The Cathedral School, Llandaff
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cathedral School Llandaff Schola Ecclesia Cathedralis Landavensise |
|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Llandaff Cardiff, Wales , United Kingdom |
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Church in Wales |
| Founder | John Vaughan |
| Headteacher | Steven Morris |
| Enrollment |
660 pupils (approx.) |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 4 to 16 |
| School type | Independent, co-educational & day prep school |
| School Colour(s) | Burgundy and Gold |
| Established | 1880 |
| Homepage | http://www.cathedral-school.co.uk |
The Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh prep school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff and has many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral.
Llandaff Cathedral School is probably the best secondary school in Wales, after it surpassed Howells School in the GCSE gradings for the last three years.[citation needed]
In 1880 Dean John Vaughan opened a school on Llandaff Green for the choristers of the cathedral. Unfortunately, when a German bomb hit the cathedral in 1941, the school was found unstable and unsuitable. In 1955, restoration work was finished on the Bishop's Palace, which then opened as a school. Since then, the Cathedral School has flourished, now accepting boys and girls aged 2-16.
The link with the cathedral has held strong and now there is not only a high standard boy's choir at the cathedral but a girl's choir too. Both boy and girl choristers have done prestigious work in the Wales Millennium Centre, with Welsh National Opera, Bryn Terfel and Carlo Rizzi, respectively. Music in general at the Cathedral School is very strong with numerous pupils at Grade 8 standard. The music department is housed in the impressive state-of-the-art Jubilee building, with a full range of instuments at one's disposal. There are also specialist teachers in 20 different instruments. There are numerous school groups as well, from School Orchestra to Swing Band, from Flute Group to Senior Chamber Choir. The senior chamber choir has recently undertaken works such as Carmina Burana and the Berlioz Te Deum.
Drama has thrived only recently in the Cathedral School but is rapidly expanding. Recent performances include Me and my Girl, Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Much Ado about Nothing, The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Pupils have begun writing their own work for Gala evenings and many pupils are on the books of National Youth Theatre. The next major school production is to be The Wizard of Oz, which will be shown later this summer.
There are over twenty different sports played at the Cathedral School, with pupils at international level in cricket, badminton and squash. Internally, the Cathedral School has had great success against other schools, particularly in rugby, where they came second at the 2007 Rosslyn Park Sevens, the biggest rugby competition in the world.
[edit] History
Cathedral schools were established to educate the boys who sang treble in their choirs. There are still almost 40 schools, of which some are preparatory schools, and some are senior independent schools. The Cathedral School, Llandaff is the only surviving Anglican choir school in Wales.
Records are incomplete but we do know that a school of some kind has existed in Llandaff since the 9th Century and it carried on through the Middle Ages. In Henry VIII's reign, a great deal of Church property was disposed of and in 1553 the Manor of Llandaff was sold. This included Bryn-y-Gynnen which was the Bishop's Manor House and was situated close to the cathedral. During the reign of Elizabeth I the people of Glamorgan agreed to fund a teacher at £12 per annum.
The School survived an impoverished time during 1691, when it was called the Free School, and was housed in the Chapter House. Between 1794 and 1751, the present school, designed by John Wood of Bath, was built on the site of Bryn-y-Gynnen. It was known originally as Llandaff Court and was owned by Admiral Thomas Matthew. Admiral Matthew heartily disliked the building, comparing it to a "3 Decker" meaning a ship! In 1840 the office of Dean was revived and the Cathedral was restored by John Pritchard. The present School Chapel was designed by Iwan Christian in 1861.
[edit] Headmasters
| Years | Headmaster |
|---|---|
| 1880-1883 | Rev. C.E. Butler |
| 1883-1889 | Rev. E. Owen |
| 1889-1905 | Rev. J.E. Stevenson-More |
| 1905-1912 | Rev. P.R. Cleave |
| 1912-1919 | G.L. Robanthan R. Brice-Smith |
| 1919-1946 | T.R. Coombes |
| 1946-1957 | N.L. Westbury-Jones |
| 1957-1975 | R.J.B. Hulland |
| 1975-1983 | G.L. Hill |
| 1983-1993 | J.C. Knapp |
| 1993-1994 | D.A. Evans (Acting Head) |
| 1994-2008 | P.L. Gray |
| 2008-Present | S. Morris |
