Howardian High School was a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

that was established in Cardiff from 1885 to 1990. Howardian originated in 1885 as the ''Cardiff Higher Grade School'', which was founded by the Cardiff School Board at Howard Gardens, Adamsdown (), to prepare students for the new University College which had opened two years previously. The new school took in its first 263 pupils (160 boys and 103 girls) on 19 January 1885, though had capacity for up to 840. The school's name changed to ''Municipal Secondary School, Cardiff'' in 1905 and to ''Howard Gardens Municipal School'' in 1907. In 1909 the school was split to form separate municipal schools for boys and for girls. In 1933 the schools were renamed ''Howard Gardens High School'' and ''Lady Margaret High School for Girls''. In 1948, due to heavy bomb damage during World War II, the girls' school moved to a new site off Colchester Avenue in Penylan. In 1953 the boys joined them in a new school next door, the ''Howardian High School for Boys''. In 1970 the two schools merged to form ''Howardian High School'' a co-educational

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 ...

. The school's former premises in Howard Gardens was given over to the new Fitzalan Technical High School for Boys. By the 1980s Howardian had the second highest proportion of pupils (23%) from ethnic minorities in Wales and was described as "a model of comprehensive education and of racial harmony". Despite this, in the late 1980s South Glamorgan County Council made a controversial decision to close the school, citing falling pupil numbers as the main reason. In addition the school's

sixth formers In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

were to be sent to a separate tertiary college, which would have brought the school to below the required government standard. As a comprehensive secondary school it was closed in 1990. Part of the school was used as an Adult Education Centre. In September 2015 the Upper School buildings in Hampton Court Road began to serve as the home for Howardian Primary School (until a purpose-built school could be finished on the site). The playing fields, and Lower School (formerly the Lady Margaret High School for Girls) were converted to housing in the 1990s. It was planned by The City and County Council of Cardiff that the new school would be completed by September 2017, although this has not come to fruition and the school is now showing serious signs of being not fit for purpose as the delay has now resulted in the move-in date being pushed back to September 2018. The current playground for the 182 children on roll is the old staff car park (pictured above) and is remarkably undersized. The history of the school was written by T.J. ('Tommy') Foster in 1990, to coincide with the closing of the school.

Notable alumni

* Ralph Hancock (1893-1950), landscape architect * Hugh Cudlipp (1913–1998), journalist and newspaper editor * Leo Abse (1917–2008), lawyer and politician * Jeffrey Steele (1931–2021), artist * Betty Campbell (1934–2017), head teacher (attended Lady Margaret High School for Girls) *

Owen John Thomas Owen John Thomas (born 3 October 1939) is a former Plaid Cymru politician who was a Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for the South Wales Central region from 1999 to 2007. Early life and education Owen John Thomas was born in Albany Road, C ...

(1939–), politician *

Owain Arwel Hughes Owain Arwel Hughes Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 21 March 1942) is a Welsh people, Welsh orchestral conductor. Hughes was born in Ton Pentre, Rhondda, the son of the composer Arwel Hughes. He studied at Howardian High School, Cardiff, ...

(1942–), orchestral conductor * Phil Walker (1944–2011), editor of the '' Daily Star'' * Tony Dell (1945–), Australian test cricketer * Keith Palmer (1947–), businessman * Jonathan Evans (1950–), politician * Jed Williams (1952–2003), jazz journalist and the founder of the Brecon Jazz Festival * Michael Moritz (1954–), venture capitalist

References

{{authority control Defunct schools in Cardiff Educational institutions disestablished in 1990 1885 establishments in Wales 1990 disestablishments in Wales Secondary schools in Cardiff