Ruabon Grammar School was situated in

Ruabon Ruabon (; ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. I ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

in north-east

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 ...

. It provided a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

education to boys in the parishes of Ruabon and Erbistock. Ruabon Grammar School for Boys became a Denbighshire County secondary school in 1894 and new buildings, including classrooms and laboratories were added in 1896, with further major building works taking place in the 1920s and 1940s. The school's Latin motto was ''Absque Labore Nihil'' (). Pupils are divided into four houses: ''Madog''; ''Cynwrig''; ''Rhuddallt'' and ''Wynnstay''.

Founding

It was generally assumed that the school was founded in 1575 as this was the date which appeared on the school badge. However, this date is uncertain, as the early school records were completely destroyed in 1858 during the catastrophic fire which gutted

Wynnstay Wynnstay is a country house within an important landscaped park 1.3 km (0.75 miles) south-east of Ruabon, near Wrexham, Wales. Wynnstay, previously Watstay, is a famous estate and the family seat of the Williams-Wynn baronets. The house wa ...

, where the records were being kept at the time. Today a date of 1618 is thought to be more accurate. Records show that Thomas Ednyfed (or Nevitt), a Welshman who had made his fortune as a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

became one of the first benefactors of the school. The school developed as a boys'

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

. The school originally stood at the top of Ysgoldy Hill, opposite the church, but in 1858 moved to a new site on the Penycae road between Mill Farm and

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke () is a large linear Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork that roughly follows the England–Wales border, border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa of Mercia, Offa, the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon king of Mer ...

. This new building had classrooms and a kitchen downstairs with

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

upstairs. Famous ex-pupils of Ruabon Boys' Grammar School include: * Malcolm Leslie Bishop, King's Counsel and former Labour candidate for Bath * W.D. Caroe, architect * Meredith Edwards, actor * Nigel Edwards, footballer * Tom Ellis, Member of Parliament ( Labour) for Wrexham from 1970 to 1983 (but defected to the SDP in 1981) * Brian Griffiths, footballer *

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1856 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

, writer * Isaac Daniel Hooson, poet and novelist *

Arwel Hughes Arwel Hughes OBE (25 August 1909 – 23 September 1988) was a Wales, Welsh orchestral conducting, conductor and composer. Life and career Hughes was born in Rhosllannerchrugog near Wrexham and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School and at ...

, composer and conductor * David Jones, Member of Parliament (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

) for Clwyd West and former

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales (), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Ki ...

* James Idwal Jones, Member of Parliament ( Labour) for Wrexham from 1955 to 1970 * Thomas William Jones (later Lord Maelor), Member of Parliament ( Labour) for

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

from 1951 to 1966 *

Llewelyn Kenrick Samuel Llewelyn Kenrick (9 June 1847 – 29 May 1933) was a Welsh solicitor who became the founder of the Football Association of Wales and organised the first Wales national football team, Welsh international football match against Scotland nati ...

, the 'father' of Welsh football.

Girls' school

In 1922 a secondary school for girls, later to be known as the Ruabon Grammar School for Girls, was built adjacent to the boys' school. This was housed in temporary wooden buildings and remained so until a new school was opened, opposite the boys' school, in 1962. The school's Welsh motto was ''Gorau Trysor Enw Da'' (). The pupils were divided into three houses, Offa (green badge) Wynnstay (red badge) and Madoc (yellow badge.) In 1967 the Ruabon Boys' Grammar School and the Ruabon Girls' Grammar School amalgamated to form the present

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 ...

, Ysgol Rhiwabon. This school is now housed in the buildings of the former girls' grammar school. The site of the former boys' grammar school has been redeveloped for housing with some of the original buildings being conserved.

Sources

* A. N. Palmer, "The History of the Parish of Ruabon" * T. W. Pritchard, "Remembering Ruabon - Cofio Rhiwabon", 2000 * Dennis W Gilpin, "Ruabon Boys Grammar School - A collection of pictures", 1999 {{authority control Defunct schools in Wrexham County Borough Grammar schools in Wales Ruabon