Education, alongside religion, has traditionally, played a major role in the lives of the people of the Rhondda. Among working people it was seen as a 'way out of the pit' and the route to a better life for your children than the life yourself had. However to keep your children in school was a sacrifice, in times when money and work was scarce another breadwinner was often essential, and when work was plentiful the lure of another wage to large working class households was similarly tempting. Despite this the Rhondda became famed for its attitude to education and self-improvement.

However up until 1859 the only educational facilities in the Porth area, in the main, belonged to the Sunday Schools. Then in 1859 the National Society opened the Cymmer National School for the purposes of, 'inculcating Church of England doctrines in addition to the usual secular subjects'. Soon after a 'British School' was opened at Porth for those whose parents objected to Church of England doctrines. This was held for many years at Bethlehem Chapel, eventually becoming Porth Boys School. Changes in the law meant that attendance at school became compulsory and School Boards came into existence in order to raise money from local rates and supply school accommodation.
 

Thus in the late 1870's Cymmer National school was transferred to the Llantrisant School Board, and Porth British School to that of Llanwonno.

 However the rapid growth of the area meant that more new schools were needed, thus a new school was built at Cymmer and opened in 1881.

Eventually in the 1890's all schools in the Porth area came under the newly formed Ystradyfodwg School Board. The old National School at Cymmer became a Pupil Teacher's Centre for the training of aspiring student teachers in 1893, operating on a part time basis. This itself was incorporated into the new secondary school buildings.

Following the Welsh Intermediate Schools Act of 1889, The Rhondda Intermediate School was built at Porth, where both boys and girls received advanced education 'fitting them to take degree courses at any university'.

This was built on three acres of land above Mount Pleasant given free by Colonel Picton Turberville and was opened on September 22^nd 1896, later evolving into Porth County School.

In 1913 the Girl's County School was opened. Later on the School Board established a Higher Elementary School at Mount Pleasant, which was raised to the status of a Secondary school in the late 1920s.

The Higher Grade schools were limited in function, being seen as providing for the son of the miner vocationally oriented training. However the Intermediate School was expected to cater for the fee paying middle class minority as well as those gifted enough to receive scholarships, and had a more varied classically based syllabus.

Also within Porth were two private schools that flourished for a number of years in the early twentieth century, the Cambrian Mining School and the Commercial School both based in Cemetery Road.

Finally in the Tynycymmer Hall was set up The South Wales Bible Institute where men and women were trained 'in Bible knowledge...for all kinds of Christian work at home and abroad'.