Author: Rhys Gregory

88% of those eligible have claimed their free School Essentials grant to help with costs like school uniform, shoes, bags, sports kit and equipment. Have you claimed yours? Children of families on lower incomes who receive certain benefits, those seeking asylum and children in care can claim £125 per year to help with school costs. Because of the extra cost families might face when their children start secondary school, £200 is available for eligible pupils going into year 7. It could also mean extra funding for your school. There’s still time to check eligibility and apply for this year’s funding…

The increase in dental charges is the first since April 2020 and are overall still lower than in England. Any revenue generated from the increased charges will be re-invested back into NHS dentistry services. From April 2024, the three standard charges will increase to between £20.00 and £260.000 depending on the treatment required, and urgent treatment will increase to £30. Around 50% of people receive NHS dental treatment for free in Wales. Those eligible for free treatment include children under 18 or those aged 18 and in full time education, pregnant women or those who have had a baby within…

Deloitte has appointed a new practice senior partner (PSP) for the South West and Wales to lead a combined team of over 2,300 people. Dave Tansley, a consulting partner, vice chair, and elected member the Deloitte North & South Europe Board, will take over the role from Lizzie Hill, who is relocating to Deloitte Cambridge. A chartered engineer who spent his early career as an engineering officer in the Royal Air Force, Tansley joined Deloitte as a consultant in 1994 and has since worked across many industry sectors – both in the UK and internationally. Currently lead for infrastructure, transport…

The slot game market is one of the most competitive across the iGaming industry. There are thousands of titles to pick and choose from, with various themes and gameplay mechanics all being used to try and create unique player experiences. As we delve further into 2024, this is only likely to continue to be the case. Software providers continue to work tirelessly to release new titles that can capture as much attention as possible, as they look to try and capitalize on a market that features ever-changing opinions and preferences. What are player preferences and trends expected to be like…

Ahead of its official launch next month, Fishguard Festival of Music has announced that some of the finest Celtic musicians on the music circuit have confirmed their attendance at this year’s festival.    Welsh Harpist Catrin Finch and Ireland’s fiddle virtuoso Aoife Ní Bhriain, will perform music from their acclaimed debut album at a concert in Bethel Chapel, Fishguard on Wednesday 31 July.    Dublin native Aoife Ní Bhriain is one of her generation’s most versatile and gifted violinists, a dazzling musician who commands both the classical world and her Irish traditional heritage. Harpist Catrin Finch has also built an impressive…

The UK Space Agency is opening new headquarters at the Harwell Science Campus’ Space Cluster in Oxfordshire and regional offices in Scotland, Wales and the Midlands as it works to support the space sector across the UK. Aligned with the government’s Levelling Up strategy, the expansion will enable the Agency to collaborate more closely with the UK’s thriving space sector, while promoting regional skills and job opportunities to deliver increasingly ambitious missions and capabilities. The UK space sector is growing faster than the rest of the UK economy. It’s worth over £17.5 billion per year and employs over 45,000 people,…

A dad from Caerphilly will be taking on the ABP Newport Marathon in April to raise money for Tŷ Hafan. He’ll be doing so in memory of his daughter Scarlett who sadly died aged four from a condition so rare that it doesn’t have a name. She spent the first three months of her life in the Royal Gwent Hospital being genetically tested before doctors discovered she had an unbalanced translocation of chromosomes 7 and 10. Chris Thomas, who works as a power station engineer, said that Tŷ Hafan allowed him and his partner Clair to make some amazing memories…

Teen players from Welsh college netball’s champions-elect team, Coleg y Cymoedd, have taken on some of the best rising talent from South Africa in a hotly anticipated showdown. The college’s first team, Cymoedd Blacks, which is on track to win this year’s Association of Colleges (AOC) Sports Wales Netball league, took on South Africa’s renowned Trinity House Randpark Ridge squad in a friendly game yesterday. Having provided several internationals to the South African netball team, which beat Wales at last year’s Netball World Cup in Cape Town, Trinity House is widely regarded as one of the best teams in country,…

A firm foodie favourite at the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival, Pencoed-based Lilo’s is taking it back to the beginning, celebrating not only the company’s own milestone tenth anniversary this March but also a tenth year at their very first big event. Lilo’s has come a long way from those early days, serving a small range of hot, handmade pasta dishes from a VW camper food truck – sometimes roadside to build the now loyal customer base – and among other celebrations planned, founder Chloe Evans is looking forward to marking the anniversary in style at the festival which will…

A unique opportunity to take on a 15-year farm business tenancy has become available at the picturesque Llyndy Isaf, in Nant Gwynant – with the process of selecting the tenant filmed for a TV show for a national broadcaster. Set in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia), Llyndy Isaf, a 248-hectare (613 acre) hill farm, has been in the care of National Trust Cymru since the charity bought the farm in 2012 after a successful public appeal. Until 2020, it was run in partnership with the Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (YFC) with five scholars managing the farm. Since then…