Rachael Thomas describes Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi as her ‘third child’ as she hands over leadership of the school to Sion Mason Evans

AN INSPIRATIONAL Pembrokeshire headteacher has said an emotional goodbye to pupils, parents and staff after completing 37 years in education.

Rachael Thomas is stepping down as headteacher of Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi VA in St Davids, a school she described as her “love, passion and reason for being”.

In a final letter to the school community, Mrs Thomas said she had been dreading the day when she would have to say farewell.

She wrote: “Ysgol Dewi Sant and Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi have been my third child, my love, passion and my reason for being.

“However, it gives me great comfort and pride to leave at this point, with strong leadership and a fantastic team of staff to take it to the next level.”

Mrs Thomas thanked parents and carers for trusting the school with their “most priceless possessions”, their children, and paid tribute to the staff, governors, Diocese, local authority and wider community who had supported her throughout her career.

She said she felt privileged to have worked at “the best school on the planet”, praising its pupils, staff and families for helping to create a nurturing culture based on love and respect.

Under her leadership, the 3-to-16 school has expanded across its campuses and developed a reputation for academic achievement, inclusion, outdoor education, sport and the performing arts.

During the past academic year, pupils helped the school achieve the Armed Forces Friendly Schools Cymru Bronze Award, the Peace Mala Gold Award, the Careers Wales Gold Award, two Green Flag Awards and a Climate Cymru Challenge Award for protecting and restoring nature.

The school also opened a new secondary learning resource centre and two additional classrooms on its Dewi Campus.

Pupils have enjoyed sporting success at local, regional and national level, with the school becoming Welsh champions and runners-up in tennis and basketball.

There have also been school productions, overseas visits, residential trips and a return visit from the school’s partners in Mahoeleng, Lesotho.

Mrs Thomas said the school remained committed to providing high expectations and opportunities for every pupil.

She wrote: “Pupils feel loved when they walk through the door.

“When they leave, this love continues, hence the knowledge that you never really leave YPDVA and YPDVA never leaves you.”

Several other members of staff are also leaving or changing roles at the end of the academic year.

Mrs Bramley has completed her work as assistant headteacher for teaching and learning but will continue as a supply teacher and lead choir and performing arts activities.

Miss Pullin is leaving to pursue a career with the National Park, while Mr Jeff Thomas is retiring, although the school hopes he will return to support its extended learning programme.

Mrs Brockbank is coming to the end of her time as a learning support assistant on the Dewi Campus, while Father Luke Spencer is leaving his teaching role to pursue his ministry.

The school will welcome a number of new staff in September.

Catherine James will become the new additional learning needs coordinator and assistant headteacher for inclusion, while Amy Morgan will become the school’s first deputy headteacher.

Former pupil Rhys Meredith Barrett will join as a full-time music teacher, and Kieran Mackay will become a teacher of English.

Sion Mason Evans will take over as headteacher.

Mrs Thomas said she was confident her successor would embrace the culture and vision of the school and take it into the next stage of its journey.

She concluded her farewell message with the words associated with St David: “Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things.”

She signed off simply: “Llawer o gariad.”

The school community is now preparing to begin a new chapter, while recognising the enormous contribution Mrs Thomas has made to generations of children and families in St Davids and across Pembrokeshire.

A PEMBROKESHIRE school at threat of closure as part of education reorganisation in the south of the county has now been saved after councillors backed a call from the deputy leader for it to remain open.

Stepaside CP School was being earmarked for closure by Pembrokeshire County Council, as part of proposals to establish a new 3-11 primary school on the Saundersfoot School site, discontinuing both Saundersfoot school and Stepaside school.

The Stepaside proposal was based on surplus places for all the schools in the proposals, with Stepaside having a surplus capacity of over 50 per cent, councillors had previously heard; figures that have since been much debated.

In March, a vote at a full meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council reaffirmed a decision of last December, that the Director for Education be authorised to commence statutory consultation to discontinue Stepaside and Saundersfoot and establish the new three-11 primary school.

Since then, Pembrokeshire’s deputy leader Cllr Paul Miller, who has recently taken on Cabinet member responsibility for education, made a call for the school to instead remain open, rescinding the previous decision to discontinue Saundersfoot and Stepaside schools, which was heard at the July 16 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council.

Cllr Miller said: “Following a thorough review, I have decided to recommend to council that it not proceed with the closure of Stepaside School. I believe the school is providing good educational outcomes for its local population and is sustainable in its current form.”

A lengthy supporting statement from Cllr Miller also said: “I assumed portfolio responsibility for Education on May 15. Since appointment I have reviewed in detail the substantive plans of the Directorate including those for school modernisation and reorganisation.

“To date I consider that the primary focus of our reorganisation work has been on addressing surplus places. While that focus absolutely aligns with Welsh Government guidance, measuring surplus places tells us simply how many empty classrooms we have.

“That’s an interesting estates and facilities metric but it tells us very little about the educational experience of the children inside those buildings. I accept that there is a size (pupil number) at which a small school becomes unviable and must shut. That’s not simply unviable from a financial perspective but also from the perspective of the education provided.”

It added: “It may also be that there are mitigations, for example shared leadership roles or formal federations, that can be explored to strengthen the sustainability of both schools.

“Equally, the planned temporary full decant of Tenby VC School [which needs a new roof] may utilise a significant proportion of the existing surplus places at Saundersfoot School. In those circumstances, I do not believe the available evidence currently demonstrates that closure of Stepaside School represents a necessary or proportionate response to the level of surplus places within the Tenby Cluster.”

At the meeting Cllr Miller stressed the Stepaside decision would not lead to a revisiting of the recently backed closures of Manorbier school or Ysgol Clydau.

While there were claims of “a massive U-turn” and a “purely political move” around Cllr Miller’s call, the latter of which he said he said was “completely outrageous,” members unanimously backed the call.

Cllr Miller said he accepted the process around Stepaside had “been imperfect,” but added: “I firmly believe this school has a viable future.”

Speaking after the meeting, Laura Burnett, Chair of Governors at Stepaside Community Primary School said: “The Governing Body of Stepaside Community Primary School are delighted to share the exciting news that the school will remain open for many years to come.  This is a tremendous achievement for the community that is served by the school in Kilgetty.
“The Governing Body continues to believe that the original proposal to close Stepaside School and transfer all pupils to Saundersfoot was ill-informed.  We remain concerned that the school capacity, projected pupil numbers and budgetary figures used to inform the proposal were outdated and did not provide a reliable basis for decision-making.

“In addition, we feel that the potential impact on the local community was not explored in sufficient depth, with limited engagement undertaken with those most affected.”

She added: “The appointment of new cabinet members provided a valuable opportunity for a fresh perspective. We are grateful to Cllr Paul Miller, along with the many county councillors, members of parliament and Senedd members who took the time to visit the school and see first-hand the high-quality education it provides, as well as the significant impact that its closure would have on pupils, families and the wider community.”
She went on to say: “We are delighted that Stepaside School will continue to serve the children and families of our catchment area for many years to come. As we look ahead to September, we look forward to welcoming new pupils into our thriving school community.”

Welsh professional footballer Liam Cullen, who plays for Swansea and the Welsh national team is a former pupil.

He said: “Alongside my brilliant education from all of the staff, they also facilitated my aims and dream of making it to where I am today being a footballer.

“Me and my family couldn’t have done it without the help of the school’s staff, allowing me to train and play most days whilst keeping on top of my education and giving me exactly what I needed to succeed both in school and out of school.”

THE FIRST ever nursing students have graduated from Aberystwyth University.

The students began their studies when the University’s Healthcare Education Centre first opened its doors in September 2022.

The £1.7 million centre located opposite Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth includes high-quality clinical practice rooms and was supported with a grant of £500,000 from the Welsh Government.

Among the almost 40 students who have graduated this year, some studied adult nursing and others mental health nursing. The degree courses have now expanded with 239 studying at the University this academic year.

Students studying for the degree have the opportunity to follow up to half of their course through the medium of Welsh.

A special reception was held after the graduation and students were addressed by key partners and academics.

Speaking after the ceremony, Amanda Jones, Head of Healthcare Education at Aberystwyth University said:

“It is so heartening to see our students at this wonderful moment in their lives – many congratulations to them all. It has been an honour to be part of history, teaching the first ever cohort of nursing students here in Aberystwyth. I wish them all every success for the future.”

Aberystwyth Vice-Chancellor Professor Jon Timmis added: “This is a very special day – I’m so delighted to see the nursing students graduate. As a university, we are extremely proud to train the next generation of nurses for the NHS and the healthcare sector. That is exactly the type of role we as an organisation should be undertaking and want to do even more. It’s at the heart of our agenda to change lives for the better, grow knowledge, build communities and strengthen Wales.”