Students who are currently studying, or have been accepted to start their studies in a wide range  of agricultural subjects, are invited to apply for £1,000 worth of financial support from the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society to assist with their chosen college or career path.

The Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society’s Student Bursary Award is now open for applications from students studying agriculture, veterinary science, agricultural engineering, food technology, forestry or other subjects allied to agriculture.

Last year’s winner of the award was Catrin Palferey from Llanfyrnach who began studying at Aberystwyth University last autumn.

Mansel Raymond, the new Chairman of the Society’s Bursary Committee said, “I would urge all Pembrokeshire students who study subjects that are clearly aligned to agriculture to apply for this bursary as it won’t only assist with your studies but will also give you great experiences such as undertaking an interview which is a key employment skill. It will also assist in your future career within the agriculture industry.

“An independent judge will draw up a short list of candidates who will be interviewed and the winning candidate will be asked to give a short presentation at a future meeting of the society’s show council.

“The standard of applications has always been exceptional which gives a lot of heart that there are a lot of very talented young people in our community. We are very much looking forward to receiving applications for this year’s bursary and hearing from the younger generation.” 

Qualifying students must not have won the student bursary on a previous occasion, the applicant must be studying or  been accepted to study agriculture or allied subjects at a UK college or university at A-Level or higher, and the applicant’s family home must be in Pembrokeshire.

The bursary is tax free and will be awarded to the student who, in the opinion of the panel of judges, has submitted the best dissertation on how the bursary will assist them to complete their course of study.The closing date for applications is noon on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

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.

CREATIVE media students at Pembrokeshire College have showcased their impressive talents in an annual video competition run in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council.

The Road Safety Competition challenges students to produce a 45-second film or animation highlighting one of the ‘Fatal 5’ causes of road traffic collisions. The winning entries are used in the council’s social media campaigns to promote safer driving and help reduce casualties on local roads.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Road Safety Officer, Sally Jones, said: “We are very proud to be working with the Creative Media students at Pembrokeshire College once again for our annual Road Safety media competition.

“All the students worked very hard and impressed the judges with their unique and innovative videos. The overall winner, Silas, delivered a very impactful video which we look forward to sharing via our social media channels.”

Silas Roberts was awarded a £100 cheque for his video Stay Alive! Don’t Drive Distracted, which highlights the dangers of texting while driving. Speaking after the win, Silas said: “I am really pleased that the client liked my video. I wanted to create something simple that would get the message across, and the fact that I was chosen as the winning entry shows that I was successful in achieving that.”

Runners-up Sabrina Semaani-Rodriguez and Taya Fouracre were each awarded a £50 Amazon voucher for their outstanding contributions.

The competition not only raises awareness of key road safety issues, but also provides students with real-world experience in working to a live client brief.

Course lecturer Denys Bassett-Jones added: “I am absolutely delighted with the outcome of this year’s competition. Every year the standard gets higher and the students never cease to amaze me with their ideas.

“Working in partnership with PCC gives learners the opportunity to develop their skills in a real-world context, which is a fundamental part of creative education at Pembrokeshire College.”