A former history teacher from Hengoed has celebrated her 100th birthday.

Sarah Nesta Jones, or Nesta as she is known, was born in Hengoed on May 11, 1920 to Mary and Thomas Jones – a veteran of the second Boer war.

Born towards the end of the Spanish Flu pandemic, Nesta celebrated her centenary in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Family members and neighbours stood out in the street, two metres apart due to social distancing rules, to sing Happy Birthday to Nesta, who sat in the front garden of the home she has lived in since she was born.

On her 100th birthday on Monday (May 11), Nesta spoke to radio host Wynne Evans on his BBC Radio Wales show.

Nesta attended Hengoed County Girls School (which later became Lewis Girls’ School), where she went onto become a teacher.

But before becoming a teacher, Nesta studied history and religion at University College Cardiff and returned home after graduating.

She then started teaching at her old school, who were so keen to hire Nesta that they turned up at her house to offer her the job.

Several years later, Nesta moved to Ceredigion to teach at a school in Llandysul during WWII. It was here she heard the news that the war had ended.

However, Nesta returned to her family home in Hengoed some years later to teach at Pontypool Grammar School for girls, where she taught for around 20 years.

Her last teaching post was at Lewis Girls’ School in Ystrad Mynach, where she was head of history.

Outside of teaching, Nesta has been an active member of the community.

Nesta is honorary president of the Gelligaer Historical Society, and is involved with the Ystrad Mynach Music Club and has been a member of several ladies’ choirs during her lifetime, including Pontypool, Maesycwmmer and Cefn Hengoed.

Nesta used to be the organist and secretary at Tabor Church in Maesycwmmer before it closed down in 2002, and had been a member of the church since 1934. Many of her relatives are buried at the church, and her fascination with history and role as secretary led her to make records of the burials there, which she sent to the Glamorgan Archives.

Nesta still plays the organ at Bethany Church in Ystrad Mynach.

A keen pianist, Nesta plays regularly at home. Her piano used to belong to her mother and is around 120 years old.

Distant relative David Holder has always been close to Nesta, who he calls his aunt.

Mr Holder said: “She’s been a great aunt to myself, my brother, my sister and my cousins. She’s been so good to us and our mother. She’s been amazing all through her life.

“Growing up, we didn’t have a car so Nesta shared her car with us.”

Mr Holder added: “Nesta is an amazing character with an amazing brain. She’s so knowledgeable – her mind is a goldmine of knowledge.

“She’s had letters from former pupils for her birthday. She’s had a huge impact on the people she taught.”