Rhostyllen

A history through pictures

Rhostyllen School

Bersham School was opened on 6th May 1868 and at this point in time all the children from Rhostyllen, Bersham and the surrounding areas would have gone to this school. (Please see the Bersham Village page for photographs of Bersham School). Rhostyllen Infants School (situated in School Street) was first occupied in February 1900. In the 1940’s, 50’s and into the 60’s all “Village” children went to Rhostyllen Infants School. At the age of 7 they moved to the “Juniors” at Bersham. The children would go up and down the “46 steps” twice a day, as there was no canteen in Bersham School. Most went home for lunch but those who wanted a school dinner had to go to the Rhostyllen School canteen and walk both directions! You never saw a parent taking a child to school in Bersham; from the age of 7 they all walked down the steps, over the bridge and up through Bersham “Rec” to school on their own.

People were trusting in those days and children were considered old enough at 7 to look after themselves to get to school.

At the age of 11, they either went on to the grammar school in Wrexham (if they passed the “11 plus”) or moved back to the “Village” to attend Rhostyllen Secondary Modern School.

When Bersham School closed, Rhostyllen had both an Infants and a Junior School with all the older children going to Bryn Offa Secondary School in Wrexham.

At some point the old Infants school was demolished and there is now a housing estate on the site. The main school was remodelled in 1961 and has been again in the 1990s for a combined Infants and Junior School.

The text below is taken from Rhostyllen - Then and Now (Rebecca Angus)