Read a transcript of Mel's film:
"If I were an Assembly Member for the day I would regenerate Cowbridge School.
Education is something so important to everyone. If we don't have these facilities...how is that fair? It's not fair and you do feel discriminated against.
Mel
The school is falling apart. There could be so much more done to the school, so much more equipment. The buildings could be reconstructed so that they're all together on the same site, so we have somewhere to go when it rains which isn't water logged or totally muddy.
It makes me feel quite angry as a pupil of the school. I feel that everyone should have good facilities in which to work with, and we simply don't.
I think this is a problem for students, teachers and parents alike. If a panel falls from the ceiling, everyone questions why is this happening. We're supposed to be in a safe working environment. The answer is we simply don't have enough funding.
They say that due to us achieving good grades, and because Cowbridge is otherwise such an affluent area, we simply aren't a priority.
Even though we are working well, we still have to work well under awful conditions. It doesn't do much for morale if all you're looking at each day is horrible classrooms around you.
You simply have to get on with it if you don't have the facilities, but I think if the facilities were put there, people could thrive so much more, and we could have so much more opportunities.
Rugby could be so much better if we didn't have a waterlogged pitch. We could even incorporate swimming in to the syllabus, which a lot of other schools have but we don't have a swimming pool. I think drama could go a lot further if it had its own stage and it wasn't sharing with the sixth form hall.
Education is something so important to everyone. Everyone needs a good education. If we don't have these facilities, if we don't have good buildings, if it just simply isn't in running order, how is that fair? It's not fair and you do feel discriminated against."
your comments
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Terence Parish, Wolverhampton
I was an independent OFSTED inspector for many years and it was certainly true up to a couple of years ago that schools in 'nicer' perhaps seemingly more affluent areas were often very much underfunded compared to rough schools in areas designated in an area of some form of need. It is, or was, a form of social engineering which frequently had no benefits - chucking money at problems rarely succeeds in the long term. And it was /is most unfair on youngsters 'unfortunate' enough to be well behaved, generally bright, and motivated.
Danielle Lee-Hilton - former pupil
I think this is a brilliant thing Mel. I left Cowbridge School 4 years ago and I'm troubled that nothing has been done to improve the school. I think the condition of the buildings is not the only thing that need to be reviewed, but the school as a whole. Gone are the days when pupils and teachers alike were proud to be a part of such a well renowned school. Cowbridge was a bastion of respect and discipline until the mid 1990s, what went wrong?
Parent of lower school pupil
I think you have started something that should have happenend years ago Mel. Well done you.
Hannah Wilson
I can't believe the school in an even worse state than it was 21 years ago when I started there. It's a massive testament to the teachers and kids at the school that they achieve so much. I now live in England and this just would not be tolerated here. In the past few years the city of Exeter has had five new secondary schools built - five! Compare this to the absolute disgrace of Cowbridge School.
Holly from Cowbridge
I am a pupil at Cowbridge Lower School and I agree with you Mel! But maybe we should bring this case down to Lower School - it's falling to crumbs a lot more than Middle School to be fair. Please help us!
Rebecca, Cowbridge
I am currently in Cowbridge School - my sister left three years ago. It has been in this state since she started there 8 years ago - my parents thought that by the time I started it would have improved.
Current Pupil, Cowbridge
If the results achieved by the school were not of such a high standard then something would have been done about this sitution much sooner. In addition to the awful conditions which Mel highlighted in her video, we have also had to put up with flooding, rat infestation and sewage overflows. I don't see how any child can be expected to learn in such appalling conditions.
Jenny Roberts Thurlestone Devon
I totally support this pupil for having the courage to speak out about the disgraceful condition at Cowbridge Comprehensive School - known to us as our grandson attends there. Pupils have been and are being let down badly; perhaps less money spent in Cardiff on Rugby Stadiums, Opera Houses and above all Assembly Buildings? A simple matter of priorities!
Dimop from Cowbridge
I think Mel is correct and the school is a shambles! i will be leaving next year and i hope for the sake of future pupils that the school is made better as it is getting worse by the day. Something has to be done!
Steve
Not to mention the asbestos.
James, Cowbridge
I could not agree more with Mel. Her film perfectly highlights the appalling state of our school. And it is not the case that she has simply sought out the very worst parts of it; every pupil could name at least a dozen examples around the site that are as bad as the ones shown here, if not worse! We could make a whole other film about the state of the lower school; some of the buildings on the site for years 7 and 8 have been there for several decades! Admittedly, there are schools in Wales in a worse state than Cowbridge's, but if you look for a school in England, with results equal to ours, in as bad a state as this, you simply will not be able to find one. It seems that every year the government makes an announcement that we will have a new school, but it has been said so many times now we have learnt to tune it out.
A parent from St Andrews, Scotland
My kid's local high school, Madras College, is historically one of Scotland's best schools in one of the UK's great mediaeval university towns. However, it has been slowly going down the tubes over the past twenty years of local authority neglect. Recently the school was rated as 'unsatisfactory' by the schools inspectors, partly because of the run-down state of the school and its split site. This is just another Labour council living in cloud cuckoo land of statistics, proving everything gets better while everything actually gets worse.
R Lewis, Wakefield :(
I have to say my school wasn't as bad as that, but I can sympathise with having to walk outside. My college is divided into blocks, and up here in Yorkshire, when it rains, it pours, and there are puddles everywhere. As someone who finds it physically difficult to walk around, outside in the cold and wet makes it worse. We are on a hill so there are steps up to different levels. It would be so much better even if there was an overhead canopy to spot it getting so wet. I find the Common Room the worst place though. Even though there are loads of bins, kids still feel the need to leave litter around. The cleaners went on strike once and shut the Common Room. Then there was no where to go to lunch. It is truly discusting and I eat my lunch as quickly as possible so I can get out of there as quickly as possible.
Nick, Gibraltar
I went to Cowbridge, it was falling apart then, it looks like it's still the same, with the same "Temporary" buildings in use! I think the council want to run it down - then it won't seem such a bad idea when they suggest selling playing fields off to pay for repair!
Peter, Cardiff
Andrew Pencoed: Voters in Cowbridge don't vote for Labour or Plaid etc. Get it?
Glyn RB from Barry
Well it's nice to see my council tax has gone to good use!! This school looks exactly like Barry Boys Comprehensive was when I was in school in the 1980's!! The Vale of Glamorgan Council yet again surpasses itself in its ability to provide a safe and happy place for children to learn. Elections are coming up so make sure you tell your AM when he/she calls around for your vote!
Jo Daniel from Cowbridge
Well done Mel! As an ex pupil of Cowbridge I am only too aware of the dreadful conditions. I hope that this will kick start a regeneration within the school, and that the pupils get the buildings they need and deserve. It's about time!
Ex-Cowbridgian, Troes
I am truly shocked that the cage is still standing. The floor fell through when I was there and I left 6th form 5 years ago. It's amazing to see my old school still in this state, especially as I am working in a school near Merthyr that has such a huge amount of money spent on it that they can afford new buildings and annual repainting. Shocking.
Simon, Vale of Glamorgan
Well done to all of the pupils for highlighting the problems they face on a daily basis. I know from friends who attend the school that the issues highlighted are only the tip of the iceberg. These problems reflect the state of many of the schools within the Vale of Glamorgan. If this was an industrial factory or office the owners would face potential prosecution under Health and Safety legislation by the HSE. When will the Vale of Glamorgan Council realise that pupils should have the same rights to safe 'working' conditions as adults do? Perhaps the Council members would like to base themselves in Cowbridge School for a week to experience it for themselves?
Maggie, Cowbridge
Well done Mel! It is an insult to the pupils' hard work. They uncomplainingly accept such poor working conditions and are not rewarded by improved facilities or a fair EMA system for their efforts. These pupils should be rewarded and shown that they are valued by our community - after all they are the future. It would be fair to show some respect and invest in their education.
Chris, Llantwit Major
Well done to this girl for highlighting the shocking state of comprehensive schools in the Vale. My daughter is in year 9 at Llantwit Major Comprehensive and what they have to put up is apalling. The main block is OK but only after it was rebuilt following a fire some years ago. However, in the other blocks there are broken windows, doors hanging off, ceilings falling in on a regular basis (and not all caused by pupil damage by the way). Classrooms have to be shut because they are unsafe. If it was a private house or a hotel it would be shut down by the council as being uninhabitable yet we have to send our children there for 8 hours a day.
Dave Hand, Merthyr Tydfil
If only this was unique. If you think this is bad then I suggest you pay a visit to Cyfartha Lower school in Merthyr Tydfil. All I can say is I'm surprised the Health & Safety exec haven't condemned it! Back in Feb there were polythene sheets tied from the classroom ceilings to direct water into buckets, walls & ceilings are falling down. The RSPCA wouldn't allow animals to be kept in such a place yet the government and LEA seem to think it's fine for kids!
Andrew Burnett. Pencoed
I am truly shoked. I don't understand why a school of such a high stardard has been left to rot like that. I personally go to Pencoed Comprehensive School and looking at the contrast I am amazed. Cowbridge Comprehensive is at a higher league than us as their grades are sky-high and my school gets funded to get equipment for our classrooms, to tidy our common room, to stop the walls from falling down (with double glazed windows)... I don't get it!
