridge, Brownhills,...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It opened in September 1963 as Pelsall Secondary Modern (serving pupils aged 11 upwards), becoming a 13-18 comprehensive school in September 1972 under a local reorganisation of education by Aldridge
Aldridge
Aldridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England. Historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire, but in 1974 it was incorporated into the Walsall borough as well as the West Midlands county.- History :...
Brownhills
Brownhills
Brownhills is a town in the West Midlands, England. Located on the edge of Cannock Chase near the large artificial lake Chasewater, it is north-east of Walsall and a similar distance south-west of Lichfield. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the Aldridge-Brownhills...
council, which would be absorbed into the Walsall borough two years later.
A new Science block was added in about 1980. In September 1986, the school's age range was altered to 11-16 as the former Aldridge Brownhills Rural District area was brought into the line with the remainder of the Walsall borough, with all children transferring to secondary school at the age of 11.
The school closed in July 1994 after serving the community of Pelsall for 31 years.
18 months before its closure, the school suffered a tragedy when 13-year-old pupil Donna Cooper was killed by a speeding stolen car near the school during lunchtime on 6 January 1993. The driver of the car, 17-year-old Carl Sherwood from Goscote
Goscote
Not to be confused with Goscote, WalsallGoscote was a wapentake of Leicestershire, England, consisting of the north and north-west of the county...
, was found guilty of manslaughter later that year and sentenced to seven years in youth custody. His accomplice, 26-year-old Blakenall Heath
Blakenall Heath
Blakenall Heath is a neighbourhood in Walsall, West Midlands, England. It straddles the border of Walsall and neighbouring town Bloxwich.It was originally a rural area north of Walsall, but the face of the area changed dramatically between 1918 and 1939....
man Nigel Button, received a four-and-a-half year sentence (later reduced by a year on appeal) for two charges of aggravated vehicle taking. Three other occupants of the car received supervision orders.
The buildings are now home to Rushall JMI School, Education Walsall offices and a teacher training centre. Most of the playing fields were redeveloped as housing.