Ysgol Bro Gwaun
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Ysgol Bro Gwaun
| image = Ysgol Bro Gwaun - geograph.org.uk - 528670.jpg
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| motto = {{langx|cy|Angori doeth, dyfodol disglair}}
(Anchor wise, bright future)
| established =
| type = Comprehensive school
| religious_affiliation =
| president =
| head_label =
| head = Paul Edwards
| r_head_label =
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| address = Heol Dyfed
| city = Fishguard
| county = Pembrokeshire
| country = Wales
| postcode = SA65 9DT
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| staff =
| gender = Coeducational
| lower_age = 11
| upper_age = 17
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| website = https://ysgolbrogwaun.com/
}}
Ysgol Bro Gwaun (formerly Fishguard County Secondary School) is a secondary comprehensive school in the town of Fishguard in north Pembrokeshire. It is a predominantly English-medium school with significant use of Welsh,{{cite web|title=Ysgol Bro Gwaun|url=http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/School/6684031?lang=en|website=Welsh Government: My Local School|access-date=23 Dec 2017}} and has a catchment area covering the towns of Fishguard and Goodwick, the villages of Scleddau, Letterston and Newport and the surrounding areas including the Gwaun valley.
The school was built in the 1960s because the old building (now demolished for Ysgol Glannau Gwaun) was too small. It was designed, like Sir Thomas Picton School, to be a cold war hospital in case of war.
The school typically has around 500 pupils and 50 members of teaching staff.
School Redevelopment
In November 2017, a £10.9 million extension (funded jointly by the Welsh Government and Pembrokeshire County Council as part of the 21st Century Schools Programme) was officially opened.{{cite web|title=Merit shield winners, governors and guests take a first look at the new Ysgol Bro Gwaun, Fishguard|url=http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/15662825.First_look_at_new_school_follows_awards/|website=Western Telegraph|access-date=21 Dec 2017}} The extension - which involved the demolition of a significant amount of the previous building - provides new classrooms, designated provision for bilingual Special Educational Needs and new community facilities.{{cite web|title=Fishguard: Ceremony held for Ysgol Bro Gwaun extension|url=http://pembrokeshire-herald.com/32940/fishguard-ceremony-held-for-ysgol-bro-gwaun-extension/|website=Pembrokeshire Herald|access-date=21 Dec 2017}}
Academic Performance
From 2011 to 2016, the school saw a large increase in the percentage of students obtaining at least 5 GCSE A*-C grades - rising from 62.4% in 2011 to 90.4% in 2016,{{cite web|title=Ysgol Bro Gwaun|url=http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/School/6684031?lang=en|website=Welsh Government: My Local Schools|access-date=23 Dec 2017}} thus significantly outperforming the England and Wales average of 66.6% (2016).{{cite web|title=A*-C grades in dramatic decline as GCSE results are published|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/aug/25/gcse-results-dramatic-decline-grades|website=The Guardian|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}
The school's Science results are exceptionally strong with more than 95% of students obtaining at least a C grade pass at GCSE, far exceeding the Welsh national average of 75.6%.{{cite web|title=Examination Results of Wales 2016-2017|url=http://gov.wales/docs/statistics/2017/171206-examination-results-2016-17-en.pdf|website=Welsh Government: Statistics and Research|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}
The school's most recent monitoring report from Estyn (the Welsh Education Inspectorate) in October 2016 stated the school was showing "strong progress", making "significant improvements" across the board.{{cite web|title=Estyn Monitoring Report October 2016|url=https://www.estyn.gov.wales/sites/default/files/documents/FollowUpReport-%20Ysgol%20Bro%20Gwaun%20October%202016.pdf|website=Welsh Government: Estyn|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}
Competitions and Olympiads
The school regularly fields a team in the national Biology Challenge and British Biology Olympiad (both organised by the Institute of Biology), and has won at least one Gold award on an annual basis.{{cite web|title=Ysgol Bro Gwaun's Biology Brilliance|url=http://www.countyecho.co.uk/article.cfm?id=111644&headline=Ysgol%20Bro%20Gwaun%27s%20biology%20brilliance§ionIs=news&searchyear=2017|website=The County Echo|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}{{cite web|title=Ysgol Bro Gwaun Pupils Enjoy Science Success|url=http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/localnews/10667729.Ysgol_Bro_Gwaun_pupils_enjoy_science_success/|website=The Western Telegraph|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}{{cite web|title=Pupils take part in Biology Challenge|url=https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/7462/pupils-part-biology-challenge/|website=The Pembrokeshire Herald|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}
In 2014, Science teacher Robert Woodman won the 'Teachers of Physics' award by the Institute of Physics, an annual award covering the whole of the UK.{{cite web|title=Exceptional Physics Teacher Honoured|url=http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/11546212.Exceptional_physics_teacher_honoured/|website=The Western Telegraph|access-date=23 Dec 2017}}
Notable former pupils
- Mark Delaney (footballer) - ex-professional football player for Cardiff City and Aston Villa
- Meri Huws - Welsh Language Commissioner
- Melbourne Johns - WWII munitions factory worker whose retrieval mission to obtain crucial machinery was made into the film The Foreman Went to France
- Major Francis Jones - Historian and Wales Herald Extraordinary (1963–1993)
- Sue Jones-Davies - actress and singer
- Very Reverend Jonathan Lean - Dean of St. David's Cathedral (2009–2017)
- Josh Macleod - professional Welsh Rugby Union player (Scarlets)
- Cerys Matthews - singer, radio presenter and co-founding member of Catatonia (band){{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/cerys-matthews-i-dont-play-public-school-pop-stars-on-my-bbc-6-music-show/|title=Cerys Matthews: ‘I don’t play public school pop stars on my BBC 6 Music show’|first=Adam|last=Sherwin|date=14 September 2018|website=inews.co.uk}}
- Thomas James Stretch - Reverend involved in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945
Notable former staff
- David John Williams - Co-founder of Plaid Cymru and prominent Welsh-language writer was an English and PE teacher at the school 1919–1936, and Welsh Master 1937–1945.{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Welsh Biography; Williams, David John|url=https://biography.wales/article/s2-WILL-JOH-1885|access-date=21 Dec 2017}}
- Glenys Cour - Artist and member of The Welsh Group taught at the school in the 1940s{{cite web|title=Glenys Cour The Blue Room|url=http://www.glenyscour.co.uk/wakelin.html|access-date=21 Dec 2017}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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{{Schools in Pembrokeshire}}
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