PUPILS at the £20 million Oldbury Academy will have a sense of history after a stain glass window and two brass roll of honours marking the sacrifice local men made in the Great War.

The window, which is valued at £120,000 and the rolls of honour were commissioned in the 1920s for Oldbury Grammar School, which became Langley High School.

Oldbury Academy headteacher has overseen the delicate operation to move the window and rolls of honour to the brand new Pound Road campus from the old Langley High School site.

He said: “As we close our old site we felt it was important that we retained this history, our history.

“I am delighted that we are able to bring these pieces of heritage to their rightful home.

“It is something our students wanted and, although there has been considerable cost in restoring the items, I look forward to sharing these memories of our brave old boys who fought for the country we live in today.”

The 5m by 2m stained glass window was made by local glass artists Tom Stokes and Bill Pardoe and features allegorical figures of Justice, Courage and Fortitude and extracts from the Greek classic The Story of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.

Both the window and the rolls of honour were paid for by the families of those who died in the 1914-1918 and the Grammar School’s alumni The Old Cresconians.

Oldbury Academy has also had a brand new brass plaque made to explain to pupils the meaning of the rolls of honour and stained glass windows.

The brand new Oldbury Academy campus will open on January 1 and the memorials will take pride of place in the foyer.

Mr Martin added: “The new school building is a result of so much effort and commitment from our staff and governors.

“It is their vision that has ensured that our students of today can enjoy facilities that match our recent outstanding OFSTED grade.”

In 2007 Langley High School and Warley High School merged to become Oldbury College of Sport which was renamed Oldbury Academy in 2011.