About West Midlands
West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire
It consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the city of Birmingham (England’s second largest city), the city of Coventry, and the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton.
The metropolitan county incorporates parts of three historic counties. In the northwest, the boroughs of Wolverhampton and Walsall and parts of the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Birmingham belong to the historic county of Staffordshire.
In the southwest, parts of the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Birmingham lie in the historic county of Worcestershire. In the centre and the east, part of Birmingham, including the city’s historic core, and the entire boroughs of Solihull and Coventry belong to the historic county of Warwickshire.
From 1974 to 1986 West Midlands was an administrative metropolitan county. In 1986 the metropolitan county lost its administrative powers, and its constituent boroughs became autonomous administrative units, or unitary authorities. West Midlands is now a geographic and ceremonial county without administrative authority.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “West Midlands”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Aug. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/place/West-Midlands. Accessed 5 November 2022.
Things To Do and See in West Midlands
Education
The West Midlands contains ten universities, seven of which are located in Birmingham:
- Aston University
- University of Birmingham
- Birmingham City University
- University College Birmingham
- BPP University
- University of Law
- Newman University
Both of Coventry University and the University of Warwick are located in Coventry whilst University of Wolverhampton is located in Wolverhampton with campuses in Telford and Walsall.
Each of the local authorities has at least one further education college for students aged over 16, and since September 1992 all of the local authorities have operated traditional 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior, and 11-16/18 secondary schools for students in compulsory education. This followed the demise of 5–8 first, 8–12 middle and 12-16/18 secondary schools in the Sutton Coldfield area.
For 18 years before September 1990, Dudley had operated 5–8 first, 8–12 middle, and 12-16/18 secondary schools before then, while Halesowen (September 1972 until July 1982) and Aldridge-Brownhills (September 1972 until July 1986) had both operated 5–9 first, 9–13 middle and 13-16/18 secondary schools.
Many local authorities still have sixth form facilities in secondary schools, though sixth form facilities had been axed by most secondary schools in Dudley since the early 1990s (and in Halesowen in 1982) as the local authorities changed direction towards further education colleges.
All secondary state education in Dudley and Sandwell is mixed comprehensive, although there are a small number of single sex and grammar schools existing in parts of Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall.
In August 2009, Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College merged to become Birmingham Metropolitan College, one of the largest further and higher education institutions in the country. Plans are afoot for the construction of a new campus in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham. (Wikipedia)
Public Services in West Midlands
