Geraint Llŷn and Bella Scutt-Jones
Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones, Amlwch,
Ynys Môn (Wales, UK)
Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones is a mixed bilingual community school based in Amlwch on the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), making it the Northernmost secondary school in Wales. It was opened in 1950 and named after Sir Thomas Jones (1870–1945), a local doctor and chairman of the county council.
The school has around 550 pupils from 11 to 18 years old who are mostly bilingual in Welsh and English although a small portion of the pupils are only learning to speak Welsh as they have moved recently to the area. The majority of topics are taught through the medium of Welsh.
Amlwch used to be a very industrial area with a long history of copper mining going back hundreds of years, chemical plants (extraction of bromine from seawater), and a nuclear power plant in the area. Most of this industry has died out in the area although there is a possibility that the mining of ore may start again soon.
Fun fact: Notable people educated at the school include the scientist, inventor and entrepeneur Tom Parry Jones who developed and marketed the first handheld electronic breathalyser, and Lemmy Kilmister, the lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead.