Mountain Ash Comprehensive School ( cy, Ysgol Gyfun Aberpennar), known as MACS, is a comprehensive school near the town of

Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountain Ash ( cy, Aberpennar) is a town and former community in the Cynon Valley, within the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, with a population of 11,230 at the 2011 Census, estimated in 2019 at 11,339. It includes the districts and ...

, Wales. It is a mixed-sex school with approximately 950 pupils, including about 90 in the

sixth form 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 ...

. The school was formerly known as Mountain Ash Grammar School ( cy, Ysgol Ramadeg Aberpennar, links=no) and is located near the former Dyffryn Colliery.

Teaching

Mountain Ash Comprehensive School offers a range of subjects. Subjects that are taught at the school include: English, Cymraeg (Welsh), Science, Maths, Art, Music, Physical Education (PE), Information Communications Technology (ICT), Religious Studies (RS), Geography, History, French, Drama, Business Studies, Design Technology (which includes: Wood work, Home Economics, Engineering, Textiles), Hospitality, Vocational Studies. A high proportion of the pupils move on to Sixth Form, college or other training organisations.

Catchment area

The school's catchment area includes: A few pupils come from further away, including from

Aberaman Aberaman is a village near Aberdare in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. It was heavily dependent on the coal industry and the population, as a result, grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Most of the industry has now ...

Abercwmboi Abercwmboi is a village in the Welsh county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, United Kingdom. Location Abercwmboi is one of the last remaining villages in the Cynon Valley. It has retained its identity and not been developed as have many ...

and

Cwmbach Cwmbach is a village and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) near Aberdare, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Cwmbach means 'Little Valley' in Welsh language, Welsh (Cwm = valley, Bach = little). Cwmbach has a popul ...

. The main feeder primary schools are:

History

The school was founded as Mountain Ash County School in 1907, which was later known as Mountain Ash Grammar School ( cy, Ysgol Ramadeg Aberpennar, links=no). From 1926 until 1983 the school was based in Dyffryn House, the former home of

Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare, (16 April 1815 – 25 February 1895), was a British Liberal Party politician, who served in government most notably as Home Secretary (1868–1873) and as Lord President of the Council. Background and ...

(1815–1895). The house was found to be unsafe and was demolished; the current school is on the same site.

Selective education A selective school is a school that admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems and is the opposite of a comprehensive school, which accepts all s ...

was abolished in the area in 1966, when the school became Mountain Ash Comprehensive School. In 2019, five pupils won international travel scholarships: two to build a school in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

, India, two to explore in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, Canada and one to visit the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

in the USA.

School mottos

The motto on the school's crest is ', which is Welsh for "The Root of Nobility Lies in Education". The school also uses "Every Child Will Succeed" ( cy, links=no, Bydd Pob Plentyn Yn Llwyddo).

Community

The school is a community school and takes that role very seriously. The school's aim is to be a place of learning and enjoyment not only for the students but for the wider community as well. Mountain Ash Comprehensive School is open for business from 8.00 in the morning through to 9.30 at night. Many national and local groups and organisations use Mountain Ash Comprehensive School's facilities. The

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

base their Welsh for Adults provision at the school, and many local sporting clubs use the school's gym and barn facilities. The school runs tea dances for the elderly and organise many courses from the school during the holiday periods. The school houses a community room which is home to E3, 5×60, On Track, and other specialist community workers. The school has developed developing the Mountain Ash Partnership to support local organisations working with young people in this area to work together constructively.

Cynon Valley 16+ Consortium

The school is a member of the

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of th ...

16+ Consortium which combines the sixth-form teaching resources of several local schools. These schools have approximately 350 sixth-form students, most of whom travel between the schools for tuition. The schools have a common sixth form timetable and a common registration and assessment management information system. The students have access to a full sixth form curriculum to include a total of approximately 44 subjects which include traditional AS Level, A2 level and

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

courses, and vocational BTEC, OCR and

Key Skills The Key Skills Qualification is a frequently required component of 14-20 education in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The aim of Key Skills is to encourage learners to develop and demonstrate their skills as well as learn how to select and ap ...

courses. Some of the vocational courses are taught at

Coleg y Cymoedd Coleg y Cymoedd (English: ''College of The Valleys'') is a further education college located at four main campuses across Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Caerphilly, Wales. Coleg y Cymoedd was formed after the merger of Coleg Morgannwg and Ystrad Mynach Co ...

's Aberdare campus and at

Merthyr Tydfil College Merthyr Tydfil College (Welsh: Y Coleg Merthyr Tudful) is a further education college located in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. From May 2006 to April 2013, it was a constituent college of the University of Glamorgan and thereafter, a college of the Unive ...

Notable former pupils

* Edmund Davies, Baron Edmund-Davies of Aberpennar (1906–1992),

law lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House ...

(senior judge), chairman of the

Aberfan Disaster Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan Disaster (the Aberfan Disaster Tribunal), chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies, was established in 1966 to inquire into the causes of and circumstances of the Aberfan disaster. The report of the tribunal ...

* Les Manfield (1915–2006), Welsh Rugby Union international, later deputy headmaster of the school *

Bruce George Bruce Thomas George (1 June 1942 – 24 February 2020) was a British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Walsall South from February 1974 until 2010. Early life George was born in Mountain Ash, Mid-Glamo ...

(1942–), former Labour MP for Walsall South * Stephen Williams (1966–), former Liberal Democrat MP for

Bristol West Bristol West is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Thangam Debbonaire of the Labour Party. It mostly covers the central and western parts of Bristol. Constituency ...

* Samantha Bowen (1986–), soldier and

paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

sitting volleyball Sitting volleyball is a form of volleyball for athletes with a disability. As opposed to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor during the game. History Sitting volleyball was inv ...

player

References

External links

School website
{{authority control Secondary schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf

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 co ...