The Former Aberdare Boys County Grammar School

Time 2020-10-20 22:06:38

Web Name: The Former Aberdare Boys County Grammar School

WebSite: http://www.abgs.org.uk

ID:88749

Keywords:

Aberdare,Former,The,

Description:

School history School building 11-plus and school entry School uniform and Houses School motto Official school photos Academic activities The Aberdarian Musical and dramatic Sporting activities Published exam pass lists Certificate ceremonies Memories and memorabilia Headmasters Teachers Former pupils Reunions and revisits Cynon valley maps Miscellaneous PSA Latest additions Updated October 1st 2020 Established September 2001 by Steve Hammonds October 2020 Welcome to the website of the former Aberdare Boys Grammar School. The web server continues to provide pages to visitors from all over the world, and the website continues to grow thanks to your contributions. If you have any photos or documents to share please let me know - my email address can be found in the panel on the right. Alternatively, you may wish to make a suggestion for an entry in the Former Pupils section, if so please let me have details, and a picture if possible. To see full details of what has been added recently, click the link shown below Latest Additions in the column on the left. Thank you again to all those who have already made contributions by writing short articles or by sending in photos. Notices Proposed Highways Some interesting information appeared on an RCTCBC website about the plans for the new road that would link up the Aberdare Bypass, A4059, to the A465. The link will be called the Cynon Gateway North. Interestingly, a new structure is proposed to cross the Aberdare-Hirwaun freight line, which gives some hope for a reopening of the Aberdare-Hirwaun railway. See https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Newsroom/PressReleases/...A465CynonGatewayNorth.aspx The extended Aberdare Bypass would link up with the proposed dualled stretch of the A465 from Dowlais Top to Hirwaun at Croesbychan. Detailed plans of this dualled A465 route can be seen on this website https://gov.wales/a465-section-5-and-6-dowlais-top-hirwaun-scheme-plans FOAP After four years work, the Friends of Aberdare Park group, FOAP, have recently raised the funding necessary to replace the Park s defunct paddling pool with a new water feature called a splash pad, to be known as Aquadare. The group s chair, Philip Rees, (ABGS 1958 65), said, We are delighted to see the works commencing on the splash pad. A great amount of money came from businesses, pubs and clubs. The whole community has responded to help us. During the fund-raising period, events were organised, individual donations received, and a major grant was received from the Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund. Congratulations to Philip and the FOAP group. If all goes to plan, the new feature will open in April 2021. FOAP Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AberdareParkWales/ New webpages During the lock-down Cynon Valley Museum volunteers have been busy writing up some aspects of local history. Their results have been placed online at http://cynonvalleymuseum.wales/stories-from-the-collection/ Another online local history resource is the transcript of Rev Ivor Parry s evening class lectures. The 72 lectures were delivered between 1962 and 1965. Notes were taken by attendees Tom Evans, (Geography), and Dafydd Roberts, (dental surgeon). Their notes can be found here: http://www.cvhs.org.uk/RIP_history/contents.html Some Background Information about Aberdare County School The school building was completed in July 1894 but, for reasons explained in the History section of this website, opened two years later on September 28th, 1896 as The Aberdare Technical and Intermediate Schools with Head Master W.Jenkyn Thomas and four assistant teachers: two men and two women. There were 141 pupils present by the end of the first term, 88 boys and 53 girls, taught in mixed classes for the majority of their subjects, although the building had separate entrances for boys and girls. The school soon became known as The County School and remained so until the early sixties when the Grammar School name became more widely used. The pupils from the lower end of the Cynon Valley left in 1907 when Mountain Ash County School opened initially at Gwernifor, Miskin, moving to Dyffryn House much later in 1926. Then in 1913, the girls together with the women staff left for their own school in Plasdraw. There was little significant change at the County School in terms of the nature of staffing and curriculum over the years until the Trecynon buildings were vacated in 1964 and the school relocated to the bottom of Cwmdare Hill. In 1978 the Boys Grammar School closed and there was a fairly smooth transition to comprehensive status, when the Aberdare Boys Comprehensive School opened. Many of the existing staff were reappointed to the new school which was housed in the ex-grammar school buildings on Cwmdare Road, as the upper school. The buildings of Rhydywaun Secondary Modern School in Penywaun, which had also changed status, housed the lower school. The lower school at Rhydywaun was eventually brought to a new building at Cwmdare Road after two serious fires at Rhydywaun caused almost complete loss of its buildings. From September1st, 2009 Aberdare Boys Comprehensive School, was renamed Aberdare High School. The school adopted a new badge, which showed a similarity to the original grammar school design with dragon and book . The picture, above right, shows the school as it was in 1978, but additionally there was a large sports hall added to the site, behind the two-story block on the right. The new hall was both a school and a community facility. In 2011, the decision was made by RCTCBC to close the Boys High School, the Girls Comprehensive (at Plasdraw and The Gadlys) and Blaengwawr Comprehensive School. It was intended that the pupils of all three schools would be housed in the new school to be built at The Ynys, near the centre of Aberdare, and which was initially planned to open in September 2014. By September 2014 Aberdare had three secondary schools instead of the existing five. The new Aberdare Community School did open in September 2014, but only in name, and a move into the incomplete new school buildings was deferred until 2015. The temporary homes of the new school were at the former Blaengwawr, Aberdare High and Aberdare Girls (Plasdraw) buildings. Pupils started moving out of these old buildings and moving into the new building in the summer term of 2015, with examination candidates remaining in the Cwmdare Road building to take their examinations. The Girls School and its 3 acres of land in Plasdraw was sold at auction on July13th 2015 for 415,000. The Cwmdare Road Boys Upper School building is being demolished during the first three months of 2017. Aberdare High School, The Lower School, Summer 2013. Aberdare High School, The Upper School, Summer 2013. Trecynon School Clock The tower and adjacent room have been converted into a new home that was featured in both the South Wales Echo and the Cynon Valley Leader in July 2009, and again in October 2015. The Echo article was particularly impressive with a three-page spread, including a full-page photo of the building on the front page of the homeWALES supplement. The owner at the time of the Echo article was Ray Radnedge of Radnedge Architectural Antiques in Llanelli. In the article he said he had initially purchased the clock only. But he then heard that the tower was to be demolished by the developer, so he bought that too. The inside pages show several views of both the exterior and of the internal fittings. From 2018 the property has been occupied by a private individual. A gallery of photographs showing the reinstatement of the clock can be found in the School Building section of this website. The weather vane completed the architectural fittings at the top of the dome. Immediately after its reinstatement, the clock showed the correct time with the clock faces illuminated at night. The clock, which had been removed for restoration and repair, consists of a two-and-a-half tonne structure made of solid oak with cast iron facings, copper roof, and a 10 ft pendulum. Contact Us If you have any comments, or contributions for the site, click here for a feedback form, or please contact Colin Rees at: Related Link Aberdare Girls Grammar School Search Use the box below to find something or someone on this site: Aerial Views Aberdare is one of the areas in the UK where the online satellite maps from Google Maps are of a high resolution. Go to Google Maps to look down on the old school site and to explore the rest of the town.

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An historical & personal record of the former County Grammar School for Boys in Aberdare, published by past pupils of the School

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