West Monmouth School

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West Monmouth School
Motto: Serve & Obey
Established: 1898
Type: Mixed non-selective comprehensive
Students: 980
Location: Pontypool, Wales, United Kingdom
Headteacher: Mr Peter Phillips, MSc, MEd
Affiliations: Worshipful Company of Haberdashers

West Monmouth School [1] (Welsh: Ysgol Gorllewin Mynwy; colloquially: West Mon) is a state-funded and non-selective secondary school in Pontypool, Torfaen in Wales. Pupils who attend the school, however, generally live in the Pontypool area. The school offers education for 11 to 16 year olds and around 980 pupils are currently enrolled there.

Contents

History & Origins

The school owes its existence to the charity of a Mr. William Jones who died in 1615. He bequeathed money to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers for the foundation of a grammar school in Monmouth. An accumulation of funds by the end of the nineteenth century encouraged Monmouth School to build a sister school to serve western Monmouthshire. After much discussion and debate the town of Pontypool was chosen after land of six acres was donated by Mr. John Hanbury. In 1896 the foundation stone of what was then known as Jones' West Monmouth School was laid by Mrs. Hanbury. The school cost a total of £30,000 and was opened in 1898 under the headship of Mr. Priestly, former Headmaster of Usk Grammar School. After the Second World War the school served Monmouthshire's Local Education Authority as the county's premier grammar school.

Expansion & changes

The school's original building with its tall spires and grand entrance became too small for the school numbers. By 1934 a new 'Science Block' building had been added at a cost of £20,000 and contained extra classrooms and modern laboratories. In 1982 the advent of comprehensive schools saw West Mon lose its exclusivity and enter mainstream education. A new block (known simply as 'New Block') was constructed and now houses the mathematics, technology and some humanities classrooms. A new music and performing arts centre was built on the site of the old swimming pool in 2001 which gave West Mon some of the best facilities in Torfaen for those subject areas. The school recently went through a £6,000,000 overhaul that has seen numerous changes. The school now boasts state-of-the-art performing arts facilities including an auditorium housed in the Haberdashers' Building. The special educational needs department has been expanded and there is a new cafeteria.

Ethos

The school has maintained the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers's motto Serve & Obey but has also adopted an unofficial motto of Today's Challenges for Tomorrow's Opportunities. The school is committed to providing quality education for all.

West Monmouth School
West Monmouth School

Facilities

West Mon is the only school in Torfaen to have an 'Astroturf' football pitch which comes complete with floodlights. There is also a top-of-the-range performing arts centre and two large gymnasia. There are five IT suites and a comprehensive technology centre. The school also boasts a running track, tennis courts and the large Albion rugby fields nearby. The school has been extended once again; the old dining hall has been converted into classrooms and a new cafeteria built on the west side of the site. This is due to the amalgamation of Trevethin Community School which closed in 2007.

Notable staff

Headmaster: Mr. Peter Phillips, M.Sc., M.Ed., C.Maths., F.R.S.A., F.R.G.S.

Deputy Head: Mr. William Price, B.A., M.Ed.

Famous alumni

Etymology

The school has been known by a variety of names over the last 100 years. Originally conceived as Jones' West Monmouth School it has also been known as Haberdashers' West Monmouth School, West Monmouth Boys' School and in later years West Monmouth Grammar School. Today the school is often referred to (incorrectly) as West Monmouth Comprehensive School. Internally the school use the shorthand names West Mon or WMS. There is at least one plaque in the school that refers to it as Jones' West Monmouthshire School. The official name, however, is West Monmouth School.

References

Serve & Obey: The Official History of West Monmouth School 1898 - 1998 by Arthur Crane (Pontypool: 1998). ISBN: 0953466809.