Ruabon Grammar School was situated in

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

in north-east

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 provided a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

education to boys in the parishes of Ruabon and

Erbistock Erbistock ( cy, Erbistog) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The village lies on the banks of the River Dee. The community area, governed by Erbistock Community Council ( cy, Cyngor Cymuned Erbistog) also includes th ...

. Ruabon Grammar School for Boys became a Denbighshire County secondary school in 1894 and new buildings, including classrooms and laboratories were added in 1896, with further major building works taking place in the 1920s and 1940s. The school's Latin motto was ''Absque Labore Nihil'' ( en, Nothing Without Labour). Pupils were divided into four houses: ''Madog''; ''Cynwrig''; ''Rhuddallt'' and ''Wynnstay''.

Founding

It was generally assumed that the school was founded in 1575 as this was the date which appeared on the school badge. However, this date is uncertain, as the early school records were completely destroyed in 1858 during the catastrophic fire which gutted

Wynnstay Wynnstay is a country house within an important landscaped park 1.3 km (0.75 miles) south-east of Ruabon, near Wrexham, Wales. Wynnstay, previously Watstay, is a famous estate and the family seat of the Wynns. The house was sold in 1948 and ...

, where the records were being kept at the time. Today a date of 1618 is thought to be more accurate. Records show that Thomas Ednyfed (or Nevitt), a Welshman who had made his fortune as a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

became one of the first benefactors of the school. The school developed as a boys'

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. The school originally stood at the top of Ysgoldy Hill, opposite the church, but in 1858 moved to a new site on the Penycae road between Mill Farm and

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to h ...

. This new building had classrooms and a kitchen downstairs with

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

upstairs. Famous ex-pupils of Ruabon Boys' Grammar School include: * Tom Ellis, Member of Parliament (

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

) for Wrexham from 1970 to 1983 (but defected to the SDP in 1981) *

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

, writer *

Isaac Daniel Hooson Isaac Daniel Hooson (2 September 1880 – 18 October 1948), or I. D. Hooson as he was commonly known, was a Welsh solicitor and poet. Hooson was born to parents Edward Hooson and his wife Harriet in Victoria House, Market St. in the village of ...

, poet and novelist * Meredith Edwards, actor * Nigel Edwards, footballer * Brian Griffiths, footballer *

Arwel Hughes Arwel Hughes OBE (25 August 1909 – 23 September 1988) was a Welsh orchestral conductor and composer. Life and career Hughes was born in Rhosllannerchrugog near Wrexham and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School and at the Royal College ...

, composer and conductor * David Jones, Member of Parliament (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

) for Clwyd West and former

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

James Idwal Jones James Idwal Jones (30 June 1900 – 18 October 1982) was a Welsh, Labour Party politician. He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Wrexham, and educated at Ruabon Grammar School and Normal College, Bangor. He became a teacher in 1922 in Holt, but t ...

, Member of Parliament (

) for Wrexham from 1955 to 1970 * Thomas William Jones (later Lord Maelor), Member of Parliament (

) for

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

from 1951 to 1966 * Llewelyn Kenrick, the 'father' of Welsh football.

Girls' school

In 1922 a secondary school for girls, later to be known as the Ruabon Grammar School for Girls, was built adjacent to the boys' school. This was housed in temporary wooden buildings and remained so until a new school was opened, opposite the boys' school, in 1962. The school's Welsh motto was ''Gorau Trysor Enw Da'' ( en, The Best Treasure is a Good Name). The pupils were divided into three houses, Offa (green badge) Wynnstay (red badge) and Madoc (yellow badge.) In 1967 the Ruabon Boys' Grammar School and the Ruabon Girls' Grammar School amalgamated to form the present

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 ...

Ysgol Rhiwabon Ysgol Rhiwabon ("Ruabon School") is a historic comprehensive school in Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales for 11- to 16-year-olds. The headteacher is Melanie Ferron-Evans. In 2003 the Estyn Report concluded that "Ysgol Rhiwabon provides good opportunities ...

. This school is now housed in the buildings of the former girls' grammar school. The site of the former boys' grammar school has been redeveloped for housing with some of the original buildings being conserved.

Sources

* A. N. Palmer, "The History of the Parish of Ruabon" * T. W. Pritchard, "Remembering Ruabon - Cofio Rhiwabon", 2000 * Dennis W Gilpin, "Ruabon Boys Grammar School - A collection of pictures", 1999 {{authority control Defunct schools in Wrexham County Borough Grammar schools in Wales Ruabon