Redditch

Redditch Worcestershire UK Hub

Approximate Population: 79,216

Redditch lies just south of (but is not part of) the West Midlands urban area, northwest of Studley on the A435, which skirts it to the East. The main route of access is the A441, a trunk road from Birmingham to Cookhill, via junction 2 of the M42 Motorway. The Roman Road known as Icknield Street is prominent, running North to South through the eastern side of the town.

The first recorded mention of Redditch (”Red-Dych”, thought to be a reference to the red clay of the nearby River Arrow) is in 1348, the year of the outbreak of the Black Death. During the Middle Ages it became a centre of needle-making and later prominent industries were fish-hooks, fishing tackle, motorcycles and springs, the latter notably by Herbert Terry and Sons. It was designated a new town in 1964 and the population increased dramatically from 32,000 to around 77,000. Housing developments such as Church Hill, Matchborough, Winyates, Lodge Park and Woodrow were created to accommodate the large overspill from an industrially expanding Birmingham. Redditch was built as a ‘flagship’ town using new methods and new town planning, all the main roads in Redditch were banked to reduce noise to the new housing estates and the whole of Redditch was landscaped.

Redditch schools operate a three-tier system, where students progress from a ‘First (or Primary) School’, to a ‘Middle School’, and then to a High School (rather than the more common two-tier system). Redditch currently has four high schools, Saint Augustine’s High School, Kingsley College, Trinity High School and Arrow Vale High School.

North East Worcestershire College (often referred to locally as “NEW College”) is a large general further education college: one of its two campuses is in central Redditch; the other is in Bromsgrove.

In 1956 Redditch was twinned with Auxerre in Burgundy, France. This twinning proved sufficiently popular to form an organisation named The Friends of Auxerre (FoA). At the beginning of June each year the coupling of these two towns is officially celebrated.

In 1986 Redditch was twinned with Mtwara in Tanzania. Frequent events are organised with assistance from the community of Tanzanian students at Birmingham University and Selly Oak College.

Redditch Worcestershire UK Hub