Cycle Ride Celebration

Cycle ride to commemorate school opening

This year Bromsgrove School had hoped to come together with the town of Llanwrtyd Wells to celebrate their combined history 80 years on.

At the start of the Second World War the Senior School was evacuated to the small Welsh town and on September 20th 1940, Bromsgrove Junior School opened its doors with just 16 pupils. From these small foundations the Junior School flourished and it now has more than 500 pupils. Sadly the planned celebrations had to be postponed but some of the school’s intrepid staff decided to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of Bromsgrove Prep School in their own way. Organised by Gareth Jones, the Prep School’s head of boys PE, 14 cyclists, all members of school staff, took on the challenge of riding from Llanwrtyd Wells to Bromsgrove, with four riders completing a round trip of 180 miles. Mr Jones said: “Sunday, September 27th is a day that will stay long in the memory for so many reasons. To cycle from where we were based in Llanwrtyd Wells back to Bromsgrove was a symbolic thing to do. I first thought about the idea during lockdown as it was reported that 1.3 million people bought bikes and it also coincided with the founding of the Prep School in Wales, my home country. “Cycling through beautiful countryside either side of the border helped to ensure that the day ran smoothly. A great day was had by all cyclists and staff who drove the minibus.”

The story of the school’s evacuation to Wales is as follows:

Eighty-one years ago Bromsgrove School moved to Llanwrtyd Wells after the School buildings were requisitioned by the Ministry of War on September 7th 1939. Headmaster David Walters had received notification this was a possibility in April 1939 and had arranged with a hotel owner in Llanwrtyd Wells to provide a home for the School should the need arise. From September 9th 1939, 60 Pickford Vans loaded

with pianos, goalposts, bedding and blackboards transferred the School to Wales. By September 30th, 240 boys (only 35 less than were on the register) was in its temporary home. Hotels became dormitories and the Abernant Lake Hotel at Llanwrtyd Wells became Bromsgrove School’s main home for four years. As the war intensified and the threat of invasion grew, parents of younger boys asked for their sons to be taken under Bromsgrove School care. Bombing raids on major towns and cities led Mr Walters to believe that a Prep School was needed to accommodate the growing need. On September 20th 1940, Bromsgrove Junior School opened its doors with just 16 pupils, housed at Llanwrtyd Hall, Station Road. The sight of a ‘crocodile’ of 16 boys aged six to 12 walking two by two through Llanwrtyd Wells earned them the nickname of ‘The Zoo’, a name that stuck and was adopted by Old Bromsgrovians who were the original Prep School pupils.