Afon Taf High School

Afon Taf High School is a comprehensive high school for pupils aged 11 to 18 (plus students aged 19 to reach their A level Grades), based in the village of Troed-y-rhiw in the borough of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It serves a large catchment area of surrounding villages in the Merthyr valley, from Abercanaid & Pentrebach in the north to Bedlinog in the south.

Curriculum and subjects

The school offers English Language, Maths, Science, Information Technology, History, Art, Design & Technology, Textiles, Physical Education, Religious Studies, Geography, French, Welsh and Music as subjects throughout the compulsory 5-year term. Media Studies is then offered as an extra subject from Year 12, being the school's contribution to the Merthyr Tydfil Consortium. Courses in Drama and Law can also be taken in Cyfarthfa and Penydre respectively. In Year 9, German is offered to those in the top three teaching sets and can be taken at GCSE level. German is set to finish as a subject in Afon Taf when the teacher Mrs Tanya Davies retires at the end of the academic year 2007.

The school is a strong supporter of the Sixth Form. Over the past few years, they have vocalised their pleas to 'Save Our Sixth Form' from abolition in order to create a combined Sixth Form college in Merthyr town centre. They have recently won their campaign to save their sixth form after being originally told that plans to remove the sixth form would go ahead. There was no reason given for the sudden turn around of decision.

Origins

The school opened in September 1967. Pupils from Quakers Yard Grammar School, Troedyrhiw Secondary School and the Pantglas Senior School in Aberfan transferred to the school.

Senior staff

The school's first headmaster was David W. Howells, who was previously headmaster at Quaker's Yard Grammar School. One of its longest serving teachers was Howard Davies, who for a time taught maths but eventually finished out his career at the school as a deputy headmaster.

External links

* [http://www.afontaf.merthyr.sch.uk/homepage.asp Afon Taf High School] - Home Page
* [http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/afontafschool.htm Old Merthyr Tydfil: Afon Taf School] - Historical photographs of Afon Taf School.