Porth County had an enviable reputation for academic excellence, along with a very strict regime for discipline. This behaviour must stop, Santos scolded us. A few went to university to become doctors or teachers, and some even to become scientists, like me. Eventually, thanks to them, and a summer spent working on a couple of farms in Carmarthenshire, I became fluent in Welsh well, fluent enough to make TV programmes in the language anyway. [9] His eccentric behaviour was well known at the school, and although he was strict at times, his pupils described him as "fair". Upcoming Projects But that won't happen without a revolution in our entire approach to education and industry. You can order records in advance to be ready for you when you visit Kew. But there were some places its pupils werent going. When I got to my O level year, the set poem for group recital in the Urdd Eisteddfod turned out to be Y Ffynhonnau. But more was gained, for more pupils, across the whole of the Rhondda, by treating everyone as though they had the right to the best that school could offer, by refusing to make anyone think they might be second best for life just because they hadnt excelled in a certain sort of test when they were 11. The secondary modern boys wore plain jumpers and would try to throw stones at you, but you knew you were the superior race. Community school in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Mention schooldays and suddenly our minds are flooded with memories. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The family feel truly blessed to have had such a treasure of a man for 90 years and know his influence is a lasting legacy not only on their own lives but also on the lives of so many. The grammar school I entered was a tough rugby-playing place too. Being from Rhondda, I obviously played a lot of rugby at school level. She wasn't worried about this, however, as she "just knew" his offer was not as sincere as it seemed. becoming a Swan. Year after year, exceptional candidates with exceptional results were rejected out of hand. [15], At the start of 2016, Rhondda Cynon Taff council released a statement saying that they will be spending 80million on making a 'super school' This would be for Porth county community school and Tonypandy community college. If we are to stand a chance in a post-Brexit world we need an education system that is part of this, with a real future for clever kids from any background to do good jobs with prospects. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses. Its architect was Rowland Lloyd Jones, who also designed most of the other Caernarvonshire schools. Let us know. [1], The origins of the school dates back to the creation of Porth Higher Elementary School in 1904. He trained at Porth County Grammar School for Boys where he remained for 41 years as a History and English teacher, head of the History department, becoming headmaster in 1961. Wrestling matches broke out. Are your grandchildren at Welsh School, perhaps? So almost all of my class decided to try to parler franais. You might well have had a Porth County boy as a teacher or even as a headmaster - well-educated Welsh school boys went on to many such roles. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. When Porth went Comprehensive, its Oxbridge tradition withered and died. The local schools did not encourage the speaking of Welsh and he was forced to learn English. 1959 - 1963 It was The Way Out the means of escape from the drudgery of the pits. A true education, as those early pioneers of schools in the Rhondda knew, makes the very best in human learning and human experience accessible to all. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, As head of modern languages at Ellen Wilkinson school for girls in Ealing, west London, Christine Llewelyn had a reputation for getting the best out of her pupils. All information provided to Nation.Cymru will be handled sensitively and within the boundaries of the Data Protection Act 2018. This superb school selected from the finest minds in the Rhondda, despite. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. When the schools closed during the pandemic, many Rhondda parents told me that they began to appreciate for the first time what these institutions do for children it turns out its far more than reading, writing and arithmetic. It came to a point when rugby and football clashed, and it was always going to be football for me. The golf club and the Rotary beckoned you as you smoothly travelled in you new Austin Tourer from your detached house in a pleasant village in the vale of Glamorgan. [7] [8] The school was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two leading grammar schools, Porth County Girls and Porth County Boys, along with the amalgamation of the Secondary Modern Schools of Llwyncelyn, Trealaw and Ynyshir. I have not seen any improvement to our way of life in North Wales since the early 70s. We need more thanThe Pride of Miss Jean Brodie. These were both on Cemetery Road in Porth and amalgamated to become the comprehensive school on the old Porth County site. Did you go to the Welsh School? [5], In 1922 the school became officially recognised as a secondary school. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Pressure, pressure, pressure from parents to excel, from peers to be normal, from yourself just to be yourself, in spite of them all. I reckoned I'd have a flying start with Welsh. In fact pay has decreased since then and we pay more for a lot lessfood, fuel, clotheseverything. Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Publisher: ISBN: Category : Broadband communication systems Languages : en Pages : 180 View On Sunday, October 8, a group of these 1956 first-formers met for lunch in the Heritage Park Hotel in Trehafod, followed by a trip to the school premises, now part of Porth Community School. Paula Bailey Butlins Holidays Wales Beach Porthcawl Nostalgic Pictures Hartlepool London History Seaside Resort Worlds Away Madness! A DISTINGUISHED and much loved former headteacher has passed away at the age of 90. We needdemand for what the best whole system of education can provide. So many families in areas that used to be thought of as English-speaking Wales, areas like the Rhondda, have an active connection with the Welsh language nowadays, and thats great to see. But we can't bring back a country full of opportunities for working people without fixing the real problems of our economy, and that will need more than new faith schools and university-sponsored academies. Porth Community School "We are committed to providing outstanding learning and teaching in a caring, safe, nurturing environment. And I mean tough, so we were not afraid of the secondary modern roughs. Born New Zealand Tongan parents, qualified England through residency having lived and been educated Wales . Y Goedwig Many of his Porth County past pupils attended his funeral last week including Dr Kelvin Roberts, head of Pirtek Group of Companies, who gave a eulogy. Porth County Grammar School badge and report card images by John Geraint The Ranch But, like Santos, Porth was a school with something of a split personality. The Guardian went on to say that staff at 'Porth County Community School' had "caught young teenagers" using steroids at the school, and on one occasion, found steroids on the school premises. In recent years she suffered a series of health issues, but bore them all without complaint. The classmates you despised. Porth Grammar School. French was a proper modern language, a language with a future, the Common Market and all of that. Now it became an even more rounded, more fully human place to learn. During his tenure, an unprecedented number of boys entered university and there were an average of eight scholarships to Oxford and Cambridge each year. Clive first went to Kettering Grammar School before transferring to Porth County Grammar when his father was appointed borough architect to the Rhondda Valley. You need to sign in to tag. Home; Lectures . Have you found an error with this catalogue description? Children of various ages attend the school, ranging from 316 years old. The visit, by kind permission of the head, Steve Bowden, was hosted by Melanie Griffiths. The film made a bit of a splash at the time. I chose Cymraeg. Paul Kelso, Duncan Mackay and Matthew Taylor, "Headteacher dedicated life to his pupils", 'Porth County Community School' 2003 Demolition, "From gym to club to school: the shock spread of steroid abuse", "Actor Michael Sheen to visit local school", "Michael Sheen hits out at lack of drama funds", "Eleven schools could shut in 75m Rhondda education shake-up ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Porth_County_Community_School&oldid=1096285706, Educational institutions established in 1973, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 15 out of 212 secondary schools in Wales (as of 2014), This page was last edited on 3 July 2022, at 13:37. Smells. The sheer torture of the whole deal. At some point in time the grammar school was split in two sections, one half being known as Porth County Girls and the other half being known as Porth County Boys. Back when I was in Junior School things were a bit different. The teachers you hated. Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Upcoming Lectures; Lecture Archive; Projects . Chances are, if youre from the Rhondda, and depending on your age, you might have been with us, or your nieces and nephews were, or little Gareth or Sian from down the street, whore all grown up by now. Porth County. 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By then, Welsh had begun to flourish again in the Rhondda. Are they definitely Rhondda grammar schools? He was given the affectionate nickname of Santos because of his black, curly hair and moustache. A DISTINGUISHED and much loved former headteacher has passed away at the age of 90. Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Glamorgan, Wales. Porth County Grammar School for Girls Websites Websites Friends of Sorrento http://www.friendsofsorrento.co.uk Friends of Sardinia http://www.friendsofsardinia.com Company Website.