, image = Ysgol Howell, Llandaf 01.JPG , image_size = , caption = , coordinates = , motto = Nurturing Excellence , established = 1860 , closed = , type =

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

, religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Principal , head = Sally Davis , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = Chair of governors , chair = Anne Campbell , founder = , specialist = , address = , city =

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, county = , country =

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, postcode = CF5 2YD , local_authority =

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

, dfeno = , urn = 402018 , ofsted = , staff = , enrolment = , gender = Girls; Coeducational Sixth Form , lower_age = 3 , upper_age = 18 , houses = Lewis, Kendall, Baldwin, Trotter , colours = , publication = , free_label_1 = Former pupils , free_1 = Hywelians , free_label_2 = , free_2 = , free_label_3 = , free_3 = , website = http://www.howells-cardiff.gdst.net/ Howell's School ( cy, Ysgol Howell) is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for girls in

, a district in northern

. It consists of a nursery, infants, junior, senior school and a sixth form. The sixth form became coeducational in September 2005 and was renamed Howell's Co-ed College.

History

In 1537, Thomas Howell, a Welsh merchant trading in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, bequeathed 12,000 gold

ducats The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained ...

to the

Drapers' Company The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...

to provide dowries "every yere for Maydens for ever." His "Merchant's Mark" is still used as a logo for the school. The school's magazine is called the ''Golden Ducat'' in reference to the bequest. After founding a girls' school of the same name in the town of Denbigh, the Company started building the Llandaff school in 1859 and opened to girls the following year. In 1899 it was expanded to accommodate boarders but the boarding programme has been discontinued. The school still retains its links as the Company has a representative in the school board. It was originally housed in a building designed by Decimus Burton, on the outskirts of the village of Llandaff. The school admitted its first pupils, with Emily Baldwin as the first Headmistress. Today it occupies a large site north of Cardiff city centre. In 1980 the school joined the

Girls' Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each ye ...

and is under its governance. It is the only member school in Wales. Novelist Roald Dahl spent part of his childhood at Cumberland Lodge, which was later acquired by the school. In 2005 The school opened the GDST's first co-educational sixth form with the admission of 26 boys into year 12.

Key dates

*1859–60 Howell's School built. *1860 Emily Baldwin appointed Headmistress. *1860 Classes started with 60 pupils. *1872 Miss Ewing appointed Headmistress. *1880 Miss Kendall appointed Headmistress. *1887 Sanatorium built. *1896 Cookery School built. *1900 Great Hall built. *1906 Steward's Wing built. *1906 Hywelian Guild established. *1920 Miss Kendall retired. *1920 Miss Trotter appointed as Headmistress. *1937 Swimming pool built. *1937 Miss Knight appointed as Headmistress. *1941 Miss Lewis appointed as Headmistress. *1950 Science laboratories built. *1960 Bryntaf and Oaklands acquired as extra boarding houses. *1960 Hywelians donated grand piano. *1978 Miss Turner appointed as Headmistress. *1980 Howell's School joined the

. *1984 Junior School for ages 7–11 opened. *1990 Music Block and Octagon Room built. *1991 Mrs Jane Fitz appointed as Headmistress. *1993 Boarding ceased and houses remodelled for the Sixth Form. *1997 Nursery opened accepting girls from the age of three. *1997 Sports Hall and Fitness Suite built. *2001 New laboratory and renovation programme completed. *2003 New Junior School building and extension project commenced. *2004 Tŷ Hapus (Happy House), new building for Junior School completed and Junior School intake doubled. *2005

Co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Sixth Form College established – first young men in school in 145 years. *2007 Mrs Sally Davis appointed as Principal. *2008 Howell's becomes a Fairtrade School. *2010 Howell's celebrates 150 years since its opening.

Academics

Howell's is one of Wales's top performing independent schools. In 2011 it made the top 100 schools in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

based on GCSE results and ranked first in Wales.

Notable former pupils

Alumnae are known as Hywelians and are entitled membership of the Hywelian Guild. It was founded in 1906 by old girls and is also open to former staff members and teachers.Hywelians
*

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

, Conservative MP * Patricia Clarke, biochemist *

Ann Cotton Ann Lesley Cotton OBE (born 1950) is a Welsh entrepreneur and philanthropist who was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 Queen's New Year Honours List. The honour was in recognition of her services to education of you ...

, educational entrepreneur and philanthropist * Janet Davies, Welsh politician * Jem, pop singer *

Jean McFarlane, Baroness McFarlane of Llandaff Jean Kennedy McFarlane, Baroness McFarlane of Llandaff, FRCN, MCSP (1 April 1926 – 13 May 2012), was a British nurse and member of the House of Lords. Biography McFarlane was born in Cardiff, Wales, and later trained as a nurse, a midwife ...

, the holder of the first Chair of Nursing in an English university, at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

* Julie Morgan, Labour MP *

Lucy Owen Lucy Owen (born 18 June 1971 as Lucy Jane Cohen) is a Welsh television news reader. Early life Owen attended Howell's School in Llandaff, Cardiff, and graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London, in English. She is of Jewish heritage. ...

(née Cohen), BBC Wales news presenter *

Jo Walton Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel ''Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era novel ...

, fantasy and science fiction writer *

Hannah Mills Hannah Louise Mills, (born 29 February 1988) is a British competitive sailor and two-time world champion in the Women's 470 class, having won in 2012 and 2019. Mills won a silver medal for Team GB with her crew Saskia Clark in the 2012 Olymp ...

, Olympic Gold Medalist, MBE * Charlotte Church, Singer and Actress.

Gallery

Image:Howells_Boys.jpg, A group of students Image:School_play_028.jpg, The College musical ''

Oh, What a Lovely War! ''Oh, What a Lovely War!'' is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the "somewhat satirical" ...

References

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Scho ...

Profile
on the

GDST The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each ye ...

website
Profile
on the

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and independent. Overview The guide is compiled by a team of editors which, according to the official website, "''comprises some 50 editors, writers, researchers and contri ...

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb ''estyn'' meaning "to reach (out), stretch or extend". Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality ...

Inspectio
Reports
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1860 Schools of the Girls' Day School Trust Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Independent schools in Cardiff Llandaff 1860 establishments in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Cardiff