Treorchy Comprehensive School

Infobox School
name = Treorchy Comprehensive School


motto = Ad Lucem
schooltype = State
opened = 1965
gender = Both
age range = 11-18
head = Mrs Bethan Guilfoyle
chairperson = Mr Gareth Morgan-Jones
teaching_staff = 81
students = 1533
ratio = 18:1
avg_class_size = 30
GCSE (A*-C) = 52%
GCSE (A*-G) = 90%
newspaper = The Phoenix
homepage = http://www.treorchycomp.org.uk

Treorchy Comprehensive School is a provider of English secondary education in the upper Rhondda Fawr valley, Wales. The school is situated on the southern side of the valley, and is 500metres in length from the main gate on (Chepstow Road, Cwmparc) to the rear gate at (Tylecoch Bridge, Treorchy). The school is the first in Wales to gain a reputable Bilingual status, teaching classes in both English and Welsh.Fact|date=September 2008

History

Formerly the site of the Tylecoch colliery, Treorchy Comprehensive began accepting students in 1965, and was opened to the full public in the early 1970s, forcing the closure of Pentre Grammar School. The school has expanded over the last decade, incorporating a Sixth Form complex, a Drama and Music studio, and a Religious Education and Law block. The school's original buildings still stand, but the pond that used to be a centrepiece of the school has been filled in with concrete, to create more area for pupils.In 2006, the "Red Ash" athletics field was replaced by an Astroturf sports field, and each department had upgraded from chalkboards to the Smart Board brand of Interactive whiteboards. The school also invested in a broadband network and new computers, most running on Windows XP, to cover the blocks on campus.

Facilities

The school contains a number of facilities which it prides itself on. These facilities compliment the basic array of curriculum education, and provide for extra-curricular activities. The school includes I.T. suites spread across the school, above-average sporting facilities, three canteens providing hot and cold foods, and newly built drama and music suites.

Courses

Treorchy Comprehensive follows the basic English S.A.T. and GCSE Curriculum. It offers French and Spanish as modern foreign languages, and Welsh as is a compulsory subject for all pre-A level students.

Key Stage 3

The average Key Stage 3 pupil studies a maximum of 16 subjects taken from the National Curriculum, including English, Maths, Sciences, a modern foreign language, humanities, compulsory physical education, compulsory religious education, and compulsory Welsh. According to the last Estyn report, in 2006, the school achieves Key Stage 3 results just above the national average.

GCSE/GNVQ/BTEC

At Key Stage 4, students are offered to choose their own courses, which will be cut to 10 different courses, spread across a fortnightly timetable. The subjects from Key Stage 3 are offered at GCSE, GNVQ and BTEC levels. Compulsory P.E. and compulsory R.E. become 'short course' options, while students are offered the chance to study them as a 'full course' equal to a full GCSE. New courses are also offered at this level including Health and Social Studies, Leisure and Tourism, Media and Film Studies and Business and Communications Studies. The school has achieved an A*-G pass rate of over 90% since 2005.Fact|date=September 2008

A.S./A-2 A-Level Courses

A-level students are offered a range of courses to choose from. This range expands much more on the previous two key stages, and adds new subjects also. The student may choose a maximum of 5 or a minimum of 2 courses. The school is one of the few in the Rhondda that does not need pupils to travel to other schools to receive an A-level course. In 2007, the school began a compulsory Welsh Baccalaureate qualification for Sixth Form pupils. Other new courses on offer to pupils in the Sixth Form include Politics, Psychology, and Law and Electronics, as well as vocational subjects such as Hairdressing.

Extra-Curricular Activities

The school and its staff are firm believers in Extra-curricular activity, and therefore, the school itself offers a wide variety of clubs and activities for pupils. These range from Orchestra to Rugby. The activities include:

The Arts

*Drama Club
*Brass Band
*School Choir
*School Orchestra

ports

*Rugby
*Football
*Basketball
*Netball
*Cricket
*Rounders
*Athletics
*Gymnastics
*Circuit Training

ixth Form Activities

*Sign Language
*Reading Support
*Buddy Program
*Sixth Form Council

chool-wide

*Student Council
*Conservation Club

Results

Every year, Treorchy Comprehensive School's students take part in their GCSE/GNVQ/BTEC and A-Level exams. The average A-C pass rate is in the high percentage of 75% for GCSE.Fact|date=September 2008 Achieving a 100% pass rate in their 2007 summer examinations.Fact|date=September 2008

Alumni

*Jayne Ludlow - Professional Football Player for Wales and Arsenal's Ladies teamsFact|date=September 2008
*Ian Watkins - West End Performer, and former member of the pop band StepsFact|date=September 2008
*Andrew Bishop - Professional Rugby Union Player (1996 - 2003)Fact|date=September 2008