08/12/2011 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Our top stories:

Two school examiners suspended - allegations they broke the rules

telling teachers what questions might come up.

The Education Minister says there must be confidence in our exam

system. He's also unveiled new banding for our schools - but how

clear a picture does it give of how Tonight's other headlines:

The First Minister suggests he now supports building wind farms in mid

Wales as protestors head to the Senedd.

Also tonight: How wealth may have a big say on

how long you live. And choppy seas off Anglesey -

Wales records wind speeds of 81 Two school examiners are suspended

tonight after the Daily Telegraph secretly filmed them telling

teachers at a seminar what areas of the syllabus wouldn't come up in

exams. It's alleged they broke rules when they advised the

teachers in England on the topics for future exams. Our Education

Correspondent Ciaran Jenkins is at the Senedd, Ciaran.

81% of children in Wales take GCSE's run by the exam board WJEC

and 7% of pupils in England sit their exams. The UK's education

Minister Michael Gove has now ordered an inquiry and here

Education Minister Leighton Andrews is calling on the exam board to

answer the claims. Caroline Evans has more.

Tonight two history examiners, Paul Evans the chief examiner for

history for WJEC and Paul Barnes are suspended because, according to

the Telegraph newspaper which went under cover to 13 meetings run by a

number of exam boards, what took You should be grateful that you

have got a choice rather than saying, we have to tell you. We are

cheating, we are telling you the cycle. Probably, the regulator

would tell us off. That is not written anywhere in the

specification? We are not allowed to tell you.

How much should I do on Bill Clinton and President Bush? The

answer is none. They will never be a specific question. Seminars like

this take place routinely. Teachers pay �120 to spend a day being

briefed on teaching approaches. The WJEC says the information given at

the courses is freely available on their website so that no teacher or

students are at a disadvantage by teachers being unable to attend the

courses. But they are treating these allegations as a matter of

urgency. The question is whether the content

relayed by the examiners is already in are published guidance or

whether they are adding to that. If they were, whether that has crossed

the line of being inappropriate. Education Minister Leighton Andrews,

who was opening a school in Caerphilly today, said he was

taking the allegations extremely seriously.

I am very concerned about the allegations that have been made

today. I demanded answers yesterday from the examining board when we

heard about this issue. There will be a full investigation carried out

by the regulators for the exams in Wales, England and other parts of

the UK. We are taking these allegations very seriously indeed.

Peggy George was a history teacher for 34 years and chair of the WJEC

history panel. She says it's possible for all teachers now to

predict what will come up in exams. What has happened now is that the

syllabus is very, very short by comparison with the old ones. They

are divided into specific areas, usually four or five. You are

guaranteed a question in each area and each area is very closely

defined. It doesn't take an awful lot of guesswork Corri teacher to

follow this. The two examiners have been

suspended until the investigation is complete and will be spoken to

before the weekend. The WJEC has given assurances that if necessary

it will create a new assessment Not just a day when the exam system

has come under scrutiny, but the performance of schools across the

board. The Welsh Government has published a new banding structure

for our schools. But there are questions about how effectively it

will inform parents about how their Welcome to a band two school,

Sandfield's Comprehensive near Port Talbot. In the Welsh Government's

new system of grading schools from one to five, it's come out nearer

the top than the bottom. But what is banding and how does it work?

The Welsh Government has come up with a single score for every

school in the country. The score is school in the country. The score is

based on this year's GCSE results. And it also looks at pupils'

attendance. The scoring system is designed to reward schools that

make progress so schools where exam results get better, or attendance

improves. And the score also takes into account the number of pupils

on free school meals. This is supposed to compensate for the

difficulty of running a school in a deprived area. All these factors

come together to produce an overall score for each school. Then the

results are simply divided into five bands, with one being the best

There will be support from local authorities, sometimes that will

mean the secondment of people to help those schools but we are

discussing with local authorities to arrange support.

Many of the measures within this particular banding system at

indicators that have been used for a long time already. They are

things schools will recognise. The issue of whether putting them

together is helpful is another matter. The simple fact is we have

it now and we need to work out how to use it constructively.

telling that to the 28 schools now identified by the Welsh Government

as being the worst in the country. Schools like Caldicot High in

Monmouthshire and Glyn Derw High in Cardiff. We asked each one of them

if they'd talk about their result, they all refused.

Some schools will tell you that they will be branded as successful

schools. Others in the lower bands will be branded as schools that are

not as successful and probably branded as scaling schools. That is

very unfair. -- failing schools. Our band 2 school is also not

convinced the system is fair. Sandfields was recently applauded

by the school inspectorate Estyn for being excellent in nine out of

10 areas. But this school has a large unit for pupils with special

needs and the banding system doesn't take that into account.

We are an inclusive school but it cannot lead to us, perhaps, not

being measured how we would like with other schools. No other

schools have more than 70 people in the unit within the school.

The system has created winners as well as losers. Proud new band one

schools. The Welsh Government says the point of the system is to

identify schools in need of support. But it's also a tool for parents

choosing secondary schools for their children, a decision facing

these mums and dads at All Saints primary near Wrexham.

People who have more money have got more social mobility, will move to

where the good schools are. Everybody wants the best for their

children. I think they will take notice of it.

From now on, secondary schools will be banded every year. But

complaints about the fairness of the system are unlikely to go away.

And you can see which band your school is in, on our website -

There is a lot to talk about. First of all the banding. Some confusion

about some of the results tonight? That is what the education

spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives are saying. The

opposition, here. They are saying that the system is confusing for

parents. It seems that within this system, the banding system, some

schools that have excellent exam results actually found themselves

in a lower band than those with worst exam results. Let's take an

example here in Cardiff. This school has the third best GCSE

results in Wales and yet it finds itself in band three tonight. The

Welsh government saying to that school that there are lots of

schools doing better than them. This was introduced to chart

progress? At his right. The Welsh government

wants to support schools within the lower bands. It wants to see them

progress year on year and yet the system it has created means that

next year there will be five bands just as there are next year so

there will still be failing schools. It is hard to see how they will

communicate that idea of progress. They have not published the

individual score for each school that they have done such a lot of

work to produce. Effectively they have created new league tables or

they have created new leagues but not the tables within the leaks.

Let's turn our attention to the investigation into the WJEC. Two

examine this suspended tonight. How embarrassing is this?

This will be of great concern to the WJEC. They are all about

qualifications after all. If there is also destined you can cheat the

system to attain a qualification, that is extremely damaging. That is

why the Education Secretary is taking this so seriously. The WJEC

will be examining this footage very closely to look first of all to see

whether those officials have broken any rules and if they have done,

that could be very problematic indeed for our national exam board

in Wales. Thank you.

Campaigners fighting plans for wind farms and pylons in mid Wales took

their protest to the Senedd today. It follows a statement on energy by

First Minister Carwyn Jones in which he appears to support their

development, but just a few months ago, he argued against pylons and

called for a limit on wind farms. More from our Environment

Correspondent, Iolo Ap Dafydd. In their 4x4 and trailers, the

campaigning group Montgomryshire Against Pylons came to the Senedd

to show Assembly Member's how the proposed wind turbines and National

Grid pylons would affect communities in mid Wales. Their aim

is to remind the Welsh government how its policies of encouraging

wind farms in specific areas could have a detrimental impact.

It is for the politicians, the policy makers, who we don't yet

believe have really thought this through and look at the cumulative

effect in terms of transport, the effects on tourism, which is a

massive part of a local economy. Also in town today, the UK's energy

minister who said more turbines and new pylons may well be necessary in

the wider national interest. Local views are important and that

is a statutory part of the process. At the end of the day we are making

decisions on the national interest. Sometimes we have to look at

investment in the infrastructure. We have to have electricity.

At a news conference in the National Assembly, the first

minister explained why more wind farms and other renewable energy is

necessary. Does that mean you want to see more

wind farms and because of that, more pylons in certain parts of

Wales? Pylons are a matter for the UK

government. Do we want to see more we in? That is right. There are

limits to that. Yet in June, his view on wind farms

and pylons was different. I don't think there will be a need

for pile on snow. We have looked that imposing a maximum amount of

energy generation each specific search area in Wales. Then, the

pilots' will not be needed in our view.

So what's changed? Why does extending the energy infrastructure

in mid Wales seem to be an accepted necessity by the Welsh and UK

governments? I see the development in December

did shake the confidence in the industry somewhat. That led to

negotiation of the future investment. As I say, the energy

companies are still maintaining their interest in the region and

are trying to work a way through this.

The National Grid is expected to announce in the New Year its

preferred route for new pylons. And the argument is likely to intensify

if burying transmission cables underground becomes a serious

option, despite being more You're watching Wales Today. Still

ahead tonight: The main route between north and south revamped.

Improving travel times on the A470. And we haven't escaped the bad

weather as strong winds bring down trees. Derek's standing by with the

forecast. The gap in life expectancy between

rich and poor areas of Wales is growing. A report for the NHS shows

men in the most deprived areas are likely to die nine years before

those in the most well off. The gap for women is also growing. Our

health correspondent, Hywel Griffith, is here to explain more.

For the first time, we've got a pretty detailed measure of the

differences in people's health, not just across Wales, but within

different places. The inequalities it reveals are pretty stark. For

women, Ceredigion has the longest life expectancy at 84, a whole five

years longer than in Blaneau Gwent. Similarly, for men, Ceredigion also

comes out best at 80. The worst life expectancy is in Merthyr

Tydfil, at 75. In general, we're all living longer, but there's a

growing health gap in Wales between the most well off areas and the

most deprived. The gap in male life expectancy between rich and poor

used to be 8.6 years. But in recent years, the gap has grown to over

nine years. The same goes for women. In the last decade, it's the

poorest people in Wales who have gained the least in terms of their

health. But why? At the moment, there is less money available

because of the recession. People have less money to make healthy

choices in a living. There is a long-standing history of Paul work

opportunities and educational achievement and those things will

contribute to the problem. And how do you address those big problems?

This report helps, as it looks at the differences at a micro level.

Let's look at Wrexham for example. There, women living in one suburb

can expect to live eight years longer than in a neighbouring one.

The gap in how long they can expect to live without health problems is

even greater - a gap of over 15 years. These types of inequalities

are even bigger in cities like Cardiff and Swansea.. The Welsh

Government says it is acting, but that the problem is complex. These

figures show the NHS and councils will have to be much better in

targeting their limited resources to stop the gulf between rich and

poor growing. A police officer's been charged

with burglary after an incident at Aspers Casino in Swansea in October.

33-year-old Ceri Rees has been suspended from the Dyfed Powys

force. She's been bailed to appear in court at a later date.

The Welsh discount fashion chain, Peacocks, has refused to comment on

reports suggesting that hundreds of its stores could close. But the

company has confirmed that it's working on a plan to restructure

the business. The Cardiff-based retailer has over 500 stores in the

UK and another 100 overseas. The new blue disabled parking badge

will be free in Wales. Councils in England and Scotland may charge up

to �10 and �20 respectively for the badge. The new badge will be harder

to copy, forge and alter as a result of an improved design.

Exports from Wales have increased by almost �2.5 billion over the

last year, according to the Welsh Government. The value of exports

for the four quarters up to and including 2011 quarter three

increased by 22% compared to the same period the year before. Wales

had the highest growth rate of the UK countries in both imports and

exports over the same period. The day after he unveiled his new

strategy for Wales, the Transport Minister, Carl Sargeant, has

officially opened a new stretch of the A470. The new road has taken

almost two years to complete. It runs between the villages of

Cwmbach, near Builth Wells, and Newbridge on Wye. But as Cemlyn

Davies reports, the response locally has been mixed.

Carl Sargeant officially opened this new section of the A470. The

three-and a-half mile stretch has taken two years to complete costing

more than �50 million. The old road between Builth Wells and Newbridge-

on-Wye was one of the windiest stretches of the A470 but this new

road has cut out 18 Bence and just look how straight it is now. The

new road is expected to cut journey times by three minutes. This is a

fundamental part of improving safety and access across the A470.

It has been delivered on time and on budget. I could not ask for more

from the contractors. It has been a big challenge because the

conditions have not been helpful. We lost about eight weeks last year

but we regained that time. Environmentally, it has been a

challenge as well but nothing that we could not reasonably overcome.

We have ended up with a very good looking job. Over in a nearby pub,

the response was less positive. Some of these locals are worried

about the impact the new road could have on the area. It is going to

take 50 % off my finances because I am losing passing trade. The old

road was winded but you had to go slow because it was winded. This is

a faster road and if it's going to be -- if this is an accident, it

will be more significant. More work will be did on this road and plans

to Ike's Pond -- expand the role which has been postponed.

Stereophonics lead singer, Kelly Jones, says he's honoured Gary

Speed's widow has asked for one of his recordings to be played at her

husband's funeral tomorrow. Jones was asked by BBC Wales to record

the unofficial Welsh football anthem, "Can't Take My Eyes Off

You", as a tribute to the Wales football manager who died last

month. Are you one of the people who will

be carrying the Olympic torch around Wales next summer? Well,

today, hundreds of people across the country were told that they'd

be taking part, including 14-year- old Hannah Jarrett from Bridgend.

She was nominated after raising more than �2,000 for a diabetes

charity, despite suffering from the condition herself. She was in

London with some of the other 8,000 nominees who will carry the torch

in a relay around the UK. I will be really proud to carry it through my

home town with all my friends and family to support me.

On Monday, this year's BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year will

be announced. Five world champions are in the running and desperate

for your vote. Tonight, it's the turn of triathlete, Helen Jenkins.

Triathlon world champion Helen Jenkins could have chosen any

easier event in which to make their mark. Three gruelling races in one

day are par for the cause for triathletes but to compete

consistently through the long season and become the best in the

world really puts her on a pedestal once again. Her win over the

Olympics course in Hyde Park today in opposition for the world title

which she won for the second time in their career. Dare we hope for a

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds

repeat performance from her in Hyde In a moment, we'll have the full

weather forecast from Derek. But first, Wales escaped the worst of

the storm which hit Scotland. However, these choppy scenes in

Anglesey show just how windy it was with severe gales. A number of

trees have fallen with the Lleyn Peninsula experiencing winds of

over 80mph. So Derek, what's it It has been wild and wet today.

John Branagan sent in this photo of a swollen River Dee in Llangollen.

At the moment, there are two flood alerts in force on the River Conwy,

Dyfi and Lake Vyrnwy. Scotland recorded the highest gust today.

165mph on top of Cairngorm mountain. Just short of a UK record. The

highest gust in Wales was around half that. 81mph at Aberdaron on

the Lleyn Peninsula. Strong enough to bring down a few trees. The

reason for the stormy weather is an intense Atlantic low pressure. It

will move towards Norway tonight with colder Arctic winds for

Britain. So the worst is over for Wales. The heavy rain has gone,

leaving a much drier, clearer night. Just a few showers in the north.

It'll be breezy with strong winds on the north coast and Anglesey and

it'll be cold. Temperatures inland falling as low as 2C. So tomorrow,

a much better start to the day. Cold but generally dry. Some patchy

cloud and clear skies. Good visibility as well. Some showers on

the north coast. So a better day tomorrow. Some sunshine but a few

showers as well, falling as rain, hail, sleet or snow. The snow

mainly on higher ground above 200m or 600 feet. A dusting in places

but a warning is no longer in force. And some places will stay dry. Cold

but not as windy as today. Top temperatures, 7C. Tomorrow night

becoming dry, clear and cold. Temperatures falling as low as -3C

with a widespread frost and icy patches. Saturday then will start

cold and crisp. The odd shower in the north, but otherwise dry. Some

sunshine and light winds. Sunday, not so good. Less cold with some

rain clearing to showers. By the way, St Luke's Church, Cilfynydd,

are having a Christmas tree festival this weekend. Father

Christmas will be there and Saturday should be dry. While in

Peterston Super Ely, I will be switching on the Christmas lights

on Sunday. The weather is not very festive but lots of fun is

forecast! So after today's stormy weather, a much better day in

prospect tomorrow. Colder with some sunshine and a few wintry showers.

Saturday looks to be the best day of the weekend for going Christmas

shopping. Let's take a look at a few of your Christmas pictures now.

The first is a winter scene by Louise Guy from the Cathedral

School in Llandaff. Next, a beautiful Christmas tree by Thomas

and Rose Foskett from Penstrowed in Powys. And finally, a snowman by

Tomos Rees Jones from Bontnewydd. Well, Tomos, a little snow is

likely on some hills and mountains tomorrow but not enough to build a

The reminder of our main news. The leaders of France and Germany have

made dramatic appeals for support across Europe as they try and save

the euro currency. The French President says the risk of European

disintegration is now greater than ever.

To WJEC School examiners are suspended tonight after the Daily

Telegraph secretly filmed them telling teachers at a seminar what

would come up in exams. It is alleged the broke rules when they

advised teachers in England on the topics the future exams.

The last government has published a new banding structure for schools.

But there are questions over how effective it will be.

Scotland has been battered by the worst storm in 10 years. Again

force winds of up to 165 miles an hour have left schools closed,

driving dangerous and more than 50,000 homes without power. The

North of England was badly affected as well. Wales recorded wind speeds

of up to 81 miles an hour. If you have a story you want this

to cover, get in touch. The Don't forget our website: