St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, Flint

Infobox Secondary school
name = St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School
logo =
motto = _cy. Dysgu Â'n Gilydd Yng Nghrist
("Learning together in Christ")
established = 1954
city =Flint, Wales
country = United Kingdom
type = Mixed comprehensive secondary
affiliation = Roman Catholic
headmaster = Derek Doran, NPHQ BA(Hons)
chaplain = Fr. Joe Realista,SDV
students =1000 (approx. as of 2006)
grades = Year 7 - Year 13 (Years 12 & 13 are Sixth Form)
oversight = Diocese of Wrexham
newspaper = "Gwyn News"
website = [http://www.strichardgwyn.com www.strichardgwyn.com]

St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School is a secondary school situated in Flint, Flintshire. It was founded in 1954 to serve the Catholic population of Flintshire.

It is one of three Catholic secondary schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham, the others being St Joseph's RC High School, Wrexham and Blessed Edward Jones RC High School, Rhyl.

It is a mixed comprehensive school, currently serving close to 1000 pupils (including a mixed sixth form of over 120). It draws its pupils and students from the Roman Catholic parishes of Flint, Holywell, Queensferry, Mold, Saltney, Buckley, Connah's Quay, Hawarden and Pantasaph.

Its patron Saint, St. Richard Gwyn, was canonized in 1970; prior to this, the school was called "Blessed Richard Gwyn Roman Catholic High School". The school observes his feast day on 17 October with a whole school Mass; every year, this is preceded by a week of religious observance and themed lessons as part of a "whole school retreat" that is called a faith 'focus week'.

The current Headmaster as of 2005 is Mr Derek Doran who was preceded by Mr. Tom Quinn. Other headmasters include Mr. Mark Philpot (currently President of the [http://www.wuct-umec.org World Union of Catholic Teachers] ), Mr. Patrick Dominic Bryon OBE (For services to Education in Wales) (Currently Lead Assessor, National Professional Qualification for Headship)

In 1995 the school added a new block which houses the Religious Education and Music departments. During 1996 its North Block was converted into science laboratories. The school has an excellent standard theatre with tiered seating and an advanced lighting rig to serve it. During 2001 the school added a new restaurant doubling its former capacity.

The school excels in its pastoral care (Estyn) and provides both and excellent academic education in addition to offering many extra-curricular activities. Particularly vibrant are the Activities week, the Focus week, Theatrical and Musical Performances, Art Exhibitions, Science Shows, Eisteddfod and Faith Retreats. Academic standards have risen over the past three years from 54% 5 or more GCSE A* to C's in 2005, to 67% in 2006, 68% in 2007 and 67% in 2008

ubjects on offer

*English
*Science
*Maths
*Welsh
*Religious Education
*Information Communication Technology
*Physical Education
*Music
*Art & Design
*Business Studies
*Design Technology
*French
*German
*Electronics
*Geography
*History
*Drama
*SEN
*Catering

Notable alumni

*Paul Draper, lead singer of the band Mansun.
*Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas.
*Fiona Fox, director of the Science Media Centre.
*Ian Rush, footballer.

External links

* [http://www.strichardgwyn.com School Site]