In the
middle of the nineteenth century a group of eminent benefactors in Birmingham
formed an association to run an approved school in that city for boys who
had offended against the laws of the day. Subsequently the school was run,
under the control of the Home Office, at an establishment in Saltley, Birmingham
until the start of the 1939-1945 War. The property was then compulsorily acquired
by the Post Office for other use and the School with its boys was evacuated
to Wales.
After the War the Managers
wished to return the School to its roots and, as the old property was not
available an opportunity was taken to purchase a large house and estate in
Little Kineton, Warwickshire. This gave opportunities for the pupils to further
their general education, study art and music and also to learn one of the
many trades, including building, engineering and farming, for which practical
facilities existed. The School was then being run, as a company limited by
guarantee, by a Board of Directors. In 1973 the management of the School was,
by new legislation, taken out of the control of the Directors and was assumed
by Warwickshire County Council.
In 1985 the School was
closed by Warwickshire County Council and the occupation of the land reverted
to the Directors of the Company. As it was not feasible to continue
to operate the School the property was sold and the proceeds transfered to
the Trustees of the Norton Foundation, which had been formed with the approval
of the Charity Commission. The Foundation has given over £2million to date by way of grants to help needy young people under the age of twenty five.