Page 11 - HB- Further Education

Further Education in Redditch Redditch Heritage

Institute (Easemore Road), St. Stephen’s School (Peakman Street), and the County High
School Gyms (Easemore Road). There was also the Handicrafts Centre (South Street)
which was opposite another annex, ‘Old Crest’.

Educational Links

It is interesting to note the links
between the various educational
establishments. St. Stephen’s
School was a National School founded
in 1845 and enlarged in 1870 and
1893. The rooms had
sometimes been used by the Literary
and Scientific Institute in the 1850s
and by the Technical School in
Adelaide Street in the 1890s. St.
Stephen’s School moved to more
modern premises in the 1960s. The
Peakman Street building then became
an annexe to the College and in 1972
provided a home for the Art section
South Street building in 2011. It
before demolition in 1983.St.
once housed the Handicrafts
Stephen’s Church
Institute, on the corner of Archer
Road and Easemore Road, was used
for extra rooms in the 1950s by both
Redditch College and St. Stephen’s School. The foundation stone was laid by the Earl of
Plymouth in October 1909. The Church Institute building was completed in 1910, and in
later years it became a Mosque. The ‘Old Crest’ building in South Street became an annexe
of both Redditch College and NEW College. The building was destroyed by fire in June
1992 and was owned by Redditch Borough Council at that time. The building housing
the Handicrafts Centre continued to be an annexe of Redditch College in the 1970s. From
1988 to 2010 it was home of the Redi Centre run by Redditch Borough Council to provide
services, including Learndirect facilities, for the unemployed and low waged.

Redditch College’s review of the academic year from 1955 to 1956 stated that some
courses were prevented from opening because suitable rooms and workshops were not
available. When HMIs inspected Redditch College in March 1957, they described the
college as doing some very good work in spite of accommodation difficulties. Clearly,
Redditch College needed a new building, and in March 1958 Redditch Urban District Council
approved plans for Redditch College’s extension. There had been some delay, because
the plans included the building of a multi-storey tower that might compete with the view
of the spire of St. Stephen’s church. Work on the new college buildings, adjacent to Archer
Road, started in November 1958. Some houses had been demolished to make space, but
two of the remaining houses were used for staff rooms and tutorial rooms. The new
four-storey block contained classrooms, staff rooms and laboratories. The one-floor
buildings contained workshops, offices and the hall. The extension should have been
opened in September 1960, but there was a shortage of electricians. The new buildings
were opened for teaching in January 1961, and were officially opened in April

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