Our School History


Excert From Bax News Edition one, written by Benjamin Weatherstone (10SGG)

"As we all know, Baxter College was previously called Harry Cheshire High School, and is still known to many under that name. It was a school that your parents or even grandparents may have gone to, since its opening in the 1930’s. Since then a lot has changed. But why did things change? And what was the school like prior to the change.

There were two main leading schools in Kidderminster in the late 1900’s, King Charles and Harry Cheshire. King Charles was a grammar school whose reputation was impressive, whereas Harry Cheshire, which was a high school, had started to gain a bad reputation. It eventually became apparent, that things needed to change.

Poor behaviour led to a rather skewed intake, meaning that the numbers coming in were low, and unfortunately had low expectations. As well as this, behaviour was poor, and the school was struggling to manage this.

When it came to GCSE results, just 13% of students received five grades that were ranked A*-C. This was an aspect that needed improving, and today, it now has. Now, the school is at just under 50%, which is a really strong improvement. There was a time when the school was divided into two. Baxter 2 was the old middle school, whereas Baxter 1 was split, with boys on one side of the school, and girls on the other side. The school was opened in the 1930’s under the name Harry Cheshire and was affected during the war. It was reported that the school was bombed due to it being mistaken for a factory.

As for staff, less than 50% of the staff were full time and employed. All other staff were in as supply teachers. There were only 400 students in the school, with next to none in the sixth form. It was in the early 2000’s when the school hit rock bottom.

The school decided it was going to start from the bottom and try and build up it’s own reputation. The uniform was completely changed, and with the scrapping of middle schools, more students were welcomed in. Baxter started to develop it’s own name, and it worked. Baxter College now has double the number of students, with significantly improved results."

Have a story or photo to share?

We pride on our school history and would like to hear from you. Whether you are a past student or a local who knows the history of the school, any stories or photos would be very appreciated to enrich our school's culture and history.

Click the button on the right to submit your story or photo. If you are unable to email us, please contact our Reception team on 01562 741524.