Singing legend on school register

Thomas Woodward (bottom) rose to fame as Tom Jones

A school register featuring a young Sir Tom Jones is among education records being preserved by a local authority.

Thomas Woodward, as he was called before his rise to fame, attended Wood Road school in Treforest, Pontypridd.

The register shows that an eight-year-old Sir Tom attended school on 7 September, 1948 along with class mates such as Thomas Simms and William John.

Rhondda Cynon Taf council wants to find all school registers in the county and preserve them electronically.

The council said admission registers were "important historical documents that should be preserved for future generations by digitising each of them".

Sir Tom recently revealed a new, greyer look

Digitised copies of the records will be available for schools to use in projects, but access to the general public will be restricted by data protection laws.

Other school records such as log books and punishment books may also be preserved.

"Research into family history has never been so prolific and this will allow historians another opportunity to gather details for various projects," said culture and recreation cabinet member Councillor Robert Bevan.

Sir Tom was born Thomas Jones Woodward on 7 June 1940 in Treforest and first took to the stage at the Treforest Non-Political Club, the social club just yards from his home.

He would regularly sing at family gatherings and weddings as well as his mother's Women's Guild meetings.

After landing his first UK No 1 with It's Not Unusual in the 1960s, he leapt to international stardom and has stayed at the top for four decades.

The 68-year-old singer recently caused a stir when he stopped dyeing his hair to reveal a new greyer look.