Cardiff High School
| Cardiff High School | |
|---|---|
| File:CardiffHighSchoolLogo.gif | |
| Address | |
 | |
Llandennis Road , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public (magnet) secondary |
| Motto | Tuar Goleuni (Welsh: "Toward the Light") |
| Established | 1895 (Creation of earliest of predecessor schools) |
| Headmaster | Michael Griffiths |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | Year 7 to Year 13 (up to 18 years of age) |
| Enrollment | 1500 (approx.) |
| tel/fax | 029 2075 7741 / 029 2068 0850 |
| Website | http://cardiffhigh.cardiff.sch.uk/ |
Cardiff High School is a comprehensive school in the Cyncoed/Lakeside area of the city of Cardiff in South Wales. Cardiff High School stands in grounds some two miles from the city centre in the Cyncoed/Lakeside district, serving a neighbourhood of privately-owned houses.
History
Although the school was established in its current form in 1970, its origins go back much further to the foundations of the three schools that merged to form the present school.
City of Cardiff High Schools
City of Cardiff High School for Girls was opened in January 1895 in the Parade, Cardiff[1], and City of Cardiff High School for Boys was opened in September 1898 in Newport Road, Cardiff[2]. Both were created under the terms of the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 and therefore were originally called Cardiff Intermediate School for Girls and Cardiff Intermediate School for Boys respectively. From 1905 Secondary school education in Cardiff was largely provided through a system of Municipal Secondary Schools[3]) that were organised under the Education Act 1902.[2] Although the Intermediate Schools were both rebranded as High Schools in 1911 (thus the schools became Cardiff High School for Girls and Cardiff High School for Boys) they suffered in comparison with the municipal secondary schools because of their entrance examinations and later their fees, particularly after the municipal secondary schools abolished fees in 1924. The working class intake of the schools was limited because parents were deterred by the fees, only partly made up by scholarships and bursaries, and later by the Grammar School regime and curriculum.[2] When the United Kingdom Government passed the Butler Education Act in 1944 a Tripartite System was established dividing Secondary schools into three categories, Grammar schools, Technical schools and Modern Schools. The grammar school was deemed the place of education for the academically gifted (as determined by the eleven plus exam) and the High Schools were selected to became the grammar schools (hence the informal term Cardiff Grammar School applied to both). The Boys' school had from an early stage suffered with a constricted site on Newport Road. Within 3 years of its foundation a new site acquired in 1901 on the corner of Corbett Road and Park Place, but the school eventually stayed on its original site, with a new school opened in 1910 and further extensions in 1931-32.[2]
Ty Celyn Secondary Modern School
Ty Celyn Secondary Modern was created as a result of the Butler Education Act in 1944 fulfilling the requirement of a Secondary Modern school as determined by the Act's Tripartite System (the 'Grammar School' element met by the Cardiff High Schools).
Cardiff High School formed by merger
The school was established in 1970 as a mixed 11-18 comprehensive following the merger of the two single-sex grammar schools and the Ty Celyn Secondary Modern School. The school was unified on a single site in 1973. The Newport Road Site of the former High School was eventually sold to fund an extension to Willows High School in Tremorfa, Cardiff.
The accommodation in 1973 consisted of the old Ty Celyn School Llandennis Road, Cardiff, with a new building attached, designed for six form entry. A considerable amount of internal alteration and refurbishment has been carried out on the original building, funded by the School over the past 25 years.
Cardiff High School became a seven form entry school in September, 1998, when a third feeder primary school, Roath Park, was added to the two existing feeder schools, namely Lakeside and Rhydypenau. It has a total pupil roll of 1,382, of whom 329 are following 'AS and A' level courses in the sixth form. On average about 125 students or more a year continue their education at university. For September 2001, eight students were offered places at Oxford and Cambridge. For September 2002, seven pupils were offered places at Oxford.
The school enjoys an extremely high level of parental interest and support. The establishment of a new Cardiff High Partnership with parents in 1998 both built on the strong, existing Parents' Association links, and launched new initiatives, including a covenant scheme. It also expanded the range of educational, social and fund-raising activities.
According to the latest inspection report by Estyn the school has a pass rate of 80% (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A-C). This means that that the school is currently ranked in joint 5th place in Wales with Eirias High School in Colwyn Bay. It is ranked 2nd place in Cardiff, behind the Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School.
The school also enjoyed a decade long spell as Cardiff's Bare-knuckle Boxing centre with regular fights staged 'over the Oval' on weekday afternoons. Bouts ranged from the truly epic (Sid V Dean) to the truly hilarious (Felman V Turnbull).
Building
As a result of the building programme and other refurbishment, the school is now well equipped to cater for the seven form entry. At present all departments are suited into adjacent rooms, and, in addition the school has: 11 Science labs; 5 Design & Technology rooms; A Home Economics suite including Catering kitchen and Textile rooms; A Sports Hall, Gymnasium, Dance Studio and all weather pitch; Facilities for disabled pupils and a Learning Resource Centre; A new extensive Learning Resources area; A Creative area incorporating recording studio, music rooms and theatre study facilities and a hall for performance; A new dining hall and canteen; A new sixth form administration area and student common room; and 5 IT rooms, one attached to the LRC.
Curriculum
Whilst the school is proud of its record of academic achievement, it also places great emphasis on other important features of pupil development, including extra-curricular activities, theatrical and musical opportunities, recreational sports and community links. In a developing European scene, programmes for pupils' exchange visits with their European counterparts are well established. The school also has a rich international dimension, with students from many parts of the world currently studying at the school. The school believes strongly in the principle of continuous self-improvement, and to this end has introduced a considerable number of new initiatives in recent years, all designed to improve the quality of educational provision. A key objective for the last four years has been the promotion of effective teaching and learning strategies, which has helped improve value added performance at each key stage. The various INSET programmes organised by the school enabled internationally renowned educationalists to deliver whole-school INSET on teaching and learning, linked closely to subsequent dialogue and discourse at departmental level. The senior management team plays a key quality assurance role by managing an annual departmental review and departmental self-review process. In addition, great emphasis is placed on the generation and analysis of quantitative data to both set challenging targets and critically analyse results retrospectively. Each senior manager is linked to a cluster of departments (which meets twice-termly) to enable two way consultation and communication to take place between all staff.
Current staff
Headmaster: Michael Griffiths
Former pupils
Eminent former pupils include:
- Sir Ronald Bell - twentieth century Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP)
- Jeremy Bowen - broadcaster
- Tom Horabin - politician
- Bob Humphrys - journalist
- John Humphrys - broadcaster
- Brian Josephson - physicist and Nobel laureate
- Gareth Kiff - former chairperson of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society)..
- David Lewis - NUS National Tresurer
- Goronwy Rees - a Welsh journalist, academic and writer
- Professor Michael Shepherd CBE - eminent psychiatrist and former Professor of Epidemiological Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist, The Maudsley Hospital.
- Craig Thomas - writer
External links
References
- ^ Archives Network Wales - Glamorgan Record Office - City of Cardiff High School for Girls records
- ^ a b c d Archives Network Wales - Glamorgan Record Office - City of Cardiff High School for Boys records
- ^ Municipal Secondary Schools included Howard Gardens that had been established in 1898, Canton established in 1907 and Cathays