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Schooling in Early Whitchurch

The first documented school in Whitchurch was on Old Church Road, opposite the now defunct St Mary's Church, adjacent to the Fox and Hounds Public House. Known as 'the Fox school-room', it was started in the nineteenth century, and was joined by a few small privately run establishments to cater for the village's more affluent residents. The first half of the twentieth century saw the rapid growth of Whitchurch as a suburb of Cardiff, and with this growth came the need for more extensive educational provision.

Rapid Growth of Whitchurch

Under the terms of the Elementary Education Acts, Glamorgan County Council established the Whitchurch Elementary School on Glan-y-Nant Road (which later became Eglwys Newydd Primary and now Ysgol Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd).

The decision to erect a new grammar school was made in 1934 and a site of 21 acres was acquired adjacent to St Mary's Church. Eventually, the sum of £32,000 was secured (£2,440,000 at 2022 prices) from the Board of Education to build a school for 320 boy and girl pupils. The school was opened on the 17th November 1937 with Mr A J Richard MA as the headmaster. On the 5th June 1939 Glamorgan’s Education Committee formally opened its new non-selective Senior Mixed School on Glan-y-Nant Terrace, opening with 419 pupils.

The school has historic links to St Mary's Church of Whitchurch, which is located adjacent to Upper School, former Grammar School. It is believed the school was built on an area of land owned by the church, along with the Victorian properties on Church Road.

During the War

With both schools open before the War, their construction was not impaired by any threat of air raids. Records state that on the 11th September 1939, the Art Room in Whitchurch County Secondary School is being used to store Glamorgan County Hall records and then on the 12th January 'The County Hall records have been transferred from the Art to the Craft Room so that the larger room may be used for educational purposes'. On the 19th January, `The extreme cold has caused the water supply to freeze’ wrote the Head of Whitchurch County Secondary School, `Water for the toilets is being carried from the brook by the caretaker. Water for midday meals was obtained from the nearest house.

The school had to close several times to prepare for the reception of many evacuees. Evacuated children and the local students would alternate the Double Shift system on a weekly basis. This means the Whitchurch pupils would attend in the mornings for one week and then afternoons the next and vice versa.' The 6th January 1941 saw schooling unable to resume owing to damage to the building by an enemy bomb which landed in the field north of the school on the evening of Thursday January 2nd. A naval bomb disposal squad attempted to render the bomb harmless, but at 5.15pm on the Saturday it exploded. The Director of Education authorised the closure of the school until further notice. It was reopened on the 20th although workmen were still repairing the Domestic Science Room and the Gymnasium.

To read more about Cardiff schools during the War, click here.

Ordinance Survey Maps

Various Ordinance Survey maps are available via the National Library of Scotland and below are a some archived from Whitchurch, with Upper School highlighed with a burgundy logo, and Lower School with blue. To view the map in fullscreen, please click on the preview image.

1915-1916 (Published 1922) - Ordinance Survey

This map shows (Old) St Mary's Church having been demolished in 1902 due to its absence, and an array of Victorian properties along Church Road, Heol Don, and Penlline Road. Both schools were yet to be built.

1938 (Published 1947) - Ordinance Survey

Whitchurch Grammar School/Upper School (built 1937) is seen next to St Mary's Church on Penlline Road. Whitchurch County Secondary School/Lower School (built 1939) is also shown at Glan-Y-Nant Terrace, possibly mapped during construction. The suburb has also seen a drastic increase in housing and development.

Era of Comprehensives

The current Whitchurch High School came into being in 1968, following the government circular of 1965, which replaced the existing tripartite system with comprehensive education. The new comprehensive school was created through a merger of the now well-established Whitchurch Grammar School, and Whitchurch County Secondary School, which had become a secondary modern school under the Butler Acts.

The former Grammar School building became the Upper School, while the Secondary Modern became the Lower School. Like its predecessors, the school was co-educational and catered for a broad catchment area centred on the suburbs of Whitchurch, Rhiwbina and Tongwynlais in the northern part of Cardiff. The comprehensive school was initially run by Cardiff County Borough until the local government reform of 1974, which included Whitchurch in the new county of South Glamorgan. In 1996, the school reverted to Cardiff County Council, which became a unitary authority. Since merging both sites have seen extensive expansion, although both retain the original buildings as well as extensive playing fields.

In September 2011, the school was granted foundation status by the Welsh Assembly, following controversy over the local authority's proposals to reduce the school's intake.