Author: Rhys Gregory

Despite facing a year unlike any other, Cardiff and Vale College students are celebrating excellent A Level and BTEC results, securing top university places and excellent progression routes. This year the College saw more students than ever gaining A Levels, with a record 569 learners getting their results today and celebrating a fantastic 96% A Level success rate. The results build on the year-on-year increase in students gaining A grades, with nearly 170 students gaining A*-A and 15 learners achieving at least three As or above. Out of the more than 30 subject areas offered by CAVC, top performing areas for…

Ashmole & Co Swansea are delighted to sponsor Calsonic Kansei Swiss Valley AFC’s Under 13s shirts for the 2021/22 season. Calsonic Kansei Swiss Valley AFC play in the Carmarthenshire Association Junior League and associated cup competitions. Ashmole & Co have been one of the club’s sponsors for five years. Dave Morgan, Ashmole & Co Partner in the Swansea and Neath offices said, “It is a pleasure to be able to sponsor the Calsonic Kansei Swiss Valley Under 13s new shirts for the 2021/22 season. As I’m from Llanelli I’m always keen to show my support locally. This last year hasn’t…

A college learner who is leaving one of the UK’s largest housing estates for a new start at university is celebrating receiving top marks after having to complete his A-levels using an ice cooler as a chair. Dylan Williams, 19, earned A, A, B in mathematics, physics and English language and literature at Coleg y Cymoedd, and will now take up a place at University Bristol where he will study physics and philosophy. The avid-skateboarder, from the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had to complete his A-levels from his own home due to the coronavirus pandemic where he…

‘Don’t throw it away’ – that’s the message from the Repair Café, which holds events across Pembrokeshire. Since May, Repair Café events have been hosted by Pembrokeshire Circle with regular events taking place in Crymych, Fishguard, Letterston, Johnston, St Davids and Scolton Manor. The first event at Scolton Manor saw volunteer fixers repairing items from a temperamental vacuum to a torn silk tablecloth. Marty Andrews, PCC’s Repair Café lead, said: “The owners were keen to extend the life of the items they brought along and didn’t want to just throw them away. We were really pleased to be able to…

People in Swansea are being asked to continue to support the network of foodbanks in the city if they can. Even though Coronavirus restrictions are being lifted, the pandemic has still caused long-term economic fall-out for many and foodbanks are still seeing a high demand for their services. Swansea Council continues to work alongside the dedicated volunteers and organisations that help to run them with many based in council community centres. The HOP Foodbank opened in Sketty Park Community Centre in March 2019 as a small charity mainly covering the Sketty Park, but has expanded to cover a wider area as…

Education Minister Jeremy Miles has praised the achievements of students all over Wales as 2021 A, AS, VQ and Skills Challenge Certificates results are published. The total number of A level entries in Wales this year was 35,867, an increase of 14.5% relative to 2020, reversing the decreasing A level entries since the summer of 2015, and resulting in an extra 4,500 A levels being awarded to Welsh learners this year. Results for Wales show that 99.1% of learners achieved A* – E grades, up from 97.6% in 2019, with an increase at A* with 21.3% of candidates achieving this grade.…

15 million trees have been planted in Uganda as part of a Welsh Government initiative to help tackle the climate emergency, with ambitions to plant 25 million trees by 2025. The Mbale Trees project – funded by the long-standing Wales and Africa programme – aims to plant over 3 million trees a year in the hilly, heavily deforested area of eastern Uganda in a bid to increase community resilience to the impacts of climate change. Working with Size of Wales and the Mount Elgon Tree Growing Enterprise (METGE), free tree seedlings are distributed to local people to be planted on…

Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths has congratulated Gower Salt Marsh Lamb as it becomes the first new product to be awarded UK Geographical Indication (UK GI) Status, the highly sought after award, which will give the Welsh delicacy international protection. The UK GI scheme was established at the beginning of 2021, following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The scheme ensures certain food and drink products can continue to receive legal protection against imitation and misuse. Gower Salt Marsh Lamb is the first new product to achieve the UK GI status and becomes the 17th member of the Welsh GI…

Servicing your boiler annually ensures your heating system is in good working condition throughout the winter. Of course, boilers deteriorate over time, but when kept well maintained, you should expect your boiler to last between 10-15 years.  Whilst you can perform boilers checks by yourself from time to time, the annual service should be performed by a qualified Gas Safe engineer. The best time to service your boiler in the UK is during the summer months. It’s better to guarantee your heating system will be ready and in working order before the cold winter months arrive.  Something else to consider. If you fail…

More and more people begin trading cryptocurrencies as it has become a lucrative venture, although still risky. There are reportedly over 100 million crypto traders around the globe, including Wales. The rave of cryptocurrency began in 2017, with the issuance of Bitcoin. At the time, for most people, it was a foreign technology difficult to understand, while others saw the potential and got in early. With it, a bunch of skeptics considered the innovation a hype that would soon fizzle away like smoke. Today, the industry has over 10,000 cryptocurrencies, with more still making entry into the space. Down from…