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Mr Morgan, who has served as Coleg y Cymoedd’s Vice Principal and Chief Operating Officer for the past three years, succeeded former Principal, Karen Phillips, who retired in September 2022.

With over 25 years’ experience in education, including 20 at Coleg y Cymoedd (formerly known as College Ystrad Mynach), Mr Morgan has spent the last five years working within strategic leadership roles at the college, where he has overseen a range of curriculum areas alongside finance, people and culture, and digital transformation projects.

Mr Morgan’s tenure as Vice Principal and Chief Operating Officer also included the overseeing of several major infrastructure projects, including the £3.9 million refurbishment of the Rhondda campus in 2021 and the further £8.3 refurbishment of the Ystrad Mynach campus that took place this year.

As Vice Principal and Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan has been credited for the leading role he has played in guiding the college’s response through the COVID-19 pandemic. That unprecedented time saw him manage all communications with external partners, colleagues, and trade unions, in addition to his work developing the curriculum to safeguard access to education during the pandemic.

Prior to entering the education sector, Mr Morgan first had a successful career as a professional footballer for Cardiff City Football Club, boasting over 70 first team appearances in division two, the Football League, FA Cup, League Cup, Welsh Cup, and European Cup Winners Cup. In 1996, Welsh football’s loss became education’s gain, when a recurring injury cut his football career short, forcing him to take early retirement aged just 26.

Thankfully, Jonathan was prepared for that transition. From the age of 22, he played semi-professional football whilst gaining a first-class honors degree in Recreation and Leisure Management, followed by a masters in Sport and Leisure Studies and then a PGCE.

Mr Morgan, who is originally from Cardiff, initially took several sports teaching posts at various colleges around London, before the inevitable desire to return to his home country prompted the move back to Wales in 2002 to join College Ystrad Mynach as Deputy Head of Faculty.

https://www.cymoedd.ac.uk/coleg-y-cymoedd-announces-jonathan-morgan-as-its-new-principal/