A SCRIPTWRITER who was born and brought up in Kidderminster is publishing a book about his days at King Charles 1 High School.

Michael Hale, who now lives in Folkestone in Kent, has written Blazered in Blue, which he describes as a schoolboy's eye view of the school in the 1950s and early 60s.

The book contains his memories from when he was a pupil between 1953 and 1961, including lessons, classrooms, clubs and societies and school trips, as well as teachers and his classmates.

Mr Hale said: "Things were very different then. I wanted people to have a record that would be interesting for them. People who were at the school at the time will enjoy reading it to bring back their memories."

After school, Mr Hale read modern languages at Cambridge and later returned to Kidderminster in the 1970s and taught in Solihull, Birmingham and Hagley.

During that time, he served on Wyre Forest District Council and Hereford and Worcester County Council as well as being an active member of the Nonentities at The Rose Theatre.

He began more intensive writing for the theatre, having had previous works performed in Liverpool, and his plays vary from contemporary comedies to church dramas in verse and include Albert, A Prodigal Son, and Francis.

Mr Hale moved to Kent in the mid-1980s and took a break from writing before taking up the pen again recently and has completed new plays and poetry, as well as Blazered in Blue.

He said writing the book was very different to his theatre work, adding: "It was a bit of a new venture for me. I have done quite a bit of writing for the stage. It is very different when you describe people in a play - you can make it up and you can say anything you want, as they are imaginary characters.

"It was a new experience for me to be describing real people. You start feeling very nervous about whether you are being fair to people but I have tried to be honest."

The writer said he was looking forward to people being able to read his book, adding: "It was a fascinating experience."

Blazered in Blue will be available from next Friday at Kidderminster Library, priced £5.

It can also be ordered from ILEX Publishing, 2 Avereng Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5HT or 01303 256604 (plus £1.25 post and packing).