Birchfield School has a long and proud history, which we continue to build on today. It was originally founded in Tettenhall, near Wolverhampton, in 1935. Its co-founder Newland Roberts Brown had always dreamt of opening a prep school of his own. In his diaries N.R.B, as he was affectionately known, ponders on paper whether he should open a school. In an entry composed in 1928 N.R.B writes:
‘The more time I spend in schoolmastering, the more apparent it becomes that I ought to devote my life to it. My methods are almost entirely instinctive, and yet they seem to meet with great success.
I wonder whether I had better risk opening a school of my own. I should be staking all on my confidence in my exceptional abilities as a schoolmaster. Sometimes I believe in these abilities, but often I wonder whether it is all a myth and that I am quite an ordinary schoolmaster, employing perfectly ordinary rather than absolutely unique methods.'
In 1935 N.R.B's dream finally became a reality and Birchfield School was born. It enjoyed success after success and moved to its present site, near the village of Albrighton, in 1962. In that year, the school was established as an Educational Trust with a Board of Governors who have continued to take responsibility for the overall management of the school.
Housed in an Edwardian country house and in purpose-built modern buildings, the school now enjoys a beautiful 20-acre setting in the Shropshire countryside. Woods, gardens and extensive playing fields surround it.
The latest stage in Birchfield's proud history is our move to co-education, welcoming the first girls into the reception class in September 2006, after a new nursery for both boys and girls opened on the Birchfield School site in September 2005.
Birchfield has a high reputation for academic success at all levels, and for its wide-ranging sporting and cultural activities. The school seeks to maximise the potential of each and every pupil. Small class sizes and specialist staff help each pupil achieve their attainable goals.
We have an excellent reputation for pupils taking their Common Entrance and achieving entry into their first-choice senior independent school. Exhibitions and awards are regularly achieved, with numerous scholarships gained in the last five years, including top academic scholarships to Shrewsbury.
Over the Summer 2006 the Pre-Prep area has been improved thanks to an extensive building programme, creating a new classroom. We have two ICT suites along with the school network and Intranet. There are specialist facilities for Music, Science, Art and Design and Technology. There are extensive playing fields, including three cricket squares and hard play nets. There are three hard play tennis courts and an outdoor heated swimming pool. Extra-curricular activities are many and varied.
Birchfield serves a wide local area and has excellent transport links, being only five minutes from the M54 and a few minutes from Albrighton railway station. |