I bet someone you know is. 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. I am tracing my family tree and my grandfathers family are all from the Porth, Ferndale, Dowlais Area. The local schools did not encourage the speaking of Welsh and he was forced to learn English. So almost all of my class decided to try to parler franais. All information provided to Nation.Cymru will be handled sensitively and within the boundaries of the Data Protection Act 2018. History Group created on January 11, 2013 See more The family of Owen Vernon Jones, former headmaster of Porth County Grammar School for Boys and later of Porth. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Llwynypia was over 80% Welsh speaking in the 1890 census. 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. In Porth, we were given the choice of two languages to learn Welsh or French. After leaving she worked in Montreal, Canada for a year before returning and settling back in South Wales. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Some people are just discovering the Welsh language..which is good. At that time there were about 400 girls attending the girls-only school - strictly segregated from the boys at their school next door! 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. View the catalogue description for. 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. Many of them excelled, too, on the rugby pitch. 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. And this fact is what nobody is mentioning now. Want the latest Rhondda news sent straight to your inbox? The poor musicians, clutching their instruments like shields, sat there with fixed grins, their vocation to bring music to the masses reduced to a penance. ), Italian caf owners and a man who kept champion racing pigeons. The school was built to cater for pupils between the ages of ten and fifteen years-old, but there were many problems from the start. Can anyone help me. 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. Nothing to do with the above school, entirely different schools in different areas. May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'WIKIPEDIA Mako Vunipola Article Talk A Vunipola (born 14 January 1991) professional rugby union player who plays loosehead prop English club Saracens and the England national team. And all sorts of other performers dancers and swimmers, Treorchy rugby icon Adrian Owen, Huw Davies (who taught me English! Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. To be clear Im a sucker for nostalgia but Im not arguing for a return to the good old days of Grammar Schools. While in charge of the grammar school, Mr Jones dedicated his life to proving to Rhondda boys that academic success was not impossible, something which the sons of miners had previously dismissed as unattainable. There was less emphasis on the Arts. Alsatian (Alsatian: Elsssisch or Elssserditsch "Alsatian German"; Lorraine Franconian: Elssserdeitsch; French: Alsacien; German: Elsssisch or Elssserdeutsch) is the group of Alemannic German dialects spoken in most of Alsace, a formerly disputed region in eastern France that has passed between French and German control five times since 1681. Jammy to be gifted an education which was the match and more, as weve seen! Duw, dont talk twp, myn, and gis an ansh of your apple.. We had a grand Premiere just like Hollywood in that grand Rhondda auditorium, the Park and Dare, in Treorchy. However, if the photos include boys and girls then it wouldn't have been Porth County. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. SPOKANE, WASH. CITY PLAN BOARD I 1.) Nevertheless, he won a scholarship to Porth County grammar school and, although he was a talented artist, there loomed ahead another obstacle: the prospect of national service. [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. I often talk about the Porth County opportunity for socially deprived pupils from working / lower working class homes and what it did for them. You will need a reader's ticket to do this. 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. 04-06-08 Good Morning Porth. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. Porth County Porth County Grammar School for Boys Porth Grammar School. This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Porth County Community School, and is written by contributors. [1], The origins of the school dates back to the creation of Porth Higher Elementary School in 1904. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Y Goedwig THE PALOUSE . However, she then moved to a state school Ellen Wilkinson school for girls in Ealing, west London and thereafter was committed to comprehensive education. This is still recent folk memory, Connect with Nation.Cymru on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Theresa May has also said Britain needs an industrial strategy and to be a world leader in trade. [5], After the death of headmaster John Stradling Grant in 1914, Richard Chalke took over as head of the school. This behaviour must stop, Santos scolded us. But I was a contrary so-and-so. And its still one of my proudest achievements that we did it, we won First Prize in the Eisteddfod we beat Rhydfelen at their own language their own language there you go, another strange phrase. [17], Along with eleven other schools (three secondary and eight primary schools) in the surrounding areas, 'Porth County Community School' could face closure. Cilla recalled telling Ringo to "post the [wedding] bands in 48 hours and I'll do it". There were lots of jobs for grammar-school boys - and we were all boys - and no one worried about the future. Then between 1946 and 1947, the name of the school was changed to Porth Secondary Grammar School. The dearth of privacy. After all, Id been born in Llwynypia, been brought up in Penygraig, lived in Tylacelyn, gone to school in Hendrecafn, played in Penmaesglas, on Craig-yr-Eos and Carncelyn. Porth Community School "We are committed to providing outstanding learning and teaching in a caring, safe, nurturing environment. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. She will be particularly remembered by alumni of that period for her participation in Debates. 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. The coming Comprehensive ethos was helpful too recognising different kinds of achievement, different measures of success. 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. Year after year, exceptional candidates with exceptional results were rejected out of hand. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events, All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, BD - Records created or inherited by the Welsh Office and the Wales Office, Division within BD - Records of the Education divisions, BD 50 - Welsh Office and predecessors: HM Inspectorate of Schools: Unregistered Papers, About our Nevertheless, he won a scholarship to Porth County grammar school and, although he was a talented. The first three forms were housed in a wooden structure put up as a temporary measure during the Second World War. 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. 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. 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. The school catered for 240 pupils under the headmaster ship of John Stradling Grant. The film made a bit of a splash at the time. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Homework, tests, exams, reports. History. The UK can be stronger but we do not have proper leaders who er, lead !! Curt on. - and was attended by ex-pupils from all over the country with extra messages and letters to be read out after lunch from those who couldn't attend - including some now living abroad. Corpus Christi, Oxford had quite a few students from the Rhondda because of that school, and even Nasa drew on talent from Porth County. This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. The school opened in September 2018 following the closure of Porth County Community School, Porth Infants School, Porth Junior School and Llwyncelyn Infants School. During lessons, it was a crammer: the masters dictated, and the pupils filled their notebooks with the formulae and theorems that would secure outstanding grades from the WJEC. A few went to university to become doctors or teachers, and some even to become scientists, like me. Sporting a fine Zapata moustache, he was known to one and all as Santos. 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. The visit, by kind permission of the head, Steve Bowden, was hosted by Melanie Griffiths. Being from Rhondda, I obviously played a lot of rugby at school level. So, in 2002, this crazy idea came to me how about making a film where that favourite poem of mine, Y Ffynhonnau got recited by every child who was at Welsh school in the whole Rhondda? We could gather them all together on top of Penrhys where the poem begins and get them to recite it there. Young people who pursue a vocational route must also know that they are "The Chosen", that they have no limits on their potential and that their future is assured. It produced phenomenal Physicists, champion Chemists, brilliant Biologists, maestros of Maths. I was lucky in Porth County: I had a succession of brilliant and committed Welsh teachers Berian Davies and Delyth John, Olwen Peters and Eleanor Aubrey. Porth County Grammar School 1st XV rugby team 1968/69. Its fair to say that many Rhondda people thought that sending your child to Rhydfelen was posh, and a bit snobby. One of the greatest grammar schools in South Wales was the school my father and his brother went to Porth County. 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. becoming a Swan. She said: He always put family first and was happily married to Falmai for sixty-five years. Swansea, City and County of Swansea, United Kingdom. That magazine is redolent with the things we would like for our children today. But the great thing about working in television is that people are willing to do the daftest things if theyre going to be filmed. Porth County had always been about more than passing a rugby ball and passing exams. The classmates you despised. He was an inspirational father. 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Porth Community School. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Have you found an error with this catalogue description? This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. 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. 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. the son of Daniel and Violet Thomas, and attended Tonypandy Grammar School. I could have signed for the club when I was 17, but I was in Porth County Grammar School and I'd completed the first year of sixth form so I . Everyone has their own story. It seems to come from a macho gym culture. China Entrepreneur Voices Of Experience From 40 Business Pioneers Paperback . View the profiles of professionals named " Stephen Gray" on LinkedIn. 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. It was The Way Out the means of escape from the drudgery of the pits. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. John On The Rhondda is based on John Geraints popular Rhondda Radio talks and podcasts. Help us improve catalogue descriptions by adding tags. A DISTINGUISHED and much loved former headteacher has passed away at the age of 90. Rachel Evans (the schools former English teacher and 'Filmclub' co-ordinator) said that "it ('Filmclub') gives the pupils a chance to discuss the films they watch". 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. This record is stored off site and will take four working days to be delivered to The National Archives. It will mean making a country which actually offers the economic underpinning for a prosperous future for all our children. But I was a contrary so-and-so. 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? The PrimeMinister - a grammar-school girl who went on to lead a country - has opened the flood gates to a debate which touches on aspiration, class, division and hope. Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. 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. Between lessons, when the teachers retreated to the Staff Room, it could be bedlam. For me, because poems and plays were my thing, that last piece of luck was the best of all: because I fell under the spell of someone who would never have taught me otherwise, one of the Girls School staff: an inspirational English teacher who knew how to conjure life out of words on a page, how to spark magic on stage, how to work the alchemy that brings poetry alive in young minds. . Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Not just one, but two levels of grammar school local grammars up and down both valleys, and for those passing their Eleven Plus with the highest marks of all, there was the Rhondda County Grammar School at Porth. Santos was determined that his school was going places. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. [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. Enter your email address to receive instant notifications of new articles. It isn't just the autumnal back-to-school weather. We don't just want asupply-side education that feeds poor kids into degrees. I particularly miss the pink custard with the chocolate pudding and the cigaretteon the cross country "run". Your search results for obituary: 11 newspaper articles contained information about obituary filtered by: Date from: 1st Jan 1948 - Date to: 1st Jan 1948 If you don't have an account please register. That will take a lot more than rebranding comprehensives and introductinggreater selection. (not Porth County Girls/Boys as above), In 1961, Vernon Owen Jones became headmaster of 'Porth County Grammar School for Boys'. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. (Add a good Welsh accent to get the real effect). More like this History Projects Local History Steep South Wales Auntie Lineup Parents April Wedding Photography April 1961. A report on Porth Community School November 2019 1 About Porth Community School Porth Community School is an English-medium all-age (3-16) comprehensive school in Porth, Rhondda. 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. The 1891 and 1901 census show William and Sarah living at Lake Street in Ferndale. 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. But Santos was certainly ahead of his time. Are they definitely Rhondda grammar schools? Support our Nation today - please donate here. When Porth went Comprehensive, its Oxbridge tradition withered and died. Promoted to studio director in 1963, when I first met him in the news department, Richard worked on innovative news programmes including Wales Today and the first Welsh-language magazine programme, Heddiw. 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We'd like to use additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use our services. If we think of this group as also-rans, we are headed for disaster. The BBC have sent Stephen Evans to North Korea, so they most likely know he went to my school. Delwyn Jones, former head of Gelli Primary School, read one of Vernons own poems called County Ties as part of the celebration of a remarkable life. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Richard Lewis worked on innovative news programmes including Wales Today and the first Welsh-language magazine programme, Heddiw. Welsh was popular now, not posh. Jammy to be born in the Rhondda where education was valued. Clydach Vales Glyn Houston a veteran star of TV and film wanted to be part of it, too, though he didnt really speak much Welsh at all. Pressure, pressure, pressure from parents to excel, from peers to be normal, from yourself just to be yourself, in spite of them all. I knew I was made for life; everyone had told me that in each pitying remark that I heard about those who "failed" the 11-plus examination. There was a great deal of controversy over providing further education in the Rhondda.