Pool Hayes Academy

Story

Pool Hayes Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Willenhall, in the West Midlands of England.t is one of the biggest secondary schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall. Construction of the school began in the early 1960s, the predecessing Pool Hayes Farm was levelled and a nearby pool plus Pool Hayes Colliery were filled in to make way for progress. Patricks Lane was renamed 'Pool Hayes Lane' and was redeveloped in 1965. The school itself was opened in 1964 around the same time as construction of the surrounding areas (including housing), was still in progress. The first head teacher was Harold Chamings (who died in December 2005), the second was Peter Mitchell. The third was Jim Clarke who retired in December 2013. Matthew Allman replaced Jim Clarke and served until July 2016. Luke Baker is now the current principal.During 2006 the school came under partial redevelopment. The original 40-years old wooden windows were removed and replaced by new PVC framed windows. The I.T block was also redeveloped along with the tennis court, plus automatic doors replaced the original 60's wooden ones in the reception area. The maths section was altered as part of the redevelopment, with the two original doors either side being bricked over and replaced with a main door, which faces the grassy area. New signposts and other changes were also added.In September 2006, Pool Hayes was designated a Specialist Status as an Arts College which brought a big increase in resources to support exciting developments in Drama, Music Technology and Creative Technology in school. This Specialist Status also carries with it the challenge of raising standards in those subjects throughout the school.