The large population growth of the Sedgley and Coseley urban districts in the mid 20th century saw rising demand for school places, resulting in the construction of the Dormston Secondary Modern School in the 1930s, along with several primary schools. Plans for a grammar school to serve the two districts emerged by the 1950s, and the High Arcal Grammar School finally opened in September 1961. Control of the school passed to Dudley Council in April 1966 as a result of Sedgley's amalgamation into Dudley. As with other schools in Dudley, the school's age range was altered to 12–18 from September 1972. In September 1975 it became a comprehensive school. Its sixth form centreclosed in July 1990 as part of further reorganisation by the local authority, and from September of the following year, the age range was altered to 11–16. In September 2002 a new sixth form was opened at the school by Dudley College. In December 2011, the school hosted a broadcast of the BBC Radio 4 show Any Questions?. This event was later repeated in in the run up to the General Election. In September 2017, the school became part of the Dudley Academies Trust, alongside Castle High School, The Hillcrest School, and Holly Hall School, in association with Dudley College. Its name was officially changed to Beacon Hill Academy the following year.
Headteachers
The first headteacher of the school was Laurence Ardern, who served for 14 years until his retirement in July 1975. He was succeeded by John Gerrish, who in turn retired in December 1992. Jeffrey Williams, a former teacher at the school, then returned to become headteacher; he resigned in August 2006 after being convicted of kerb-crawling, and was succeeded by Jo Manson, the former deputy head. Upon Jo Manson's retirement in April 2016, Jo Bull took over. When Dudley Academies Trust took over in September 2018, they made significant changes to the leadership teams of all of their Academies, which saw Sukhjot Dhami become Principal on an interim basis for one term, supported by Angelina Robin-Jones. Mr Mark Thorogood became head of Beacon Hill Academy in January 2020, but then resigned in May 2020. At this point, Sukhjot Dhami took over once more, this time as Principal. Sukhjot Dhami continues to serve as Principal at this time.
Houses & Years
The school population was previously divided into a house system, consisting of four houses named after local stately homes. The houses participated in both physical and academic competitions, competing in sports such as cricket, football and rugby. The students in each house had a 'Head of House' and a 'Student Support Manager', and had the right to talk with House leaders about concerns of school life or any other subjects. From September 2019, the house system was disbanded, along with Head of Houses. The school is now broken down into year groups with each group being assigned their own 'Learning Manager'.
