By Rob Cole

The Tour de France will be tracked over the next three weeks by millions of cycling fans around the globe, but nobody will be taking a keener interest on the epic race than the pupils of Whitchurch High School in Cardiff.

They will be pinning their hopes on Geraint Thomas, one of their many top-flight sporting alumni, adding to his collection of Yellow Jerseys and maybe, just maybe, challenging his Team Sky teammate Chris Froome for the overall prize.

The tension and excitement has been rising at the school, although for one member of staff it will be a question of just sitting back and taking it all in his stride.

After all, he has seen so many great performances from so many of his former pupils in recent years.

Steve Williams may be affectionately referred to as ‘Grumpy’ by all you know him, but the ‘Mr Chips’ of Whitchurch High School certainly has plenty to smile about when he reflects on his school’s sporting achievements.

The north Cardiff school celebrates its 50^th birthday this year, born out of the amalgamation of Whitchurch Grammar School and Whitchurch County Secondary School, and there haven’t been many of the half-century missed by Mr Williams.

“I went to the old Grammar School in 1960 and left in 1967. I came back to teach here in 1975 and I’ve been here ever since,” he explains.

“I started teaching in 1970 after leaving Loughborough Colleges and so I’m coming up to 50 years in education in 2020. I have to say I’ve had few dark moments.”

These days the former PE guru at one of Wales’ largest schools acts as the Estates Director, a role that has seen him greatly enhance the facilities on the two campuses. His love of sport, however, has never waned – he still coaches the 1^st XV – and he has kept a space in his ‘Hall of Fame’ corridor for the possible addition of a Yellow Jersey from Team Sky’s Thomas.

As one of Whitchurch’s ‘Sporting Trinity’, Thomas has some tough acts to follow. Gareth Bale scored two goals, one of them a ‘worldie’, to ensure he picked up his fourth Champions League with Real Madrid in May, David Phelps returned from the Commonwealth Games with his second shooting gold medal, Dan Salmon also struck gold in the bowls pairs in Australia and Sam Warburton steered the British & Irish Lions to a drawn series in New Zealand last summer.

Williams’ Hall of Fame boasts a number of global superstars in their ‘then and now’ poses as pupils and masters of their sporting trade. There are a number of signed items from the high achievers in the impressive sports hall and a host of stories from the teachers to inspire the next generation of wannabee superstars.

“There is a huge interest in what happens in the Tour de France and there is a definite buzz about the place. I’d love to see Geraint come back to see us after he completes the tour and there is definitely a space in the Hall of Fame corridor for a Yellow Jersey,” he added.

There were six current and former pupils in Team Wales at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and sixth former Latalia Bevan was able to bring back a gymnastics silver medal with her.

Success breeds success, and that’s why Williams is banking on Thomas to build on his Criterium du Dauphine and British Time Trial triumphs this year and enjoy an even better Tour de France than last year.

In 2017 he won the opening day Time Trial and wore yellow for four days in a staggering breakthrough. Since 1903, only eight British riders have worn the Yellow Jersey:

 

Tommy Simpson              1 day 1962 following Stage 12
Chris Boardman                6 days – 3 in 1994, 1 in 1997, 2 1998
Sean Yates                          1 day in 1994
David Millar                        3 days in 2000
Bradley Wiggins                13 days in 2012
Chris Froome                     47 days in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017
Mark Cavendish               1 day in 2016
Geraint Thomas                4 days in 2017

 

“Geraint played all sports in school up to the age of 15. He would participate in anything and showed a great willingness. He was champion for us in athletics and rugby and I vividly remember him sprinting down the finishing straight in the 1500 metres in Year 9,” recalled Williams.

“He had that competitive edge and quality even at a young age. Then he had to decide what he wanted to do and he stuck with cycling, even though he could have gone on and become a very, very good rugby player.

 

“He was very supportive of other sports and events in school even when he was getting more and more involved in cycling, he thanked me in his book for not making him play rugby at senior level. But just like those big names that followed him, Sam and Gareth, he was the ultimate competitor even at a young age.

“The atmosphere we encourage here is to take part in all sports. We aren’t a school that sits back and does nothing when it comes to sporting achievement – sport means something here and we like to encourage all our pupils to take part.

“In PE lessons we try to encourage people to reach their full potential and if they want to take it any further we provide that opportunity for them outside of school. Sport isn’t something that is taken lightly here, it is part of the growing up scheme that the school provides.

“Gareth would do any sport that was going and Sam was a very good high jumper. There was never been an attitude from any of them that I’m only a footballer or rugby player – it was always, whatever the sport, you can count me in.

“We have a very enthusiastic and talented staff of PE specialists and volunteers here at the school, but we’ve had to move with the times in terms of the curriculum. We now have PE exams and there are no games for the sixth form any more.

 

“That is bound to have taken its toll, but we keep on encouraging them to use the facilities and to take part.

“We drive hard on the academic side, the music side and on the sporting side. A lot of the values I’ve tried to instil in the pupils down the years came from my time at the old Whitchurch Grammar School.

“From the day I first walked through the school gates at the age of 11, I felt a huge pride in having the chance to come here.

“You really felt you had a chance to be a part of something special. The opportunities presented to the pupils then were vast and varied and I’ve tried to ensure that has continued in my time here.

“Very often people only realise how much help and encouragement they had when they look back, rather than when they look forward. A lot of our great sporting alumni like to come back and see us, so I take that to mean they must have enjoyed their time here and place some value on the sporting experience they gained at school.

“The champions on a world stage set an example for every child that comes through our gates. They may think they are only a lad or girl from Whitchurch High School, but the exploits of Bale, Warburton, Thomas and so many more show them it is possible to go from here to become a champion internationally, not just locally.

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“They have set tremendous targets, but they have also shown that it is possible to start here and shoot for the stars. If you want to work hard the opportunities are there for you.

“We often use those three as an example, but we do the same with all our high achievers. The point is, we are not just a rugby or soccer school.

“We’ve had Olympians in athletics, football and Ice Dancing, a rugby league World Cup international, a double Commonwealth Games gold medallist in shooting as well as bowls and gymnastics medallists and swimming, badminton and hockey representatives.

“This school has seen success across a whole array of sports and while we may not be able to offer the opportunity to play every sport at school, we actively encourage and support our pupils to improve and excel at any and every sport outside of school. If you don’t have the base, you won’t have the pinnacle.

“We pride ourselves on being a sporting school and we are the only school in Wales to have won the Daily Telegraph award for Sporting Excellence. That was in 2011 when we were voted the top comprehensive school in the UK for being proficient in all sports and offering such a wide range of opportunities.”

The 105th Tour de France
Starts on Saturday, 7 July and ends on Sunday, 29 July

There are 22 teams tackling the 3,351 kilometre – or 2,082 miles – race from Noirmoutier-en-l’île to Paris.
There are 21 stages.
The longest stage is Stage 7 on Friday, 13 July –  231km from Fougères to Chartres
The winner will take home a prize of the €500,000 (around £440,626)