Ysgol y Gwendraeth was a secondary

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 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 restricted on the basis ...

for pupils aged 11 to 18 in the

Gwendraeth Valley The River Gwendraeth () is a river in Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It has two almost equal branches that have their confluence in their joint estuary at Carmarthen Bay. The Gwendraeth Fawr ('large Gwendraeth' in English language, English) is ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Situated in the village of Drefach, it had 312 pupils in 2012. The School was effectively closed in 2013 when it was merged with Ysgol Maes Yr Yrfa and teaching at the Ysgol y Gwendraeth site in Drefach ceased. This merger eventually led to Ysgol Maes Y Gwendraeth. The school was originally a Grammar School known as Gwendraeth Grammar School, or Gwendraeth Valley Grammar School. The original school building was built in 1927. The school promoted the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

Welsh history The history of what is now Wales () begins with evidence of a Neanderthal presence from at least 230,000 years ago, while ''Homo sapiens'' arrived by about 31,000 BC. However, continuous habitation by modern humans dates from the period after ...

, and

Welsh culture The culture of Wales encompasses the Welsh language, customs, Traditional festival days of Wales, festivals, Music of Wales, music, Welsh art, art, Welsh cuisine, cuisine, Welsh mythology, mythology, History of Wales, history, and Politics of ...

. Some subjects were available to be taught in the

if requested; otherwise the lessons were taught in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

only. There was also a

Sixth Form College A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

and the school additionally housed the Garreglwyd

Autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

Unit and Annex. The majority of the pupils and staff could speak Welsh. Many staff members lived in or near the valley and were thus naturally immersed in all aspects of the life of the community. Ysgol Y Gwendraeth earned the 2001-2002 Schools Curriculum Award. The feeder

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s were Category A schools, where Welsh is the language spoken and taught up to the age of seven and where

is actively promoted with the assistance of Menter Cwm Gwendraeth, which promotes Welsh and Welsh culture and history.

Former Pupils

Lisa Lazarus Lisa Lazarus (born 1987 or 1988) is a British actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe UK 2008 and represented her country at Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam but unplaced. Biography Lazarus was born in Llane ...

- Model * Nic Cudd,

Hugh Gustafson Hugh Gustafson (born 8 July 1987) is a Welsh rugby union player. A prop forward or hooker, he currently plays his club rugby for Pontypool RFC Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which p ...

and

Darren Allinson Darren Allinson (born 13 November 1987), a Welsh professional rugby union player. Allinson formerly played for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premie ...

- Professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

players. * Jonathan Davies - Former Welsh rugby fly half and current television rugby pundit. *

Carwyn James Carwyn Rees James (2 November 1929 – 10 January 1983) was a Welsh rugby union player and coach. He won two Wales national rugby union team, Welsh international caps but is most famous for his coaching achievements with Llanelli RFC, Llanelli, t ...

- Famous for his

coaching achievements for both

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

and the British Lions.

References

External links

School website
{{authority control Secondary schools in Carmarthenshire