Ysgol David Hughes is the largest
Secondary SchoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in
AngleseyAnglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was founded in 1603, originally as a free
Grammar SchoolA grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Beaumaris. In 1963, with the local authority leading the way in introducing the comprehensive system, the school moved to
Menai BridgeMenai Bridge is a small town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford...
as a mixed
comprehensive schoolA comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
.
The school is divided into five blocks, A-D and New Block. It has recently built a new sports hall with a fitness room with views of the
Menai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
and
SnowdoniaSnowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
. The facility is open to the public in the evenings. There are approximately 1250 pupils at the school. The school has a large sports reputation and regularly competes against other schools in the area. The school is located at the top end of
Menai BridgeMenai Bridge is a small town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford...
and has views of both the
Menai Suspension BridgeThe Menai Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the first modern suspension bridge in the world.-Construction:...
and
Britannia BridgeBritannia Bridge is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans for carrying rail traffic...
. The school has excellent facilities with many classrooms having at least three
PCsA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, every teacher has a
laptopA laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
or
PCA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and all classrooms have brand new electronic white boards. There are laboratories, kitchen and workshops as well as PC rooms in the school. The current headmaster is Dr. Brian Jones.
Founder
David Hughes (d. 1609), the founder of Beaumaris grammar school, was born in a stable of
Llantrisant, AngleseyLlantrisant is a settlement in Anglesey, Wales.- External links :*...
. He may have been the David Hughes of county Caernarvon, b. 1561, who entered
Gray's InnThe Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
from
Magdalen College, OxfordMagdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, 28 January 1583 (Foster, Alumni. Oxon.; Gray's Inn Admission Register, 28 Jan 1582-3), but another account of him, claiming to be based on sources not now available, suggests that he was born about 1536 and received no university education.
Settling in Norfolk, he was appointed steward of the manor of Woodrising about 1596. In 1602 he established the Free Grammar School at Beaumaris. His will, dated 30 September 1609, endowed the school and made provision for the establishment of an
almshouseAlmshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
at
Llannerch-y-meddLlannerch-y-medd, sometimes also spelt Llanerch-y-Medd, Llannerch-y-Medd or Llanerchymedd, is a small village and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The Royal Mail postcode is LL71, and it has a population of 1,185....
. The almshouse was actually built at Beaumaris and still stands today.
Ysgol David Hughes has recently been pursuing the BBC School Report programme, in which pupils are given a chance to develop their own news stories for a day. This years' entries were from a yr.8 welsh class and a yr.9 english class.
Notable former pupils
- Matthew Maynard
Matthew Maynard is an English former cricketer. He played in four Tests and fourteen ODIs for England....
, cricketer
- Aled Jones
Aled Jones is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality, broadcaster and television presenter who first came to fame as a treble...
, singer and presenter
- Dafydd Ieuan
Dafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
, musician and member of the Super Furry AnimalsSuper Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
- Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
, musician and member of the Super Furry AnimalsSuper Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
- Arthur Emyr
Arthur Emyr is a former Wales rugby union international. A winger, he played club rugby for Swansea RFC where he remains the club's all-time record try-scorer and also for Cardiff RFC. He also gained a Senior Wales Athletics vest.Emyr attained 13 caps for Wales scoring 4 tries between 1989-1991....
, former Wales Rugby international
- Wayne Hennessey
Wayne Robert Hennessey is a Welsh international footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers as a goalkeeper.-Early career:...
, Wales Football international
- Elin Fflur
Elin Fflur Jones is a Welsh singer and songwriter from Wales. Elin is well known in Welsh language media especially after she won the Cân i Gymru contest in 2002. Elin also had successes in the bands Carlotta and Y Moniars...
, singer
- Rhun ap Iorwerth, BBC Wales presenter
- Tecwyn Roberts
Tecwyn Roberts was a Welsh-born, American spaceflight engineer who in the 1960s played important roles in designing the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and creating NASA’s worldwide tracking and communications network...
, NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
’s first Flight Dynamics Officer and later Director of Networks at Goddard Space Flight CenterThe Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
.