Gowerton Comprehensive School
Encyclopedia
Gowerton School is a public secondary school located in the heart of Gowerton
village, near Swansea
, United Kingdom
.
Gowerton School today serves pupils from the north and west of the Gower peninsula and from the Swansea suburbs of Gowerton, Waunarlwydd and Dunvant from age 11 to 18, with a successful sixth form specialising in A level and Welsh Baccalaureate courses.
ESTYN inspections in 1994, 2000, 2005 and 2011 have been consistently good. The 2011 inspection report under the new Welsh inspection framework noted the school's outstanding ethos, inspiring leadership, good performance and excellent prospects, with high academic expectations and achievements, excellent care for pupil welfare and sector leading use of ICT in teaching.
In addition to the main blocks there is also the tennis courts, two playing fields and a redgra adjacent to the Science block.
Gowerton
The village of Gowerton is situated about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to Gower. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin...
village, near Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Intermediate School
The school opened in 5 Oct 1896 in Talbot Street as a co-educationasl Intermediate school under Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889. It was known locally as Gowerton County School.Grammar school
In May, 1940 the Talbot Street school became a boys' grammar school when a girls' grammar school opened on Cecil Road.Comprehensive
The school in its present form was created in 1973 from the merger of Gowerton Girls' Grammar School and Gowerton Boys' Grammar School. The Upper School was at Cecil Road and the Middle School was on Talbot Road. In 1987 the school was centralised on the Cecil Road (former girls' school) site.Gowerton School today serves pupils from the north and west of the Gower peninsula and from the Swansea suburbs of Gowerton, Waunarlwydd and Dunvant from age 11 to 18, with a successful sixth form specialising in A level and Welsh Baccalaureate courses.
ESTYN inspections in 1994, 2000, 2005 and 2011 have been consistently good. The 2011 inspection report under the new Welsh inspection framework noted the school's outstanding ethos, inspiring leadership, good performance and excellent prospects, with high academic expectations and achievements, excellent care for pupil welfare and sector leading use of ICT in teaching.
School layout
The school is large compared to other secondary schools in the UK. It has three main blocks, two demountable blocks and an additional block.- 'A' block houses the main entrance/reception, office, main hall, canteen, gymnasium and the English and modern foreign language departments.
- 'B' block houses mathematics, design and technology, religious education and the new STF unit. It also houses the main literacy block for those pupils with problems with literacy. It also houses the pupil support offices and it also used to house the main sixth form department, however, this was dropped in favour of a new Technology room. Plans are in place for a new sixth form department
- 'C' block houses the arts and humanities departments.
- 'D' block houses the Welsh language department and also houses the school nurse's room. There is also a sports hall adjacent to the main block.
- 'E' block houses Welsh, religious education and mathematics.
- 'F' block is only used for science and is the newest building
In addition to the main blocks there is also the tennis courts, two playing fields and a redgra adjacent to the Science block.
Former teachers
- Nia GriffithNia GriffithNia Rhiannon Griffith is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Llanelli since 2005.-Background:...
, Labour MP since 2005 for LlanelliLlanelli (UK Parliament constituency)Llanelli is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1918 to 1970 the official spelling of the constituency name was Llanelly...
(Head of Languages from 1986–92)
Notable former pupils
- Huw Irranca-DaviesHuw Irranca-DaviesIfor Huw Irranca-Davies , born Ifor Huw Davies, is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Ogmore since 2002...
, Labour MP since 2002 for OgmoreOgmore (UK Parliament constituency)Ogmore is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Boundaries :Taking its name from the River Ogmore, the constituency is situated close to the source of the river in the Ogwr valley and excludes the village of Ogmore-by-Sea, which is the... - Tracy EdwardsTracy EdwardsTracy Edwards MBE is a British sailor. In 1989 she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, becoming the first woman to receive the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy and was awarded the Order of the British Empire.-Bibliography:Maiden. Simon & Schuster, 13...
MBE, yachtswoman - Steve Lovell (Welsh footballer)Steve Lovell (Welsh footballer)Stephen "Steve" Lovell is a Welsh former professional footballer. He played professionally for Crystal Palace, Stockport County, Millwall, Swansea City, Gillingham and AFC Bournemouth and made over 450 Football League appearances....
- Arun MidhaArun MidhaArun Midha, JP, BSCEcon, MBA, PhD is a British academic, who has sat as a lay member on the General Medical Council and currently sits on the Audience Council Wales and the Welsh Language Board, having learnt the language as an adult....
- Andy WilliamsAndy Williams (rugby player)Andy Williams , is a Welsh international rugby union player. A scrum half, he has attained 5 caps for the Wales national rugby union team....
, rugby player - Dan BiggarDan BiggarDaniel 'Dan' Biggar is a Welsh international rugby union outside-half, currently playing club rugby for the Ospreys...
, rugby player
Gowerton Grammar School
- Prof Sir Granville Beynon CBE, Professor of Physics from 1958-91 at Aberystwyth University, and President from 1972-5 of the International Union of Radio ScienceInternational Union of Radio ScienceThe International Union of Radio Science is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science.- History and objectives :...
(URSI) - John William Bowen CBE, Labour MP from 1929-31 for CreweCrewe (UK Parliament constituency)Crewe was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, and Chairman from 1949-52 of London County CouncilLondon County CouncilLondon County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council... - Onllwyn BraceOnllwyn BraceOnllwyn Brace was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport and Aberavon. He won nine caps for Wales and would captain the team twice in the early 1960s...
(D O Brace), rugby player - Sir Alun Talfan DaviesAlun Talfan DaviesSir Alun Talfan Davies QC was a Welsh lawyer, writer and publisher, the brother of Aneirin Talfan Davies.He was born at Gorseinon near Swansea, brought up a Presbyterian, and educated at Gowerton grammar school. He read Law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and at Gonville and Caius...
- Ifor DaviesIfor DaviesIfor Davies was a Welsh Labour Party politician.Davies was educated at Gowerton School, Swansea Technical College and Ruskin College, Oxford. He was an industrial personnel officer and served as a councillor on Glamorgan County Council, representing Gowerton 1958-61...
, Labour MP from 1959-82 for GowerGower (UK Parliament constituency)Gower is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system.... - Paul Davies, General Manager since 1985 of St John's, Smith Square
- Dr John Evans, Head of Music Programming from 2000-6 at BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
- Roy Evans OBE, General Secretary from 1985-93 of the Iron and Steel Trades ConfederationIron and Steel Trades ConfederationThe Iron and Steel Trades Confederation was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now part of Community.- History :...
- Gwyn FrancisGwyn FrancisDavid Gwyn Francis was a Welsh international rugby union player, who played for the Welsh national side twice .-Life:...
, rugby player - Norman Gale (rugby player)Norman Gale (rugby player)Norman Gale was a Welsh rugby union player. A hooker, he captained the Wales national rugby union team on two occasions in 1967-68. Gale played his club rugby for Llanelli RFC and Swansea RFC, but it was with the Scarlets of Llanelli that he is most associated...
- Prof Bryan Grenfell OBE, Professor of Population Biology from 2002-4 at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
- Clive GriffithsClive Griffiths (rugby)Clive Ronald Griffiths is a former Wales international rugby league and rugby union player. Born in Loughor, Swansea, he was affectionately known as "Clive the Ship" after the family pub in nearby Penclawdd...
, rugby player - Dennis Grove, Chairman from 1985-93 of North West WaterNorth West WaterNorth West Water was a water supply company serving north west England. It was originally the North West Water Authority, one of ten regional authorities created by the Water Act 1973. In 1989 it became North West Water plc, and was privatised...
- His Honour Judge Rowe HardingRowe HardingW. Rowe Harding was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea. An intelligent player, Harding played for several teams at club and international level. In 1926 he attended Cambridge University and played for Cambridge in a varsity match...
DL, rugby union player, captained Wales from 1924-8; a barrister and judge, naturalist and philanthropist - Edwina HartEdwina HartEdwina Hart, MBE, AM is a Welsh Labour politician who has represented the constituency of Gower since the National Assembly for Wales was established in 1999. Hart was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services in the Welsh Government in May 2007.-Background:Hart was born and raised in...
MBE, Labour Welsh Assembly Member for GowerGower (National Assembly for Wales constituency)Gower is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of seven constituencies in the South Wales West electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to seven constituency...
since 1999; Welsh Government minister - Wing Commander Frederick HigginsonFrederick HigginsonWing Commander Frederick "Taffy" Higginson OBE DFC DFM , was a fighter ace of the Royal Air Force during World War II....
OBE DFC DFM, WW2 Battle of Britain Ace - Prof Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
CBE, composer, Professor of Music from 1967-87 at Cardiff University - Dr Ivor Jenkins CBE, metallurgist, President of the Institute of Metals (became the Institute of Materials, Minerals and MiningInstitute of Materials, Minerals and MiningThe Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining is a major UK engineering institution whose activities encompass the whole materials cycle, from exploration and extraction, through characterisation, processing, forming, finishing and application, to product recycling and land reuse...
in 2002) from 1968-9, and of the Institute of Metallurgists from 1965-6 - Karl JenkinsKarl Jenkins-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
CBE, composer - Lewis Jones, rugby player
- Byron Lewis, Lord Lieutenant of West GlamorganLord Lieutenant of West GlamorganThis is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant for West Glamorgan. The office was created on 1 April 1974.*Sir Cennydd George Traherne, KG, TD† 1 April 1974 – 1987?**Col. James Vaughan Williams 1 April 1974 – 1987*Lt.-Col...
since 2008 - Sir Ieuan Maddock CB OBE, Director from 1976 of the National Physical Laboratory, Chief Scientist from 1971-4 at the DTI and the Department of Industry from 1974-7, and Principal from 1979-82 of St Edmund Hall, OxfordSt Edmund Hall, OxfordSt Edmund Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Better known within the University by its nickname, "Teddy Hall", the college has a claim to being "the oldest academical society for the education of undergraduates in any university"...
- Sir John MaddoxJohn MaddoxSir John Royden Maddox, FRS was a British science writer. He was an editor of Nature for 22 years, from 1966–1973 and 1980-1995.-Career:...
, Editor from 1966–73 and 1980-5 of NatureNature (journal)Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports... - Rt Rev Alan MorganAlan Morgan (bishop)The Rt Rev Alan Wyndham Morgan OBE was the Suffragan Bishop of Sherwood from 1989 until 2004.He was born on and educated at Gowerton Boys’ Grammar School and St David's College, Lampeter. He was ordained in 1966 and began his ecclesiastical career with curacies in Llangyfelach, Cockett and ...
, Bishop of SherwoodBishop of SherwoodThe Bishop of Sherwood is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the Royal forest of Sherwood in Nottinghamshire....
from 1989–2006 - Dennis O'NeillDennis O'NeillDennis O'Neill CBE is a Welsh operatic tenor and recording artist.-Early career:Born of Welsh and Irish parents, he studied privately with Professor Frederic Cox in Manchester and then in London...
CBE, tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... - John Owen CMG OBE, Governor of the Cayman IslandsGovernor of the Cayman IslandsThe Governor of the Cayman Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the Cayman Islands. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
from 1995-9 - John PookJohn PookJohn Barrie Pook is a British poet.John Pook was born at Neath in South Wales, but grew up in Gowerton, near Swansea, and attended Gowerton Boys Grammar School...
, poet - Thomas Rees CBE, Director of Education for Swansea from 1908–43
- Gareth RobertsGareth Roberts (rugby player)Gareth John Roberts is a former international Wales rugby union player. He was in the Wales squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, scoring two tries.- References :...
, rugby union player - Ceri RichardsCeri Richards-Biography:Richards was born in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Richards . He and his younger brother and sister, Owen and Esther, were brought up in a highly cultured, working-class environment...
CBE, artist - Don ShepherdDon ShepherdDon Shepherd was a Welsh cricketer, who played for Glamorgan. One of the great county bowlers, he took more first-class wickets, 2,218 at 21.32 each, than any other player who never played Test cricket.Shepherd began his county career in 1950 as a fast-medium bowler, and was a regular in the...
, cricketer - Peter SteadPeter Stead (writer)Peter Stead is a Welsh writer, broadcaster and historian.Stead was born in Barry, Wales, and attended grammar schools at Barry and Gowerton. A graduate of University College, Swansea, he was subsequently a visiting Fulbright scholar at Wellesley College, and at the University of North Carolina...
, historian - Prof Beverley Smith, Sir John Williams Professor of Welsh History from 1985-96 at the Aberystwyth UniversityUniversity of Wales, AberystwythAberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
- John SparkesJohn SparkesJohn Sparkes is a Welsh comedian born in Swansea and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning series Barry Welsh is Coming....
, comedy writer - Haydn TannerHaydn TannerHaydn Tanner was a Welsh international rugby union player who also played for the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians....
, international rugby union player for Wales - Bleddyn TaylorBleddyn TaylorBleddyn Taylor was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Swansea RFC, Pontypool RFC, Neath RFC, Llanelli RFC, and Dunvant RFC...
, rugby player - Gwyn Thomas (footballer)Gwyn Thomas (footballer)Gwyn Thomas is a retired Welsh footballer who played as a midfielder in the 1970s and 1980s.After starting his career with West End F.C. in Swansea he joined Leeds United, making his debut for them in 1974-75...
- Mark Thomas, violinist, film and television composer and 2011 Emmy Award nominee
- Prof Wynn Thomas OBE, Professor of English since 1994 at Swansea UniversitySwansea UniversitySwansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
- Very Rev Rhys Derrick Chamberlain WaltersRhys Derrick Chamberlain WaltersThe Very Rev Rhys Derrick Chamberlain Walters, OBE was the fourth Dean of Liverpool.He was born on 10 March 1932, and was educated at Gowerton Boys’ Grammar School in the county of Swansea, and at the London School of Economics....
OBE, Dean of LiverpoolDean of LiverpoolThe Dean of Liverpool is based in Liverpool, UK and is head of the Chapter of Liverpool Cathedral.The deanery is currently vacant following the departure in October 2011 of The Very Reverend Justin Welby to become Bishop of Durham. The Acting Dean is the Canon Precentor, the Reverend Canon Myles...
from 1983–99 - Prof David WilliamsDavid Williams (mathematician)David Williams is a Welsh mathematician who works in probability theory.He was educated at Gowerton Grammar School, winning a mathematics scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford, and went on to obtain a DPhil under the supervision of D. G. Kendall and G. E. H...
, Professor of Mathematical Statistics from 1985-92 at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and Director of the University's Statistical Laboratory from 1987–91
External links
- Gowerton School websitehttp://www.gowerton.swansea.sch.uk
- ESTYN Inspection report 2011 http://www.estyn.gov.uk/english/provider/6704063/
- Department for Education listing http://www.edubase.gov.uk/establishment/summary.xhtml?urn=401770
- Gowertonian Society website http://www.gowertonian-society.co.uk/index.html