WALES’ education secretary vowed to get to grips with secondary school attendance amid concerns it could take more than a decade to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

Lynne Neagle told the Senedd she wants to see pre-pandemic secondary school attendance levels restored by the end of the Senedd term in May next year.

Average attendance – which was 90.5% in the 2023/24 academic year, down from 94.3% in 2018/19 – has ticked up to 90.9% so far in 2024/25, according to latest statistics.

Ms Neagle welcomed some small improvements in the academic year to date but said: “Progress has been too slow and there is more to do. I want to see pre-pandemic levels restored within this Senedd term. That will require a collective, sustained effort.”

With average attendance among pupils eligible for free school meals at 84.8%, a fall from 91.2% pre-pandemic, Ms Neagle stressed: “The significant amount of learning lost by those eligible for free school meals is a particular concern and must improve.”

Estyn’s 2023/24 annual report warned it would take more than a decade for secondary attendance to return to pre-pandemic levels at the current rate of improvement.

Leading a debate on March 18, Ms Neagle said: “I am really concerned about the messages in the report about attendance and I can say to you absolutely that we are not waiting ten years to restore our attendance levels to what they need to be.”

The Conservatives’ Tom Giffard said the proportion of secondary-age pupils absent for at least 20% of sessions leapt from 4.6% to 16.3% between 2018/19 and 2022/23.

He told the Senedd: “We’ve previously seen the Welsh Government welcome the slight increase in attendance numbers in Wales compared to the last academic year but again completely ignore the fact that our numbers are so much lower than the rest of the UK.”

Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds called for bold steps to “break the cycle” between poverty and low educational attainment, warning of troubling trends among the poorest pupils.

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell added: “We cannot allow the next generation, particularly those who are most disadvantaged, to wait as long as a decade to see improvements.”

Mr Campbell raised concerns about a lack of suitably qualified teachers in secondary schools, particularly in mathematics, sciences and through the medium of Welsh.

Labour’s Buffy Williams said: “Estyn’s report sets out some examples of good practice but it is also clear that, in some areas, the school system is not performing as it should.”

She told the Senedd that Owen Evans, Estyn’s chief inspector, found that teacher shortages are having a tangible impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

Ms Williams, who chairs the Senedd’s education committee, warned outcomes for pupils will suffer if schools continue to struggle to recruit and retain high-quality teachers.

Lee Waters, a fellow Labour backbencher, highlighted Estyn’s finding that the number of students training to be secondary teachers has declined by nearly half in the past decade.

Mr Waters, a former minister, highlighted that the chief inspector pointed to a poor public perception of the profession as one of the underlying issues hindering recruitment.

“Good teachers change lives, good teachers inspire a generation…,” he said. “We don’t talk enough about teachers as public service servants, teachers as inspirational figures, teachers as people who can lift up others.”

Mr Waters, a father of children in the education system, told the Senedd he has been struck by how joyless teaching and learning has become at times.

He said: “I think we’ve created a system – we teach to a test, we push for a set of results and metrics, and it’s killed the joy of learning and the spirit of inquiry too much.”

A TEAM of researchers is making final preparations for a trip to Mount Everest in Nepal next month to explore why the ice on one of the mountain’s most iconic glaciers is so close to the melting point.

The expedition will take them into the Western Cwm, where they believe that intense radiation from the sun is melting the snow even when air temperatures are below freezing.

As the meltwater refreezes it can warm the snow by several degrees, creating glacier ice that is much closer to the melting point than has previously been realised.

If they are right, this is a process that may also be happening on other glaciers across the Himalaya, whose meltwater sustains many millions of people below.

The researchers from Aberystwyth University and the University of Leeds will be operating at over six kilometres above sea level and half a kilometre above Everest Base Camp, where they will drill into the glacier and use the boreholes to record ice temperatures.

They will have to negotiate the Khumbu Icefall – regarded as one of the most demanding sections of the South Col route to Everest’s summit – while their equipment is transported by helicopter.

Once settled on the glacier, the team will be camping on ice with nighttime temperatures dipping below -10 °C.

The Everest researchers hope their work will give them a new understanding of processes and changes that are relevant for all glaciers in similar settings world-wide and indicate the extent to which other glaciers within the Himalayas may also contain unexpectedly warm ice.

Professor Bryn Hubbard from Aberystwyth University’s Department of Geography and Earth Sciences said:

“It may surprise many that snow could be melting at sub-freezing air temperatures high up within Everest’s Western Cwm, but the possibility needs to be investigated and measured. These temperature measurements will improve computer models that are used to predict future changes in glacier extent and water supply – particularly important in this heavily-populated and water-stressed region.

“For this project, we will build on Aberystwyth University’s expertise in borehole drilling and sensor development to record ice temperatures deeper into the ice and at higher elevations than ever before attempted. Since, at these elevations, we can no longer rely on power from combustion motors, we plan to use energy from solar, battery and propane to drill boreholes some tens of metres into the ice.

“We also plan to use satellites to send real-time data back from the Western Cwm directly to our computers in the UK, reducing the number of future trips required to download data and service the equipment.”

Professor Duncan Quincey from the School of Geography at the University of Leeds, who is leading the team, said:

“This trip will be the most physically and logistically demanding expedition I’ve ever been part of, and the unknowns are plentiful – we’re worried about whether our equipment will work at such high elevations, and if it does work whether we will be able to collect and export our data effectively.

“Although we have worked at and around base camp on half a dozen occasions previously, this is the first time we have continued up-glacier and above the icefall. This means we’re exploring new ground, and only a handful of scientists have walked this path before us. If we manage to capture any data, then they will be genuinely the first of their kind.”

The new project follows previous findings by the researchers which showed that the temperature of the ice in the lower parts of Khumbu Glacier is warmer than would be expected given the local air temperature.

Glaciers in the highest mountains of the planet are an extremely important source of water, with millions of people – including many in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan – depending on Himalayan runoff.

Changes in the rate of glacier thawing would threaten this water supply, which is routinely used for irrigation, sanitation and hydropower purposes, particularly in the mountain foothills.

The United Nations General Assembly has already proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation to raise awareness about the vital role glaciers, snow and ice play in the climate system and water cycle, as well as the far-reaching impacts of rapid glacial melt.

And today UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) prepares to mark the very first World Day for Glaciers, which is to be marked annually on 21 March.

The project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and is a collaboration between academics from the University of Leeds, Aberystwyth University, the University of Bergen (Norway) and Uppsala University (Sweden).

STUDENTS from the Creative Music Technology programme at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) have teamed up with the Pembrokeshire Music Service to record two promising rock and pop bands.

The recording sessions took place at Haverfordwest High VC School, offering young musicians from the Pembrokeshire Music Service a unique opportunity to professionally capture their original compositions.

This initiative, launched in 2024 by Max Griffiths while still a student at UWTSD, highlights the lasting impact of student-led projects in fostering innovation and industry engagement. By the time the event took place, Max had graduated, underscoring the programme’s success in nurturing creative talent.

Dr David Bird, Lecturer in Creative Music Technology at UWTSD, said: “It was inspiring to witness music being supported in innovative ways beyond the classroom. There is an incredible pool of talent emerging from Pembrokeshire, and we are privileged to have recorded these musicians at the start of their musical journeys. Our students also gained invaluable experience, making this an exciting opportunity for everyone involved.”

Miranda Morgan, Pembrokeshire Music Service Coordinator, praised the collaboration: “We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with UWTSD’s music technology staff and students. The entire day was an enriching experience for our rock and pop ensemble pupils, who not only enjoyed recording their original works but also gained insight into music technology and the recording process. We look forward to future collaborations.”

Philippa Roberts, Head of Pembrokeshire Music Service, highlighted the experience’s impact on young musicians: “Pembrokeshire Music Service is delighted to have partnered with UWTSD. The experience was invaluable, and our students greatly benefited from the expertise of skilled tutors and musicians. A special thank you to the Pembrokeshire music tutors for their dedication and encouragement in nurturing our aspiring rock musicians.”

Plans are already in motion to expand the partnership with future workshops focused on Music Technology. These workshops aim to equip young musicians with the technical skills needed to navigate the evolving music industry.

For further information, contact: d.bird@uwtsd.ac.uk.