Im told that when that college researched its own past to mark its 500th anniversary recently, it found that, in all that time, over any ten-year period, no other headmaster had secured more admissions. View the profiles of professionals named " Stephen Gray" on LinkedIn. 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. Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. [1], The origins of the school dates back to the creation of Porth Higher Elementary School in 1904. It isn't just the autumnal back-to-school weather. [14] All of the students that met the actor were members of 'Filmclub' (a Film Agency of Wales and Skillset Screen Academy Wales initiative to give children access to thousands of "classic film titles"). A few went to university to become doctors or teachers, and some even to become scientists, like me. However, she then moved to a state school Ellen Wilkinson school for girls in Ealing, west London and thereafter was committed to comprehensive education. He is survived by his wife, Bethan (nee Pierce), a teacher, whom he married in 1964, their three children, Elen, Sin and Gwenllian, and six grandchildren. It came to a point when rugby and football clashed, and it was always going to be football for me. He was also a mentor for many young people joining the corporation at that time. [10][11] He retired from the school in 1984, and after retiring, he wrote a number of books about Porth, including one about his experiences as headmaster at 'Porth County'. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! There are adverts for jobs in banks, building societies and local industry, because most boys went straight from school to professional careers. 04-06-08 Good Morning Porth. The family of Owen Vernon Jones, former headmaster of Porth County Grammar School for Boys and later of Porth County Comprehensive School, paid tribute to a treasure of a man. If you would like to donate to help keep Nation.Cymru running then you just need to click on the box below, it will open a pop up window that will allow you to pay using your credit / debit card or paypal. (not Porth County Girls/Boys as above), In 1961, Vernon Owen Jones became headmaster of 'Porth County Grammar School for Boys'. When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. The first three forms were housed in a wooden structure put up as a temporary measure during the Second World War. After 27 prolific years at the BBC, Richard joined the independent production company Opus to produce and direct award-winning dramas for S4C, including Y Palmant Aur (The Golden Pavement, 1996), reflecting the fortunes of Welsh dairies in London, the poignant family drama Nel (1990) and Y Weithred (The Act, 1995), a dramatic account of the 1963 bomb-blast on a transformer at the Tryweryn dam construction site, in north Wales. The Wild West had nothing on it. At the time, so its pupils boasted, with schoolboy exaggeration, there were only three such computers in the whole world in the Kremlin, the Pentagon and Porth County. There was a great deal of controversy over providing further education in the Rhondda. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. And even if you left school at 14, as my dad and others like him did, there were still a lotof decentlypaid blue-collar jobs to go to. I Will Make Them Play The Whole Concert All Over Again. Mention schooldays and suddenly our minds are flooded with memories. So the education I experienced gave a phenomenal boost for the careers of a fewanda good boost to many because of the range of middle-class jobs on offer. 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We need more of the kind of degree apprentice routes my own university offers to industry-sponsored young people who may not pass an 11-plusbut who, with the right training and support, can and will become the engineers and industry CEOs of the future. View the catalogue description for. Porth is now described as a good school and the previous Porth Infants and Porth Juniors schools have all moved to the Porth Community School to form the new school. One year, it all got so bad, that he felt he had to intervene just as the Trio were getting into their stride mid-Movement. 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. The careers fair in the school hall had jobs with such prospects on offer at the National Coal Board and in steel. Outlaws bullies roamed the corridors and burst into classrooms. French was a proper modern language, a language with a future, the Common Market and all of that. At that time there were about 400 girls attending the girls-only school - strictly segregated from the boys at their school next door! Porth Community Schoolis a Community Schoollocated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Paula Bailey Butlins Holidays Wales Beach Porthcawl Nostalgic Pictures Hartlepool London History Seaside Resort Worlds Away He was one of a new breed of broadcasting professionals who grasped the opportunity presented by still-rudimentary television in the 1960s, and made it into a medium by which the Welsh nation could become better known to its neighbours, and to itself. House. Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter. Sian is passionate . Enter your email address to receive instant notifications of new articles. Community school in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. . Once the first acceptance came, many more followed. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. History. After all, it was twenty years ago. Soon, a stream, a torrent of Rhondda talent headed for Oxbridge every autumn. Porth County Grammar School for Girls Experience Directorate Communication and Engagement Manager dvla Mar 2012 - Present10 years 11 months Education Porth County Grammar School for Girls -. Being from Rhondda, I obviously played a lot of rugby at school level. "Poor so-and-so, and his dad is so clever, they must feel terrible". Cowbridge was the posh place you aspired to - people who lived there worked in Cardiff. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. But the great thing about working in television is that people are willing to do the daftest things if theyre going to be filmed. 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. Then between 1946 and 1947, the name of the school was changed to Porth Secondary Grammar School. Did you go to the Welsh School? My friend Richard Lewis, who has died aged 78, was a distinguished television producer and director, who worked for BBC Wales for more than 25 years. After a tour of the school, the ceremony was performed by Mr W. E. Thomas (the chairman of the Rhondda Education Committee) in the absence of Mr W. G. Howell (the Director of Education) due to ill-health. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. Porth Community School is located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Porth County had always been about more than passing a rugby ball and passing exams. Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. All information provided to Nation.Cymru will be handled sensitively and within the boundaries of the Data Protection Act 2018. The dearth of privacy. Porth County was a girls grammar school that served the whole of the Rhondda valleys from Blaenrhondda to Maerdy. Who will create the wealth and pay the taxes, and how? Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. But, in practice, something may have been lost in the transition: the ambition to give every child not just schooling, which focuses the mind, but education which broadens it. The compulsion to fit in, the desire to stand out. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Glamorgan, Wales. Back when I was in Junior School things were a bit different. But we gave him a few short lines, and he had such presence on the screen that he became a really big character, the retired miner who represents the very spirit of the Rhondda. Catalogue description Glamorgan: Porth County Grammar School Ordering and viewing options This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. If you are ok with anonymous tracking please click ok, Support our Nation today - please donate here. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. Homework, tests, exams, reports. As I entered school for the first time, I wore the classic blazer bought in the one shop in town allowed to sell it, emblazoned with the motto from the Mabinogion in Welsh, "a fo ben bid bont" - "Let he would be the leader be the bridge". Porth County. [9] His eccentric behaviour was well known at the school, and although he was strict at times, his pupils described him as "fair". The family of Owen Vernon Jones, former headmaster of Porth County Grammar School for Boys and later of Porth. And the English we spoke, though we might not have realised it, was full of Welsh too. Of course, it would have been different if Id been at the Welsh School the Welsh School its an odd phrase, isnt it? 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.Porth is now described as a good school and the previous Porth Infants . Jammy that our time happened to be the very time when the Boys began to meet the Girls in class as well outside of school. One of the greatest grammar schools in South Wales was the school my father and his brother went to Porth County. Christine attended Porth County grammar school for girls before graduating from Swansea University with a BA in French. On the first Monday in September, 1956, fifty or so scholarship girls travelled from all over the Rhondda (on the red Rhondda Transport buses) to attend their first day at Rhondda County Grammar School for Girls (known as Porth County). 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. This superb school selected from the finest minds in the Rhondda, despite. It seems to come from a macho gym culture. Continuing our series written by John Geraint, author of The Great Welsh Auntie Novel, and one of Waless most experienced documentary-makers. I reckoned Id have a flying start with Welsh. Porth is now described as a super school and the previous Porth Infants . They were nervous, worried, frightened - and clad in a school uniform which they were expected to 'grow into'. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Born in Wales from mining and shop-keeping stock, he was encouraged to read Classics at University by his school, Porth County Grammar School for Boys. He obtained his first BA honours degree in history at Cardiff University (to be followed by two other degrees, a BSc Econ and an MEd), and did his teachers training at 'Porth County Grammar School for Boys'. Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Glamorgan, Wales. Sian Assiratti is a Councillor for Pontyclun East. Her first teaching posts were in the private sector, at Wycombe Abbey school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and then at the City of London school for girls in central London. The whole school was assembled and forced to listen, with no context, to music that instinct said was desperately boring and fuddy-duddy. Children of various ages attend the school, ranging from 316 years old.[1]. This behaviour must stop, Santos scolded us. We did think of Welsh like that, but it was our language too. May 23, 2015 - Porth County Grammar School 1st XV rugby team 1968/69. And yet who doesnt remember school with at least a sliver of fondness, if only for the friends we made, the time we had with them, for the fact that we were young then, and that was our time? Admissions Tutors at Oxford and Cambridge werent minded to admit that any good thing could come out of a Welsh mining valley. The group is for ex pupils to get in touch with fellow pupils and share memories Private Only members can see who's in the group and what they post. Its an epic poem, all about the Rhondda, by local minister Rhydwen Williams a kaleidoscope of the Valleys long history, coal mines and boxing booths, chip shops and sarsaparilla fountains, chapels and the Holy Well at Penrhys, all done by a chorus of voices speaking proper Rhondda Welsh, with a sprinkling of English phrases thrown in, naturally. 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. Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. This information will help us make improvements to the website. Gill Rowlands has died at a hospice near her home in Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire. There were snacks to snaffle, dinner money to be extorted, pain to be inflicted simply for the pleasure of it. His collaboration with writers continued with William Nicholson, on the Bafta-winning, original television film Shadowlands, in 1985. We need more thanThe Pride of Miss Jean Brodie. Bringing back the grammar schools will not change the opportunities for life that we need for our children if, when the exams are over, there is nowhere for them to put that education to work. He was initially an English and History teacher at the school, then head of the History department, and eventually headmaster of the school. The results were predictable. John On The Rhondda is based on John Geraints popular Rhondda Radio talks and podcasts. This local democracy/ Senedd is not working.Read more , Rhondda in the early 1800s had a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the most Welsh speaking parts of Gwynedd. Jammy to come under the sway of Santos and his staff and their ambitions. The local schools did not encourage the speaking of Welsh and he was forced to learn English. 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. I bet someone you know is. He was given the affectionate nickname of Santos because of his black, curly hair and moustache. Location. Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. In 1974, Richard, or Dic, as he was known to colleagues, was made head of documentaries and features, and began to make an impact beyond Wales. On St. Davids Day, the girls would get dressed up in Welsh hats and shawls, the boys might wear a small cloth leek, wed have a short Concert and sing Calon Lan maybe, and then wed dash out of school for our half-day off and that would be that, as far as Welshness was concerned, for the rest of the year. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those, from near and far, who attended the funeral and for the overwhelming response we have received.. Jammy to be born in the Rhondda where education was valued. Author: United States.Congress. [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. He adored his own boys his grandsons, Greg, Alex and Owen and his great-grandchildren Rowan, Sadie, Sebastian and Poppy. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. 5 Tips about schematic wiring diagram You Can Use Tod. In fact pay has decreased since then and we pay more for a lot lessfood, fuel, clotheseverything. 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. Emphasis was given to natural ventilation. Born in Ton Pentre, in the Rhondda Valley, the son of a Methodist minister and crowned Eisteddfod bard, the Rev L Haydn Lewis, and his wife, Lily (nee Lloyd), Richard was brought up in a Welsh-speaking, nonconformist household that imbued him with a lifelong commitment to Wales, its language and culture. This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. Want the latest Rhondda news sent straight to your inbox? Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. 63, 523, 2011 issn: eissn: doi: construccin con tierra en el siglo xxi earthen construction in History Group created on January 11, 2013 See more This year the invitation was for the 'I can't believe it's been 50 years' lunch! But Santos was mightily persistent. 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. The Rhondda Cynon Taff council has said that the school closures would be part of their proposed 75million investment, which they say would provide "improved educational facilities" and "opportunities" for nearly 7,000 children.[19]. But that won't happen without a revolution in our entire approach to education and industry. He was an inspirational father. 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Porth Grammar School. The 1891 and 1901 census show William and Sarah living at Lake Street in Ferndale. When Porth went Comprehensive, its Oxbridge tradition withered and died. Free delivery for many products! Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. So, despite all the agonies of school life, real and imagined, Ill always be grateful for my time in Porth County: that it was there, and that it was then. Between lessons, when the teachers retreated to the Staff Room, it could be bedlam. Eton and Harrow, Charterhouse and Winchester all the elite, fee-paying public schools of Olde England: Porth County gave your boys one hell of a beating! In Porth, we were given the choice of two languages to learn - Welsh or French. Let us know. Vernon was also a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Court of University College, Cardiff, and a Governor of the Rhondda College of Further Education. 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