25/08/2016 BBC Wales Today

celebrate their GCSE results, with two-thirds

I only failed one but I am a bit upset that I failed it.

But with no change in results over the past three years,

we ask the Education Secretary why progress isn't being made.

Also tonight, Machynlleth town councillors apologise

after accepting donations following the murder of April Jones

Many people came to the town and broke loose catch. What was the town

council is supposed to do? Claims of inequality in salaries

at Welsh universities as it emerges over 200 staff earn

more than ?100,000. In tonight's sport,

the Principality Premiership re-vamped for the new season,

but will more teams mean GCSE results in Wales have stayed

the same for the third year running, with two-thirds of pupils

getting A* to C grades. Welsh results now match those over

the border and are better They come amid major changes

to the qualifications system. In a moment we'll hear from

Education Secretary Kirsty Williams but first this report

from our education Eastern High School in Rumney

in Cardiff got some of the worst GCSE results in Wales last year

but with a new head and extra help from the Welsh government

there have been big efforts Overall, the proportion of pupils

getting five good GCSE passes I got an A in PE, mostly Bs and then

Cs and I only failed one and I am a bit disappointed

because I tried hard. I have got a scholarship

so if I don't make it into football Across Wales the percentage

of GCSEs passed with a C or above was the same

as the previous two years, The percentage of top grades was up

slightly on last year. There was plenty to celebrate

at Cefn Hengoed school in Swansea. I came in with low expectations

because then I feel better about myself when I get higher

grades but overall I feel amazing. I think I could improve a bit better

but what is done is done. Maths was up while English and GCSE

science results fell. Comparing English with maths

is interesting because in both cases there are young people aged 16

who are taking the exams earlier in the year and are settling

for those results rather than coming That seems to be working more

favourably in maths than perhaps in English so maybe there are some

aspects to be looked at there. Measuring Welsh GCSE performance

compared to previous years and other parts of the UK is complex

and getting more complicated due But some argue the focus should be

on big variations Eastern High has improved a lot

on last year's results but earlier this year the chief

inspector of schools said there is too big a gap

between the best and worst One way the Welsh government

is trying to narrow that gap is through a project called

Schools Challenge Cymru, which partners the underperforming

schools with extra resources To narrow that gap,

it is funding and more funding We get that from Challenge at the

moment and the deprivation grant. But funding enables more

interventions with those students who are coming in at a low level

and need that extra boost to get There will be more changes to GCSEs

over the next couple of years but they will remain a big test

for students, schools Well, earlier she spoke

to the Education Secretary Kirsty Williams and began

by asking her for her assessment First of all, I want to congratulate

everybody who got their results today. It is a stable performance

over the last three years and this is the best performance we have ever

had. What we need to do now is to push on with our reform agenda. We

are forming and introducing additional rigour in those

examinations and we will see the results next year. You say stability

but you want to see progress and by that measure these results were not

good enough. In individual subjects we are seeing improvement and that

is very welcome but what we are doing is, we want to see

improvements. Our reform agenda is very much along those lines.

Improvements in maths and a similar story to A-levels where maths is

looking pretty good. On the other hand, English not so strong. We know

there was some direct support and focus, like we did with maths, and

that pays dividends. We will have a conference for heads of English

across the country so we can bring people together to put additional

support in place for English because that is a key exam that children

need to do well in so that they can progress onto higher education or

into the world of work. The government project to target 40

underperforming schools, you have been sceptical about this in the

past. Are you now more convinced about the value of targeting

underperforming schools? We want to look much more carefully at how

individual programmes that are being delivered by Welsh government are

impacting on results. If they are working, we will look to build on

those programmes. If we can't see there is a return on that

investment, we will think again about how we can best support

education. Looking ahead, A-levels and GCSEs are a measure of how the

Welsh education system is doing. Another one is the Pisa results. The

next set are due at the end of the year and you have already said you

are not optimistic. I think it would be a big challenge to see a

significant improvement in our ranking, given we find ourselves in

a period of reform. We are going to wait and see. There is nothing to be

gained by me sitting here trying to predict. Let's see what the results

are and let's examine that against the changes that this Welsh

government is making to improve education. Thank you very much.

Town councillors have apologised for accepting donations

following the murder of April Jones after a report found

Machynlleth Town Council was given over ?70,000, which it donated

Auditor BDO said the money offered by the public should

But councillors say they were traumatic

The disappearance of April Jones four years ago triggered the biggest

Hundreds of people volunteered to help find the missing

five-year-old and many were also making donations.

This place was a hive of activity with police, search teams and

hundreds of volunteers. People were also turning up to give donations.

One person even came from Scotland to drop off a cached only then. --

drop off a cash donation. Machynlleth Town Council has now

apologised for accepting that money after being criticised

in an Auditor's report which said While the council has apologised

there's still frustration from some councillors who feel

it was a "trying and traumatic" time People brought the cash in good

faith and the town council accepted that in good faith. What were we

supposed to do? Leave it in a safe or in the office? What would people

have thought if something untoward had happened? The money was safe in

the bank. But the auditor said the council had no power to accept this

money. But the report from the auditor BDO

said, "The council had no power to collect this money

or to establish a bank When people came into the office

and gave them money they should In May 2013, Mark Bridger

was convicted of the murder of April At the time of the search, pink

ribbons were tied to posts and the council accepted more than ?70,000

and they gave it to local charities and causes including her school.

A 60-year-old man from Cardiff has been arrested on suspicion

of attempted kidnap in the German city of Hamburg.

He's believed to be Thomas Doran, wanted as part of Operation

Imperial, Gwent Police's ongoing investigation into serious offences

The man was arrested earlier this month and will be

Two men and two women arrested on suspicion of manslaughter

following a car crash in Cardiff on Monday morning have

22-year-old Sophie Taylor from Llandaff died when her car

hit a block of flats in the Adamstown area of the city.

A 21-year-old man, who was a passenger in the car,

remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Home Office figures show a further 34 Syrian refugees were resettled

in Wales in the three months to June, bringing the total to 112.

That's compared to 249 in Scotland and 104 in Northern Ireland.

Nine of Wales' 22 councils took part in the settlement

programme during this period, four more than three months earlier.

Oxfam Cymru have welcomed the increase but say the process

The head of Welsh Labour's campaign to remain in the EU, Lord Hain,

has accused two prominent leave campaigners of being "shameless"

after they said they supported some freedom of movement between the UK

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies,

and Monmouth MP David Davies, have both backed the policy,

Our political editor Nick Servini is here.

So, Nick, more than two months after the campaign,

Absolutely. Immigration is still very high profile. Net migration

figures out today for the UK still at record levels. This is due to the

free movement of labour, which was a major part of the referendum

campaign in Wales like it was in the rest of the UK. This is the ability

for all EU citizens to live and work wherever they want to. As a result

of that, what we have seen today, many people on the leave side wanted

it abolished and it was a very powerful message on the leaves side,

which was to take back control. What we have seen today is a much more

nuanced approach to this from two very high profile Brexit supporters.

Andrew RT Davies says it is acceptable to have a degree of free

movement of labour so long as there are controls and limits. And David

Davies also echoed that, saying it would be acceptable, but EU workers

would not be able to have the same rights as British workers and also

that it would be their responsibility to have to find work.

I don't have a problem particularly with people coming

in and contributing and working hard but I do have a real problem

with the fact that somebody can come here from anywhere in Europe

and claim the same right to benefits and council housing as someone

And there has been a strong response to those who campaigned to remain in

the EU. Peter Hain who led Labour's failed campaign for Wales, like the

rest of the UK, and incredulous response. He says it was shameless

and also that voters were sold a pup. He said this issue was a

central part of why people voted to leave. More than two months after

the result, this is going to run and run.

How Welsh anglers have become historians, chronicling decades

And tomorrow will be a good day for fishing but what about

Will you need sun cream, waterproofs or maybe both?

Concerns have been raised about the inequality of salaries

at Welsh universities after it emerged 210 senior staff earned more

The Universities and Colleges Union says it's concerned about the gap

between the top earners and the day-to-day academic staff

Behind every student, a moment of private individual success. There is

the vice chancellors, professes, directors and support staff who

helped run every university in Wales. Now one union in Wales says

it is concerned that with such a range of positions, there is too big

a gap between salaries. The issue is more about the inequality between

the average vice Chancellor's pay and the average salary of other

members of the universities. What we are really concerned about is the

overuse of fixed term contracts and we feel that the staff in our

universities deserved to be recognised and rewarded at whatever

level they are. A report commissioned by the Welsh government

shows that 210 members of senior staff across Welsh universities were

paid more than ?100,000 in 2014-15. Seven out of the eight vice

chancellors were paid more than ?200,000 and Cardiff University

paper is the most, at ?288,000. But steady the closely and Welsh

universities are largely on a park or even below other UK universities.

Let's take Cardiff University for example. It has the highest number

of staff, 136, paid more than ?100,000. Let's compare that to a

similar research led universities like Bristol, it had 122 staff on a

similar wage and their Vice Chancellor earns 55,000 more than

Cardiff's. The figures in Wales have to be treated with some caution

because there are 210 people earning more than ?100,000 a year but a very

substantial number are in the medical schools and related

professions. It is very important to remember that universities now earn

their money from fees. They are no longer getting the kind of income

from the taxpayer that they used to get, not directly at least, and that

gives them greater freedom to pay different kinds of salaries. As

echoed by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, which is

behind this report, it says Welsh universities are competing on a

global playing field so the pain needs to be attractive to the most

talented and ambitious individuals and the body that represents

universities in Wales says that is exactly who you need when you are

looking for someone to run some of the largest and most complex

organisations in Wales. At least 20 new jobs

will be created in Gwynedd Liverpool's Coultons Bread Ltd plans

to set up a new depot on the Cibyn industrial estate in Caernarfon,

from where they'll distribute bread to supermarkets and stores

across North West Wales. Swansea's Glynn Vivian Art Gallery

will re-open in October, almost five years after it was closed

for a multi-million There will be new spaces

for lectures, touring It's hoped it will attract around

90,000 visitors a year. Time for all the sport now,

and Tomos has all the latest. The aim is to improve standards,

develop promising players and get Followers of rugby's

Principality Premiership can expect plenty of changes

in the new re-vamped There are more teams

and the Welsh Rugby Union says splitting the league in two

after Christmas will mean A new season, a new format for the

semiprofessional game here. Members of the expanded league gathered at

Eugene Cross Park, the home of the current champions Ebbw Vale, ahead

of the first round of matches next weekend. Will a bigger league mean

better rugby? We have got 16 teams. In terms of the beginning of

January, the 16 team league will be split into two leagues of eight. The

team's 1-8 will play in one league and the other eight teams will play

in another league. I think it will add a bit of spice to the games

around Christmas and New Year and they will also be derby games so

that will add an extra little bit of spice. Ebbw Vale took the trophy

last season. This year the eight teams in the top half of the league

after Christmas will play each other once, with the top four fighting for

a place in the final to become champions. The Principality

Premiership can boast an Olympic medallist. Sam cross picked up a

silver in Lee Rigby sevens. A product of Ebbw Vale who now plays

for Newport. It was a great stepping stone for me going on to play for

the sevens. I was spotted playing in the championship, moved up to the

Premiership, played two years in the Premiership and then went on to the

Olympic Games. I think it shows the standard of the Premier League. No

club will be relegated for two seasons to help the club's bed down.

Some fans worried that will leave clubs in the bottom half with little

to motivate them. The Welsh Rugby Union sees the changes as part of a

bigger plan. The idea is to raise standards in the Premiership and it

will eventually help deliver better players for our four regional sides.

Football, and in the season when both the men's and women's

Champions League finals will be held in Wales, Cardiff Met

are aiming to reach the final rounds for the first time.

They're up against a Serbian side in their second

Cardiff Met won the first of their three games on Tuesday

and need to win the group to reach the knockout stage.

Wales manager Chris Coleman has dismissed the idea of Wales

being part of a Team GB football side at the 2020 Olympics.

Team GB entered the London Olympics in 2012 but not in Rio this summer.

The Football Association of Wales fears it could damage Wales'

position as an independent footballing nation.

Anything that would put what we have got here,

what we have built here, anything that would

put that in jeopardy, we would not be for that.

We have always had a stance that we don't agree with it

A tough tie for Swansea in the EFL Cup third round.

They'll face the cup holders Manchester City.

The game will be played during the week starting

It's day three of the County Championship match

Play at the Swalec Stadium has been abandoned for the day

because of a combination of bad light and rain.

The hosts are stuck on 149 for 2 - a second innings lead of 118.

Records revealing a century of change on the waterways

of South Wales collated by members of the Glamorgan Anglers Club

are being made available to the public for the first time.

The journals, dating back to the 1920s, detail how our lakes

and rivers were blighted by pollution and poaching.

But they also provide a wealth of social history,

as Carwyn Jones has been finding out.

Since 1904, the Glamorgan Anglers club has been fishing

With 800 members, it is one of the largest

But what sets this club apart is that its founding members loved

nothing more than putting pen to paper.

Over thousands of pages they detailed every aspect

of the club's activities, from introducing more fish stocks

into the rivers to the nuts and bolts of the club's finances,

which they happily noted were boosted by card games.

It is pleasing to see them roll up at our outings and it is to them

These journals have been gathering dust for years but current club

members believe it is finally time to see them for what they really

are, a written history of Wales from the water's edge.

It's an indicator of society at the time.

There is also some references to backgrounds, not only

of individuals but of society as a whole and of the events that

The journals cover much of the 20th century.

During the General strike of 1926, the club was trying

to acquire stretches of water from the Great Western Railway.

On VE Day in 1945, members noted that fish on the River Taff

were being poisoned by pollution in huge numbers.

And as the world held its breath during the Cuban missile crisis

in 1972, the club ordered 1000 trout at a cost of ?25

Now those journals have found a new and permanent home

They will be accessible to the general public

Although it's very interesting from an angling point of view

and a sporting point of view, it has much broader,

It's a really real, a really unselfconscious representation

of history and that is one of the things that is very

So this is journey's end for these journals.

Here they will be catalogued and conserved for historians

Derek, how's it shaping up for the Bank Holiday weekend?

Bright in Llandudno this morning but generally a lot of cloud.

Some places dry today but not everywhere.

The radar shows some rain and showers spreading north-east.

This evening, further showers or longer spells of rain.

Later in the evening and overnight, the cloud and rain will clear.

It will turn cooler and fresher with one or two

Tomorrow's chart shows high pressure on our doorstep and that means

So at eight o'clock in the morning, a lovely start to the day.

Any mist first thing will soon clear.

Sunny on the west coast and feeling fresher with a light

Blue sky and sunshine in the afternoon with a few clouds.

22 Celsius in Monmouth with light winds and sea breezes.

Air quality will be better as well with cleaner,

Now it's Ladies Day at Ffos Las Races tomorrow.

Tomorrow night will be dry and with a clear sky it will turn

quite cool, especially in the countryside.

Temperatures in the Brecon Beacons falling to 8 Celsius.

The north and west may stay dry all day.

But rain and showers will spread into south Wales.

Later in the day heavy rain and showers will

There is a warning in force for south, mid and north-east Wales

Over an inch of rain possible in places.

On Sunday, showers or longer spells of rain.

Heavy in places but slowly improving.

Turning drier and brighter later in the afternoon with some sunshine.

One or two light showers but plenty of dry weather and some sunshine.

So a mixed bag but not a washout by any means.

In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine tomorrow.

Central Italy has been hit by a series of powerful aftershocks,

hampering rescue teams who are racing to find survivors

The death toll has climbed to at least 250 people.

Tonight the Foreign Office confirmed that a number of British citizens

And GCSE results in Wales have stayed the same

for the third year running, with two-thirds of pupils

Welsh results now match those over the border, and are better

They come amid major changes to the qualifications system.

In individual subjects we are seeing improvements and that is very

welcome indeed but what we do know is that we want to see improvements

year. Our reform agenda is along those lines. We should congratulate

our students. We'll have an update

for you at 8pm and more Elizabeth Taylor.

Helen Mirren - loved her.