Former First Minister Eclipses World Book Day

On Friday 5th March 2010, the day after World Book Day,  the school was delighted to welcome Rhodri Morgan, AM  one of our most famous ‘past pupils’ who was  a pupil from 1950 onwards. He was accompanied by his wife, Julie Morgan, MP.   Rhodri Morgan, the former First Minister of Wales 2000-2009, was donating the collection of books he received as gifts from visiting foreign VIPs to his old school.

He  commented “'When I left office on December 8th 2009 , I had no real idea how many books I had been given by all the visiting Ministers and Ambassadors that I had welcomed to my office on the fifth floor in the Bay. Not all of them are in English of course but virtually all of them contain stunning photography of the country the VIP was from.  Leafing through is like going on a world tour without moving from your office or like visiting twenty art galleries without moving from your seat.  I am really pleased to be donating this collection to my old school. It was a very small school when I was there  in the 1950s. Now it is Wales' largest schools, possibly one of the largest in Europe.

Rhodri and Julie were met by Huw Jones-Williams (Head teacher), Nicola Louden (one of the two Upper School librarians), Sam Stensland (Head boy), Alice Burke (Head girl), and other year 13 students.

We are delighted that the former First Minister of Wales has not forgotten his old school in deciding where this wonderful collection of books should go. They will be a valuable resource to pupils, teachers and library staff alike.  These will be available for the students to read and enjoy and further improve their knowledge and understanding of the world.   The collection of books donated would not normally be available in a school library and this makes them so special.