War bunkers network unearthed at Wednesbury school
A network of underground Second World War munitions storage bunkers was found during excavations for a new school building.
Workers digging footings for the new £2.5 million extension at The Priory School in Friar Park, Wednesbury, initially found what they thought was an air raid shelter at the site.
But further excavations revealed a series of at least four underground walled rooms, which experts say are likely to have been used to store weapons and ammunition during the conflict.
It comes as the vast two-storey extension at the Good-rated school was due to be erected last night.
Bosses at Sandwell Council say they are yet to decide what to do with the bunkers, which are set to be separated from the new school building by a wall.
Gary Thompson, project manager for builders’ Portakabin, said the find came to light within weeks of workers moving onto the Dorsett Road site earlier this year.
“We found one large room on the border of where the new building is going and from then on this large network just unravelled.
“The concern for us was that they would come into the area where the school was going to be built.
“There were walls built inside the bunkers – signs of a much bigger complex.
“Fortunately there is no impact on the new build, although there is a chance the bunkers will have to be filled in at some point.”
Workers have spent five months at the Dorsett Road site to clear and prepare the ground for the new building.
Featuring seven new classrooms, a dance studio and a staff room, it was constructed in modules by Portakabin and transported down from the firm’s Yorkshire base over the weekend.
Workers were due to put the impressive new building together block-by-block last night using two large cranes, with the building expected to be ready for use in time for the new term in September.
The school, which was rebuilt 10 years ago, will see its capacity double to 420 pupils, with a new two-form entry policy in place for the start of next term.
West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson visited the site last week.
He said: “Parents in Wednesbury are crying out for more good school places for their children, and this exciting development will create just that.
“This is an important investment by Sandwell Council and local kids will feel the benefits of these new facilities for years to come.”
Councillor Simon Hackett, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We need more school places to meet high demand.
“We want as many parents as possible to be able to get their child into their first choice of school.
“Over the past six years, we have created more than 4,400 new primary places. We have an excellent record of providing these in good or outstanding schools,” he said. Workers will remain on site over the coming weeks to put the finishing touches to the building.
Phillip Butcher, headteacher at Priory Primary School, said: “The new building will be a great addition to the school.
“I’m looking forward to seeing it finished and ready for the new term in September.”
Earlier this year Sandwell Council announced a £6.6m investment in schools to create hundreds of new primary places.
It came amid an explosion in demand over the last five years that council bosses put down to a baby boom and an increase in the number of people moving to the area to live.
Over the next 18 months a total of 700 spaces will be created through extensions of existing schools and the development of a new primary in Smethwick.
