Aberdare Girls' School was a
state secondary school for girls aged 11–18 in the town of
Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It closed in July 2014.
History
The school was founded as an Intermediate Girls' school, and the building was opened in 1908. It became a secondary school for girls aged 11 to 18.
Structure
There were approximately 700 pupils on the school roll, of whom around 100 were in the sixth form, at the school's closure in 2014. The school occupied two sites, with pupils in years 7 and 8 in the Lower School in Y Gadlys, and those in years 9 to 13 in the Upper School in Plasdraw.
Most pupils came from the town of Aberdare, with some travelling from
Glynneath
Glynneath ( cy, Glyn-nedd "valley of the River Neath"), also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'', is a small town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in th ...
,
Treorchy
Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 ...
and
Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to:
* ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia
* Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus''
See also
* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Mounta ...
.
Bangle controversy
In 2007, the school attracted media coverage across Britain after it excluded a student, Sarita Watkins-Singh, for wearing a
kara
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
, a bangle that symbolised her
Sikh faith. The student and her family took legal action. In January 2008,
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council informed school governors that it would not provide the school with any further financial assistance, and said that this was in response to the school pursuing the case. The human rights organisation '' 'Liberty' '' claimed that the school was in violation of the Race Relations Act 1976, the
Equality Act 2006
The Equality Act 2006 (c 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom covering the United Kingdom. The 2006 Act is a precursor to the Equality Act 2010, which combines all of the equality enactments within Great Britain and provide comp ...
. In July 2008, Watkins-Singh won her case when the high court determined that the school was guilty of indirect discrimination. The school said that she would be welcome back at the school if she so desired.
Aberdare Community School
It was announced in 2012 that
Aberdare High School, Aberdare Girls' School and
Blaengwawr Comprehensive School would merge to form a new 'super-school', which became
Aberdare Community School. The construction of the new £50m campus began on the Michael Sobell Sports Centre site in 2013 with the intentions of creating a unified education, leisure and community hub. After several delays, the intended September 2014 opening date of the new 1,600 pupil building was pushed back to April 2015 with the formation of Aberdare Community School still set for September 2014. Blaengwawr Comprehensive, Aberdare High and Aberdare Girls' schools were closed at the end of the Summer Term 2014. It was announced that due to delays of the new campus, the four buildings previously occupied by the three schools would temporarily house various school years until a gradual move is possible once the new building is completed 2015.
Sale for development
In July 2015, the 1.16 hectare (2.87 acre) school site was sold at auction for £415,000, four times the guide price. The unknown purchasers were bound by a covenant to ensure that the site could only be used as a school and a playground.
By 2020 the site had been converted to housing, retaining the original school building.
References
External links
School website
{{authority control
Defunct schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Girls' schools in Wales
Aberdare