Radyr Comprehensive School
Encyclopedia
Radyr Comprehensive School is a coeducational comprehensive school
and Sixth Form college
located in Radyr
, a suburb
of Cardiff
, Wales
, that opened in 1973. It the current roll is around 1,400 students from ages 11–18, with around 250 in the sixth form
.
The school is controlled by the Cardiff Education Authority
. In the community
, the school is considered to have a first-class reputation and for the 2000-01 school year demand for places from parents exceeded supply.
and St Cyres Secondary Modern School
in Penarth
by steam train daily, a quicker and easier option than road journeys to closer Cardiff secondary schools. The arrangement ceased when the direct rail route was closed by the Beeching Axe
. The new Radyr Comprehensive School opened in 1973. In 2004, a new state-of-the-art sports hall was built for the school, that includes a fitness suite.
In June 2007, the school site was said to be worth £25m, and it was reported by the South Wales Echo
that Cardiff Council
are considering plans to close the school as part of a reorganisation.
The school was criticised, in February 2008, after pupils aged just 13, were instructed by a teacher to write imaginary suicide notes in an English
lesson, in order to "get into the mind of a troubled teenager". This was part of a study of the non curriculum novels Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman
. However, the school is just a few miles from Bridgend
where there have been multiple teenage suicides
. The headmaster of the school stated that "the task was a 'spontaneous piece of writing' where children were asked not to turn over the page to find out what the letter said - but to write their own version of the suicide note." and "the teacher setting the text did not associate the task with news stories but rather considered it part of the textual study of a serious book dealing with serious issues in a serious way". Several relatives of the recently deceased Bridgend teenagers expressed their sorrow and regret that the unsuitable subject featured in a school project for such young children.
examinations was well above the national average, though the proportion of students achieving A level success at grades A to C in 2 or more subjects was, however, below the national average.
In summer 2007, over 95% of the school's students achieved at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades, the highest yet.
However, in the last Estyn
inspection in April 2004, the standards reached in Religious Education
at Key Stage 4
were considered unsatisfactory, but the remaining assessments ranged between satisfactory and very good, with notable performances in Art
, Music
, and Physical Education
. In 2005, the school had a major reshuffle of its Religious Education department, hiring new teachers, and a new head for the department.
team won the 2002 RAF Careers under-18 Schools Hockey Champions with a win over Chepstow School
.
In the Wales Region Hard Track Cycling
Championships, held in July 2006, a pupil won the under-14 Girls' Omnium.
in August 2008., for a packed week of events including a performance at the North American Welsh Festival and the Field Museum. The Jazz Band is run by students from 6th form with the help of the music department. The Jazz Band also has a training band which is open to students from Year 7 to Year 11. The Big Band in 2011, were invited back to Disneyland and performed again, this time on the Videopolis stage.
The school's Green Flag Committee ensure that the school remains loyal to its eco-friendly
policy, as set down in late 2008 following the granting of emergency powers to the Committee in order to deal with what was perceived as an imminent threat to the school's environmental well-being. With their main aim to aid the school in achieving the prestigious 'Eco Schools Green Flag Award', the Committee leads by example and tolerates neither litterers nor other undesirable elements. The school currently holds the silver award in the scheme, and is now aiming to achieve the award itself, which would firmly strengthen the influence of the Committee's Chairman, Adolf Barbie. In accordance with this, the green flag committee is affiliated with the Radyr and Morganstown Association. The RGFC has taken proceedings one step further recently, by taking on the duties of providing extra care to Radyr Railway Station
as part of the Arriva Trains Wales
adopt a station scheme. The Green Flag ceased production in early 2008. However, again in 2010, a subsidiary committee to the school council was set up, they will hopefully continue the work of the RGFC, into the future.
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
and Sixth Form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
located in Radyr
Radyr
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The suburb is situated in the west of the city, although it was originally a separate village, and is located around 5 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. According to 2009 estimates, the suburb has a population of 6,000...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, that opened in 1973. It the current roll is around 1,400 students from ages 11–18, with around 250 in the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
.
The school is controlled by the Cardiff Education Authority
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
. In the community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
, the school is considered to have a first-class reputation and for the 2000-01 school year demand for places from parents exceeded supply.
History
Prior to 1968 the majority of children from Radyr travelled nine miles to Penarth County Grammar SchoolStanwell School
Stanwell School is a co-educational foundation status comprehensive school and Sixth form college located in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales for children aged between eleven and eighteen...
and St Cyres Secondary Modern School
St Cyres Comprehensive School
St Cyres School is a co-educational foundation status comprehensive school and Sixth form college located in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
in Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
by steam train daily, a quicker and easier option than road journeys to closer Cardiff secondary schools. The arrangement ceased when the direct rail route was closed by the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. The new Radyr Comprehensive School opened in 1973. In 2004, a new state-of-the-art sports hall was built for the school, that includes a fitness suite.
In June 2007, the school site was said to be worth £25m, and it was reported by the South Wales Echo
South Wales Echo
The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
that Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
are considering plans to close the school as part of a reorganisation.
The school was criticised, in February 2008, after pupils aged just 13, were instructed by a teacher to write imaginary suicide notes in an English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
lesson, in order to "get into the mind of a troubled teenager". This was part of a study of the non curriculum novels Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman OBE is an author of literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethical issues. Her critically and popularly acclaimed Noughts & Crosses series uses the setting of a fictional dystopia to explore racism...
. However, the school is just a few miles from Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
where there have been multiple teenage suicides
Bridgend suicide incidents
The Bridgend suicide incidents are a set of suicides involving young people in the South Wales county borough of Bridgend. Reports speculated that a "cult suicide" was to blame...
. The headmaster of the school stated that "the task was a 'spontaneous piece of writing' where children were asked not to turn over the page to find out what the letter said - but to write their own version of the suicide note." and "the teacher setting the text did not associate the task with news stories but rather considered it part of the textual study of a serious book dealing with serious issues in a serious way". Several relatives of the recently deceased Bridgend teenagers expressed their sorrow and regret that the unsuitable subject featured in a school project for such young children.
Academic performance
The proportion of pupils who achieved five or more grades A* to C in the 2003 GCSEGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
examinations was well above the national average, though the proportion of students achieving A level success at grades A to C in 2 or more subjects was, however, below the national average.
In summer 2007, over 95% of the school's students achieved at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades, the highest yet.
However, in the last Estyn
Estyn
Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb meaning "to extend". Its mission is to achieve excellence for all in learning in Wales by providing an independent, high quality inspection and advice service to the Welsh Assembly Government and...
inspection in April 2004, the standards reached in Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
at Key Stage 4
Key Stage 4
Key Stage 4 is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other exams, in maintained schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland—normally known as Year 10 and Year 11 in England and Wales, and Year 11 and Year 12 in Northern Ireland, when pupils are...
were considered unsatisfactory, but the remaining assessments ranged between satisfactory and very good, with notable performances in Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
. In 2005, the school had a major reshuffle of its Religious Education department, hiring new teachers, and a new head for the department.
Sport
The girls' hockeyField hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
team won the 2002 RAF Careers under-18 Schools Hockey Champions with a win over Chepstow School
Chepstow School
Chepstow School is a Welsh comprehensive school , located in Chepstow, Monmouthshire and overseen by the Monmouthshire Local Education Authority....
.
In the Wales Region Hard Track Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
Championships, held in July 2006, a pupil won the under-14 Girls' Omnium.
Extra-curricular activities
The School's Big Band was invited to entertain guests at Disneyland Paris in October 2006 and on 1 March 2007.. The Band continued touring, and headed to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in August 2008., for a packed week of events including a performance at the North American Welsh Festival and the Field Museum. The Jazz Band is run by students from 6th form with the help of the music department. The Jazz Band also has a training band which is open to students from Year 7 to Year 11. The Big Band in 2011, were invited back to Disneyland and performed again, this time on the Videopolis stage.
The school's Green Flag Committee ensure that the school remains loyal to its eco-friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
policy, as set down in late 2008 following the granting of emergency powers to the Committee in order to deal with what was perceived as an imminent threat to the school's environmental well-being. With their main aim to aid the school in achieving the prestigious 'Eco Schools Green Flag Award', the Committee leads by example and tolerates neither litterers nor other undesirable elements. The school currently holds the silver award in the scheme, and is now aiming to achieve the award itself, which would firmly strengthen the influence of the Committee's Chairman, Adolf Barbie. In accordance with this, the green flag committee is affiliated with the Radyr and Morganstown Association. The RGFC has taken proceedings one step further recently, by taking on the duties of providing extra care to Radyr Railway Station
Radyr railway station
Radyr railway station is a railway station serving the Radyr area of Cardiff. It is located at the foot of the hill at the eastern edge of the village, alongside the River Taff and adjacent to the Taff Trail.-History:...
as part of the Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
adopt a station scheme. The Green Flag ceased production in early 2008. However, again in 2010, a subsidiary committee to the school council was set up, they will hopefully continue the work of the RGFC, into the future.
Notable former pupils
- Timothy BenjaminTimothy BenjaminTimothy David Benjamin is a former professional athlete from Wales. He specialised in the 400 metres, and in his teens was coached by Jock Anderson, in the same training group as Christian Malcolm...
, runner. - Jimi MistryJimi Mistry-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...
, Actor, famous for roles on EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, The Guru and East Is EastEast is East (film)East Is East is a 1999 British black comedy/drama film, written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in a British household of mixed-ethnicity, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Lancashire, in 1971...
. - Paul DuddridgePaul DuddridgePaul Duddridge is a writer, theatrical agent, TV producer and TV presenter born in Cardiff Wales and was educated at Radyr Comprehensive School....
, writer, producer/director. Creator of Director's CommentaryDirector's CommentaryDirectors Commentary was a comedy television series created and written by Paul Duddridge and produced by Miles Ross. It was made by Jones The Film for ITV and broadcast in 2004....
, Annually RetentiveRob Brydon's Annually RetentiveRob Brydon's Annually Retentive is a British television show, first aired on BBC Three in July 2006. Devised by Paul Duddridge, it concerns the making of a comedy panel game show called Annually Retentive, themed around historical events, and hosted by Welsh comedian Rob Brydon...
, The Keith Barret ShowThe Keith Barret ShowThe Keith Barret Show is a spoof BBC chat show hosted by Keith Barret who interviews celebrity couples in the hope of finding the secret to a successful marriage . It was devised by Paul Duddridge and co written with Rob Brydon...
. - Lucie Jones, West End Star, ModelModel (person)A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and X Factor UKThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
2009 final twelve contestant and singer.