Aberdare Boys’ Grammar School

In the mid-2000s when the population of the Cwmdare School was showing signs of falling, the Governors took steps to freshen up the image of the school. One of the ideas was to make a change that would enable the school to become co-educational and possibly attract a larger intake. In order to facilitate this the Governors proposed that the name of the school should change, and that the word “Boys” in the name be dropped. The Local Education Authority allowed the name change but did not permit the proposal for a mixed intake, probably because plans for the substantial reorganisation of secondary education in the upper Cynon valley were already being formulated at County level.

Of course, co-education did come about in 2014, but in the new Aberdare Community School. This new school brought about the closure of the Aberdare Boys’ School, Aberdare Girls’ School, in Plasdraw & the Gadlys, and Blaengwawr Comprehensive School — the last named already being co-educational.

The ceremony was combined with an opportunity to present awards for citizenship and Key Skills. The names of the boys receiving the awards are on page 3 of the programme.