Ty’n-y-Felin, Lymm High School’s residential outward-bound centre on Anglesey, has reopened this term after a prolonged closure since the COVID pandemic.
The first students to stay at the centre were on a biology fieldtrip, and all Year 7 students had the “Tynny experience” during July.
Located near Rhoscolyn on the west side of Anglesey, Ty’n-y-Felin has been part of the Lymm High School offer to students since the 1950s. With a 60-bed residential accommodation, classrooms and leisure facilities, it is close to fabulous beaches, with lots of opportunities for outdoor activities like coasteering, canoeing, hiking and sports.
Ty’n-y-Felin had to close in early 2020 due to COVID pandemic restrictions, and once the school was able to use it again, significant external repairs and internal updating were needed. Gwyn Williams, headteacher at Lymm High School said: “It is great to see students enjoying Ty’n-y-Felin again – it is pretty unique for a state school to have a facility like this and we are keen to make full use of it in the future.”
To that end, Lymm High School is working in partnership with The Challenge Academy Trust (TCAT) which runs a number of primary and secondary schools across Warrington including Priestley College, to broaden the use of Ty’n-y-Felin to other groups of school students from the wider Warrington community. Doing so will help to ensure a sustainable future for Ty’n-y-Felin, with better facilities and higher levels of occupancy.
As part of this collaboration Lymm High School will continue to have priority access to the centre whilst TCAT is committed to a significant programme of improvements including rebuilding the original farmhouse and major investment in outdoor equipment and facilities. Applications are being sought for residential staff to ensure the centre is open all year round.
Howard Platt of Laskey Farm in Lymm, who is the chair of TCAT, said: “As a former Lymm Grammar School student, I have very happy memories of staying at Ty’n-y -Felin back in the 1960s and 70s. It is such a great facility, and we at TCAT are very excited about being able to extend its use to more school students from Warrington, and to contribute to improving the facilities and activities it can provide.”
As a condition of entering into a lease with the LGS Trust TCAT will :-
• Invest £200k in rebuilding the original farmhouse
• Recruit a full-time resident centre manager
• Invest up to £500k in new outdoor facilities
• Offer a wide choice of activities for young people of all ages
• Open Tyn Y Felin all year round
