Royal Wolverhampton School

The Royal Wolverhampton School stands on Penn Road in Wolverhampton. It began in 1850 as the Wolverhampton Orphan Asylum, founded by John Lees after a cholera epidemic left many children without parents. The school became The Royal Orphanage of Wolverhampton in 1891 when Queen Victoria granted the prefix ‘Royal’. In the late 1940s King George VI allowed it to be renamed The Royal Wolverhampton School. It was once a fee-paying private school but became a free school in September 2016. The school is one of the few state boarding schools in the country and the only state school with a Royal Charter. It offers bursaries to children of serving military personnel and has educated notable figures such as comedian Eric Idle. Prince Edward serves as the school’s patron, a role previously held by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Visitors find extended buildings on Penn Road that still form the school’s core. The Hilda Hayward Swimming Pool, rebuilt after a fire in 2005, supports elite training and swimming programmes. Pupils can join sports teams, cadet forces, nursing cadets, or clubs like Young Enterprise and Coding Club. The school’s history is reflected in its facilities and the achievements of its former pupils.