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'{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}} {{Use British English|date=May 2015}} {{Infobox school | name = Radyr Comprehensive School | native_name = {{Lang|cy|Ysgol Gyfun Radur}} | logo = Radyr School Logo.png | address = Heol Isaf | city = [[Radyr]] | county = [[Cardiff]] | postcode = CF15 8XG | country = Wales | coordinates = {{Coord|51|30|33.38|N|03|14|52.60|W|type:edu_scale:3000|display=inline,title}} | established = {{Start date|1972}} | closed = | type = [[Comprehensive school|Comprehensive]] | headteacher = Mr AD Williams | chair_label = Chair of Governors | chair = Dr David Silver<ref>[https://radyrcs.co.uk/?page_id=960 The Governing Body], Radyr Comprehensive School, ''accessed 7 August 2019’’</ref> | local_authority = | staff = | enrolment = 1,295 | gender = [[Mixed-sex education|Mixed]] | age_range = 11–18 | houses = | colours = | publication = | website = {{URL|www.radyr.cardiff.sch.uk}} }} '''Radyr Comprehensive School''' ({{Lang-cy|Ysgol Gyfun Radur}}) is an 11–18 [[Mixed-sex education|mixed]] [[comprehensive school]] and [[sixth form college]] in [[Radyr]], [[Cardiff]], Wales that was established in 1972. The current roll is around 1,295 students, with around 280 of those in the sixth form.<ref>[https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/resident/Schools-and-learning/Schools/Cardiff-schools/Documents/NOR%20September%202017/School%20NOR%20September%202017%20by%20Year%20Group.pdf Number of pupils at Cardiff schools (NOR) as at 26 September 2017], Cardiff Council, ''accessed 6 February 2018''</ref> The school is controlled by the Cardiff [[Local Education Authority|Education Authority]].<ref name=estyn>[http://www.estyn.gov.uk/inspection_reports/Radyr_sec.pdf Report of Inspection 26–30 April 2004], [[Estyn]]</ref><ref>[http://www.radyr.org.uk/homepages/local_directory.php?keywords=cat_education "Education"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513210341/http://www.radyr.org.uk/homepages/local_directory.php?keywords=cat_education |date=13 May 2008 }}, Radyr and Morganstown Community, ''accessed 14 July 2008''</ref> For the 2000-01 school year, demand for places from parents exceeded supply.<ref>[http://archive.cardiff.gov.uk/government/english/council_papers/School_Decisions/01_05_08_scd/scd_08_may.htm School Decisions Committee], Cardiff Council, 8 May 2001</ref> ==History== [[File:Radyr Comprehensive School buildings.JPG|thumb|left|A view of the school]] Prior to 1968, the majority of children from Radyr travelled nine miles to [[Stanwell School|Penarth County Grammar School]] and [[St Cyres School|St Cyres Secondary Modern School]] in [[Penarth]] by steam train daily, a quicker and easier option than road journeys to closer Cardiff secondary schools. The arrangement ceased when the direct rail route was closed by the [[Beeching Axe]]. The new Radyr Comprehensive School opened in 1972. In 2004, a new state-of-the-art sports hall, including a fitness suite, was built for the school.<ref name=estyn/> In June 2007, the school site was said to be worth £25m, and it was reported by the ''[[South Wales Echo]]'' that [[Cardiff Council]] were considering plans to close the school as part of a reorganisation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/southwalesecho/news/tm_headline=is-this-the-end-for-two-of-our-city-schools-&method=full&objectid=19369612&siteid=50082-name_page.html|title=Shock plan to shut top school|author=Moira Sharkey|work=South Wales Echo|date=28 June 2007}}</ref> The school was criticised, in February 2008, after pupils aged 13 were instructed by a teacher to write imaginary suicide notes for an English lesson in order to "get into the mind of a troubled teenager". This was part of a study of the non-curriculum novel ''[[Noughts and Crosses]]'' by Malorie Blackman. However, the school is just a few miles from Bridgend where there had been multiple teenage suicides. The headmaster of the school stated that "the task was a 'spontaneous piece of writing' where children were asked not to turn over the page to find out what the letter said - but to write their own version of the suicide note" and "the teacher setting the text did not associate the task with news stories but considered it part of the textual study of a serious book dealing with serious issues in a serious way". Several relatives of the recently deceased Bridgend teenagers expressed their sorrow and regret that the unsuitable subject featured in a school project for such young children.<ref>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1579913/Students-asked-to-write-suicide-notes-in-class.html</ref> In September 2016, the school was subject to scrutiny following media coverage of 30 year old IT teacher Richard Shore’s ‘sexually motivated’ relationship with a 17 year old student. At a hearing, he denied having sex with the student and the CPS decided to take no further action. However, at his disciplinary hearing, Shore was found to be ‘unfit to practice’ due to seven cases of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ with the student, including inviting the student to his home and buying them gifts. Radyr Comprehensive suspended Shore prior to the hearing and ultimately the Fitness to Practise Committee removed Shore from the teaching register indefinitely. The relationship was alleged to begin on a 2014 school trip to California and a fellow colleague in the IT department, Richard Edmunds, stated that his ‘suspicions were raised’ after the pair allegedly went jogging alone together on the trip. <ref name="Newlywed wife testifies against teacher husband after he confesses to sex with 17-year-old pupil">{{cite web |title=Newlywed wife testifies against teacher husband after he confesses to sex with 17-year-old pupil |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/20/newlywed-wife-testifies-against-teacher-husband-after-he-confess/ |website=telegraph.co.uk |publisher=The Telegraph |access-date=17 February 2021}}</ref> In 2019, the school was named ‘Welsh State School of the Year’ in the Sunday Times Schools Guide.<ref name="Radyr Comp named state school of the year">{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Ffion |title=Radyr Comp named state school of the year |url=https://jomec.co.uk/thecardiffian/2018/11/27/radyr-comprehensive-named-state-school-of-the-year/#:~:text=RADYR%20Comprehensive%20School%20has%20been,by%20their%20recent%20examination%20results. |website=The Cardiffian |publisher=The Cardiffian |access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> However, in December 2020 a member of the school’s IT department, Richard Edmunds (see above), was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in Newport’s Crown Court for grooming female students to obtain indecent photographs. Edmunds pled guilty to 19 offences and his computer was found to contain thousands of indecent photos and films of children. Nearly 100 of these were in Category A, the most serious category of child pornography. The court heard that the grooming had spanned 4 years, and that Edmunds had been arrested following a safeguarding report from Childline.<ref name="Cardiff teacher jailed for pupils' indecent photos">{{cite web |title=Cardiff teacher jailed for pupils' indecent photos |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55187406 |website=bbc.co.uk |publisher=The BBC |access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> ==Academic performance== The proportion of pupils who achieved five or more grades A* to C in the 2003 [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] examinations was above the national average, whilst the proportion of students achieving [[A level]] success at grades A to C in 2 or more subjects was below the national average.<ref name=estyn/> In summer 2007, over 95 per cent of the school's students achieved at least 5 A*-C GCSE grades, the highest yet.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} However, in the [[Estyn]] inspection in April 2004, the standards reached in [[Religious Education]] at [[Key Stage 4]] were considered unsatisfactory, but the remaining assessments ranged between satisfactory and very good, with notable performances in [[Art]], [[Music]], and [[Physical education|Physical Education]].<ref name=estyn/> == Sporting activities == [[File:Radyr Comprehensive School Gym.JPG|thumb|left|The new sports hall]] The girls' [[field hockey|hockey]] team won the 2002 RAF Careers under-18 Schools Hockey Champions with a win over [[Chepstow School]].<ref>[https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-86464580 "Hockey: Great career move for the Radyr girls."], ''[[South Wales Echo]]'', 28 May 2002.</ref> In the Wales Region Hard Track [[Cycling]] Championships held in July 2006, a pupil won the under-14 Girls' Omnium.<ref>[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:W25ss5kMtEkJ:www.britishcycling.org.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp%3FlID%3D3386%26sID%3D3366+%22Radyr+Comprehensive+School%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=43&gl=uk&lr=lang_en "Wales Region Hard Track Championships"], British Cycling</ref> ==Extra-curricular activities== [[File:Radyr Comprehensive School reception.JPG|thumb|right|School reception]] The School's Big Band was invited to entertain guests at [[Disneyland Paris]] in October 2006 and on 1 March 2007.<ref>[http://www.ndteach.co.uk/pdfs/education-newsletter.pdf "Education Matters"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927061907/http://www.ndteach.co.uk/pdfs/education-newsletter.pdf |date=27 September 2007 }}, New Directions education, Spring 2007</ref> The Band continued touring, and headed to [[Chicago]] in August 2008.,<ref>[http://radyr.cardiff.sch.uk/~schoolmag/Newsletter%20October%202008 "School Newsletter October 2008"]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Radyr Comprehensive School Newsletter, October 2008</ref> for a packed week of events including a performance at the North American Welsh Festival and the [[Field Museum]]. The Jazz Band is run by students from 6th form with the help of the music department. The Jazz Band also has a training band which is open to students from Year 7 to Year 11. The Big Band in 2011, were invited back to [[Disneyland Paris]] and performed again, this time at the [[Videopolis (Disneyland Paris)]] stage. The school's Green Flag Committee ensure that the school remains loyal to its [[Environmentally friendly|eco-friendly]] policy, as set down in late 2008 following the granting of emergency powers to the Committee in order to deal with what was perceived as an imminent threat to the school's environmental well-being. The main objective was to aid the school in achieving the "[[Eco schools|Eco Schools Green Flag Award]]"; the Committee leads by example and tolerates neither litterers nor other undesirable elements. The school currently holds the silver award in the scheme, and is now aiming to achieve the award itself. In accordance with this, the Green Flag committee is affiliated with the Radyr and Morganstown Association. The RGFC has taken proceedings one step further recently, by taking on the duties of providing extra care to [[Radyr railway station|Radyr Railway Station]] as part of the [[Arriva Trains Wales]] adopt a station scheme. The Green Flag ceased production in early 2008. However, in 2010, a subsidiary committee to the school council was set up to continue the work of the RGFC. ==Notable former pupils from the school== {{see also|Category:People educated at Radyr Comprehensive School}} * [[Timothy Benjamin]], runner.<ref>Rowbottom, Mike. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20051024/ai_n15718715/pg_2 "Athletics: 'I had got sick of people telling me I wasn't running"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 24 October 2005. Accessed 12 June 2007. "Getting started: Always 'the fast kid at school', Benjamin excelled at sprints, winning first national title in 1997, at 14, in the Under- 17 indoor 200m. He was also the captain of the Welsh roller hockey team as a teenager and played rugby at Radyr Comprehensive in Cardiff."</ref><ref>Davies, Gareth A. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/08/02/somysp02.xml "My Sport: Tim Benjamin"], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 8 February 2005. Accessed 12 June 2007. "Running took over aged 14, although I carried on playing rugby for my school, Radyr Comprehensive."</ref> * [[Nickie Aiken (politician)|Nickie Aiken]], Conservative MP<ref>[https://www.nickieaiken.org.uk]</ref> * [[Gareth Bennett (politician)|Gareth Bennett]], UKIP Member of the [[National Assembly for Wales]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Senedd Profile of Gareth Bennett|url=https://senedd.wales/en/memhome/Pages/MemberProfile.aspx?mid=5040|access-date=2020-11-15|website=Welsh Parliament|language=en-GB}}</ref> * [[Emily Burnett]], actor<ref>{{Cite web|title=Radyr CS Twitter Post|url=https://twitter.com/radyrcs/status/545503028397494272|access-date=2020-11-15|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> * [[Carole Cadwalladr]], British journalist and author<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cadwalladr|first=Carole|date=2015-08-24|title=Whatever the party, our political elite is an Oxbridge club {{!}} Carole Cadwalladr|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/24/our-political-elite-oxbridge-club|access-date=2020-11-15|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> * [[Paul Duddridge]] , film director/producer/writer.<ref>{{Cite web|last=WalesOnline|date=2009-03-15|title=Welsh showbiz guru reveals how to get ahead in Hollywood|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/welsh-showbiz-guru-reveals-how-2117959|access-date=2020-11-15|website=WalesOnline|language=en}}</ref> * [[Greg Holmes (cricketer)|Greg Holmes]], cricketer<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile of Greg Holmes|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/383/383640/383640.html|work=Cricket Archive|access-date=28 March 2020|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227045901/https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/383/383640/383640.html|archive-date=27 February 2018}}</ref> * [[Lucie Jones]], [[actress]], [[model (person)|model]] and [[The X Factor (UK)|X Factor UK]] 2009 final twelve contestant and singer.<ref>[https://archive.is/20120722145757/http://www.clickliverpool.com/clocked/caught-out/126323-bookies-slash-odds-on-x-factor-finalists-amid-internet-rumours.html X Factor UK series 6 finalist leak]</ref> * [[Jann Mardenborough]], racing driver<ref>{{Cite web|last=Silk|first=Huw|date=2016-01-02|title=Cardiff driver still pinching himself as he keeps sights set on F1|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/i-am-massively-thankful-cardiff-10630713|access-date=2020-11-15|website=WalesOnline|language=en}}</ref> * [[Tom Maynard]], late professional cricketer.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Surrey County Cricket Club 1st XI Fixtures|url=https://www.kiaoval.com/1st-fixtures/|access-date=2020-11-15|website=Kia Oval|language=en-GB}}</ref> * [[Jimi Mistry]], Actor, known for roles on ''[[EastEnders]]'', ''[[The Guru (2002 film)|The Guru]]'' and ''[[East Is East (1999 film)|East Is East]]''.<ref>Bourton, Tom. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2207606.stm "On the global Taff Trail"], [[BBC News]], 21 August 2002. Accessed 12 June 2007. "Making all the noise this week across the UK media is the premiere of Hollywood meets Bollywood flick The Guru, starring Jimi Mistry and Heather Graham.... ''I went to school in Radyr, and my wife's from Brecon, so my feet are firmly in Wales - I was always a regular in the hotspots of Cardiff'', he said."</ref> * [[Gemma White (QC)|Gemma White]], QC<ref>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lawyer-of-the-week-gemma-white-qc-who-led-mp-bullying-inquiry-v53z2kts2 ]</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == {{Official website|http://www.radyr.cardiff.sch.uk/}} {{Education in Cardiff}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Secondary schools in Cardiff]] [[Category:1972 establishments in Wales]] [[Category:Educational institutions established in 1972]] [[Category:Radyr]]'