Croesyceiliog School

Croesyceiliog School (Welsh: Ysgol Croes-y-ceiliog) is a state-funded secondary school in the Croesyceiliog area of Cwmbran, in South Wales, UK.

Setting

Situated on high ground that overlooks the valley westwards, the school site lies within the parish of Llanyrafon, with the Croesyceiliog By-Pass A4042 and headquarters of Gwent Police to the east, and the Afon Llwyd to the west.

Most pupils live in the areas of Croesyceiliog, Llanyrafon and Pontnewydd; however the Sixth Form attracts students from as far as parts of Newport and Pontypool.

The school grounds also hosts a local youth centre. The school is situated on 42 acres (170,000 m²) of land; the average for schools is 18 acres (73,000 m²). Cwmbran's river (the Afon Llwyd) is situated at the lower western end of the site. The school is surrounded by woodland; Jim Crow's Wood to the north and Middle Wood to the south.

History

Foundation

In 1949, the Cwmbran New Town was created and the 1951 Master Plan stated that three secondary modern schools would be built (Coed Eva in the South West of Cwmbran, Llantarnam in the South East and Croesyceiliog in the North East). Croesyceiliog however would be a "campus" whereby a grammar school would be built alongside it. The school was designed by the Monmouthshire County Architect, Colin Jones. The Secondary Modern was opened on 5 November 1957 and the Grammar School was opened on the 3 February 1960. Colin Jones died before the Grammar School was completed. When the school was established in 1960 it cost £250,000. Today it would cost around £43 million.

Comprehensive

The school was known as Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School from its unification in 1971 until 2000 when it dropped comprehensive from its title.

In the 2005 inspection Croesyceiliog School had one of the best inspection rates in Torfaen.^[1] In June 2006 Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott visited Croesyceiliog School.^[2]

In 2012, Crownbridge School, an education centre aimed at children aged 11–19 with learning or physical disabilities, was build to the south of the school site. The previous Crownbridge School, situated on Greenhill Road in Sebastapol, had fallen into disrepair. ^[3]

On July 12, 2017, plans were submitted for the "demolition of existing school buildings and erection of a new three storey 11-16 school building, the erection of a new two storey Sixth Form and sports block (D1 educational use), the construction of a new, floodlit artificial grass pitch (AGP), a new access junction, external play and sport areas, car parking, associated infrastructure and landscaping on the site". ^[4]

List of Head Teachers

Granville Lewis Pomeroy, 1957-1970: Born in 1916, Pomeroy was the headmaster of the Secondary Modern school and the Community College. Pomeroy's wife was an English teacher at the school. Pomeroy left to be head teacher of Caerleon School from 1970 to 1980.

Dr Donald John B. Summers (CBE), 1959-1975: Born in 1909, Summers was the first and last headmaster of the Grammar school. Summers attended Oxford University where he studied chemistry, and later completed his PhD. He was known for wearing the traditional headmaster's gown. He also held the title of Head of the Secondary Modern for a year until the unification of Croesyceiliog School in 1971.

Mike J. Pugh, 1975-1991: The first modern Headmaster of the Comprehensive school and oversaw the construction of a Sixth Form Building and many prefabricated classrooms that surrounded the site during the 1980's (a result of the booming population in Cwmbran New Town at the time). Pugh is now on the Board of Governors for Caerleon School.

Helene Mansfield (OBE), 1991-2009: The longest serving head of Croesyceiliog, and its first headmistress, Mansfield was born in Brittany. She studied languages for her research year at Downing College, Cambridge University.^[5] She oversaw the construction of a Fitness Suite in 2006.

Sarah Jane Logan, 2009–2013: Logan was previously Deputy Headmistress of Bassaleg School. She implemented new security features at the school and oversaw the redevelopment of the main school lobby and the construction of Crownbridge School on the site.

David Taylor, 2013-present

Recent news

The school's uniform policy was recently criticised by parents for not allowing pupils to remove jumpers in the hot weather. ^[6]

Notable former pupils

• Nick Ramsay, the Conservative AM since 2007 for Monmouth^[7]
• Jessica Morden, Labour MP since 2005 for Newport East^[8]
• Adam Hughes, Newport Gwent Dragons and Wales U20 rugby
• Terry Morgan, CBE, former MD of Land Rover and now Chairman of Crossrail.^[9]

Croesyceiliog Grammar School

• Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph since 2009.
• Green Gartside, of pop band Scritti Politti.
• Denise Kingsmill, Baroness Kingsmill^[10]
• Jeremy Winston, Dean of Monmouth

References

External links

• School student page & department websites
• School administrative homepage
• EduBase