Author: Rhys Gregory

The University of South Wales (USW) has opened a new aerospace academy in Dubai South. [aoa id=”1″]The facility was unveiled at an opening ceremony on Sunday (September 23, attended by HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and USW Vice-Chancellor Professor Julie Lydon OBE.[/aoa] At the same time, HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan was officially recognised as USW’s International Patron, with Honorary Doctorates conferred on both him and HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum by the University’s Pro Chancellor, Professor John Andrews CBE. The specialist aerospace engineering facility will initially…

Jacob Riddle, 14, from Prestatyn, has launched his bid for a possible place on the Welsh Youth Parliament. A pupil at Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan, Abergele, and a former pupil of Ysgol Melyd, Meliden, Jacob has spent the last few months carrying out an extensive survey of teenagers in the area, gauging the issues that concern them most. “From the outset, I felt it was only right to pull together the views of other young people and not to create a campaign around what I thought was important. I have carried out surveys with school pupils across the area, taken…

Where you live, the make of the car you drive and even the colour of your vehicle can have a significant impact on whether or not you will pass your MOT according to recent research by the UK’s fastest growing supplier and fitter of tyres and automotive services, Protyre. Analysing data from hundreds of garages across the UK, Protyre has bad news for Welsh drivers, revealing Wales as the MOT failure hotspot of Great Britain, with 20% of cars in the region failing their MOT. Good news, however, for those in the North West of England, which saw an impressive…

The organiser of the ‘Message in a Bottle’ campaign to reduce the use of plastics in the ancient Mid Wales market town of Llanidloes is delighted with growing public support and the progress being made. Philip Stallard says two takeaways in the town are now offering customers paper wrapped food instead of polystyrene and the response has been “brilliant”. [aoa id=”1″] “The campaign is still going well and Llanidloes remains almost litter-free due to reduced littering and more people doing their own litter-picks as they go for walks,” he said. “The cobbles beneath the Old Market Hall in Llanidloes have…

A talented cricketer at Rydal Penrhos will be part of the Lancashire youth contingent that are set to embark on the trip of a lifetime next year. [aoa id=”1″]Arran Sen, a Year 8 pupil at the school, has been selected to the county’s U13 performance squad that will travel to Mumbai, India for a special tour in February after impressing throughout the assessment process.[/aoa] Paul Allott, director of cricket at Lancashire, said: “We aim to develop more than just cricketers – we want to see our boys and girls emerging through the pathway as durable, well-rounded, resourceful and broad minded,…

Owners of top quality caravan parks in Mid Wales have been congratulated for exceptional five star grading results. [aoa id=”1″]Tony Bywater, chairman of award-winning caravan and motorhome dealership Salop Leisure and Val Hawkins chief executive of MWT, theindependent organisation representing tourism and hospitality businesses in Mid Wales, both praised the parks for maintaining exceptional standards.[/aoa] The parks’ hard work has been recognised with 34 five-star gradings from Visit Wales, the tourism arm of the Welsh Government, which runs the rule over the parks. Fourteen of the parks are in Powys, 13 in Meirionnydd or South Gwynedd and seven in Ceredigion.…

One of Wales’ fastest growing construction companies has more than doubled the size of its team in the last 12 months. [aoa id=”1″] EvaBuild, which has its head office in Newtown, now employs 35 people compared to 17 a year ago. It is expecting to continue recruiting over the coming months including creating opportunities for young apprentices. [/aoa] The recruitment drive coincides with sustained growth for EvaBuild, which increased turnover by more than 30 per cent in the last year. The business is on track to repeat this level of growth in the current financial year. In 2015, EvaBuild won…

Runners in last year’s Cardiff University/Cardiff Half Marathon spent £2.3m during their visit to the city, according to a new study. [aoa id=”1″] The Cardiff University research, in conjunction with race organisers Run 4 Wales, took into account spending on items such as food and drink, accommodation, travel, retail and the race fee. Just over £205,000 was spent in the rest of Wales taking the total figure to £2.5m. [/aoa] The study, by Dr Andrea Collins at the School of Geography and Planning and Professor Max Munday at Cardiff Business School, looked at not only the economic impact but also…

A district nurse turned social care manager described by her colleagues as an “oracle” of knowledge is in the running for a national award after helping to develop a pioneering training programme. Gill Hughes, from Mold, who has worked in the care sector for more than 40 years, has won a well-earned place in the final of this year’s Wales Care Awards, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary. The awards are organised by care industry champions Care Forum Wales, which toasts 25 years’ of service this year, and acknowledge the hard work and exceptional performances of those in the care…

A PIONEERING Welsh language centre is laying the foundations for a bilingual North Wales. Coleg Cambria Camu has unveiled a series of new courses at a range of levels including foundation, intermediate, proficiency and advanced. [aoa id=”1″] Based at the college’s Yale site in Wrexham, the facility is held up as a beacon of best practice in developing the Welsh language in the workplace. Cambria has led the way in pioneering Welsh programmes and been lauded for a culture of inclusion in Wrexham and its other sites in Deeside, Llysfasi and Northop. [/aoa] Its Camu hub is focused on increasing…