PLANS for works at a Pembrokeshire ‘bug farm’ to allow it “to maintain its high-quality farming, research, and educational facility” have been submitted to the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Dr Sarah Beynon of Doctor Beynon’s Bug Farm Ltd, Lower Harglodd, St Davids, through agent Pembroke Design Ltd, seeks permission to for the removal and replacement of a shed on site with a modern one, which the applicant says will “allow the business to extend its season to the visitor experience”.

Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm, just outside St Davids, is the vision of Dr Sarah Beynon, who wanted to combine her love of farming, academic research and education by setting up a centre of excellence in her hometown of St Davids.

It offers a ‘friendly quirky and unique attraction’ for nature lovers and foodies set on a historic Welsh farm.

It boasts a tropical bug zoo, a bug museum, a recently opened nature recovery centre, a farming history museum, a farm trail across wildflower meadows, wetland and woodland, a peaceful walled garden, an art gallery, an indoor play barn and gift shop.

The farm is also home to Grub Kitchen, the UK’s first edible insect café, which offers a nature-friendly menu created from largely organic and local produce, with plenty of non-insect options too.

A supporting statement accompanying the application says the post-war shed, originally used for farm machinery by the applicant’s uncle has long passed its ‘sell by date’, and is not practical or feasible to repair; its replacement “will allow the Bug Farm business to continue to use it to provide educational opportunity and match the building to the rest of the farm buildings”.

The statement adds: “The farm has been named as one of Wales’s top 10 farms for rare arable plants and was used as a 2026 PCNPA case study for a private Naturfa site. Ten percent of the farm has been planted with native woodland since 2023, and the farm has been invited to be designated as part of the National Forest of Wales and will apply for Naturfa status.”

It went on to say: “In creating the nature reserve Sarah has created an educational facility to showcase the work done and to explain the effects it has on improving the wildlife habitat. It has been a huge success.

“The existing proposed Nature Discovery Centre is an educational space to enthuse people about nature and what they can do to reverse the declines of wildlife by discovering just how fascinating it is.

“Over the last few years, work has been carried out on the Nature Recovery Education Centre. Phase 2- Fit Out is due to commence shortly.

“The current proposal to replace the shed will allow the site to maintain its high-quality farming, research, and educational facility.”

It finished: “Once complete the site will enhance the great agricultural, research and educational destination for schools, universities, conservation/ farming groups and day visitors alike.”

The application will be considered by Park planners at a later date.

ROCH COMMUNITY SCHOOL has received a positive inspection report from Estyn, which describes the school as a “close, caring community” where pupils feel safe, valued and well supported.

Inspectors highlighted the school’s nurturing ethos, positive relationships and strong sense of belonging, which help pupils to thrive both academically and personally.

The report found that pupils behave well, demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning and contribute meaningfully to school life through a range of leadership opportunities.

Pupils were praised for their confidence, teamwork and respect for others. Inspectors also noted that children feel their views are listened to and valued by the school.

Teaching was recognised as effective, with engaging learning experiences, well-paced lessons and constructive feedback helping pupils to make good progress.

The report also commended the school’s successful support for pupils’ wellbeing and additional learning needs. Its nurture provision was found to be having a particularly positive impact on pupils’ confidence and social development.

Inspectors found that pupils make good progress in reading, writing, mathematics and digital skills, while also demonstrating a strong understanding of online safety.

The school’s broad curriculum was also praised, alongside the opportunities given to pupils to work both independently and collaboratively.

Headteacher Owen Good said: “We are very pleased that the inspection recognised the strength of our school community and the positive environment we provide for our pupils.

“It reflects the collective efforts of our staff, pupils, families and governors, and gives the school a strong foundation on which to continue building.”

A FURTHER secular group has backed Pembrokeshire County Council’s plan to redesignate a north county faith primary school as a nonreligious community school.

Back in May, Pembrokeshire County Council voted to remove Voluntary Controlled (VC) status from Welsh-medium Ysgol Cilgerran’s Church in Wales school despite 97 per cent of the responses to a consultation having opposed a change which the church describes as ‘entirely unnecessary’.

That consultation followed a review which “considered the extent of surplus school places in the area, set against a significant decline in the pupil population,” the council has previously said.

Hundreds opposed the proposed changes, with a petition on the council’s own website gaining 391 signatures.

The Church in Wales has objected formally to the proposal and has warned it will take legal action on the grounds of “public misrepresentation and unqualified legal assertions made by Pembrokeshire County Council officers,” and “discrimination against faith schooling”.

At the council’s July meeting, Cilgerran parents, teachers, and students travelled to County Hall, Haverfordwest to protest.

Their colourful protest signs, made by students, carried messages such as “You can’t fix what isn’t broken”, “Leave our VC status alone”, and “Don’t take away our identity for a few £££”.

One of the protesters, an ex-pupil and governor, Sarah Moore, has said: “I’m here today because I’m horrified that the council are talking about taking the church status away from our school. The church gave that land for the school over 180 years ago.

“97 per cent have voted against this and yet they’re still trying to do it. If we want our children to stay in a church school, the nearest one is Letterston. So where will these children have that good education that they are getting now?”

The Church has said it has deep concern about what it sees as a pattern of the council’s recent actions regarding Church Schools.

In June, councillors voted to close Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School, which was damaged by a fire in 2022.

It has also expressed concerns about VC status being lost for Tenby Church in Wales VC school after councillors backed a consultation on penitential education changes in the Tenby area.

Wales Humanists recently supported the council plans, writing to Pembrokeshire County Council expressing its support for the proposal “on behalf of the area’s substantial non-religious community”.

It says, according to the 2021 Census, almost half of people in Pembrokeshire identified as having no religion.

Since then, another secular group, The National Secular Society (NSS), has expressed its support for the council.

The NSS campaigns for publicly funded faith schools to be phased out, and for religiously selective admissions to be abolished.

Welcoming the move, the NSS praised the council’s “secular approach to education” as the “best means of ensuring publicly funded schools are equally welcoming to all children, regardless of their backgrounds”.

The NSS added: “Inclusive schools which educate pupils together are one of our best means of promoting community cohesion, whilst faith schools which divide children on the basis of religion and are entirely out of step with the irreligious and religiously diverse Wales of today.

“Schools we all pay for should be managed in the best interests of everyone, not used as a vehicle for the agenda of religious institutions.”