Ysgol Rhydfelen (Now Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg) was established in 1962 in the village of
Rhydyfelin near Pontypridd. In the first year 80 pupils were on the school roll. Gwilym Humphreys was the first headmaster of Ysgol Rhydfelen. He was born in
Wallasey, England, the son of a Presbyterian minister and raised in the mining village of
Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire. As the school grew, a
house system was developed to group the children. In Welsh they were called
llysoedd (plural;
llys singular). Up to 1973 there were three Houses: Dinefwr (dark blue), Ifor Hael (red) and Sycharth (yellow). In 1973, when the school had grown to nearly 1,000 pupils, the number of
llysoedd was increased to six. They were named Dafydd (dark blue), Gruffydd (light blue), Hywel (yellow), Iolo (red), Llywelyn (purple), and Owain (orange). The school had its own magazine called
Na Nog, which was published annually. The buildings were grouped roughly into three blocks and named after the Welsh kingdoms of
Gwent,
Powys and
Dyfed. The buildings in Gwent were the oldest and dated from the
Second World War. Powys was a three-storey building with classrooms, a canteen (called
y ffreutur), a swimming pool and staff offices. Dyfed was a two-storey building with classrooms, a hall and the school library. The school gymnasium burned down and was replaced by a new gymnasium in approximately 1977. The Ysgol Rhydfelen buildings were opened for the last time on 8 July 2006 for ex-pupils, teachers and parents to pay a final visit. The gymnasium survived intact until 2007, when the school site was demolished. The old school site also had a large on-site Rugby Field, and tennis courts. In September 2006, the school moved to a new site as part of the Gartholwg Community Campus complex in
Church Village, which consists of Ysgol Gynradd Garth Olwg Welsh medium primary school, Church Village library, Garth Olwg nursery, Garth Olwg Lifelong Learning Centre and the replacement building for Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen. ==School name==