Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari
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Ysgol Llanhari is a Welsh-medium school for 3-19 year olds situated in the village of
Llanharry Llanharry ( cy, Llanhari) is a village, Community (Wales), community (civil parish) and electoral ward in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan, Llanharry has been inextricab ...
,
Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vil ...
, Wales.


History

Llanhari is one of the Welsh medium secondary schools in the area, having opened in 1974. It followed
Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf ...
in leading the way in Welsh medium education in
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. In 1974, the school was located in the county of Mid Glamorgan and had a huge catchment area from
Tonteg Tonteg is a village around three and a half miles (6 km) from Pontypridd, south Wales. It is north west of Cardiff and four miles (6.5 km) north east of Llantrisant. The village is within the community of Lla ...
and
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in the east, all the way to
Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the So ...
and
Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...
in the west. It became popular very quickly and grew in numbers, becoming oversubscribed. Within a few years, it was decided that South Glamorgan pupils would be educated in their own county and in 1978,
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (''Taff Bank Welsh Language Comprehensive School'') is a Welsh-medium coeducational secondary school in Llandaff North, a district in the north of Cardiff, Wales; it is the largest of its kind in the country. Of the ...
opened in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. On 6 June 2011, it was publicly announced that from 2012 the school would incorporate a primary unit and become a 3-18 school. On 3 September 2012, the Primary Unit was opened and the school was formally designated a 3-18 school with the new name of Ysgol Llanhari. Mrs Catherine Webb is Assistant Head with responsibility for this unit.


Feeder schools

Llantrisant, Tonyrefail, Dolau and the primary section of Ysgol Llanhari are the current feeder schools to the secondary department at Llanhari. Before the opening of
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd is the borough of Bridgend's only Welsh medium secondary school. The school opened on 3 September 2008 on the site of the former Maesteg Comprehensive Upper School in Llangynwyd. In 2015, the school had 607 pupi ...
in 2008, the following schools also fed Llanhari with pupils from the county of Bridgend: Ysgol Y Ferch o'r Sger, Ysgol Bro Ogwr, Ysgol Cynwyd Sant and Ysgol Gymraeg Cwm Garw. These pupils are now educated at Llangynwyd, within their own county.


Headteacher

To date, Ysgol Llanhari has been led by six heads. Mrs Meinir Thomas was appointed headteacher in September 2022. Until August 2022, Mrs Rhian Phillips was the headteacher at the school. She succeeded Mr Meirion Stephens, who served as head of Llanhari from January 2008. He was preceded by Miss T Anne Morris, who took over in 2003. Prior to this, Mr Peter Griffiths, father of
Ioan Gruffudd Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the '' Hornblower'' series of television films ...
, star of such films as ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' and ''
Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * ''Wilde'' a 1997 biographical film about Oscar Wilde * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadi ...
'' served as head from 1989. The original head when the school opened in 1974 was Mr Merfyn Griffiths. Until August 2022, Ms Meinir Thomas served as deputy headteacher, with Ms Catherine Webb, Mr Geoffrey Howell, Mrs Elen George and Mr Marc Evans serving as assistant head teachers.


Heads of Year

Until August 2022, Mrs Jenna Martin-Williams was responsible for Years 7 and 8. Miss Sian Morris was the Attainment Standards Leader for Years 9 and 10 and Mr Stephen Wilshaw was the Attainment Standards Leader for Years 11, 12 and 13.


Exam results

Examination results have consistently improved since 2008. In 2012, 75% of pupils attained grades A*-C in all A-Level subjects sat, and 97% were awarded grades A-E in all subjects. At GCSE, 74.2% of all grades awarded were A*-C and 74.6% of students attained the 5 A*-C benchmark.


Notable former/current pupils

*
Mererid Hopwood Mererid Hopwood (born February 1964) is a Welsh people, Welsh poet. She became in 2001 the first woman to win the bardic chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Teaching Originally from Cardiff, Hopwood graduated with first-class honours in ...
, poet and academic - first woman ever to win the chair at the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
*
Manon Antoniazzi Manon Bonner Antoniazzi (''née'' Jenkins, previously Williams; born 15 April 1965) is a Welsh senior civil servant. Since April 2017 she has occupied the position of Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd. Previously she held the position o ...
,
Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd {{Short description, Position that relates to the Senedd Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd is a position that relates to the Senedd and the Senedd Commission. It was created in February 2007 to reflect the growing powers of the National Asse ...
*
Garnon Davies Garnon Davies is a Welsh actor, best known for his television appearances. Life Davies was born in Pyle near Bridgend, South Wales, on 16 December 1982. He attended Ysgol Y ferch O'r Sger primary school and then went on to Welsh-speaking secon ...
, actor (''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'') * Bethan Ellis Owen, actress (''
Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales and l ...
'') * Shelley Rees, actress (''
Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales and l ...
'') *
Gareth Wyatt Gareth Wyatt (born 4 March 1977 in Pontypridd) is a Welsh rugby union player who has won two caps for the Wales national rugby union team. Education A fluent Welsh speaker, Wyatt attended Ysgol Gymraeg Llantrisant (Llantrisant Welsh Primary Sc ...
, Welsh international rugby player *
Scott Gibbs Ian Scott Gibbs (born 23 January 1971), also known by the nickname of "Car Crash", is a Welsh former rugby footballer who has represented Wales and the Lions in rugby union and Wales and Great Britain in rugby league. Noted feats included his pe ...
, Welsh international rugby player *
Guto Harri Guto Harri (; born 8 July 1966) is a Welsh broadcaster, writer and strategic communications consultant. He most recently served as Downing Street Director of Communications, having been appointed by Boris Johnson in February 2022. Harri spent ...
, former BBC Chief Political Correspondent, Communications Director for the Mayor of London's administration *
Betsan Powys Betsan Powys (born 1965), is a Welsh journalist and former Editor of Programmes for BBC Radio Cymru. Biography Powys was born in Cardiff. A native Welsh speaker after being educated at Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari, Powys joined BBC Wales as a News ...
, journalist, and former head of BBC Radio Cymru * Rhys Williams, professional athlete, specialising in the 400 m hurdles * Aled Siôn Davies, Paralympian *Laura Prosser, Welsh International Rugby Player, Cardiff Blues Rugby Player and CrossFit Athlete. *
Gemma Hallett Gemma Hallett (born 24 August 1981) is a Welsh rugby union retired professional player who has played second row and number 8, earning 35 caps for Wales. Hallett started her international career making her appearance in the Welsh Students squad ...
, Welsh International Rugby Player, Cardiff Blues Rugby Player and Tech Entrepreneur. *
Paul Amos Paul Roger Amos (born 6 March 1975) is a Welsh actor and web series producer, currently based in Canada. He is most noted for his recurring role as Vex in the television series ''Lost Girl'', and as the voice of Jacob Frye in the ''Assassin's ...
, actor


References

{{authority control Primary schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf Secondary schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf Llanhari