Tudor Grange Academy, Solihull  Tudor Grange Academy is a co-educational Academy and technology college located in Solihull, West Midlands, England. It was originally a boys' grammar school for around 650 boys. A girls grammar school was built later and both original schools now form part of the current academy. Tudor Grange is situated in Tudor Grange Park, west of Solihull town centre, next to Alderbrook Secondary School (former Harold Malley Grammar School and Harold Cartwright Girls' Grammar School) and St. Peter's RC Secondary School. Solihull College is next-door to the east. Tudor Grange house, a now grade II listed property, was completed in Solihull in 1887 for Alfred Lovekin, a silversmith, who later sold the estate to Sir Alfred Bird, the owner of Bird's Custard then produced at the Birmingham Custard Factory. The Bird family bequeathed the house and estate to the people of Solihull for the construction of a 'Tudor Grange' school around the turn of the century. After Tudor Grange school had been established on this site, other parcels of the estate were passed on by the school for neighbouring schools, colleges and parkland. Tudor Grange Grammar School began as an entity at Lode Heath School, Lode Lane, in September 1951, with two mixed classes 1G1&1G2. The formative school continued with these temporary arrangements until the new boys' school in Dingle Lane was opened in September 1956, the official ceremony taking place on Tuesday 23 July 1957. The cost of building the new premises is reported to have been £176,445. Six hundred boys were taught at the school whose motto was 'Omnibus prodesse' - 'to be of service to all men'  In addition to the established Lode Heath School contingent, the new intake also included boys from Sharman's Cross Secondary Modern School. Subsequent entries were drawn from boys passing the 11+ exam together with a very small number passing a 13+ exam. The original uniform of the school comprised a black blazer with school badge on the breast pocket, a white shirt, a school tie in stripes of black gold and silver, a black cap with school badge and black lace-up leather shoes. 1st and 2nd year boys wore grey shorts whilst older boys were allowed to wear grey flannel trousers. 6th formers wore a slightly more flamboyant tie whilst prefects wore a cap with a gold stripe.