Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw

Co-educational (welsh medium) school in Torfaen, Wales

Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw

Address

Heol Folly

Torfaen

NP4 8JD

Wales

Coordinates| 51°42′54″N 3°02′13″W﻿ / ﻿51.7150°N 3.037°W﻿ / 51.7150; -3.037
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/

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]

## History

[edit]

The 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. The number of new pupils enrolled at the school has fallen every year since 2016, when the new Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed opened in Newport, shrinking the catchment area of Gwynllyw.

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]

1. ^ "New Welsh Primary School - Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw". Torfaen CBC. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
2. ^ "Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw". My Local School. Welsh Government. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
3. ^ 2008 Estyn report in Welsh and English
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ https://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/EducationLearning/21st-Century-Learning/Ysgol-Gwynllyw/Ysgol-Gwynllyw.aspx#:~:text=Torfaen County Borough Council was,which opened in September 2022.

[1] \- South Wales Article - School of the Week. 22-09-2021 [2] -Torfaen Borough Council. 30-03-2023

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Schools in Torfaen, Wales

Secondary (non-selective)|

* Abersychan School
* Croesyceiliog School
* Cwmbran High School (formerly Fairwater High School)
* St Albans RC High School
* West Monmouth School
* Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw

Independent Schools|

* Rougemont School

Closed|

* Llantarnam School

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

This Welsh school or sixth form college related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template