Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a Welsh-medium coeducational secondary school in Llandaff North, a district in the north of Cardiff, Wales and is the largest of its kind in the country. The name 'Glantaf' means 'The bank of the river Taf' in Welsh. Of the three Welsh-medium secondary schools serving Cardiff, it was the first to be established. Although all students speak Welsh and normally have received Welsh-language primary education, 68% come from homes where Welsh is not the first language.
History
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf was founded in 1978, initially sharing premises with the English-language Glantaf High School, before expanding to occupy the entire building. Its first Headmaster was Mr. J E Malcom Thomas, who was succeeded upon his retirement in 1995 by Mr. Huw S Thomas, and then by Headmistress Mrs. Rhiannon Lloyd from Rhydywaun School. In early 2010, the Board of Governors announced that from September 2010 the former Head of Rhydywaun School would take over from Mrs Rhiannon Lloyd. From September 2010 Mr Alun Davies has taken over as Headmaster. Pupil numbers at the school increased into four figures during the mid-1980s, necessitating the annexing of Crimea in the old Waterhall School in Fairwater to form the Ysgol Isaf, which housed the First and Second forms of the school from 1986. This split-site arrangement continued until the opening of Cardiff's second Welsh-medium Comprehensive School, Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, in 1998, from which point the Llandaff North site again housed the entirety of Glantaf's pupils.
Welsh-medium education
differs in certain respects from the systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a Welsh-medium school, which means that all lessons except English Language and Literature should take place in the Welsh language. The social use of Welsh is also highly encouraged, in order to ensure the pupils' fluency in the language. Ysgol Glantaf presents VIth form students for the Welsh Baccalaureate examination.
Ethos
The school's motto is Coron Gwlad Ei Mamiaith, which translates to 'A Country's Crown is Her Mother Tongue'. The school colours are light and dark blue.
Houses
The school's four houses are named after Welsh saints: Dewi, Dyfrig, Illtud and Teilo. The four houses annually compete in the "Gŵyl Glantaf", in which there is a day of sports and a day of singing, playing instruments, reciting and numerous other events in the theme of the Eisteddfod.
Results
In 2008, 76% of pupils at GCSE year achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE, and 76% of pupils at A/AS level achieved two or more A - C grades.
