News

New schools to open thanks to £70m investment

Published

7 years ago

September 1, 2018

THREE brand new secondary schools are set to open in the county this month, funded by more than £70 million by Pembrokeshire County Council and the Welsh Government.

Welcoming hundreds of pupils through their doors for the first time are Ysgol Harri Tudur/ Henry Tudor School in Pembroke; Ysgol Caer Elen in Haverfordwest and Ysgol yr Eglwys yng Nghymru Penrhyn Dewi in St Davids.

The schools are part of the 21st Century Schools investment programme run by the County Council in collaboration with the Welsh Government.

Darren Thomas, Programme Manager and the Council’s Head of Infrastructure, said he was delighted that the three major projects had been delivered successfully.

“We’d like to thank the staff, governing bodies and local communities of the three schools who have undertaken a tremendous amount of work to ensure that the new schools have opened on time and within budget,” he said.

Ysgol Harri Tudur / Henry Tudor School is an entirely new build on the Bush school site in Pembroke, accommodating all pupils from the former Pembroke School.

The flagship project cost £38.3 million and is the largest ever project undertaken by the County Council.

The 11-19 secondary school was built by construction company Bouygues UK and provides education for 1,463 children and an autism centre for 30 learners.

Work will now begin to demolish the old Pembroke School and the former Pembroke Grammar School buildings, with the aim of completing all work on site by August 2019.

Headteacher Fiona Kite said: ”Last year we held a competition among staff and students to create a motto for our new school.

“The winning entry, ‘Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow’ embodies the aims of Ysgol Harri Tudur / Henry Tudor School to fulfil the potential and dreams of all pupils and students who learn with us, whether onto further academic study at A Level or undergraduate level or into employment and training.

“The impressive new school building is just the beginning of an exciting time for education for everyone who works and learns at Ysgol Harri Tudur / Henry Tudor School.

The school will open its doors to pupils on Thursday, 6th September.

Ysgol Caer Elen is a brand new £28.1million Welsh medium school in Haverfordwest for children aged 3-16.

The school replaces the former Welsh-language primary school in the town – Ysgol Glan Cleddau – and provides secondary education in Welsh for children aged 11-16 for the first time ever in the centre of the County.

Headteacher Mike Davies said it’s an exciting time for the Welsh language in Pembrokeshire.

“The establishment of Ysgol Caer Elen is a celebration of the success of Welsh medium education in the county. Our aim will be to develop a pioneering 3-16 school which will deliver Welsh medium education of the highest quality in partnership with the feeder primary schools and Ysgol y Preseli.

“One of the main strengths of our school will be its caring, open and happy ethos where pupils feel at home and enjoy their education in a totally Welsh environment.

“One of our main aims will be to make learning an exciting and pleasurable experience and we are confident that our pupils will be proud of their new school, proud of their Cymreictod and their bilingualism.“

Ysgol Caer Elen includes a 600-place secondary provision, 315-place primary provision and 45-place nursery, as well as a 24-place Cylch Meithin (Welsh-language playgroup).

Separate entrances have been provided for the different age groups. Post-16 Welsh-medium education will continue to be provided at Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych.
Contractors Wilmott Dixon will continue to work on some parts of the site not required by the current year groups until late autumn (as scheduled).

The school’s first day of the new term is Thursday, September 6th.

Ysgol yr Eglwys yng Nghymru Penrhyn Dewi is a new 3-16 school for the St Davids Peninsula, operating across the three sites formerly known as Ysgol Dewi Sant, Ysgol Bro Dewi and Solva Community School.
Penrhyn Dewi will be the first Church in Wales secondary phase school to open since the 1920s and the Church’s first 3-16 school.

The former Ysgol Dewi Sant site has seen £4 million investment into a part-new build and remodelling of teaching accommodation.

Post-16 provision for pupils is available at the new sixth form centre in Haverfordwest as part of a formal collaboration between the County Council and Pembrokeshire College.

Penrhyn Dewi will welcome its first intake of pupils across all three sites on Thursday, 6th September.

Headteacher David Haynes said: “‘I am thrilled that we are about to open the doors to Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi VA and I am sure that the pupils will benefit greatly from the improvements that have been made to the buildings.

“I would personally like to thank the older pupils who have been travelling to Haverfordwest over the last year while the work has been completed, together with the parents and the teachers who have supported them greatly during this time.

“Many thanks also to WB Griffiths and Pembrokeshire County Council who have worked tirelessly with the temporary governing body in order to deliver the project on time.”

Pembrokeshire County Councillor David Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “The transformation of the schools’ estate of the county is a testimony to the vision and drive of a group of officers lead by the former Leader, Councillor Jamie Adams.

“The fact that it has been the second largest 21st Century Schools Programme in Wales gives the scale of this achievement.

“It was badly needed. The Victorian primary schools and the 50’s secondary schools were no longer fit places for our children to be taught in.

“We are now able, however, to offer some of the best education centres in Wales for the benefit of future generations.”

Two more brand new schools are also coming into existence this week.

Sir Thomas Picton School and Tasker Milward VC School are merging to form Haverfordwest High VC School, with pupils continuing to receive their education on the two sites for now.

In July, at a meeting of full Council, members expressed their preference for a brand new school building at the Sir Thomas Picton site. The Council will now proceed to submit a business case for the development to the Welsh Government.

The other new school starting this week is Milford Haven Community Primary School, which will replace the Meads Infants School and Milford Haven Junior School. Pupils will continue to receive their education on the two sites.

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

10 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

11 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

12 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.