Mr John Waszek and Mr Julian Barnes
'My fully funded place means the world to me.’
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the newest issue of the Rydal Penrhos Society newsletter.
This month we have re-launched the School’s historic Donald Hughes Trust, funding places for disadvantaged children to attend Rydal Penrhos
Pupils and former pupils together are the lifeblood of this school and we are glad to be able to share news with you, our alumni, whether you live locally or are part of the huge section of our community dispersed more widely around the country and the world.
This month, we are delighted to be able to share with you a particularly important piece of news – that we have re-launched the School’s historic Donald Hughes Trust, funding places for disadvantaged children to attend Rydal Penrhos.
Rydal Penrhos is built on a Methodist foundation, Penrhos College and Rydal School being founded under the auspices of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and the provision of fully funded places is an important part of the School’s Methodist vision.
We are amazed by the School’s historic tradition of philanthropy. In Penrhos, the Rosa Hovey Memorial Scholarship, funded by the estate of the late Rosa Hovey, ensured that Penrhos girls did not miss out on the opportunities of higher education, while in Rydal, Donald Hughes, Principal between 1946 and 1967, was so concerned that his pupils not lose their places that he would step in in cases of financial difficulty, sometimes paying the fees himself.
Further back, both Rydal and Penrhos owe their existence to the generosity of Reverend Frederick Payne, a benefactor to both schools. The Donald Hughes Trust brings this tradition of Methodist philanthropy into the present day. It provides access to a Rydal Penrhos education to children who would not otherwise be able to attend the School. The opportunities it affords these children are life-changing.
Please do consider going to the website to read more about the Donald Hughes Trust.
We would also like to draw your attention to a few articles in this edition of the newsletter.
This term, you can read the story of Sidney Colwyn Foulkes, the Welsh architect who designed Costain and the Memorial Hall. Today a primary use of the Memorial Hall is for musical and dramatic performances, and you can read about the School’s proud 134-year theatrical tradition, with plays from St Joan at Rydal and Night of the Trojan War at Penrhos to Woyzek at Rydal Penrhos.
You can also read about the major ongoing renovations to the School’s Osborn Hall, formerly Rydal’s Chapel and then its Dining Hall, and later the School’s Learning Resource Centre (LRC). Now the Hall is being restored to its former glory, while the Watkinson Library returns to its roots as a library, home to the School’s accelerated reading scheme. You can watch a time-lapse video of renovations here.
We are also glad to share with you the fantastic academic results achieved by our Year 11 and Year 13 pupils at GCSE and A-level, far exceeding the national average for this 2021/2022.
This academic year, we are grateful that it has been possible to begin the term with all of our pupils back in school in person. Mr Mark Sherrington (RS 75–86), Head of Art, has written a fascinating piece on teaching art remotely and the lessons he has learnt as a teacher. While this period presented unprecedented challenges, it has also presented us as educators with an opportunity to consider the ways we do things.
Finally, and most importantly, we would like to thank you, our alumni, for the many messages of support and encouragement we have received over the last year. We hope you will enjoy reading this edition of the newsletter.
Yours faithfully,
John Waszek, Principal, and Julian Barnes, Chair of the Governors
Julian, Chair of the Governors
