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Blue Coat School

Yanto

Brummie babby
I'm trying to find how I go about finding about my father attending the above school in 1920s early 1930s I live on the east coast so I'm at a loss any help please ,
Thank you Yanto
 
i would suggest making a start by contacting the school itself to see if they hold the school records...this school was originally formed to help the children of poor families which would have been the case in the 20s and 30s..i also had a rellie who attended..it was moved from its original place in the city centre to where it is now in edgbaston ..if they do not have the old records i would think they are at the birmingham library city centre... no doubt the school will advise you if this is the case...link below for the school and how to contact them

lyn

https://thebluecoatschool.com/
 
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There might be problems with access to records because of the 100 year closure of many personal records. I think the records may be at the library rather than the school.
 
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There are many mentions of the Blue Coat School in the Press, and sometimes individual names are recorded, but we would need a name.
 
Yanto, The Blue Coat School was based in Harborne so maybe Harborne Library hold some records relating to the school? I do not know whether the school is still in use today - maybe for some other purpose.
 
info on the school

History[edit]

Blue plaque on the site of the original Blue Coat School
The school was founded as a charity school under the guidance of Reverend William Higgs, Rector of St Philip's Church, now Birmingham Cathedral.[3] At its outset, it provided food, clothing and education to 32 boys and 20 girls from poor families, aged between nine and 14.[4] The school was originally located at 5 St Philip's Place (formerly the Prudential Assurance building). The old school site is now commemorated by a blue plaque.[5]in 1930 the school moved to where it is now which is somerset road on the borders of harborne and edgbaston

lyn
 
Hi Yanto. A little before your Dads time at the school, but may be of interest. The first image (1913) is by the photographer Benjamin Stone. Don't know about the other two. There are several more on this site https://damsdeepzoom.shoothill.com/
Just type in "Blue" in the search box on that site. Viv.

image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
A good view of the St Phillip's churchyard side of the building. No date for this, but sometime after the statues were removed. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
I believe it has to be before the mid 1930's as there is a tramcar in the background. The new road system came into being then and the tram termini was moved to the front of Snow Hill railway station.
 
Demolishing the Blue Coat School, Colmore Row/St Phillips Churchyard in 1935. The image is from a later newspaper. The offices of Prudential Assurance were subsequently built on the site. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
The no 23 bus went on a diversion down Somerset Road as Harborne Road was closed, and I saw this view of The Blue Coat School, built 1930.

 
Blue Coat School history https://thebluecoatschool.com/about/history/

Founded in 1722, The Blue Coat School owes its origin to Reverend William Higgs, Rector of St Philip’s Church, Birmingham, now Birmingham Cathedral.

The original school, built on the eastern side of the pleasant churchyard surrounding St. Philip’s Church, dated from 1724 and its purpose was to educate children aged nine to fourteen from poor families within the city. In these early years 32 boys and 20 girls were clothed, fed and educated there.

The school was enlarged several times in the eighteenth century and largely rebuilt between 1792 and 1794 as a four-storey neo-classical building. Further increases of pupil numbers meant that eventually new premises had to be found.

In 1930 a new school was planned and built, on the site of a large private residence, Harborne Hill House, in the pleasant suburb of Edgbaston and remains its location today. The main entrance plan of the present building is based on the original school in central Birmingham.

Birmingham’s first public statues, of a boy and girl in uniform, which stood on the front of the original building from 1770, were placed in niches in the hall of the new school building. Copies were made in 1930 and stand in niches above the main entrance porch.
 
Nice to see the boy and girl statues in excellent condition above the entrance Ell. Thanks for posting. Viv.
 
No problem. I noticed that signs saying that Harborne Road was closed, so I walked up to the next bus stop on the Harborne High Street. Think it's closed due to the flooding last Sunday? The boy and girl might be 1930s copies based on the history I found.
 
thanks for that viv....the new BCS is where a relative of mine must have attended

lyn
 
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