Author: Rhys Gregory

A local Assembly Member has met concerned parents at the school gates of Ysgol Caer Elen in Haverfordwest (Monday 25 March 2019), to hear their road safety issues. Parents had asked her to come and witness ‘school run’ traffic chaos, as they drop and collect their children near the 40 miles per hour Withybush Road. The new Welsh-medium school for three to 16-year-olds opened last September, and is located near the 50 miles per hour A40. Joyce Watson AM, who lives in Haverfordwest, was told of an incident involving a mum collecting her child. She was told that, as the…

This week, South Wales Police and Gwent Police welcomed their very first cohort of new recruits under the new Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF). This is a new professional framework for the training of police officers. New officer recruits will now join either on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) or the Degree Holder Entry Scheme (DHEP), which comes as part of national changes to police officer recruitment from the College of Policing – the professional body for the police service in Wales and England. Working together, the four Welsh forces together became early adopters of the PEQF new initial…

Hay Festival has announced the programme for its 32nd edition in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, 23 May to 2 June (hayfestival.org). Booking is open to Friends of Hay Festival online or on 01497 822 629. Public booking opens Friday 29 March. Award-winning writers gather to launch new work, while global policy makers, pioneers and innovators seek solutions to the biggest issues of our time, from the rise of populism to the climate crisis. Featuring over 600 speakers in events across 11 days, the festival also offers a vibrant schedule of late-night music, comedy and entertainment for all ages alongside HAYDAYS and #HAYYA…

People with cancer living in deprived areas of Wales are more likely to have another serious illness or disorder at diagnosis than those in the least deprived areas, according to new research by Macmillan Cancer Support and Public Health Wales’ Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. This could make it more difficult for NHS services to diagnose cancer early in these patients, as well as present challenges for services that plan and deliver cancer treatment. The research, the first of its kind in Wales, and believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, reveals at least one…

A fully funded after-work programme designed to support people into starting businesses is set to launch in Merthyr and Ebbw Vale. The 5 to 9 Club™ aims to support individuals with an idea and help them turn it into a fully fledged business by equipping them with the skills and knowledge they will need to launch and grow. The workshops are held once a week from 5pm to 9pm, to allow those who work full time to gain the experience and support needed to grow their business idea without taking the risk of giving up full-time employment. The clubs are…

A new fintech software company set up to transform the consumer lending journey has “revolutionised” access to environmentally friendly home improvement loans for the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC). [aoa id=”1″] Cardiff-based start-up SamePage was chosen by the GDFC, originally a Government scheme and now a privately-owned green fintech lender supporting homeowners to invest in renewable energy and products, to create a new online loans applications system. SamePage, which was set up in 2017, was chosen to partner with GDFC to develop a dynamic platform that would deliver efficient application processing, with effective and consistent credit decisioning and underwriting, in…

Dell EMC and Circle IT will be the principle sponsors for Swansea University at this year’s Welsh Varsity. [aoa id=”1″] Both sponsors will feature on the men’s and women’s rugby jerseys for their respective matches against Cardiff University. Their sponsorship will also see representatives presenting the Varsity jerseys to both the men’s and women’s squads ahead of the showpiece event, as well as dual campus digi-screen advertising. The Welsh Varsity is a week-long festival of sport which sees students compete in over 40 sports including swimming, golf, football, netball, hockey and fencing. The majority of events will take place at…

A college learner from the south Wales valleys has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to gain hands on experience working at one of the most famous scientific research centres in the world.  [aoa id=”1″] Georgia Harkus, a 17-year-old electronics learner from Tonyrefail, will be heading to Switzerland in June to spend two years working at the renowned European Organization for Nuclear Research, otherwise known as CERN. Home to the Large Hadron Collider – the multi-billion-pound machine which simulates the moment following the ‘Big Bang’ – CERN is globally renowned for its cutting-edge particle physics research. Currently in the…

A network aimed at supporting women in Wales to progress in tech sector careers will be launched in Cardiff on Thursday 28 March. [aoa id=”1″] Digital Women Wales is a new mentorship scheme where women working in the Welsh tech sector can access advice and support from peers and industry role models. The initiative, which is free-of-charge and open to women working in the tech or digital sectors, has been created after extensive industry research by digital growth organisation Innovation Point – the team behind the annual tech conference, Digital Festival – and headline sponsors GoCompare. Mentors on the scheme…

Former tutor of maths and English Lisa Price has made a dramatic career  change – launching a new café in Rhymney. [aoa id=”1″] Lisa spent 17 years helping prepare young people for employment, the past eight of which has been helping to prepare them for a military career at MPCT (Military Preparation College Training), teaching them Maths and English to GCSE standard at colleges in the area. Now she has launched Victoria House Café in Rhymney, where she was based for many years, supported with a  grant from the Business Start Up programme, run jointly by Tata Steel subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise…