Motto | Transforming Learning, Transforming Lives. |
---|---|
Type | Academy |
Principal | Daulton Redmond |
Location |
Bilston Road Gospel Oak Tipton West Midlands DY4 0BZ England 52°33′00″N 2°02′50″W / 52.55°N 2.047222°WCoordinates: 52°33′00″N 2°02′50″W / 52.55°N 2.047222°W |
Local authority | Sandwell |
DfE URN | 104010 Tables |
Ofsted | Reports |
Students | 900 (11 to 16 yrs) and 200 post 16 |
Gender | Co-educational |
Ages | 11–19 |
Houses | Romney, Shipley & Adam |
Colours | Burgundy and Gold |
Website | www |
The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Academy (formerly Willingsworth High School) is one of the new academies opened in the England in 2008. The Academy is sponsored by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce and is located in Tipton, West Midlands. 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 Secondary Modern School to serve the Ocker Hill and Princes End 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 and moved into its current buildings in September 2010, with the old buildings being demolished the following spring.
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.
The Principal of the Academy is Mr Daulton Redmond and Mr Mat Carpenter and Ms Sarah Barnes are the Vice Principals.
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, 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).