Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw is a Welsh-medium all-age school located in Trevethin, Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales and named for Saint Gwynllyw. The school had 750 pupils on roll in 2023. The school changed its name from ‘Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw’ to ‘Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw’ [1] in 2022 to incorporate going from a High School to an all age school, the first in South East Wales.[2]
| Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
Heol Folly , NP4 8JD Wales | |
| Coordinates | 51°42′54″N 3°02′13″W / 51.7150°N 3.037°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Co-educational (Welsh Medium) |
| Motto | 1988–2017: "Cerddwn Ymlaen" ("Forward we March") 2017–present: Bydd pob dysgwr yn llwyddo (Every learner will succeed) |
| Established | 1988 |
| Local authority | Torfaen |
| Chair of Governors | Lesley Bush |
| Head teacher | No Current Persons |
| Staff | 61 |
| Age | 3 to 19 |
| Number of students | 750 (2023) |
| Houses | Ebwy Llwyd Rhymni Wysg |
| Colour(s) | Green, Navy and Grey |
| Website | http://www.gwynllyw.org/ |
History
editThe school was founded in 1988 as the first Welsh-medium school in the former Gwent LEA area and is housed in accommodation previously used for Trevethin Comprehensive School.
For its first three years Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw was housed in the old Abercarn Infant School house but soon outgrew the building. As one of the fastest growing schools in Wales, bigger premises were needed and the old Trevethin upper school was suggested by the education authority. The school is in Trevethin, Pontypool, Torfaen.
Pupils at the school are taught completely in Welsh and come from a range of Welsh-language feeder schools from 4 different counties; Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Newport. The aim is to immerse pupils in Welsh and to enable them to be educated entirely in it as their native language. As of 2016, the number of new pupils each year has been falling due to the opening of a new Welsh comprehensive school in Newport.
An inspection report by Estyn in 2008 stated 94.5% of the pupils came from homes where English is the main language; 5.3% came from Welsh-speaking homes. The same report also says that all pupils speak Welsh as a first language or to an equivalent standard.[3]
A subsequent inspection by Estyn in 2019 placed the school in special measures, with the school rated as "unsatisfactory" overall and "needing urgent improvement" in three of the five areas assessed. This was a fall from its assessed rating of "Good" five years earlier, in 2014.[4]
In 2009 the school was given a grant to make improvements and replace the majority of the old static cabins with a new and improved complex building. Construction was completed in 2012. In 2018 the school was given £3 million to develop a primary school, and in 2020 the work began on construction, beginning with the demolition of the three remaining static cabins, which stood on the site of the future primary school. The new primary school opened in September 2022 with the capacity for 210 students.[5]
Notable former pupils
edit- Aimee-Ffion Edwards - Actress
- Aneurin Owen - rugby player
- Cerys Hale - rugby player
- Luca Hoole - Football player
- Omar Taylor-Clarke - Football player
- Steffan Lewis - politician
References
edit- ^ "New Welsh Primary School - Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw". Torfaen CBC. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw". My Local School. Welsh Government. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ 2008 Estyn report in Welsh and English
- ^ Cooke-Black, Saul. "Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in Pontypool - earmarked for £6m expansion - is put into special measures". The South Wales Argus. The South Wales Argus. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ https://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/EducationLearning/21st-Century-Learning/Ysgol-Gwynllyw/Ysgol-Gwynllyw.aspx#:~:text=Torfaen%20County%20Borough%20Council%20was,which%20opened%20in%20September%202022.
[1] - South Wales Article - School of the Week. 22-09-2021 [2] -Torfaen Borough Council. 30-03-2023
External links
edit
 | This Welsh school or sixth form college related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |