Friars School is a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

Bangor, Gwynedd Bangor (; ) is a cathedral city and community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated ...

, and one of the oldest schools in

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 ...

History

1557 Establishment

The school was founded by

Geoffrey Glyn Geoffrey Glyn (died 1557), also known as Geoffrey Glynne, was a lawyer, principally known as the founder of Friars School, Bangor. He was born in Heneglwys, Anglesey, the brother or half-brother of William Glyn, later Bishop of Bangor. A graduat ...

who had been brought up in

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

and had followed a career in law in London. A

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

had been established in Bangor by the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

, or Black Friars, in the 13th century. At the dissolution of the monasteries, the friary was wound up in 1538. Geoffrey Glyn bought the site with a view to establishing 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 ...

. In his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

dated 8 July 1557, he left the property and endowments towards establishing the school. Geoffrey's will left the property to his brother

William Glyn William E. Glyn (1859 – March 23, 1939) was an American based British male tennis player. William Glyn from the Staten Island Cricket and B.B. Club was a finalist in the first U.S. National Championships held in 1881 at the Newport Lawn Tenn ...

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

and Maurice Griffith,

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

, for them to execute his wishes. However, both of these died in the following year, but they further transferred the will to Sir

William Petre Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I. Educate ...

, a former Secretary of State, Sir

William Garrard This Profile Is Managed By / Garrett(-Garwood), Garrard, Gerard, FitzGerald, FitzWalter, FitzOtho, Gherardini Family Tree Research/Redesign Plan 2022/23. Family Tree Link : https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/184159457?dtid=100 Sir W ...

, a former

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

and

Simon Lowe Simon Lowe is a British actor who, among other titles, has played series regulars in ''Bodies'' (Dr. Tim Sibley), and ''The Grimleys'' (Shane Titley), both of which were written by Jed Mercurio. He also played Derek Evans in '' EastEnders''. In ...

, a London merchant tailor, who were able to fulfill Geoffrey Glyn's intentions.W. Ogwen Williams in Jones & Haworth (eds.)(1957), p.30 Although a school had been meeting in the city before this date, the new school was only formally established when it received

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

from

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

in 1561. The school was to be known as ''The free grammar school of Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws'', but because of the connection with the Black Friars, later became known as "Friars School". The letters patent established the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

and chapter of

Bangor Cathedral Bangor Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Bangor) is a cathedral in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol. The site of the present building of Bangor Cathedral has been in use as a place of Christian worship since ...

as the corporation to govern the school. In 1568, statutes were adopted to regulate the schools, based closely on the statutes of Bury St. Edmunds School in Suffolk, founded a few years earlier. The school has been established to provide a free grammar school education for the boys of the poor. This comprised a

classical education Classical education may refer to: *''Modern'', educational practices and educational movements: **An education in the Classics, especially in Ancient Greek and Latin **Classical education movement, based on the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) an ...

, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

only. The children who benefited were not the most poor, but the middle class preparing for a career in the ministry or the law like Geoffrey Glyn himself. The school was maintained from income on the endowments left by Geoffrey Glyn and later benefactors, mainly rents on land in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and a rent charge on land in

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

purchased using money left by Glyn. The school continued in the old friary, close to the banks of the River Adda for over two centuries (at ).

The second building, 1789

Under the patronage of

John Warren John Warren may refer to: Medicine * John Warren (surgeon) (1753–1815), American surgeon during the Revolutionary War * John Collins Warren (1778–1856), American surgeon * John Collins Warren Jr. (1842–1927), American surgeon, son of John C ...

, the school was transferred to a better site, a little further from the river. This was financed partly by closing the school in 1786, an accumulating the money saved from the endowment for a building fund. The new school was built for £2,076 12s 5½d, and opened in 1789 on a site (at ), all closer to the High Street and the present Glynne Road. The curriculum slowly developed to include mathematics, writing and other subject more familiar to today's school students. The school's fortunes were varied. The move boosted the school, but by the middle of the 19th century, under the headship of Totton, the schools' reputation suffered, and ultimately lost so many pupils that it was forced to close in 1861. It re-opened in 1866 and a new headmaster, Lewis Lloyd appointed in 1872, when a new secular governing body was introduced in place of the dean and chapter. In 1881, an epidemic of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in Bangor caused the school to move to

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an i ...

to avoid the disease. The bottom of the valley, especially close to the river, was unhygienic, and this episode engendered consideration of moving away to a fresh site. At this time, too, the

Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 The Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict c 40) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Background Elementary education had been compulsory in Wales, as in the rest of the United Kingdom, since the introduction of t ...

introduced a state system of secondary education in Wales. Some charity and private schools were exempted from its provisions and there had been advocates for Friars, too, to be exempted, but ultimately this brought Friars School into the state system, under

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

County council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

.Eames in Jones & Haworth (eds.)(1957), p.74

The third building, 1900

With contributions from Caernarfonshire County Council, the proceeds of selling the old site, together with a public appeal for funds, a new school was built on Ffriddoedd Road for a cost of £11,600. The architect was John Douglas of Douglas & Minishull, and builders Messrs. James Hamilton & son of

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

. A foundation stone was laid by

Watkin Herbert Williams Watkin Herbert Williams (22 August 1845 – 19 November 1944) was Dean of St Asaph from 1892 to 1899. and Bishop of Bangor from 1899 to 1925. Williams was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford and ordained in 1871. His fi ...

on 12 April 1899, and the building was opened in December 1900 (at ). In moving to the Ffriddoedd site, the intention had been to move out to the countryside. After the typhoid outbreak, and with the unsanitary condition of the lower Adda valley, Ffriddoedd was seen as a healthy rural alternative. However, the development of the city was to catch up. To preserve a little of that rural idyll as the area developed, R. L. Archer, a former chairman of the governors, in 1955 bequeathed to the school a small plot of land. Known as "Dr. Archer's plot", this was to be planted with flowers and kept for ever green. In 1957, several events commemorated the fourth centenary of the school. A new stained glass window was installed in the building to mark the event.

1971 Reorganisation

Up to 1971, Friars had been a grammar school for boys. As a grammar school, education was selective, boys having to pass the

eleven plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academic ...

to gain admission. A significant reorganisation in 1971 combined three schools – Friars School, the Bangor County School for Girls (also a grammar school), and Deiniol School, a co-educational

Secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

. The three schools brought together formed a new

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 ...

, under the Friars name, but on three sites. The former girls' school became the Tryfan site, a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

medium for the lower years, while the Ffriddoedd building was the location of the English language medium lower years. The senior years came together at a new building, built for £300,000''The Dominican'', Summer Term 1971, Friars School on a new site at Eithinog. A further reorganisation in 1978 split the school in two:

Ysgol Tryfan Ysgol Tryfan is a bilingual (Welsh - English) comprehensive school for pupils aged 11–18, situated in Bangor, Gwynedd. 471 pupils were enrolled at the school in 2022. The majority of pupils live in Bangor, with a large proportion coming fro ...

was formed as an 11–18 Welsh medium school on the Tryfan site. Friars School became a mainly English-medium school on Ffriddoedd and Eithinog sites. Shoddy building practices of the 1960s meant that the Eithinog building had to be almost completely rebuilt over the following few decades. These were gradually replaced and expanded, until the whole school was able to relocate to Eithinog in 1999. The final contract for completing the school was valued at £5.4 million. In that year, the former Friars building at Ffriddoedd was sold to further education college

Coleg Menai Coleg Menai (meaning: ''Menai College'') is a further education college located in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. The college also has campuses in Parc Menai, Llangefni, Caernarfon and Holyhead. The college provides a range of academic and vocation ...

and continues in educational use.

Celebrating 450 years

A service of commemoration and thanksgiving was held in

in April 2007 to mark 450 years of Friars School.

The modern school

Since 1999, the present school has been united on the Eithinog site. It is a comprehensive school for the 11–18 age group, and draws pupils from a wide area around Bangor. The school's current student body totals 1346, with many pupils travelling from

, North Arfon, the Llŷn peninsula and further afield. Ysgol Friars is the largest secondary school in Gwynedd and one of the largest in North Wales. The current headteacher is Neil Foden. The school is also a competitor in the

F1 in Schools ''F1 in Schools'' is an international STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) competition for school children (aged 11–19), in which groups of 3–6 students have to design and manufacture a miniature car out of the official F1 ...

competition since 2007. The 1st team reached the national final after winning the regional in

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

Welsh language

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 in 2017, almost 70% of pupils could speak Welsh to some degree and about 16% of pupils were fluent in Welsh. The school is currently categorised by Welsh Government as a predominantly English-medium secondary school with significant use of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. The categorisation means that both languages are used in teaching, with 20 - 49% of subjects vailable to be taughtthrough the medium of Welsh. Ysgol Friars is the only secondary school in Gwynedd that teaches pupils mainly through the medium of English. In 2016, Councillor Gareth Thomas,

Gwynedd Council Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language. History The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under ...

's Cabinet Member for Education, accepted the Service Scrutiny Committee's recommendation that Ysgol Friars should, with council support, identify opportunities to make further progress in the use of the Welsh language across the curriculum and life of the school.

Remains and artefacts

Traces of the older sites are seen in names of streets: Friars Avenue, Glynne Road, and building: Friars Terrace, Glyn House. A plaque on houses in Glynne Road records the site of the 1789 buildings. The Ffriddoedd building has lasted well and is now a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It is well used by

Symbols

The school colours are black and yellow, the black deriving from the dress of the Black Friars. The coat of arms is a double-headed black eagle on a yellow shield. This was taken from the arms of the Glyn family of Glynllifon, in the mistaken impression that these were the arms of Geoffrey Glyn. Despite this error (Geoffrey Glyn's arms having been three saddles), the double-headed eagle survived. The

motto, ''Foedere Fraterno'' – "On with the brotherhood" – again recall the Black Friars. These symbols, which once graced the caps and blazers of grammar school boys, are today seen on polo shirts and sweatshirts of the modern school. The school's

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

squadron was granted the number '1557' in recognition of the school's year of foundation. The Air Cadets squadron, which is still located within the school ground is officially known as '1557 (Friars) Squadron'.

Notable former pupils

* Akira the Don, real name Adam Narkiewicz, independent British rapper and producer *

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– nonconformist minister and poet *

James Atkin, Baron Atkin James Richard Atkin, Baron Atkin, (28 November 1867 – 25 June 1944), commonly known as Dick Atkin, was an Australian-born British judge, who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary from 1928 until his death in 1944. He is especially remember ...

– lawyer and judge *

Dewi Bebb Dewi Iorwerth Ellis Bebb (7 August 1938 – 14 March 1996)
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– Rugby international. * Arthur Butler,

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from 1957–69, and

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from 1969–81 *

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– actor and television director *

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, chairman since 1991 of the

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, and Labour MP from 1966–70 for

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John Edward Daniel John Edward Daniel (1902–1962) was a Welsh theologian and college lecturer who became chairman of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru. Life Daniel was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, on 26 June 1902 and was educated at the Friars School, Bangor. He ...

– academic and politician *

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– baritone * Gwenan Edwards – Television presenter and journalist *

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from 1977–8 *

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– lawyer, poet and politician *

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– mathematician and physicist, and Cargill Professor of Applied Physics from 1920–34 at the

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* Tony Gray – rugby international and coach. *

George Guest George Guest CBE FRCO (9 February 1924 – 20 November 2002) was a Welsh organist and choral conductor. Birth and early life George Guest was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. His father was an organist and Guest assisted him by acting as organ blo ...

– organist and choirmaster * Humphrey Jones – international footballer *

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– priest and educator * Harold King, chemist *

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, Persian scholar, professor of Persian at the

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* Frederick Llewellyn-Jones, Liberal MP from 1929–35 for

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

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– BBC journalist and broadcaster *

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– BBC journalist and broadcaster. *

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– surgeon and international footballer *

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– politician *

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– scholar and poet * Goronwy Owen – poet *

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- engineer * Daniel Parsons, professor of geology at University of Hull. *

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* Kiri Pritchard Mclean - Comedian and Writer * Ben Roberts (1950–2021), actor, who was known for playing Chief Inspector Derek Conway in the

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, ''

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''. *

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from 1971–82 *

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– international footballer * Sir Hugh Corbet Vincent – rugby player once capped for Wales, unsuccessful parliamentary candidate and prominent solicitor * Sir

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, broadcaster, managing director from 1968–75 of BBC TV, and president from 1979–85 of the

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(RTS) * Philip Bruce White, microbiologist *

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, Chief of the Air Staff * John Frederick Williams,

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from 1971–77 * Sir

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, Welsh scholar *

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''New Dean of St. David's'' The Times 25 November 1949

Welsh Cup

Friars School also competed in the Welsh Cup competition during the 1870s.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Barber, H. & Lewis, H. (1901) ''The History of Friars School'', Jarvis & Foster *Clarke, M. L. (1955) ''The Elizabethan Statutes of Friars School, Bangor'', Transactions of Caernarfonshire Historical Society, Volume 16, pp. 25–28 *Davies, Gareth Alban (2007), ''Maurice Griffin (?–1558), Esgob Rochester'', Transactions of Caernarfonshire Historical Society, 68, pp. 13–50 *Griffith, W. P. (1988), ''Some Passing Thoughts on the Early History of Friars School, Bangor'', Transactions of Caernarfonshire Historical Society, 49, pp. 117–150 *Jones, Clifford M. (ed.) (2007), ''Friars School, Bangor 1557–2007: The Effect of the Reformation on Education in North Wales'' Mostly reprinting earlier articles referred to here, but with some new material. *Jones, E. W. & Haworth, J. (eds.) (1957) ''The Dominican, No.66'', Friars School *Price, D. R. ''A History of Friars School'' in White, S.I. (ed.) ''Bangor: from a Cell to a City'' (1994)

External links

* {{authority control Secondary schools in Gwynedd 1557 establishments in Wales Educational institutions established in the 1550s Bangor, Friars School Bangor, Gwynedd