Author: Rhys Gregory

The innovative housing pilot lead by Monmouthshire Housing Association (MHA) in partnership with the Welsh School of Architecture (WSoA) continued this month with a showcase of four bungalows in Abergavenny; designed specifically for over 60s seeking to downsize. [aoa id=”1″] Funded by the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Fund, the ‘Homes for the Future’ bungalows were designed to offer, a generous living and outside space, complete with a secure private courtyard garden. Built to offer flexibility in the future, the Welsh School of Architecture created two separate layouts with either one bedroom with a separate kitchen or two bedrooms with an…

ETP Property Consultants are reporting steady demand for retail properties in Chepstow and Caldicot – despite the nationwide slowdown.  [aoa id=”1″] While high streets across the UK are rocked by record vacancy rates and plummeting footfall, these towns are proving unusually resilient, with demand from local and national retailers.  Julian Bladen from ETP’s Chepstow office said: “We have let three shops in Chepstow in the last three months. We have another which is under offer freehold which should complete in the next few weeks.  “We are seeing demand from both national and local retailers. If we had more shops on the high street I…

Children at Star Leisure Centre are getting holiday happy thanks to a range of stimulating and healthy activities funded by sponsorship from local engineering firm Centergreat. Working alongside charity Streetgames, Better has organised the Fit, Fed and Read programme on Mondays and Fridays for children aged 8 and above to get active and take part in sport and culture. Sessions start with fruit and toast followed by various sporting activities, indoor and outdoor for a couple of hours before a light healthy lunch. Each attender is given a small journal to record their participation. Deborah Yates, Manager, Better Cardiff, said:…

Swansea City find themselves in an interesting position as they look to fight their way back to the Premier League with a solid performance in the Championship division this season. The Welsh side isn’t expected to be a serious threat to get back to the top flight, but their strategy in attempting to get back this season could be a winning one. That strategy has been to rely on experience throughout the squad, as they hope that experience in big games will propel them back to the Premier League sooner than later. Banking On Experience Coming into the Championship campaign,…

Bridgend College opened its doors today (Thursday 15th of August) in a special results day celebration event. Students studying A levels or equivalent qualifications were invited into the College’s Cyfleoedd hub to collect their results with their peers.  [aoa id=”1″] There were plenty of smiles and cheers as students celebrated their success with family and friends. Amongst these students were some with incredible stories of success and determination.  Charlie Smith came to Bridgend College three years ago after being homeschooled for many years. After initially struggling to adapt to a structured learning environment, she successfully completed a Level 2 in…

COLEG CAMBRIA celebrates outstanding results, with overall A Level pass rate of 99%. [aoa id=”1″] Students at the Yale site in Wrexham and Deeside Sixth Form Centre contributed to another incredible year for the award-winning institution, with 26 subjects achieving 100% exam success. These included English, Chemistry, Psychology, Modern Foreign Languages, Economics and History. Cambria is also celebrating a 100% pass rate for grades A* to C in Art and Design, and the news that 58 learners secured an A* or A in Mathematics and Further Mathematics. [/aoa] Six students are off to study at Oxford or Cambridge universities, 11…

LEADING independent school Christ College Brecon is celebrating yet another successful year for its A-level students. Pupils have achieved excellent A Level results, with an outstanding pass rate of 99.4%. Overall 39% of all grades were A/A* and 69% A*/B. These results are significantly above national averages and the average points score per candidate was 137 which is broadly equivalent to AAB. Performance in English Literature was strong with 75% of grades achieved an A*/A with 50% at the same level in Geography, Spanish, French, Art, Photography and extended project. Based on these results, many pupils from Christ College will…

Welsh Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, has joined learners today at Coleg y Cymoedd to celebrate their A level results successes.  [aoa id=”1″] Today saw the college’s Nantgarw-based Sixth Form Centre roll out the red carpet for learners whose collective successes have resulted in an overall pass rate of 97% for A2 with 63% of learners achieving A*-C and many subjects securing a 100% pass rate including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Further Maths, English and History. The festival atmosphere at Coleg y Cymoedd provided a backdrop for the Education Minister to congratulate learners personally as she discovered the secrets of its Sixth…

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is appealing for people across Wales to adopt a beach and lead a clean-up and survey during this year’s Great British Beach Clean (20th -23rd September, 2019). [aoa id=”1″] Last year’s Great British Beach Clean, which took place on the 14th to 17th September, saw volunteers remove close to 500kg of litter from Welsh beaches. In total, just short of 25,000 litter items were picked up along the 5,355 metres of coastline surveyed. MCS says it hopes the 26th Great British Beach Clean will continue to smash records when it comes to volunteer numbers –…

A new initiative has seen 58 dentists across Wales take on roles in education and training to enhance patient services in their practices, since launching six months ago. [aoa id=”1″] Dentists who attend Health Education and Improvement Wales’s (HEIW) Making Prevention Work in Practice (MPWiP) training course are equipped to teach dental nurses how to give preventive care advice to patients and the application of fluoride varnish. Kirstie Moons, Associate Director for Dental Team Workforce Planning and Development at HEIW, said: “MPWiP provides a unique opportunity for dental teams to deliver optimum patient care focusing on prevention as set out…