The RSA Academy is one of the new academies opened in the UK in 2008. The Academy is sponsored by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce and is located in Tipton

Tipton

Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....

, West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

, 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...

. The Academy is the first in the UK to follow the Opening Minds curriculum throughout all year groups.

The school's history dates back to September 1958, when Willingsworth High School opened as a new Willingsworth Secondary Modern School to serve the Ocker Hill

Ocker Hill

Ocker Hill is a residential area of Tipton in the West Midlands of England.It is situated in the northern part of the town, on the main A461 road between Dudley and Wednesbury...

 and Princes End

Princes End

Princes End is an area of Tipton, West Midlands, England, near the border with Coseley , which was heavily developed during the 19th century with the construction of factories. Several hundred terraced houses were built around the same time to accommodate the factory workers...

 areas of Tipton, replacing a smaller secondary modern at Ocker Hill and gaining comprehensive status in September 1969, when it became Willingsworth High.

It became the RSA Academy in September 2008.

Schools and Houses

The Academy has three "schools" - Arts, Humanities, Sport and Leisure; Maths, Science and Technology; and Languages and Communication - and three houses - Romney, Shipley and Adam. Each house founder has a connection with the RSA.

Senior staff

The Principal of the Academy is Mr Michael Gernon. Mrs Sally Weale is the Executive Vice Principal, and Mr Tony Dibble, Mr Daulton Redmond and Mr Paul Monaghan are the Vice Principals.

New building

The RSA Academy moved into a new building on the original school's site in September 2010. The old Willingsworth buildings were damaged by fire shortly afterwards and demolished in early 2011.

The new building, by architectural practice John McAslan Partnership, is the first one of its kind being designed specifically for the Opening Minds curriculum.

The RSA Academy was officially opened on 22 November 2010 by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...

, and a large number of dignitaries, donors and RSA Fellows attended. Prince Philip has made a number of official visits to Tipton; these include the opening of Summerhill Primary School on Upper Church Lane on 4 November 2008, and on 4 June 1971 he also opened Tipton Sports Union Trust's headquarters on Gospel Oak Road, within a few hundred yards of the RSA Academy (or Willingsworth High as it was at the time).

School day

The Academy operates a different school day to other schools, with lessons being three hours long. Therefore there are only two lessons per day. The Academy also follows a 5 term year, with 2 week holidays at the end of terms 1-4 and a 4 week summer holiday.

Debatemate

The Academy takes part in the Birmingham area of Debatemate. The aims of the scheme are to mentor pupils in debating and therefore improve their public speaking skills, literacy skills and general knowledge. RSA Academy compete in two of the Debatemate competitions; the Urban Debate League and the Debatemate Cup formerly known as the Richard Koch Cup. The RSA Academy won the 2011 Urban Debate League, a competition which had 120 schools competing.

Fire

On the evening of 11 October 2010, the former school building inside the academy was set on fire and around fifteen fire engines were sent to deal with the fire. Luckily nobody was hurt in the incident, and the police believed it may have been committed by the same arsonists who started a fire houirs later at Wilkinson Primary School in nearby Bilston

Bilston

Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...

. The building's shell was demolished within the next six months.