Abraham Darby Academy

Hadley.HistoryThe old school building, demolished at 85 years old, was founded as Madeley Senior Council School, Hill Top, opened in 1927 with 400 mixed places. It became known as Madeley Modern School from 1944, was enlarged in 1958-59 and had 619 pupils by the end of 1959.It amalgamated with Coalbrookdale High School in 1965 to form the Abraham Darby Comprehensive School. The school has a musical tradition, particularly with the wind band and the Abraham Darby Showband, which has played in the Royal Albert Hall and at the Carnegie Hall in New York City. The school achieved Arts College status and again renamed itself, this time to the Abraham Darby School for the Performing Arts in 2003.The new building began construction in late 2009 and completed in 2012. It was officially opened by Prince Edward on October 11, 2012.