Darland High School

Darland High School is a mixed, non-denominational high school in Rossett, Wales, established in 1958. Its current head teacher is Peter Ronald Agnew.History1958 - 1971Darland High School opened in September 1958 for 234 pupils, 10 members of staff and the headmaster, Glyn Bellis. The school cost £96,000 and was completed in just 18 months. It was reported that the school would "play a vital part in the development of horticulture and market gardening pursuits, for many of the pupils come from the strawberry-growing district of Holt". During that first year the school grounds were enhanced with flower beds laid out under the direction of J. Elwy Williams. The official opening ceremony took place on 9 June 1959, in a whole school celebratory assembly.Throughout the years, Darland has welcomed many visitors. In 1959, the school was honoured with a visit from Chiefs Zulu and Putranali of Tanzania who presented Bellis with a 'beautiful skin'. Unfortunately, the health risk posed by the fleas outweighed the hospitality of these gentlemen and the skin had to be burnt when they had departed. In 1966, the school was visited by the Christian missionary Gladys Aylward, whose life was the subject of the 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.A small school, Darland soon gained both national and international attention, as the work done in the Rural Studies department merited a programme on BBC television and a visit from the first television gardener, Percy Thrower, in 1971. In the same year, the Darland School bee keeping group appeared on the BBC programme Young Scientists of the Year.1972 - 2001In 1972, Darland became a comprehensive school, leading to a massive increase in pupils and staff. An extensive building programme accompanied the arrival of hundreds of new children and many new staff. In 1977, Bellis retired and was replaced in January 1978 by Darland's second headteacher, Derrick Gwilliam. Gwilliam and his staff not only consolidated but increased the academic and extra-curricular activity at Darland. In 1983, Darland's Silver Jubilee was celebrated with a variety of events. To commemorate the occasion, pupils produced a time capsule, containing a collection of essays, photographs, coins, stamps, and newspapers. In June 1987, the music suite was built, and the time capsule was buried in the floor of the new suite and remains there to this day.