Cellan School opened in 1899. It had 23 first-language Welsh puplis in 1961 but this dropped to 13 in 1967. Cellan also suffered ‘the most severe reduction in numbers’ of all the schools in the Lampeter district between 1967 and 1973, when the number of pupils enrolled at the school dropped from 20 to 8, although numbers seem to have raised again in 1973 to 11 – 7 Welsh speaking pupils and 4 English-speaking pupils.

In January 1970, a meeting between representatives of the teachers’ unions and the local H.M. Inspector of Schools, Mr. Ricey Thomas, was held at the Education Office in Aberystwyth. ‘The meeting gave careful consideration to the recommendation of the Gittins Report on the amalgamation of rural schools.’ Among the topics considered was Lampeter District Education’s suggestion that ‘an area school in the Betws/Llangybi district [should] replace: Cellan (11), Llangybi (36), Betws Bledrws (24) Llanfair (21) and Silian (17) thus creating a new area school of some 109 pupils. The Education Committee approved these recommendations at its meeting on 28 October, 1971.’ In 1973 the new area school – Ysgol y Dderi – opened its doors.

Sources: David Gwilym (1984). Bilingual education in Cardiganshire, 1904-1974. PhD thesis The Open University; Ceredigion Archives

M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 12 December 2022