Online: Twentieth Century Schools in Wales: An Overview
Online: Twentieth Century Schools in Wales: An Overview
Monday 22 September 2025 at 6.30pm
This presentation will explore the development of the Welsh school in the twentieth century. The Welsh Government's recent '21st Century Schools' program has represented the biggest investment in the educational estate since the 1960s by building and refurbishing hundreds of primary and secondary schools across the country. In the process, many schools have closed or been demolished – especially those built in the twentieth century – changing the education landscape in the country.
This has presented a timely opportunity to try to understand more about the constructive nature of our schools in the twentieth century in relation to their architecture and their different types; from the council schools of the 1900s to the widespread introduction of comprehensive schools in the 1970s and beyond. Evolving designs, materials, and ideas around pedagogy shaped these public architectures in ways that have consequently shaped our lives through our shared experiences of attending – and indeed teaching in – schools.
Drawing on a recent research and survey programme conducted by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, this talk will provide a visual overview of Welsh schools in the twentieth century, and consider how this building type offers a compelling example for the study of other twentieth century buildings.
Dr Meilyr Powel is an Investigator of Historic Buildings with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Following a short spell teaching at Swansea University’s History Department, he joined the Royal Commission in 2020 to work on a maritime project, before taking his current role with the Survey and Investigation Team in 2022.
C20 Society Member: £3;
Non-Member: £5;
Young C20 member: Free*;
*For Young C20 members, please email lukas@c20society.org.uk to secure a place.
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Note: The event will be recorded and offered as a catch-up lecture for those who have booked and will be available for two weeks.
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The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider.
The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244
Above: Newport High School, South Wales by Evans & Shalev, 1972. Demolished in 2009. Copyright Iqbal Aalam