Major plans for new medical school submitted

The University of Wolverhampton has formally submitted plans to open a new 400-student medical school in a former sports hall.

The application to City of Wolverhampton Council would see the university’s redundant city campus sports facilities retrofitted to make way for the new Black Country Medical School. The medical school is expected to take in its first students from September 2027.

The work would see the conversion of the gymnasium and some of the university’s student union facilities in the Ambika Paul Building into new classrooms and clinical teaching spaces. 

Empty squash courts would be converted into a mock hospital room to allow students to practice real-world scenarios.

The application said the new medical school would “bring new life to an historically underused building.”

The plans propose converting a 50-year-old sport hall at the University of Wolverhampton’s city campus into the medical school for 400 students although the plans say the layout will accommodate 371 students.

A statement included with the application said: “The medical school would address a national shortage of UK-trained doctors and respond to the significant healthcare needs of the Black Country. 

“Wolverhampton is well placed to host this development due to its central location within the region and its role in supporting communities with some of the highest levels of deprivation and healthcare inequality.

“This retrofit represents the first phase of a longer-term ambition to develop a purpose-built medical school that will ultimately consolidate nursing, occupational health, and medical education into a single integrated facility. 

“The refurbished building will accommodate a diverse range of teaching environments, including clinical skills suites, anatomy teaching spaces, and standard classrooms. 

“Complementary non timetabled areas— such as social learning hubs—will support informal study, collaboration, and a vibrant student community.”

University of Wolverhampton has teamed up with the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust to help create the school. 

The university has also recently joined up with Aston Medical School in Birmingham to help design its curriculum.

Last year, the city’s university announced it would shut its city campus sports centre to make way for the new medical school. 

It would also be closing its Telford campus to cut costs, with students transferred to Wolverhampton and Walsall.