Our History

The Shrubbery School is the oldest co-educational independent school in Sutton Coldfield. The School house itself dates back to 1857 originally one house built on land previously owned by Penns Hall , in 1881 two wings were added and the house was converted to two semi-detached homes, ‘The Ferns’ and ‘The Shrubbery’. 

The Walker family lived at ‘The Shrubbery’ until the Rankin family moved in during 1914 when Walmley was a very small village consisting of a few houses and ‘The Fox Inn’. In the 1920’s a small school was run by Mrs L J Moore from ‘The Ferns’ and this gave Janice Rankin the inspiration to become a teacher. When Mrs Moore’s school closed next door in 1930, The Rankin family opened their school at ‘The Shrubbery’ beginning with one pupil Eileen King.

The school originally consisted of a classroom in the now listed schoolhouse. Initially with the help of her mother, Miss Rankin built up the school remaining in charge until the late 1990’s. As the school grew, the Rankin family bought ‘The Ferns’ next door and the schoolhouse remained the home of the Rankin family. As the school grew, Miss Rankin added more buildings and the land behind the house changed dramatically.