51°28′52″N 3°12′50″W / 51.481°N 3.214°W / 51.481; -3.214 Lansdowne Primary School (Welsh: Ysgol Gynradd Lansdowne) is a Victorian primary school that opened in 1898 in Canton, Cardiff, Wales.

History

The school was designed by architects Veall & Sant and opened in January 1898.^[1]

During the First World War the school was commandeered and used as a military hospital, before reopening as a school again in 1918. The school was badly damaged by incendiary bombs during the Second World War, when a bombing raid hit Cardiff in January 1941.^[1]

In the last 20 years the school has seen the fabric of the building being renovated with new double glazing on the first floor of the Juniors building^{[citation needed]} In the mid 1990s a nursery school was added and about a year after the schools centenary year the overgrown and neglected nature garden was removed. On the cusp of the new Millennium the long-standing headmaster, Mr Davies retired and was presented with a wooden garden bench as a mark of gratitude from staff and pupils.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001 Lansdowne School and School House were granted grade 2 Listing as historic buildings.^[2]

Present day

There are currently 382 children attending the school from nearly 200 local families. 71% of the children attending the school are from the local area and within walking distance. Lansdowne also has a Nursery Unit.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2007 Cardiff Council proposed to close Lansdowne Primary School to provide a new site for the local Welsh medium primary school, Ysgol Treganna. This proposal culminated in a campaign by parents and children, with two bus loads of protesters arriving outside the Senedd in March 2010 to petition Education Minister, Leighton Andrews, to reject the closure.^[3][4]

On 17 January 2008 Lansdowne Primary celebrated its 110th Birthday. School pupils created a Victorian fair to mark the occasion.^[1]

In November 2011 the school received the CILT Cymru Award for their foreign language teaching and international links.^[5]