Bishop Gore School

Bishop Gore School

Motto	Virtue and good literature
Established	1682
Headmaster	Mr. Ryan Davies
Location	De La Beche Road Swansea SA2 9AP United Kingdom
Local authority	Swansea
Gender	Mixed
Ages	11–18
Houses	Gwynne, Aberdare, Gore & Mansel
Colours	Years 7-11 Maroon and Gold Years 12-13 Navy
Last Inspection	December 2009
Pupils on Roll:	1579 Pupils
6th Form:	213 Pupils
Website	bishopgore.net

Coordinates: 51°36′55″N 3°59′18″W / 51.61525°N 3.98838°W / 51.61525; -3.98838

The Bishop Gore School is a secondary school in Swansea in south Wales, founded on 14 September 1682 by Hugh Gore (1613–1691), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated close to the A4216, Singleton Park and the Swansea University.

History

Grammar school

Established initially as a Free Grammar School for "the gratuitous instruction of twenty boys, sons of the most indigent burgesses, and in the event of a dissolution of the corporation, to sons of the poorest inhabitants of the town", it has since known several names and locations. Previously known as the boys-only Swansea Grammar School, Bishop Gore Grammar school and briefly Bishop Gore Comprehensive School, it has been on its current Sketty site since 1952 with a large extension built in the 1970s and further Design and Technology extensions in the 1990s. A previous 18th century building designed by Benjamin Bucknall on Goat Street in Swansea city centre was largely gutted by incendiary bombs during World War II although some of the original buildings remain as part of the Swansea Metropolitan University.

Comprehensive

Until 1970, Bishop Gore was an all-boys grammar school, then it merged with the girls' grammar school Glanmor and Townhill Secondary School to become Bishop Gore Co-educational Comprehensive school in 1971.

School today

Currently Bishop Gore has around 1600 male and female students aged 11–18. The school also has a Sixth Form with separate lounge, facilities and uniform. The headteacher currently is Ryan Davies (September 2007+). Set just at the head of Singleton Park, close to the village of Sketty and the seafront, Bishop Gore was built around two quadrangles the red brick building has in the centre the second largest hall in Swansea, second only to the Brangwyn Hall. Each pupil is assigned to a House: Gwynne, Mansel, Aberdare or Gore, which they retain throughout their time at the school. Highlights of the school year include the Eisteddfod, the inter-house sports tournaments, the high quality productions by Bishop Gore Theatre Company,and the end of year Balls for the senior students.

In January 2010, an inspection report was published which awarded Bishop Gore the highest possible grades in all categories. As a result of this the school was featured as a 'best practice' case study by Estyn and was named in the chief inspector's annual report - being the only secondary school in Wales to achieve this recognition. Over the past 4 years, there has been a dramatic improvement in results with the performance at GCSE/KS4 in August 2011 placing it as one of the top performing schools in Swansea.

With 87% of pupils in 2011 leaving the school with 5 GCSEs grades A* - C, Bishop Gore is now second only to Bishopston in terms of this statistic.

Dylan Thomas and Bishop Gore

The most famous alumnus of Bishop Gore is almost certainly the poet, playwright and author Dylan Thomas. His father, David John (D.J.) Thomas was Senior English Master at the school, then known as Swansea Grammar School. Not a distinguished pupil, he nonetheless gained attention through winning the school's annual one-mile race, and in 1926 publishing his first poem: "The Song Of The Mischievous Dog". He left in 1931 to begin work at The South Wales Daily Post as a junior reporter.

Old Goreans

Notable Old Goreans have included:

• Martin Amis, novelist and journalist
• Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea, Labour MP for Swansea East 1974–2005
• Gareth Armstrong, actor
• George Bell CBE, Director of the Plant Breeding Institute at the University of Cambridge 1947–71
• Timothy Beynon, President from 2000-4 of the British Dragonfly Society
• Kenneth Bryn Thomas, anaesthetist
• Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare, Home Secretary 1868–73
• Prof Sir John Cadogan CBE, Director General of Research Councils UK 1994-8, Forbes Professor of Organic Chemistry 1969-79 at the University of Edinburgh, former BP executive, and President of the Royal Society of Chemistry 1982-4
• Rt Rev Graham Chadwick, bishop and anti-apartheid campaigner
• Ronald Cour, sculptor
• Sir George Curtis CB, Chief Land Registrar at HM Land Registry 1947-63
• Glyn Davies, Marxist-Leninist thinker and Socialist worker
• David Dykes, Director of the National Museum of Wales 1986-9, and President of the British Numismatic Society 1999–2003
• Prof Sir Sam Edwards (physicist) FRS, President of the Institute of Physics 1972-4, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London 1985–90
• Paul Ferris (author), journalist, novelist and biographer
• Charles Fisher (poet), journalist
• Brian Flowers, Baron Flowers, physicist
• John Ford CBE, Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and the Driving Standards Agency 1993-2000
• Dr Hywel Davies, cardiologist and author
• Thomas George, Professor of Geology at the University of Glasgow 1947–74, President of the Geological Society of London 1968–70 and the Palaeontological Association 1962-4
• Sir Alexander Gordon CBE, architect and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 1971-3
• Sir William Grove, chemist, barrister and judge
• Rt Rev Llewellyn Henry Gwynne, Bishop of Egypt and the Sudan
• Prof John Howell CBE, Professor of Medicine at the University of Southampton 1969–91, and Dean of the Medical School 1978-83, and President of the British Thoracic Society 1988-9, and President of the British Medical Association 1989-90.
• Alfred Janes, artist
• Daniel Jones, composer
• Ernest Jones, founder of British Psycho-Analytical Society, biographer of Sigmund Freud
• John Jones, Professor of Economics from 1919-46 at the University of Leeds
• Mervyn Jones, Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands 2000-2
• The Kardomah Gang, 1930s Swansea literary and cultural circle
• Prof. Gail Kinman, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology at the University of Bedfordshire
• Timothy Knowles, Group Managing Director of HTV Group 1986-8
• Sir Archie Lamb MBE CMG DFC, Ambassador to Kuwait 1974-7, and to Norway 1978–80
• Mervyn Levy, artist and critic
• Prof Leonard Maunder OBE, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University 1967-92
• John Metcalf, composer
• David Miles, chief UK economist at Morgan Stanley, author of the Miles Report for HM Treasury
• Hugh David Morgan, philosopher, raconteur and wit
• Sir Gwilym Morris CBE, Chief Constable of South Wales Constabulary (since 1996 known as South Wales Police) 1971-9
• Sir Douglas Owen CB, Commissioner of HM Customs and Excise 1949–65
• Prof Dewi Zephaniah Phillips - Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Swansea University and Claremont Graduate University California, author and minister
• Colin Phipps, Labour MP for Dudley West 1974-9
• Prof William Price, Wheatstone Professor of Physics at King's College London 1955-76
• Sion Probert, actor
• Prof Lewis Roberts CBE, President of the British Nuclear Energy Society 1985-7
• Sir Melvyn Rosser, Chairman of HTV Group 1986–91 and
• Dylan Thomas, poet, playwright and author
• Prof Leslie Vaughan, Professor of Veterinary Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College 1974-91
• Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, World War 2 war reporter, journalist , founder of HTV
• Prof Dominic Welsh, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford 1992-2005
• Prof. Rhys Williams, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at Swansea University

Rugby players

In addition, a number of Old Goreans have played rugby for Wales national rugby union team, including, GAD Wheel, Roger Blyth, Haydn Mainwaring, Paul Arnold, Idwal Rees, Stuart Davies, Richie Pugh (Wales 7s Captain at the 2006 Commonwealth Games) and winner of the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 and 2008 Six Nations Championship winner and Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones.

External links

• Bishop Gore School Homepage
• Latest Council news on the School
• Profile of Natalie Richards 2008 Welsh New Teacher of the Year in the Guardian
• Account of the Luftwaffe's destruction of Bishop Gore
• Swansea Heritage Society Biography of Sir William Grove
• Guardian obituary of Charles Fisher and information on the Old Gorians Kardomah Boys Circle
• Times obituary of The Right Rev Graham Chadwick
• Estyn School Inspection Report
• Extracts from Bishop Gore Grammar School - Register of Scholars
• A History of Swansea, with details about the school's founding
• Alun Wyn Jones on combining line-outs and lectures
• EduBase