Road Several major routes run through the town, including the A456 which runs from Birmingham to just south of Woofferton, Shropshire; the A451 which runs from Stourbridge to Abberley; the A442 which runs from Droitwich to Hodnet, Shropshire, a few miles north of Telford; the A449 which runs from Newport in south Wales to Stafford and crosses the A456 at the Land Oak; and the A448 road which starts in the town and goes to Studley in Warwickshire, via Bromsgrove and Redditch. A major change in the town centre road infrastructure was the construction of the ring road in the 1970s and 1980s. This relieved the town's growing congestion but diverted traffic outside the centre, drawing off customers for businesses. The final phase of the ring road was never completed, which results in the town having a ring road that does not form a complete ring. Waterways The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal passes through the town. Bus There are direct bus links with towns including Worcester, Halesowen, Bewdley, Stourport, Bridgnorth, Bromsgrove and Redditch. The majority of the services in Kidderminster are operated by Diamond West Midlands (previously First Midland Red), while the rest is operated by Arriva Midlands, Finesse and Yarranton Brothers and Services 291 and 292 were operated by R & B Travel prior to the company surrendering its licence in January 2020. Services 15A/C, S15, 294, 580 and 133were operated by Coniston Coaches prior to surrendering its licence in October 2020. 15A/C, S15 & 294 were passed onto Astons until 2021 and 2022. Education As part of educational restructuring in the Wyre Forest district, Kidderminster's schools were reorganised from a three-tier system of first, middle and high schools to the two-tier system more common in the UK as a whole, featuring primary schools and secondary schools. In this process, several first and middle schools were closed or merged into new primaries. The three high schools of King Charles I School, Wolverley C E Secondary School, and Baxter College (formerly Harry Cheshire High School) became secondary schools that included sixth forms. Independent schools include Heathfield Knoll School in Wolverley. Formerly independent, Holy Trinity School became a state-funded free school in 2014. Kidderminster College is located in Market Street in the town centre, having moved from older premises in Hoo Road in 2003. Other local secondary schools include The Stourport High School & VIth Form Centre and The Bewdley School.