The John Frost School, formerly known as Duffryn High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Dyffryn), is a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

on the south-western outskirts of Newport, south

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It is in the suburb of

Duffryn Duffryn ( cy, Dyffryn) is a large housing estatebr>in the southwest of the city of Newport, Wales, Newport, south Wales comprising a large portion of the Tredegar Park electoral district (ward). Built on land belonging to Tredegar Housebr> it ...

and opened in 1959. The John Frost School was the filming location of the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' television episode " School Reunion", filmed in 2005. As of 2019, the

head teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

is Mark Tucker.

Name change

At the beginning of 2015 it was announced that Duffryn High School was changing its name to The John Frost School. John Frost (1784−1877) was a Chartist and the leader of the

Newport Rising The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under the lead ...

In popular culture

In August 2019, in the BBC TV series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', the school was visited by TV producer

Michael Whitehall Michael John Whitehall (born 12 April 1940) is an English author, producer, talent agent and television personality. He is a former theatrical agent who went on to form two production companies, Havahall Pictures (with Nigel Havers) in 1988, an ...

and his son, actor and comedian

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...

, who were revealed to be descendants of

Thomas Phillips Thomas Phillips RA (18 October 177020 April 1845) was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers. Life and work Phillips was born at ...

, mayor of Newport at the time of the Rising.

References

{{authority control 1959 establishments in Wales Educational institutions established in 1959 Secondary schools in Newport, Wales