60Adlais Elfed EchoYour voice, heard!

Spring 2014 Fourth edition Written by the students, for the students.

Inside this issue... ��Ysgol Uwchradd Elfed High School, Buckley CH7 3HQ 01244 550217 www.elfedhs.co.uk

�By Aaron Rossall-Rixon

60th Anniversary Special EditionCelebrating 60 years of learning at Elfed High School

Key Stage 4 students helped to deliver the Elfed Memorial ServiceYear 11 students searched the archives with the Rt. Hon. Lord Jones

Students and communitycommemorate school’s namesakeTO CELEBRATE the life of Dr. Howell Elvet Lewis (Elfed), students andmembers of the local community attended a Memorial Service on 10thDecember 2013.

The students of Elfed and members of the community, including ReverendMartin Batchelor, students of Southdown and Mountain Lane PrimarySchools, listened intently in Theatr Elfed and learned about Dr. Howell ElvetLewis. The service was led by Headteacher, Mrs Rosemary Jones, anddelivered by students of Years 10 and 11.

Students learned that Elfed was born on 14th April 1860 and died sixtyyears ago, in 1953, less than a month before the school opened in January1954. Elfed was an independent Minister, a poet and a hymn writer. Hemoved to Buckley in 1880 when he became Minister at St. John’sCongregational Chapel. He lived just across from Elfed High School, inHawkesbury Place, and the house still stands today. He wrote many hymns,despite losing his sight.

Students performed two of Elfed’s hymnsat the Memorial Service. Erin Sunderlandsang “Lord of Light, Your nameOutshineth” and Emilie Davies sang“Cofia’n Gwlad, Benllywydd Tirion.”Reverend Martin Batchelor also spoke ofElfed’s life and legacy at the service,sharing his own research of Elfed’s lifeand what Elfed means to him.

The members of the community sharedrefreshments and memories of their timeat Elfed following the service. After theMemorial Service, it became evident asto why the school is named after thisamazing man.

The Memorial Service was just the beginning of a number of celebrationscommemorating sixty years of learning at Elfed High School.

Elfed60

Dr. Howell Elvet Lewis: 14th April1860 – 10th December 1953

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ELFED’S 60th Anniversary Presentation Evening was a night tocelebrate students and their incredible achievements.

The event featured a spectacular list of Guests of Honour: Mr I. Budd,Cllr. Neville Phillips OBE, Mrs D. Sainsbury, Mr D. Ellis, Mr I. Collins andMr K. Grandfield. The event not only celebrated the students’achievements but also the 60th Anniversary of Elfed High School. The Guests of Honour welcomed current and former students of Elfed toreceive their awards. Young people were rewarded with Subject Awardsfor Key Stages 3, 4 and 5, G.C.S.E. certificates, School Colours awardsand “Be the best you can be” awards. There were also performances from current students including ErinSunderland, Year 11, who sang Elfed’s hymn “Lord of Light, Your NameOutshineth” and Josh Owens, Year 10, accompanied by his guitar, sangEd Sheeran’s “Small Bump.”The positive atmosphere of the Presentation Evening was immense. Itwas fantastic to see students receiving awards and former studentsspeaking about their experiences whilst at Elfed. A comment made by aschool inspector, D. T. I. Davies, in 1963 was highlighted during theevening. His words are as relevant today as they were over fifty yearsago: “Elfed School is to be commended on the way it gives a clear sense ofbelonging. The school has not been planted in Buckley by people fromoutside. It is more like an oak tree that has grown in the soil made richand fertile by the hopes and aspirations of a whole community. Theschool can be proud of being a happy one. It is only when children arehappy that they are fit to start learning and expressing themselves.”

Ysgol Uwchradd Elfed High School, Buckley CH7 3HQ 01244 550217 - www.elfedhs.co.uk

Elfed alumni present awards

BETWEEN the 5th January 1954 and 2014, teaching and the standardof education at Elfed has changed and improved greatly.

When the school first opened,there were 425 studentsenrolled. On the old schoolreports, which were on displayat the Open Afternoon, there is asection in which teachers wouldwrite the class positions of thestudents. This would push thestudents to try and move upwithin their class. Today, there isno position on the reports asstudents are not compared witheach other.Lessons were very different aswell. There were a lot morelessons in a day so lessons weremuch shorter. In the 1950s,there were gender specificsubjects. There were subjectssuch as Metalwork, Woodworkand Art for the boys andDomestic Science, Needleworkand Typewriting for the girls.

There are no subjects that are unavailable to a specific gender today; anystudent, boy or girl, can take the subjects that Elfed High School has tooffer.All students had to attend lessons in Maths and English throughout the sixtyyears that Elfed has been open, but the students did not have to stay totake exams. If they found a job, or got a job offer, they were able to leave, atfifteen years of age, to go to work. This could have happened before examshad started which meant they would have left school without anyqualifications. 2014’s Year 11 stays in education until they finish the year.One thing that has stayed the same at Elfed is the clubs which are availableto students. There was always a range of sports activities such as netball,football, rugby and hockey. Elfed still has excellent teams in each of thesesports. Also, music remains as an extracurricular activity, although today themusic and instruments that students play are more modern.Drama productions performed by students in the past included Pride andPrejudice, Oliver and Grease. Today, Elfed Youth Theatre prefersproductions which have been devised by the students.New ways of supporting students have replaced outdated methods ofcorrection. Instead of punishing students, methods today help make surethat the students learn from any mistakes and do not make the same erroragain.Overall, teaching was good in 1954 but it is excellent now, and it is alwayschanging and improving. All students at Elfed High School are lucky to haveaccess to such outstanding education and a dedicated staff to teach them.Elfed High School has always had “Excellent Learning For Every Day.”

By Holly Maguire

Mr Brian Roberts’ report from 1954 showshow subjects that are available havechanged over the decades

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Education at Elfed

Mr I. Collins, Mr D. Ellis, Mr I. Budd and Mr K. Grandfield meet in theDining Room for light refreshments after presenting awards

Three generations of Elfedians: Mrs D. Salisburywith her mother and daughter By Adam Hughes

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Excellent Eisteddfod for Elfed

Eisteddfod competition winners from Years 7 and 8

Runners up for theDance Competitionfrom 7L

Year 8students take on theMaths Challenge

Winners of the Year 7Dance Competitionfrom 7L

Winner of the InstrumentalCompetition from 7L

Eisteddfod Judges with Year 7 and 8winners and the Short StoryCompetition winner

THIS year, Elfed High School students celebrated an exciting 60thAnniversary Eisteddfod Elfed.Students in Years 7 and 8 participated in a brilliant Eisteddfod, showingtheir talent across the curriculum. Students received the followingawards:

One of the highlights of Eisteddfod Elfed was the Chairing Ceremonywhich followed the announcement of the winner of the English ShortStory Competition. Year 7 student, Ellena Profit, wrote an excellent storyand was cloaked before being seated in the new Eisteddfod Chair whichwas kindly donated by relatives of Elfed’s first Senior Mistress, MissBeatrice Barker. Overall, Eisteddfod Elfed was a spectacular event. It demonstrated whatstudents can do and how talented they are. It was also a brilliant chanceto celebrate the culture of Wales.

By Poppy Millward Geography

History

Religious Studies

Instrumental

Art

Maths Challenge

French singing /French posters

Reciting Welshpoetry

Dancing

Choir

Dylan Davies, 7L

Luke Jones, AbbeyYoung and LailaRees, 7L

Laila Rees, 7L

Abbey Young, 7L

Caitlin Hewitt, 7L

Charlotte Shone, 7Dand Rhys Piercy, 7F

Tutor Group 7F

Tutor Group 7L

Tutor Group 7L

Tutor Group 7E

Molly Webster, 8D

Dian Jones, 8E

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James Wilcock, 8F

Tutor Group 8E

Molly Webster, 8D

Tutor Group 8L

Tutor Group 8E

Tutor Group 8E

Year 7 winner(s)Competition Year 8 winner(s)

Ysgol Uwchradd Elfed High School, Buckley CH7 3HQ 01244 550217 - www.elfedhs.co.uk

OPEN Afternoon was packed full of guests celebrating the 60th Anniversary ofElfed, and it was a huge success.

Guests tucked into cake and biscuits in the Dining Hall, reminisced with classmatesin the library, watched fifties-style dancing in the Drama Studio and studentssurveyed guests on how they used to spend their Saturday nights. They could alsohave a professional photograph taken in the Meeting Room.

Visitors were thoroughly pleased with the turnout and said it was a great experience.Many of Buckley’s esteemed residents were seen enjoying the celebrations andbrowsing through memorabilia in the library, where tables were set out with historicalschool items that had been sorted by decade. Noteworthy items included newsarticles, pictures, trophies, plaques and awards received by the school or its pupils.The majority of attendants gathered in the library to meet with old school friends andteachers and tried to find themselves in the record books.

Mr Brian Roberts, one of the first students to attend the school in 1954, the date theschool opened, was a student who inspired Elfed’s school uniform. When thinkingback to his school days, he commented: “My favourite memory of Elfed is when Ibecame a prefect.

“My favourite teacher was Alan Davies, who taught us Metal Work and TechnicalDrawing.” Mr Roberts also noted that today’s classes are much smaller than theyused to be.

Mrs Jean Wynne, an ex-teacher of English at Elfed, said: “My best memory of Elfed isjust how everybody joined in.” Jean first started teaching at the school in 1964 andoccasionally returns as a supply teacher.

Overall, the afternoon was amazingly successful, with a huge number of attendantsvisiting the school to celebrate the anniversary. Guests enjoyed quality time with oldfriends and definitely loved the experience.

Here are some pictures from the exhibition and the event.

Open Afternoon at Elfed High School

The Thwarting of BaronBolligrew performance in 1978

Elfed’s hockey team of 1964

Elfed’s cast of Pride and Prejudice 1962

Mrs Waterhouse presents the Eisteddfod shieldto Ellen Millington and Ken Davies in 1957

Staff’s 1980 production of The Importance of Being Earnest

Christmas celebrations in 1993

Elfed celebrates sixty years of education

Then...from theexhibition

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�By Joshua Gonzalez

Open Afternoon at Elfed High School

Generations of Elfedians: a family portrait

Two generations of Elfedians

The class of 1954

Brian Roberts, one of Elfed’s firststudents, returned to the school toreminisce

Headteacher, MrsJones, welcomed 3generations of Elfediansto Open Afternoon.

and now...

Year 7 students entertained guests withfifties-style dancing

Ysgol Uwchradd Elfed High School, Buckley CH7 3HQ 01244 550217 - www.elfedhs.co.uk4

YSGOL Mynydd Isa primary reporters havebeen looking into the 100 years of history oftheir school for the Adlais Elfed Echo.The school opened in 1914 and this year will bethe one hundredth year of the school. There aretwo sites; the Infants and the Juniors but theInfants site has been open slightly longer. Whenthe school first opened, only thirty pupils attended.Ysgol Mynydd Isa started off with only twoclassrooms and one hall. Now it has thirteenclassrooms and one large hall. The school hasbeen extended four times. The latest extensionwas in 2006. Facilities in 1914 were very basicwhereas now, as a result of more funding, theschool is equipped with projectors, computers,whiteboards and a better playground.The uniform has changed many times, the latestbeing in 2012. When the school first opened therewas no formal uniform; girls wore dresses andboys wore shirts and ties whereas now childrenwear black trousers, white polo shirts and a redjumper. The logo has also changed; DawnRobertson designed the most recent logo in 2012.Interesting facts about Ysgol Mynydd Isa : � In 1939, evacuees that were trying to avoid thewar, came to the school from Liverpool

� In 1978, someone broke into the school but thecaretaker took control

� In 1980 there were 287 pupils in the school andnow there are 548 pupils

� On World Book Day, in 2000, the pupils dressedup to raise money for the Mozambique FloodFund

� Some of the children planted a time capsule onFriday 28th of April, 2006 at 10 am and it will beopened in one hundred years time.

Teacher, Mrs O’Donnel-Roberts, thoroughly enjoyseducating the pupils. She said: “My proudestmoment of being a teacher here was seeing myfirst Year 3 class doing their leaving service as Year6s, all grown up and ready to move to secondaryeducation.“It always makes me feel emotional when anychildren that I have taught leave our school. I enjoyhearing about their life decisions they have madeand if they are in work or further education.”

By Ffion Jones, Tom Sturt and Tiegan Halfpenny.

Primary School News!

Ten decades of topeducation at YsgolMynydd Isa

DRURY Primary School reporters havebeen looking into the history of theirschool.

Drury Primary School will celebrate fortyyears soon, as it opened on the 27th March1974, with just sixty pupils.

Teaching and learning has changedmassively over the years at Drury PrimarySchool. When the school first opened, therewere seven members of staff and only threeteachers. Many years ago, there was oneinteractive whiteboard that had to bewheeled across to all of the classrooms.Now, the school is lucky enough to have onein each classroom.

The school’s building has been modernisedto accommodate 21st century educationalfacilities. There is now an extension for Class1, a gazebo and a Forest School in thewoods. Many years before the schoolopened, the land used to be an orchard anda farm.

In 1974, Drury’s uniform was differentcompared to how it is now because pupilswore ties. The logo has been changed toinclude two languages: Welsh and English. In2005, Drury changed the uniform to poloshirts without ties.

Suzanne Wilson was asked about herfavourite school memories by pupil KirstyWilson. She said: “I remember having tworabbits that you would take home and lookafter.”

Drury Primary School will continue to educatechildren for another forty years, and more,with its future being as bright as its past.

By Sophie Wynn, Paris Jones, KirstyWilson and Stacey Clapperton.

DruryYsgol Mynydd Isa

AS PART of the 60thAnniversarycelebrations, theHistory Departmentis putting together atime capsule which

will be opened in 2074.

Under the guidance of Head of Humanitiesand teacher of History, Mrs Woosey,students are collecting items andinformation that shows what life andeducation at Elfed is like in 2014.

These items and information consist of:newsletters, paper cuttings, photographs ofstudents learning, a letter fromHeadteacher, Mrs Jones, letters fromcurrent students, used exercise books, acopy of this newspaper and much more.

The time capsule will be buried in the quad(the square that is bordered by the Scienceand Maths corridors) with a plaque on thewall to indicate where it has been buried. Itwill be opened on the 120th Anniversary ofElfed High School, in 2074.

When asked if she believes if Elfed will beremembered in sixty years, Mrs Wooseysaid: “I hope so!”

“Children in the community will always neededucating and so I can’t see why the Elfedwould not be here. The building may, ofcourse, be very different. It’s a shame Iwon’t be around to find out!”

Thanks to Olivia Thomason who interviewedMrs Woosey and gathered information forthis report.

By Aaron Rossall-Rixon.

Life at Elfed capturedin time capsule

Mrs Woosey and Year 11 students withthe time capsule and its contents

Mountain Lane WestwoodSouthdown

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YEAR 5 pupils of Southdown Primary Schoolhave been researching the history of theirschool for the special edition of the AdlaisElfed Echo.

Southdown opened in 1975. The school buildinghas changed a lot inside and out since then. In1975, there were no mobiles classrooms andthere was no nursery because the area was usedfor a huge kitchen. The Year 2 area has beenextended and Reception and Year 1 have had amini playground added onto the back of theschool. There has been the addition of a gardenarea and a pond was added in 2009. Sports activities at Southdown have mainly stayedthe same since the school opened. They include:netball, football, hockey, swimming, cheerleading,gym, rugby, athletics, benchball, rounders andcricket. The main difference is the addition ofcheerleading. Teaching and learning has changed a lot; theschool now covers a lot more subjects. The basicequipments used were black boards and chalk.There were no computers in class and very oftenthere were no computers in the office. Now,Southdown has interactive whiteboards which areconnected to computers. In Southdown there are rewards for goodbehaviour; pupils get raffle tickets and meritswhereas, years before, they only used to getmerits. The Southdown school yard has seenmany changes. It started off with a lamppost in themiddle of the playground. A gazebo was put uparound September 2013. It was placed in theInfant yard and the pupils like to play hide andseek in it. There used to be two game boards onthe playground but they were taken down andreplaced with a climbing frame which the pupilsthink is brilliant.Teaching and learning at Southdown is changingyear after year to make sure that pupils get thebest education possible.By Yanik Merrilees-Kelly, Luke Rowe, Abbie Turner,Brooke Cummins, Lucy Walker-Turner, Amy Lamb, andChloe Miller

Westwood Primary through the yearsWESTWOOD Primary reporters have beenlooking into the history of their school forthe special edition of the Adlais Elfed Echo.

Reporters have spent time researching anddiscovered that in 1999 West Lea Infants andBuckley Juniors School closed. After a while,Westwood C.P. opened as a new school to fillin for West Lea and Buckley Juniors.Westwood remains the oldest school inBuckley.Westwood has interesting facts, ranging fromacross the years:� A former pupil named Daniel Collins playsprofessional football for Nottingham Forest

� The name ‘Westwood’ was created by Mr R.Collins when he thought of merging ‘WestLea Infants’ and ‘Padeswood Road’, a streetin Buckley close to the school.

Teaching and learning has changed massivelyover the years at Westwood. An example of thisis the classrooms; there are white boards andinteractive white boards instead of black boardsand the school has laptops and iPads toresearch instead of just books. The teachers nolonger hit pupils with canes as this is illegal. Westwood has always had a strong relationshipwith Elfed High School. Pupis go to Elfed totake part in lots of different activities so thatthey are more familiar with the school beforethey enrol there in Year 7.The education at Westwood CP is improvingdramatically. Over the past few years,Westwood has continued to deliver the finesteducation in the centre of Buckley and willcontinue to deliver it for many years to come.

By Ruben Jones, Abigail Hart, Morgan Irvineand Niall Maguire

Ysgol Uwchradd Elfed High School, Buckley CH7 3HQ 01244 550217 - www.elfedhs.co.uk

Fifty years at Mountain LaneMOUNTAIN Lane Primary School reporters havebeen researching their school’s history.Recently, Mountain Lane celebrated its fiftiethanniversary.Teaching and learning has changed massively sinceMountain Lane opened in 1964. For example,teachers did not have teaching assistants backthen so they did not have much help around theclassroom. Another thing that has changed istechnology: from blackboards and flash cards tocomputers and interactive whiteboards. Mrs Turley,who has worked in Mountain Lane for the pasttwenty-nine years, said: “There are no moreblackboards and flash cards, it’s technology all theway now.”Over the past fifty years, Mountain Lane has hadmany big changes to the school building. In theearly years there used to be two mobile classroomswhich were replaced by the KS1 extension on thefront yard in 1990. Another thing that has beenchanged a lot is the yard. It started as just one yardat the front of the school and a field at the back. Itwas then turned into two yards, one at the front forfoundation phase and one at the back for thejuniors.Mountain Lane’s colours have always been greenand white but since the school opened, the uniformhas varied. When the school first started there wasno formal uniform. Now pupils wear a green jumperand grey trousers / skirts. There has been a changeof logo too. Mr Parry introduced Ollie Owl to theschool, but now each jumper has the currentschool logo.There are many interesting facts about MountainLane. Some of these facts include: � The building company Shones and Brothershelped to build the school

� Ryan Shawcross (England football player) cameto the school

� Dani Fray, from Grange Hill, attended the school.The education and standards are striving tosuccess each year as Mountain Lane continues toeducate many generations of Buckley and MynyddIsa. If this continues, Mountain Lane will continue tobe hailed as a great school for many years tocome.By Mia Cannon, Robert Shone and Grace Tasker

The History of SouthdownPrimary School

Southdown

8 Please call Mrs Rosemary Jones, Headteacher, to arrange an appointment to view the school.Ysgol Uwchradd Elfed High School, Buckley CH7 3HQ 01244 550217 www.elfedhs.co.uk 16067 3-14

January 5th 1954:Elfed High School

opens

1954: Mr Lewis Mothersolebecomes the first Headteacherof Elfed High School

1959: Elfed HighSchool’s firstmagazine is printed

1972: Mr Lloyd becomes Headteacher

1976: Elfed releasesanother magazine

1983: Elfed gets itsown bus to bring instudents from outsidethe Buckley area

1997: Elfed receives“Investors in People” award

1998: Sweat shirts for theuniform are introduced

2006: Mrs Rosemary Jonesbecomes Headteacher

2009: new logois created

1967: Elfed becomes a semi-comprehensive school

1969: A Royal visit: Prince Charles comes to Elfed

1973:Elfed is extended with a new Artand Technology block and becomes a

fully comprehensive school

1976: Mr ‘Monty’ Mercer becomes Headteacher

1994: Mr Kevin Grandfield becomes Headteacher

2003: Mr Phil Pierce becomes Headteacher

2013: Adlais Elfed Echonewspaper is produced

Highlights of the History of Elfed1954

201460