Porth County Community School is a secondary school located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The school was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two leading grammar schools, Porth County Girls and Porth County Boys, along with the amalgamation of the Secondary Modern Schools of Llwyncelyn, Trealaw and Ynyshir. After attending primary school, children from Porth are most likely to attend this school for their secondary school education. Children of various ages attend the school, ranging from 11–18 years old.HistoryThe origins of the school dates back to the creation of ‘Porth Higher Elementary School’ in 1904. The school catered for 240 pupils under the headmaster ship of John Stradling Grant. The school wasn’t opened to the public until January 19, 1905. After a tour of the school, the ceremony was performed by Mr W. E. Thomas (the chairman of the ‘Rhondda Education Committee’) in the absence of Mr W. G. Howell (the ‘Director of Education’) due to ill-health. At the time the vast majority of children in the Rhondda were born into poverty. There was a great deal of controversy over providing further education in the Rhondda. Tom John (editor of the ‘Rhondda Leader’ and the first Welshman to become president of the ‘National Union of Teachers’) said that “there was a laborious effort made by several speakers at the meeting to dissipate the fear that this splendid institution would work serious opposition and injury to the county school nearby”. The school was built to cater for pupils between the ages of ten and fifteen years-old, but there were many problems from the start. From as late as 1915, school inspectors found students aged nineteen to still be attending the institution.
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