Highlight of the Week

'Famous Five' go back to school

The School has marked 40 years of co-education with its first intake of girl pupils revisiting Llandaff for a special celebratory event.

Five girl pupils made history, after almost a century of being a dedicated boys’ school, when they joined in 1978.

Called ‘The Famous Five’, they recently returned to the Cathedral School, where they were joined by former pupils and past and present teaching staff, including the School’s headmaster of the time George Hill, for a special celebration marking the move into co-education.

Dr Rosie Dymond, one of ‘The Famous Five’ said: “It was wonderful to return 40 years after we made history as the first girl pupils to attend the Cathedral School.

“It might have seemed daunting to some at the time, but I had the advantage that my brother Peter was already a pupil so I had a good idea of what to expect. I just remember being excited about being able to join him.

“I absolutely loved my time at the School and still value the teaching and great grounding that I received there. My own love of mathematics, languages and literature, stem from my days at the Cathedral School.

“A particular highlight was in my final year when author and former Cathedral School pupil, Roald Dahl came to present prizes at Speech Day and fascinated us with stories of his life and one about a sweet shop.  I like to think that he tested parts of what would be his published book ‘Boy’ on us that day.

“There were just five of us in that historic first intake back in 1978, but it is fantastic to see that the number of girl pupils has grown so substantially over the last 40 years.”

Clare Sherwood, the first female Head of the Cathedral School, one of Wales’ leading co-educational independent schools said: “It was wonderful to welcome ‘The Famous Five’ back and to celebrate 40 years since they made history after almost a century of being a boys’ school.

“While the School has changed significantly since 1978, at its core its values remain the same. The feeling of comradeship and community I sense has long been a feature here, with boys and girls collaborating in the classroom to gain a fresh perspective from each other intellectually and socially.

“Since becoming co-educational we have grown from 200 to 800 pupils aged from just three right through to 18 in our thriving Sixth Form which began in 2013.”

The School is planning a series of other events during the current academic year to celebrate 40 years of co-education.