Beacon Hill Academy, formerly known as The High Arcal School, is a secondary school in the Sedgley area of Dudley, in the English West Midlands. Originally opened as a grammar school in 1961, the school became a comprehensive in 1975. It adopted its current name in September 2018, after joining the Dudley Academies Trust. History The large population growth of the Sedgley and Coseley urban districts during the interwar and early postwar years saw rising demand for secondary school places, with Sedgley and Coseley only providing secondary modern education, meaning that pupils who passed the entry examination for grammar schools had to attend establishments in neighbouring districts including Dudley and Wolverhampton. Plans for a grammar school to serve the two districts emerged during the 1950s, and the High Arcal Grammar School finally opened in September 1961. Control of the school passed to Dudley Council in April 1966 as a result of Sedgley's amalgamation into Dudley. As with other schools in Dudley, the school's age range was altered to 12–18 from September 1972. In September 1975 it became a comprehensive school, taking in a new catchment area centred around the Upper Gornal and Woodsetton areas of Sedgley, although the catchment area rules were gradually relaxed during the 1980s and into the 1990s, with a growing number of pupils from Coseley, Dudley and Tipton joining the school. Its sixth form centre closed in July 1990 as part of a fresh reorganisation by the local authority, and from September of the following year, the age range was altered to 11–16. In September 2002 a new sixth form was opened at the school by Dudley College. In December 2011, the school hosted a broadcast of the BBC Radio 4 show Any Questions?. This event was later repeated in December 2019 in the run up to the General Election. In September 2017, the school became part of the Dudley Academies Trust, alongside Castle High School (St. James Academy), The Hillcrest School (The Link Academy), and Holly Hall School (Pegasus Academy), in association with Dudley College. Its name was officially changed to Beacon Hill Academy the following year. Headteachers Despite first opening in 1961, the school has only had 7 headteachers in its 60-year history. The first headteacher of the school was Laurence Ardern who served for 14 years from the schools opening until his retirement in July 1975. He was succeeded by John Gerrish who