| Grove Park School | |
|---|---|
 Disused buildings of the Chester Road site, first used as a girls grammar school. | |
 Interactive map of Grove Park School | |
| Former names | Grove Park County School for Girls (1939–1972) Park Avenue Comprehensive (1972) Bromfield High School (~1970s–1983) Groves High School (1983–2003) |
| General information | |
| Type | School (1939–2003) Gallery (proposed) |
| Architectural style | 1930sNeo-classical and someArt Deco |
| Location | Chester Road/Powell Road,Acton, Wrexham, Wales |
| Coordinates | 53°03′03″N2°59′27″W / 53.050714°N 2.990848°W /53.050714; -2.990848 |
| Construction started | 1936 |
| Completed | 1939 |
| Renovated | 1950s–1960s |
| Closed | 2003 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Gilbert D Wiles |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Former Grove Park School |
| Designated | 29 November 2016 |
| Reference no. | 87719[1] |
TheGrove Park School (or simply theGroves School) is a formerschool building inWrexham, North Wales, which was home to a school between 1939 and 2003. The site has been derelict since 2003, and was proposed for demolition byWrexham council, until theWelsh Government listed the building in 2016, following a campaign to preserve it. Various bids have been made to re-develop the site, including it becoming part ofColeg Cambria, being converted into a newprimary school, aWelsh-mediumsecondary school, a medical training facility, or part of anational gallery.
There were initially two schools using the local nameGrove Park, a boys and a girls school, based on Grove Park Road and Chester Road respectively. They were both converted intocomprehensive schools, with the former boys school merging to the main existing girls school site. The combined school later became known as theBromfield High School and laterGroves High School. The old boys school buildings became part of Coleg Cambria'sYale campus.
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A school under the nameGrove Park was founded in 1895, replacing a previous school known asThe Groves Academy, and the new school was agrammar school for boys. It was initially housed in theGroves Academy (or nowold Grove Park School) buildings near Grove Park Road, until they were sold to Wrexham Borough Council in return for a £11,500 (equivalent to £1,576,990 in 2023) fund which led to the construction of new red brick buildings closer to Chester Road, opening in 1902. While it was mainly a school for boys, some girls were educated at the school in small numbers, until they later moved to a purpose-built girls school site.[1][2]
In 1936, a separate building began construction on Chester Road/Powell Road, to the designs of Gilbert D Wiles.[1] In 1939, a girls grammar school was founded also under the nameGrove Park and moved into the now-existing building on Chester Road/Powell Road (the only one that now stands) and had 580 female pupils at the end of theWorld War II. This girl's building was almost opposite the 1902 boys school buildings.[2][3] It was renamed agrammar school in the 1940s.[1]
Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, the girls school had large extensions built onto it, providing a new gymnasium, science block and extra classrooms. The science block was constructed in anticipation of the introduction of mixed-sexcomprehensive education in the area by 1972.[2]
By the 1960s,comprehensive schools were emerging inDenbighshire, leading to the eventual amalgamation and dissolution ofsingle-sex schools, despite a local campaign to maintain them. TheGrove Park County School for Boys and theGrove Park County School for Girls were amalgamated with each other, and two comprehensive schools were then formed on the two sites in 1972. The boys school on Grove Park Road became theGrove Park School, while the girls school on Chester Road becamePark Avenue Comprehensive, although later changed toBromfield High School.[2][3] Bromfield was situated in the buildings of the former girls school and was to serve the areas around Chester Road, Maesydre, and Queens Park (nowCaia Park).[2]
In 1983, theGrove Park School situated on the former red brick boys school site merged with Bromfield High School becomingthe Groves High School, with pupils from the Grove Park Road/Chester Road site moving to the Chester Road site.[2][3] The red brick buildings facing Chester Road and near Grove Park Road, were then left vacant for a few years until it became theNEWI (now Wrexham University; formerly Glyndŵr) School of Art. Until the early 1990s when it was transferred toYale College, with the entire 1972 Grove Park School site becoming part of the college, which itself is now part ofColeg Cambria.[2]
The former high school site closed down in 2003, amid a reorganisation of Wrexham's secondary school education.[4] Pupils of the school were split into two "super" high schools,Ysgol Clywedog andRhosnesni High School.[5] While it was also planned, prior in 2002, for the Groves to be purchased byYale College, with Yale needing to raise "major investment" for it.[6] However by the end of 2002, Yale admitted it could not afford to purchase the Groves School building.[7] In 2012, the first arguments for demolishing the deteriorating building were raised,[5] with the building's newer science tower being demolished later in the same year.[8]
In 2014,Coleg Cambria (replacingYale) revealed plans to develop the site into part of its Wrexham central campus.[9][10] In 2015, the original 1902 buildings, part of Coleg Cambria, were refurbished.[11]
In 2016, it was announced to be demolished,[4] and replaced with up to two new schools on the site.[12][13][14] 250 and later 1,000 people[15] signed a petition urging the site be retained.Coleg Cambria considered the site to become part of its campus,[4] however the plans did not fall through.[12][16] The council rejected requests[17] to re-evaluate the decision,[18] and 55 local campaigners gathered outside the building to oppose its demolition.[19] Threats were also made to the council's leader over the announcement.[20] The site has cost £100,000 in upkeep to maintain since its closure in 2003, and an additional £900,000 between 2006 and 2016.[21][22]
In August 2016, theWelsh Government prevented its demolition by making it alisted building withCadw.[23][24][25] Its listing by the government has led Wrexham council to argue the Welsh Government should pay for the site.[12] In November 2016, the listed status was overturned[26] following aHigh Court-issued[27] judicial review raised by Wrexham council. It asked Welsh economy and infrastructure secretary,Ken Skates to review his decision for listing. However,Mark Drakeford, finance and local government secretary, backed the listing, re-instating it with immediate effect. Skates backed his original decision to list the building, stating it was the "right one", but accepted the original decision lacked detail.[28] The site is subject to acovenant meaning it can only be redeveloped for educational use,[28] with Wrexham council initially wanting to build a new school on the site by demolishing the building prior to its listed status. In 2017, the council abandoned its bid to demolish the site.[29]
In 2018, Wrexham council looked into re-using the building for education, such as aprimary school for 480 pupils. However, the estimated cost of £11.5 million to refurbish the building was stated to be too expensive to pursue. The council then considered using the land adjacent to the building to construct a new school building costing £6.7 million.[30]
In 2020, following plans to build a new school on the nearby Nine Acre field, campaigners opposing a school on that site, urged Wrexham Council to construct the new school on the Groves site instead.[31] In 2021, the site was considered to become a medical training facility, however Wales' travel restrictions at the time were stated to have hampered the proposal.[32] In 2022, a local councillor argued the site should be used to create Wrexham's secondWelsh-medium high school.[12][33]
In May 2023, the site was shortlisted, alongside five others, as a potential contender of the main site of theNational Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales, with Wrexham Council receiving £25,000 to develop its proposal.[34][35] A proposed main site for the gallery was scrapped in July 2024.[36]
In 2024, local heritage campaigners accused the council of allowing the building to fall into disrepair.[37] On 10 August 2025, Wrexham Council stated that the headline summary costs for the site since its closure in 2003 was £821,255, with the council describing the situation concerning the former school as "frustrating" and they "worked tirelessly" searching for a solution to it. The cost is attributed to insurance and security to protect the site from issues like vandalism and adverse weather.[8] On 13 August 2025, local Plaid Cymru councillors called for the site to be turned into acommunity hospital. Thelocal health board,Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, stated they have "no plans" to progress with the proposal.[38]
The building is largely in theneoclassical styles, although a 1930s interpretation, with someart deco elements. It is made of brushed brick, with herringbone panels and geometric arrangements. The building main western-facing entrance range is of a wide 15-bay symmetrical façade, with advanced hipped end bays, while its central entrance is advanced with stone or artificial stone. There is a dedication stone located next to the entrance doors, which was laid by William Jones JP, who was chairman of the Governors, and laid the stone in June 1938. The building has three wings projecting backwards, a central hall wing, and from the outside it also has two mirrored classroom wings. There are quadrangles and cloistered walkways filling the spaces between the wings.[1]
Inside the building, there is a double sweep stair, located in the main entrance hall which hasterrazzo treads and abaluster of cast iron. Small stairs of a similar design are present in the rears of each side wing. The classroom layouts are largely still intact, containing some of its original detailing such as dado panelling, parquet flooring and doors.[1]
