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Cwmdu school

The school was established in 1873, a little way outside the village of Llanfihangel Cwmdu. It incorporated a schoolteacher's residence. The place has changed little since the photographer was a pupil here in the 1950s but this side entrance and carpark are a subsequent addition. When I attended the school, pupils either walked the short distance from the village with mothers or friends (returning home for the midday meal) or, if from further afield, were transported by school bus, van or taxi, in which case you took school meals, prepared in the annexe. Nobody was delivered by car! The only entrance was the gate from the road and this area was just a field. There were around 40 children on the roll then, and there are 32 today, still with two teachers. There were two classrooms, one heated with a stove, the other with a coal fire. The headmaster in my day was Mr T. Davies who gave the children a good grounding in the Welsh language and was not averse to using corporal punishment occasionally. He bore a strong resemblance to Aneurin Bevan which I found confusing, and wondered whether they were one and the same person.