Haverfordwest Tennis Club is celebrating game, set and match this week following the official switch on of its new LED floodlighting system.

The installation project over courts one and two was led by chairman Dean Richards, with valuable contributions from Laura Davies and Heath Coombes in the application process and marks several years of painstaking work by the club committee.

And what makes the project even more special is that it coincides with the club celebrating its 90th anniversary at the Parade.

The LED lights were primarily funded by a grant from the county council’s Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund with match-funding from the Sport Wales Be Active Fund and the Haverfordwest  tennis club and are a welcome addition with the club now boasting over 300 junior and adult members.

The next part of the project will involve creating step-free access to court one to enable wheelchair tennis to take place, making the sport accessible to all.

The lights were officially switched on by club president Brian Hearne.

“I’m aware that there have been challenges in the process of this installation and it’s needed a great deal of time and effort from a lot of people,” commented Brian Hearne.

“I want to congratulate the chairman Dean Richards and his committee on their initiative and commitment to ensure the completion of this project, which is an outstanding achievement.

“I’m sure the members will appreciate this extra playing time these lights will provide and that the club will continue to provide excellent facilities for its increased membership.”

The ceremony was attended by county councillor Thomas Tudor.

““Pembrokeshire County Council is delighted to provide some of the funding for this amazing project which is to the benefit of everybody in Haverfordwest,” he said.

“The Parade is definitely a jewel in the town’s crown.”

Two of Wales’ finest seafood delicacies – the Pembrokeshire rock oyster and the Pembrokeshire native oysters – have officially been awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, which is the UK’s mark of authenticity, regional identity and quality.

This recognition celebrates the pristine waters and rich biodiversity of Angle Bay, at the mouth of the Cleddau Estuary in Pembrokeshire where they are grown in Class A waters surrounded by seagrass beds in a Special Area of Conservation.

 The PGI recognition is a proud milestone for the partnership between oyster farmer Dr Andy Woolmer of Tethys Oysters Ltd and shellfish processor and distributor Jake Davies of Atlantic Edge Shellfish. Together, they manage the entire journey from seed to plate, comprising the growing, harvesting, purifying and distributing of the oysters with minimal environmental impact.

“We’re delighted that our oysters have gained PGI status,” said Dr Andy Woolmer, who is the founder of Tethys Oysters. “This is a recognition of both the unique flavour of our oysters and the sustainable way in which we farm them. And PGI now helps to protect that identity.  We hope this will encourage more chefs and food lovers to discover what makes Pembrokeshire oysters so special.”

 The Pembrokeshire Rock Oysters are available all year-round and are prized for their delicate clean brine, cucumber freshness and subtle citrus notes while the Pembrokeshire Native Oysters are harvested between September and April and are known for their meaty texture, umami depth and vibrant marine overtones.  And according to the experts, these really are the “oyster lover’s oyster”.

Both have won Great Taste Awards and are now being served in top restaurants across the UK, particularly in London, with growing interest from seafood connoisseurs and sustainability-minded chefs.  These include Douglas Balish, who is the Executive Chef at The Grove Hotel in Narberth.

“Pembrokeshire Native Oysters are something really special,” he said.  “They have a punchy ozone flavour and an incredible crunchy texture which means they really are a true delicacy.

PGI status protects the name “Pembrokeshire Oysters” in law, ensuring that only oysters grown and processed in the designated area – and to the approved specification – can use the name. It safeguards the heritage and quality of this small Welsh industry, while helping customers make informed, provenance-led choices.

“This is a win for Pembrokeshire, for Wales, and for sustainable aquaculture,” said Jake Davies. “We’re proud to fly the flag for Welsh seafood and hope more people will now seek out Pembrokeshire Oysters, whether at their local fishmonger or on the best restaurant menus.”

A WELSH GOVERNMENT grant is helping to increase the number of Welsh-speaking teachers and teaching assistants in secondary schools, by supporting innovative solutions to staffing shortages.

The Welsh-medium capacity building grant, which has £900,000 available for the next academic year, is now open for applications. The funding will be available for use from September 2025.

In 2024, Ysgol Rhydywaun in Aberdare used the grant to train existing staff to teach outside their normal subject areas. As a result, the school was able to introduce two new A Level subjects—Psychology and Criminology—allowing pupils to continue their studies in Welsh and broadening their subject choices.

The funding also enabled collaboration with nearby schools to develop enrichment activities, particularly in Maths.

Headteacher Lisa Williams said: “At Rhydywaun, the education workforce capacity grant has ensured a high quality of provision and resources for our pupils, and successful professional learning opportunities for our staff.
Through the grant we have been able to recruit and retain teachers more proactively and develop expertise within the profession. As a result, we’ve seen an improvement in pupils’ performance and academic achievement.”

Last year, 55 grants were awarded to Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary schools across Wales. Schools have used the funding in various ways, including:

• Offering gap-year work experience and apprenticeships to young people as teaching assistants in Welsh-medium schools.
• Encouraging collaboration across schools to deliver professional learning in subject shortage areas.
• Providing undergraduate students with classroom placements to promote teaching as a career option.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, said:
“Developing a teaching workforce that can deliver education through the medium of Welsh is essential to creating more Welsh speakers. This grant is just one of the innovative schemes helping us achieve that goal.
We’re committed to supporting learners to reach their full potential and giving teachers the professional development they need to raise standards.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford, added: “We want to build a Wales where every learner has a fair opportunity to speak Welsh. Our Welsh Language and Education Bill sets out how we will move forward together towards our target of one million Welsh speakers.
Grants like this are helping to ensure we have the workforce needed to make that ambition a reality.”

However, the scheme has not been without criticism.
Responding after the Welsh Government announced the new round of funding, Laura Doel, national secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said: “This grant scheme does nothing to fundamentally address the shortages of Welsh medium teachers and we urge caution in encouraging teachers to teach outside their specialisms.
“It is no substitute for proper investment in addressing recruitment and retention issues, including by addressing excessive workload, restoring the value of pay and attracting new Welsh speakers into the profession – rather than simply redistributing the capacity of those who can.
“The Welsh Language and Education Act is woefully unrealistic, with no plan to properly support the workforce to speak Welsh. It is setting the profession up to fail.”

The Welsh-medium capacity building grant forms part of a wider strategy to grow the Welsh-speaking teaching workforce. Other schemes include:

• Cynllun Pontio – helping Welsh speakers in primary schools or from outside Wales become secondary school teachers in Welsh-medium schools.
• Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme – offering a £5,000 grant to students training to teach in Welsh or to teach Welsh as a subject.
• Welsh in Education Teacher Retention Bursary – a £5,000 bursary for secondary teachers who have taught in Welsh or through Welsh for three years since 2020 and remain in post in their fourth year.
• Alternative routes into teaching – expanding Open University and school-based programmes such as a new accredited course at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
• Language skills development – a range of free Welsh language courses for teachers, including the National Centre for Learning Welsh’s Sabbatical Scheme.

Applications for the Welsh-medium capacity building grant are open now.