Author: Rhys Gregory

Deloitte in Wales has donated 250 laptops to three Cardiff schools since the firm first committed to donating the firm’s used laptops in 2021. During this time Deloitte has donated a total of 6,865 laptops to schools, charities and community groups across the UK. Over half (3,600) of the reconditioned laptops have been donated to pupils from 58 schools across the UK, including 100 each to Fitzalan High School and Eastern High School and 50 to Willows High School, all of which are Deloitte 5 Million Futures partner schools  All the schools are in Cardiff – Fitzalan High School in…

Young entrepreneur Will Kinder has been announced as the Managing Director of The Kingsward Group following a management buy-in that has enabled the founding directors to retire. Margaret and Alan Keetch have sold the Ferndale-based metal fabrication business that they established in 1990 to 32 year old Will Kinder, previously a Director of engineering company Aluqo which is a customer of the Kingsward Group. Funding for the management buy-in was provided by the Development Bank of Wales with a mix of debt and equity alongside the growth and working capital provider, Growth Lending. Employing 25 people on the Oaklands Business…

Brand-new compositions by a leading Welsh composer will be given their world premieres at a top music festival. Richard Barrett will present the new works, entitled Pektis and Outsider, at the Bangor Music Festival, where he will also give one of the festival’s key note speeches. While focusing mainly on contemporary music, the festival has been a highlight on Wales’s cultural calendar for more than 20 years and will be staged at Pontio and other sites at Bangor University on February 17 and 18. Festival organiser Guto Pryderi Puw, who has been involved with the festival since it was launched…

Santa arrived in style for the big Christmas lights switch-on at a care organisation. Father Christmas was travelling on an illuminated state-of-the-art sleigh made by the talented maintenance team at Pendine Park in Wrexham. The bearded man of the moment and his entourage of elves were given a rousing cheer by the delighted residents and staff. According to Pendine Park Artist in Residence Sarah Edwards, it was one of the most exciting days of the year. She said: “The Christmas lights switch on and Santa arriving with his sleigh is always a highlight of Christmas celebrations here at Pendine Park.…

Moondance Cancer Initiative has announced more than half a million pounds is to be given to seven projects led by teams from across NHS Wales as part of its latest funding round to improve cancer outcomes in Wales. Among the awarded projects is an innovation which introduces a new diagnostic test to Wales that could assist in earlier cancer diagnosis for patients with Barrett’s oesophagus. Cytosponge™ is a minimally invasive device that has been developed to collect cells from the oesophagus lining. The Cytosponge™ is a small capsule which is attached to a fine string. After swallowing, the capsule coating…

A talented young dancer melted hearts with her remarkable performance at a special Christmas concert. Efa Williams, 14, a pupil at Ysgol y Gogarth in Llandudno, took centre stage with her starring role at the service held at Bangor Cathedral. The teenager also made a bit of history as it was the first ever fully inclusive and accessible service at the cathedral. The Christmas Celebration was led by Naomi Wood, the cathedral’s Family Minister, and was attended by more than 180 people. It  was organised by mum-of-three Davina Carey-Evans, the current High Sheriff of Gwynedd, whose 27 year old son,…

A Flintshire community food group will be handing out plenty of Christmas cheer to its customers thanks to the generosity of a new business to the town. Buckley Community Fridge has just received a consignment of 100 chocolate selection packs from Denbigh-based Lock Stock Self-Storage which recently opened a new storage park on the town’s Globe Way. It’s a welcome seasonal bonus for the Community Fridge, based at The Old Library and open three times a week, which is seeing a surge in numbers at its doors as winter and the cost of living crisis bite. Chair Viv Blondek said:…

Manufacturing social enterprise Celtic Offsite is working with the Pobl Group to bring 60 new low carbon homes to Croespenmaen, Caerphilly. Pobl’s Ton y Felin development will include one-bedroom apartments and two and three-bedroom homes, with some available for social rent and others for shared ownership and outright market sale to suit a range of people. Celtic Offsite is part of not-for-profit housing organisation United Welsh. The team will manufacture the timber frame structures for the homes, with fitted insulation and windows, from their new factory in Caerphilly. The homes will then be completed on site with contractor M&J Cosgrove.…

Staff from a Gwynedd creamery braved wind, rain and mist to tackle Wales’s highest peak and raise a mountain of cash for two charities that are close to their hearts. The intrepid walkers from South Caernarfon Creameries climbed Snowdon last month and raised over £8,000 in sponsorship with the company, Wales’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative, backing their efforts with a further £5,000. The money was divided between Cofio Robin, which commemorates Robin Llyr Evans, who died tragically seven years ago in a fall at a newly-built sports stadium in Wuhan in China, and rural mental health charity The DPJ Foundation,…

A small social housing development in Bridgend has won a top national award for innovation. Ffordd Yr Eglwys, delivered by Valleys to Coast housing association, won the ‘delivering innovation’ category at the recent Ystadau Cymru awards run by Welsh Government. The four home development in North Cornelly was the first to be built by a social housing developer using a modular construction method, with structural insulated panels manufactured off-site. They are innovative not only in construction, but in design – offering one-bedroom accommodation set over a traditional two-storey house style. The scheme was delivered as part of the Rapid Rehousing…