Bassaleg School

Bassaleg School (Welsh: Ysgol Basaleg) is a comprehensive secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 years, situated in the suburb of Bassaleg on the western side of the city of Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom. The present buildings of the school range in age from the early 20th century to the present day. The buildings form a natural campus, with playing fields, lawns and gardens. It has over 1,700 pupils. Because of expanding residential development in the area, consultations took place in 2021 to 2022 to increase capacity to over 2,000 pupils by 2023.^[2] Plans were approved by Newport City Council in February 2022^[3] with work on the project beginning in March 2022, following a £30,000,000 investment.^[4]

Bassaleg School
Location
Forge Lane Newport , NP10 8NF Wales
Coordinates	51.574722°N 3.043333°W / 51.574722; -3.043333
Information
Type	Comprehensive school
Motto	Believing and Belonging
Established	c.1880
Local authority	Newport City Council
Chairperson	David Williams
Head teacher	Victoria Lambe
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1,749 as of 2019[1]
Colour(s)	Black   Gold
Website	http://www.bassalegschool.com

History

There has been a school around the current site since 1880, when Rowland Morgan (a distant relative of the Morgans of Tredegar) endowed £20 for its creation.^[5][a] In the early twentieth-century, Bassaleg Controlled Voluntary School was built in its place to serve the families of the workers of Lord Tredegar's estate.^[5] "Forge Building", as it is commonly referred, was opened in Autumn 1935, by which time the school was known as Bassaleg Secondary School.^[5]

The then Lord Tredegar frequented the new school, hosting prize-giving, and for many years to deliver gifts to the children at Christmastime.^[7][8]

During World War II, five teachers and around 250 past students were serving in the forces, while forty older male students formed the "School Harvest Camp"; sleeping in the recently built gymnasium and farming the surrounding land for six weeks.^[5] By 1948, the school had become known as Bassaleg Grammar School.^[5]

In 1958, Graig County Secondary Modern was established on the same site, with new buildings developed by A. Arthur & Son LTD. as a result.^[9] The Secondary Modern's main building was erected adjacent to Griffin Lane, thus dubbed "Griffin Building".^[5] Following the 1976 abolition of grammar schools in England and Wales, the two schools on the site merged into Bassaleg Comprehensive School, as it is known today.^[5]

Notable staff and former pupils

Pupils

See also: Category:People educated at Bassaleg School

• Stuart Barnes, Times journalist and former Bath, England and British Lions rugby player^[10]
• Jon Callard, former Bath and England rugby player^[11]
• Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, Chief Fire Officer of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, homeless whilst studying at the school^[12]
• Jamie Corsi, rugby player^[13]
• John Davies, Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and Archbishop of Wales
• David Davies, former Conservative MP for Monmouth and Secretary of State for Wales^[14]
• Ron Davies, Former AM and MP and Secretary of State for Wales^[15]
• Rio Dyer, rugby player for Dragons RFC and Wales^[16]
• Anneliese Heard, triathlete^[17]
• Liz Johnson, Paralympic gold medallist^[18]
• Ryan Jones, former Wales and British Lions rugby player^[19]
• Roger Lewis, writer and journalist, author of The Life and Death of Peter Sellers^[20]
• Alix Popham, former Welsh national rugby player
• Malcolm Thomas a former Welsh and British Lions rugby player who played club rugby for Newport and won 27 caps for Wales during the 1950s^[21]
• Aaron Wainwright, current Welsh national rugby player^[22]
• Amelia Womack, Deputy Leader Green Party of England and Wales^[23]

Staff

• Ryan Doble, former under-21 international footballer for Wales^[24]
• Justin Thomas, former International rugby union player for Wales^[25]
• Lauren Parfitt, Welsh cricketer and current captain for Wales^[25]

Gallery

In 2023, the school renamed its buildings in Welsh; each reflecting one of the school's values. The new names include Caredig, Parchus, Dewr, Balch, Uniondeb, and Gwydn, meaning Kindness, Respect, Bravery, Pride, Integrity, and Resilience respectively.^[26]

Adeilad Balch

• 
  Front view.
• 
  Central lobby.

Adeliad Parchus

• 
  Front view.
• 
  Side view.

Adeliad Uniondeb

• 
  Front view.
• 
  Side view.
• 
  Side view of the older section of Adeilad Uniondeb.
• 
  Side view of the older section of Adeilad Uniondeb.
• 
  Staircase Lobby.
• 
  Wall mural.
• 
  Plaque commemorating the opening of the building in 1997.

Adeliad Dewr

• 
  Front three quarter view.
• 
  Corridor view from the entrance.

Adeilad Gwydn

• 
  Gwdyn, the remainder of what was previously referred to as "Griffin Building".

Adeilad Caredig

• 
  Front view of the main building, original gymnasium (left), and newer gymnasium (far left).
• 
  Rear view of the complex and hard-standing area.
• 
  The south-east original 1930s staircase.