Ysgol Eifionydd is a bilingual co-educational comprehensive school for 11-16 year-old pupils. It is situated in the town of

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

, Wales. The school serves the towns of Porthmadog, Cricieth and the rural villages of the area.

Background

As of 2022, there were 380 pupils enrolled at the school. There were 487 pupils at the school in 2006, 534 in 2005 and 369 pupils on roll in 2015. The school was established in 1894. One of its most famous ex-students was the poet and scholar

T. H. Parry-Williams Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams (21 September 1887 – 3 March 1975) was a Welsh poet, author and academic. Parry-Williams was born at Tŷ'r Ysgol (''the Schoolhouse'') in Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire, Wales. He was educated at the University ...

, who first attended the school aged 11 in 1898. Previously, it was a grammar school and was called ''Ysgol Ganolradd Porthmadog''.

Rob Piercy Rob Piercy is an artist and painter (born 1946). Born in Porthmadog, he was also an art teacher at Ysgol Eifionydd, Porthmadog for 15 years, before leaving to concentrate on painting in 1989. He has his own gallery in Porthmadog, which he establis ...

, a successful local artist, was previously the art teacher at Ysgol Eifionydd. The school's head master is Dewi Rhys Bowen. In 2019, Ysgol Eifionydd will be celebrating 125 years of being a secondary school.

Welsh language

The school is categorised linguistically by the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

as a category 2A school, meaning that at least 80 per cent of subjects apart from English and Welsh are taught only through the medium of Welsh to all pupils. However, one or two subjects are taught to some pupils in English or in both languages. According to the latest

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 ...

inspection report conducted in 2018, 69% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes.

Recent Head-teachers

*Dewi Bowen *Alwen P. Watkin *Richard Williams *Gwilym R. Hughes *Robert Wyn Jackson

Notable former pupils

*Sir

Robert Armstrong-Jones Sir Robert Armstrong-Jones, (born Robert Jones; 2 December 1857 – 30 January 1943) was a Welsh physician and psychiatrist. Biography He was born in Ynyscynhaearn, Caernarvonshire, the son of a Congregational minister. He was educated at ...

References

External links

* Secondary schools in Gwynedd

Eifionydd Eifionydd () is an area in north-west Wales covering the south-eastern part of the Llŷn Peninsula from Porthmadog to just east of Pwllheli. The Afon Erch forms its western border. It now lies in Gwynedd. The commote of Eifionydd formed the no ...

Ysgol Eifionydd {{Wales-school-stub