1_School chapel preservation & enhancement
The Senior School building together with its chapel is acknowledged
to be the foremost example of Victorian architecture in the city.
There is an urgent need to preserve the fabric of the chapel building.
Those who have recently visited the chapel will appreciate how important it is to current pupils, staff and friends and to the Old Royals who often found it to be central to their life at the School. It is an important past of Wolverhampton's built heritage.
All appreciate the need to deal with its present poor state. 
There has been water ingress and much of the lime plaster has come way from the interior walls. Other walls have paint peeling off. Some work has been done to make the building water-tight but more needs to be done. Electrical wiring needs to be replaced. Cracks in walls need stabilising with metal stitching. Plans for this have been developed. Funding is needed.
The chapel does not generate any income despite its attractiveness, location and potential. Once the building has 
been preserved, we can enhance its capabilities and flexibility to enable greater use by pupils & the local community. Just think what a creative lighting system, that picks out the architectural features of the buildings and its roof beams, would add to the enjoyment of the building. Add a good sound or AV system, replace some pews with chairs, and you have an attractive and flexible venue for concerts, recitals, presentations, meetings and fashion shows, while still being available to the school for Assemblies, concerts and classes.
Its religious purpose can be maintained whilst allowing flexible use in the
areas away from the altar and front choir stalls. This is important to so many. In the minds of many Old Royals the chapel remains the centre of the School and a place of peace and calm. Much of that ambience comes from the superb stained-glass windows throughout the building.
The chapel is used daily for school assemblies and the larger set-piece service such as Founder's Day, Prize Giving Days, the annual Leavers Service, Remembrance Sunday, and for other religious services. It will therefore remain in the memories of current pupils, parents and staff and recent leavers.
The nearby lodge could be renovated to provide toilet and catering facilities, and then hired out as a self-contained unit of chapel and lodge. These changes would enable it to generate income from its users. There are ideas on how this can be achieved but further work, design, cost estimates and funding are needed.
A working Group will prepare for an Appeal
A Working Group of the Foundation, the School, Old Royals and other interested parties, is doing this groundwork in preparation for an Appeal to:
- Preserve the fabric of the building, so it is safe from the ravages of time and the weather
- Then enhance its flexibility and make it more attractive to parents, friends and the public, as a venue for weddings, concerts, services and other events, as well as additional use by the School. Converting the lodge by the School entrance to provide toilets, teas and coffee etc is part of the vision.
The Working Group is tasked with developing a costed and acceptable programme of work. It will publish its plans including artist's impressions of how it could look and seek support and then initiate an Appeal for funds. SO PLEASE WATCH THIS SPACE.