:00:02. > :00:05.Welcome to Wales Today. Our top stories:
:00:05. > :00:08.Two school examiners suspended - allegations they broke the rules
:00:08. > :00:11.telling teachers what questions might come up.
:00:11. > :00:15.The Education Minister says there must be confidence in our exam
:00:15. > :00:25.system. He's also unveiled new banding for our schools - but how
:00:25. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:35.clear a picture does it give of how Tonight's other headlines:
:00:35. > :00:38.The First Minister suggests he now supports building wind farms in mid
:00:38. > :00:40.Wales as protestors head to the Senedd.
:00:40. > :00:44.Also tonight: How wealth may have a big say on
:00:44. > :00:53.how long you live. And choppy seas off Anglesey -
:00:53. > :00:56.Wales records wind speeds of 81 Two school examiners are suspended
:00:56. > :00:59.tonight after the Daily Telegraph secretly filmed them telling
:00:59. > :01:03.teachers at a seminar what areas of the syllabus wouldn't come up in
:01:04. > :01:08.exams. It's alleged they broke rules when they advised the
:01:08. > :01:12.teachers in England on the topics for future exams. Our Education
:01:12. > :01:16.Correspondent Ciaran Jenkins is at the Senedd, Ciaran.
:01:16. > :01:24.81% of children in Wales take GCSE's run by the exam board WJEC
:01:24. > :01:26.and 7% of pupils in England sit their exams. The UK's education
:01:26. > :01:29.Minister Michael Gove has now ordered an inquiry and here
:01:29. > :01:35.Education Minister Leighton Andrews is calling on the exam board to
:01:35. > :01:38.answer the claims. Caroline Evans has more.
:01:38. > :01:40.Tonight two history examiners, Paul Evans the chief examiner for
:01:41. > :01:44.history for WJEC and Paul Barnes are suspended because, according to
:01:44. > :01:54.the Telegraph newspaper which went under cover to 13 meetings run by a
:01:54. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:02.number of exam boards, what took You should be grateful that you
:02:02. > :02:07.have got a choice rather than saying, we have to tell you. We are
:02:07. > :02:11.cheating, we are telling you the cycle. Probably, the regulator
:02:11. > :02:15.would tell us off. That is not written anywhere in the
:02:16. > :02:20.specification? We are not allowed to tell you.
:02:20. > :02:26.How much should I do on Bill Clinton and President Bush? The
:02:26. > :02:31.answer is none. They will never be a specific question. Seminars like
:02:31. > :02:33.this take place routinely. Teachers pay �120 to spend a day being
:02:33. > :02:37.briefed on teaching approaches. The WJEC says the information given at
:02:37. > :02:40.the courses is freely available on their website so that no teacher or
:02:40. > :02:42.students are at a disadvantage by teachers being unable to attend the
:02:42. > :02:44.courses. But they are treating these allegations as a matter of
:02:44. > :02:48.urgency. The question is whether the content
:02:48. > :02:54.relayed by the examiners is already in are published guidance or
:02:54. > :02:56.whether they are adding to that. If they were, whether that has crossed
:02:57. > :02:59.the line of being inappropriate. Education Minister Leighton Andrews,
:02:59. > :03:05.who was opening a school in Caerphilly today, said he was
:03:05. > :03:08.taking the allegations extremely seriously.
:03:08. > :03:12.I am very concerned about the allegations that have been made
:03:12. > :03:17.today. I demanded answers yesterday from the examining board when we
:03:17. > :03:22.heard about this issue. There will be a full investigation carried out
:03:22. > :03:27.by the regulators for the exams in Wales, England and other parts of
:03:27. > :03:30.the UK. We are taking these allegations very seriously indeed.
:03:30. > :03:33.Peggy George was a history teacher for 34 years and chair of the WJEC
:03:33. > :03:41.history panel. She says it's possible for all teachers now to
:03:41. > :03:45.predict what will come up in exams. What has happened now is that the
:03:45. > :03:51.syllabus is very, very short by comparison with the old ones. They
:03:51. > :03:54.are divided into specific areas, usually four or five. You are
:03:54. > :03:58.guaranteed a question in each area and each area is very closely
:03:59. > :04:01.defined. It doesn't take an awful lot of guesswork Corri teacher to
:04:01. > :04:04.follow this. The two examiners have been
:04:04. > :04:06.suspended until the investigation is complete and will be spoken to
:04:07. > :04:16.before the weekend. The WJEC has given assurances that if necessary
:04:16. > :04:19.it will create a new assessment Not just a day when the exam system
:04:19. > :04:22.has come under scrutiny, but the performance of schools across the
:04:23. > :04:27.board. The Welsh Government has published a new banding structure
:04:27. > :04:35.for our schools. But there are questions about how effectively it
:04:35. > :04:40.will inform parents about how their Welcome to a band two school,
:04:40. > :04:43.Sandfield's Comprehensive near Port Talbot. In the Welsh Government's
:04:43. > :04:50.new system of grading schools from one to five, it's come out nearer
:04:50. > :04:53.the top than the bottom. But what is banding and how does it work?
:04:53. > :04:58.The Welsh Government has come up with a single score for every
:04:58. > :05:01.school in the country. The score is school in the country. The score is
:05:01. > :05:06.based on this year's GCSE results. And it also looks at pupils'
:05:06. > :05:09.attendance. The scoring system is designed to reward schools that
:05:09. > :05:14.make progress so schools where exam results get better, or attendance
:05:14. > :05:20.improves. And the score also takes into account the number of pupils
:05:20. > :05:23.on free school meals. This is supposed to compensate for the
:05:23. > :05:26.difficulty of running a school in a deprived area. All these factors
:05:27. > :05:30.come together to produce an overall score for each school. Then the
:05:30. > :05:40.results are simply divided into five bands, with one being the best
:05:40. > :05:41.
:05:41. > :05:44.There will be support from local authorities, sometimes that will
:05:44. > :05:48.mean the secondment of people to help those schools but we are
:05:48. > :05:53.discussing with local authorities to arrange support.
:05:53. > :05:58.Many of the measures within this particular banding system at
:05:58. > :06:01.indicators that have been used for a long time already. They are
:06:01. > :06:05.things schools will recognise. The issue of whether putting them
:06:05. > :06:09.together is helpful is another matter. The simple fact is we have
:06:09. > :06:12.it now and we need to work out how to use it constructively.
:06:12. > :06:15.telling that to the 28 schools now identified by the Welsh Government
:06:15. > :06:21.as being the worst in the country. Schools like Caldicot High in
:06:21. > :06:29.Monmouthshire and Glyn Derw High in Cardiff. We asked each one of them
:06:29. > :06:33.if they'd talk about their result, they all refused.
:06:33. > :06:39.Some schools will tell you that they will be branded as successful
:06:40. > :06:43.schools. Others in the lower bands will be branded as schools that are
:06:43. > :06:49.not as successful and probably branded as scaling schools. That is
:06:49. > :06:51.very unfair. -- failing schools. Our band 2 school is also not
:06:51. > :06:54.convinced the system is fair. Sandfields was recently applauded
:06:54. > :06:58.by the school inspectorate Estyn for being excellent in nine out of
:06:59. > :07:08.10 areas. But this school has a large unit for pupils with special
:07:08. > :07:12.needs and the banding system doesn't take that into account.
:07:12. > :07:16.We are an inclusive school but it cannot lead to us, perhaps, not
:07:16. > :07:20.being measured how we would like with other schools. No other
:07:20. > :07:24.schools have more than 70 people in the unit within the school.
:07:24. > :07:29.The system has created winners as well as losers. Proud new band one
:07:29. > :07:34.schools. The Welsh Government says the point of the system is to
:07:34. > :07:36.identify schools in need of support. But it's also a tool for parents
:07:36. > :07:45.choosing secondary schools for their children, a decision facing
:07:46. > :07:50.these mums and dads at All Saints primary near Wrexham.
:07:50. > :07:54.People who have more money have got more social mobility, will move to
:07:54. > :07:56.where the good schools are. Everybody wants the best for their
:07:56. > :07:59.children. I think they will take notice of it.
:07:59. > :08:05.From now on, secondary schools will be banded every year. But
:08:05. > :08:09.complaints about the fairness of the system are unlikely to go away.
:08:09. > :08:19.And you can see which band your school is in, on our website -
:08:19. > :08:25.
:08:25. > :08:31.There is a lot to talk about. First of all the banding. Some confusion
:08:31. > :08:33.about some of the results tonight? That is what the education
:08:33. > :08:37.spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives are saying. The
:08:37. > :08:42.opposition, here. They are saying that the system is confusing for
:08:42. > :08:47.parents. It seems that within this system, the banding system, some
:08:47. > :08:52.schools that have excellent exam results actually found themselves
:08:52. > :08:56.in a lower band than those with worst exam results. Let's take an
:08:56. > :09:03.example here in Cardiff. This school has the third best GCSE
:09:03. > :09:07.results in Wales and yet it finds itself in band three tonight. The
:09:07. > :09:11.Welsh government saying to that school that there are lots of
:09:11. > :09:14.schools doing better than them. This was introduced to chart
:09:14. > :09:19.progress? At his right. The Welsh government
:09:19. > :09:22.wants to support schools within the lower bands. It wants to see them
:09:22. > :09:26.progress year on year and yet the system it has created means that
:09:26. > :09:30.next year there will be five bands just as there are next year so
:09:30. > :09:34.there will still be failing schools. It is hard to see how they will
:09:34. > :09:37.communicate that idea of progress. They have not published the
:09:37. > :09:44.individual score for each school that they have done such a lot of
:09:44. > :09:53.work to produce. Effectively they have created new league tables or
:09:53. > :09:58.they have created new leagues but not the tables within the leaks.
:09:58. > :10:02.Let's turn our attention to the investigation into the WJEC. Two
:10:02. > :10:07.examine this suspended tonight. How embarrassing is this?
:10:07. > :10:13.This will be of great concern to the WJEC. They are all about
:10:13. > :10:18.qualifications after all. If there is also destined you can cheat the
:10:18. > :10:25.system to attain a qualification, that is extremely damaging. That is
:10:25. > :10:30.why the Education Secretary is taking this so seriously. The WJEC
:10:30. > :10:34.will be examining this footage very closely to look first of all to see
:10:34. > :10:37.whether those officials have broken any rules and if they have done,
:10:37. > :10:41.that could be very problematic indeed for our national exam board
:10:41. > :10:44.in Wales. Thank you.
:10:44. > :10:48.Campaigners fighting plans for wind farms and pylons in mid Wales took
:10:48. > :10:51.their protest to the Senedd today. It follows a statement on energy by
:10:51. > :10:54.First Minister Carwyn Jones in which he appears to support their
:10:54. > :10:57.development, but just a few months ago, he argued against pylons and
:10:57. > :11:04.called for a limit on wind farms. More from our Environment
:11:04. > :11:06.Correspondent, Iolo Ap Dafydd. In their 4x4 and trailers, the
:11:06. > :11:09.campaigning group Montgomryshire Against Pylons came to the Senedd
:11:09. > :11:14.to show Assembly Member's how the proposed wind turbines and National
:11:14. > :11:17.Grid pylons would affect communities in mid Wales. Their aim
:11:17. > :11:25.is to remind the Welsh government how its policies of encouraging
:11:25. > :11:30.wind farms in specific areas could have a detrimental impact.
:11:30. > :11:34.It is for the politicians, the policy makers, who we don't yet
:11:34. > :11:37.believe have really thought this through and look at the cumulative
:11:37. > :11:41.effect in terms of transport, the effects on tourism, which is a
:11:41. > :11:45.massive part of a local economy. Also in town today, the UK's energy
:11:45. > :11:52.minister who said more turbines and new pylons may well be necessary in
:11:52. > :11:57.the wider national interest. Local views are important and that
:11:57. > :12:00.is a statutory part of the process. At the end of the day we are making
:12:00. > :12:06.decisions on the national interest. Sometimes we have to look at
:12:06. > :12:08.investment in the infrastructure. We have to have electricity.
:12:08. > :12:11.At a news conference in the National Assembly, the first
:12:11. > :12:17.minister explained why more wind farms and other renewable energy is
:12:17. > :12:20.necessary. Does that mean you want to see more
:12:20. > :12:24.wind farms and because of that, more pylons in certain parts of
:12:24. > :12:28.Wales? Pylons are a matter for the UK
:12:28. > :12:31.government. Do we want to see more we in? That is right. There are
:12:31. > :12:38.limits to that. Yet in June, his view on wind farms
:12:38. > :12:42.and pylons was different. I don't think there will be a need
:12:42. > :12:46.for pile on snow. We have looked that imposing a maximum amount of
:12:46. > :12:49.energy generation each specific search area in Wales. Then, the
:12:50. > :12:52.pilots' will not be needed in our view.
:12:52. > :12:56.So what's changed? Why does extending the energy infrastructure
:12:56. > :13:01.in mid Wales seem to be an accepted necessity by the Welsh and UK
:13:01. > :13:07.governments? I see the development in December
:13:07. > :13:11.did shake the confidence in the industry somewhat. That led to
:13:11. > :13:14.negotiation of the future investment. As I say, the energy
:13:14. > :13:16.companies are still maintaining their interest in the region and
:13:16. > :13:19.are trying to work a way through this.
:13:19. > :13:22.The National Grid is expected to announce in the New Year its
:13:22. > :13:24.preferred route for new pylons. And the argument is likely to intensify
:13:24. > :13:31.if burying transmission cables underground becomes a serious
:13:31. > :13:34.option, despite being more You're watching Wales Today. Still
:13:34. > :13:38.ahead tonight: The main route between north and south revamped.
:13:38. > :13:41.Improving travel times on the A470. And we haven't escaped the bad
:13:41. > :13:49.weather as strong winds bring down trees. Derek's standing by with the
:13:49. > :13:53.forecast. The gap in life expectancy between
:13:53. > :13:56.rich and poor areas of Wales is growing. A report for the NHS shows
:13:56. > :14:00.men in the most deprived areas are likely to die nine years before
:14:00. > :14:07.those in the most well off. The gap for women is also growing. Our
:14:07. > :14:10.health correspondent, Hywel Griffith, is here to explain more.
:14:10. > :14:12.For the first time, we've got a pretty detailed measure of the
:14:12. > :14:18.differences in people's health, not just across Wales, but within
:14:18. > :14:21.different places. The inequalities it reveals are pretty stark. For
:14:21. > :14:27.women, Ceredigion has the longest life expectancy at 84, a whole five
:14:27. > :14:31.years longer than in Blaneau Gwent. Similarly, for men, Ceredigion also
:14:31. > :14:36.comes out best at 80. The worst life expectancy is in Merthyr
:14:36. > :14:40.Tydfil, at 75. In general, we're all living longer, but there's a
:14:40. > :14:45.growing health gap in Wales between the most well off areas and the
:14:45. > :14:50.most deprived. The gap in male life expectancy between rich and poor
:14:50. > :14:55.used to be 8.6 years. But in recent years, the gap has grown to over
:14:55. > :14:58.nine years. The same goes for women. In the last decade, it's the
:14:58. > :15:08.poorest people in Wales who have gained the least in terms of their
:15:08. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:16.health. But why? At the moment, there is less money available
:15:16. > :15:21.because of the recession. People have less money to make healthy
:15:21. > :15:25.choices in a living. There is a long-standing history of Paul work
:15:25. > :15:31.opportunities and educational achievement and those things will
:15:31. > :15:34.contribute to the problem. And how do you address those big problems?
:15:34. > :15:37.This report helps, as it looks at the differences at a micro level.
:15:37. > :15:40.Let's look at Wrexham for example. There, women living in one suburb
:15:40. > :15:44.can expect to live eight years longer than in a neighbouring one.
:15:44. > :15:48.The gap in how long they can expect to live without health problems is
:15:48. > :15:51.even greater - a gap of over 15 years. These types of inequalities
:15:51. > :15:55.are even bigger in cities like Cardiff and Swansea.. The Welsh
:15:55. > :15:58.Government says it is acting, but that the problem is complex. These
:15:58. > :16:01.figures show the NHS and councils will have to be much better in
:16:01. > :16:09.targeting their limited resources to stop the gulf between rich and
:16:10. > :16:13.poor growing. A police officer's been charged
:16:13. > :16:16.with burglary after an incident at Aspers Casino in Swansea in October.
:16:16. > :16:23.33-year-old Ceri Rees has been suspended from the Dyfed Powys
:16:23. > :16:25.force. She's been bailed to appear in court at a later date.
:16:26. > :16:28.The Welsh discount fashion chain, Peacocks, has refused to comment on
:16:29. > :16:31.reports suggesting that hundreds of its stores could close. But the
:16:31. > :16:34.company has confirmed that it's working on a plan to restructure
:16:34. > :16:43.the business. The Cardiff-based retailer has over 500 stores in the
:16:43. > :16:46.UK and another 100 overseas. The new blue disabled parking badge
:16:46. > :16:49.will be free in Wales. Councils in England and Scotland may charge up
:16:49. > :16:56.to �10 and �20 respectively for the badge. The new badge will be harder
:16:56. > :16:59.to copy, forge and alter as a result of an improved design.
:16:59. > :17:03.Exports from Wales have increased by almost �2.5 billion over the
:17:03. > :17:06.last year, according to the Welsh Government. The value of exports
:17:06. > :17:09.for the four quarters up to and including 2011 quarter three
:17:09. > :17:12.increased by 22% compared to the same period the year before. Wales
:17:12. > :17:17.had the highest growth rate of the UK countries in both imports and
:17:17. > :17:19.exports over the same period. The day after he unveiled his new
:17:19. > :17:23.strategy for Wales, the Transport Minister, Carl Sargeant, has
:17:23. > :17:28.officially opened a new stretch of the A470. The new road has taken
:17:28. > :17:31.almost two years to complete. It runs between the villages of
:17:31. > :17:41.Cwmbach, near Builth Wells, and Newbridge on Wye. But as Cemlyn
:17:41. > :17:43.
:17:43. > :17:48.Davies reports, the response locally has been mixed.
:17:48. > :17:52.Carl Sargeant officially opened this new section of the A470. The
:17:52. > :17:57.three-and a-half mile stretch has taken two years to complete costing
:17:57. > :18:03.more than �50 million. The old road between Builth Wells and Newbridge-
:18:03. > :18:08.on-Wye was one of the windiest stretches of the A470 but this new
:18:08. > :18:14.road has cut out 18 Bence and just look how straight it is now. The
:18:14. > :18:18.new road is expected to cut journey times by three minutes. This is a
:18:18. > :18:24.fundamental part of improving safety and access across the A470.
:18:24. > :18:30.It has been delivered on time and on budget. I could not ask for more
:18:30. > :18:34.from the contractors. It has been a big challenge because the
:18:34. > :18:38.conditions have not been helpful. We lost about eight weeks last year
:18:38. > :18:43.but we regained that time. Environmentally, it has been a
:18:43. > :18:48.challenge as well but nothing that we could not reasonably overcome.
:18:48. > :18:52.We have ended up with a very good looking job. Over in a nearby pub,
:18:52. > :18:57.the response was less positive. Some of these locals are worried
:18:57. > :19:05.about the impact the new road could have on the area. It is going to
:19:05. > :19:10.take 50 % off my finances because I am losing passing trade. The old
:19:10. > :19:14.road was winded but you had to go slow because it was winded. This is
:19:14. > :19:24.a faster road and if it's going to be -- if this is an accident, it
:19:24. > :19:29.will be more significant. More work will be did on this road and plans
:19:29. > :19:31.to Ike's Pond -- expand the role which has been postponed.
:19:31. > :19:35.Stereophonics lead singer, Kelly Jones, says he's honoured Gary
:19:35. > :19:37.Speed's widow has asked for one of his recordings to be played at her
:19:37. > :19:40.husband's funeral tomorrow. Jones was asked by BBC Wales to record
:19:40. > :19:43.the unofficial Welsh football anthem, "Can't Take My Eyes Off
:19:43. > :19:51.You", as a tribute to the Wales football manager who died last
:19:51. > :19:53.month. Are you one of the people who will
:19:53. > :19:56.be carrying the Olympic torch around Wales next summer? Well,
:19:56. > :19:58.today, hundreds of people across the country were told that they'd
:19:59. > :20:01.be taking part, including 14-year- old Hannah Jarrett from Bridgend.
:20:01. > :20:04.She was nominated after raising more than �2,000 for a diabetes
:20:04. > :20:07.charity, despite suffering from the condition herself. She was in
:20:07. > :20:17.London with some of the other 8,000 nominees who will carry the torch
:20:17. > :20:21.in a relay around the UK. I will be really proud to carry it through my
:20:21. > :20:24.home town with all my friends and family to support me.
:20:24. > :20:27.On Monday, this year's BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year will
:20:27. > :20:37.be announced. Five world champions are in the running and desperate
:20:37. > :20:40.
:20:40. > :20:42.for your vote. Tonight, it's the turn of triathlete, Helen Jenkins.
:20:43. > :20:49.Triathlon world champion Helen Jenkins could have chosen any
:20:49. > :20:52.easier event in which to make their mark. Three gruelling races in one
:20:52. > :20:55.day are par for the cause for triathletes but to compete
:20:55. > :21:01.consistently through the long season and become the best in the
:21:01. > :21:06.world really puts her on a pedestal once again. Her win over the
:21:06. > :21:10.Olympics course in Hyde Park today in opposition for the world title
:21:10. > :21:20.which she won for the second time in their career. Dare we hope for a
:21:20. > :21:20.
:21:20. > :22:13.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 52 seconds
:22:13. > :22:15.repeat performance from her in Hyde In a moment, we'll have the full
:22:15. > :22:18.weather forecast from Derek. But first, Wales escaped the worst of
:22:18. > :22:21.the storm which hit Scotland. However, these choppy scenes in
:22:21. > :22:24.Anglesey show just how windy it was with severe gales. A number of
:22:24. > :22:34.trees have fallen with the Lleyn Peninsula experiencing winds of
:22:34. > :22:37.
:22:37. > :22:43.over 80mph. So Derek, what's it It has been wild and wet today.
:22:43. > :22:46.John Branagan sent in this photo of a swollen River Dee in Llangollen.
:22:46. > :22:56.At the moment, there are two flood alerts in force on the River Conwy,
:22:56. > :23:04.
:23:04. > :23:10.Dyfi and Lake Vyrnwy. Scotland recorded the highest gust today.
:23:10. > :23:15.165mph on top of Cairngorm mountain. Just short of a UK record. The
:23:15. > :23:22.highest gust in Wales was around half that. 81mph at Aberdaron on
:23:22. > :23:27.the Lleyn Peninsula. Strong enough to bring down a few trees. The
:23:27. > :23:29.reason for the stormy weather is an intense Atlantic low pressure. It
:23:29. > :23:36.will move towards Norway tonight with colder Arctic winds for
:23:36. > :23:40.Britain. So the worst is over for Wales. The heavy rain has gone,
:23:40. > :23:43.leaving a much drier, clearer night. Just a few showers in the north.
:23:43. > :23:52.It'll be breezy with strong winds on the north coast and Anglesey and
:23:52. > :23:56.it'll be cold. Temperatures inland falling as low as 2C. So tomorrow,
:23:56. > :24:01.a much better start to the day. Cold but generally dry. Some patchy
:24:01. > :24:11.cloud and clear skies. Good visibility as well. Some showers on
:24:11. > :24:16.the north coast. So a better day tomorrow. Some sunshine but a few
:24:16. > :24:23.showers as well, falling as rain, hail, sleet or snow. The snow
:24:23. > :24:28.mainly on higher ground above 200m or 600 feet. A dusting in places
:24:28. > :24:35.but a warning is no longer in force. And some places will stay dry. Cold
:24:35. > :24:39.but not as windy as today. Top temperatures, 7C. Tomorrow night
:24:39. > :24:44.becoming dry, clear and cold. Temperatures falling as low as -3C
:24:44. > :24:52.with a widespread frost and icy patches. Saturday then will start
:24:52. > :24:56.cold and crisp. The odd shower in the north, but otherwise dry. Some
:24:57. > :25:05.sunshine and light winds. Sunday, not so good. Less cold with some
:25:05. > :25:07.rain clearing to showers. By the way, St Luke's Church, Cilfynydd,
:25:07. > :25:10.are having a Christmas tree festival this weekend. Father
:25:10. > :25:13.Christmas will be there and Saturday should be dry. While in
:25:13. > :25:21.Peterston Super Ely, I will be switching on the Christmas lights
:25:21. > :25:24.on Sunday. The weather is not very festive but lots of fun is
:25:24. > :25:28.forecast! So after today's stormy weather, a much better day in
:25:28. > :25:31.prospect tomorrow. Colder with some sunshine and a few wintry showers.
:25:31. > :25:36.Saturday looks to be the best day of the weekend for going Christmas
:25:36. > :25:39.shopping. Let's take a look at a few of your Christmas pictures now.
:25:39. > :25:43.The first is a winter scene by Louise Guy from the Cathedral
:25:43. > :25:49.School in Llandaff. Next, a beautiful Christmas tree by Thomas
:25:50. > :25:55.and Rose Foskett from Penstrowed in Powys. And finally, a snowman by
:25:55. > :25:59.Tomos Rees Jones from Bontnewydd. Well, Tomos, a little snow is
:25:59. > :26:09.likely on some hills and mountains tomorrow but not enough to build a
:26:09. > :26:10.
:26:10. > :26:15.The reminder of our main news. The leaders of France and Germany have
:26:15. > :26:19.made dramatic appeals for support across Europe as they try and save
:26:19. > :26:24.the euro currency. The French President says the risk of European
:26:24. > :26:28.disintegration is now greater than ever.
:26:28. > :26:32.To WJEC School examiners are suspended tonight after the Daily
:26:32. > :26:36.Telegraph secretly filmed them telling teachers at a seminar what
:26:36. > :26:39.would come up in exams. It is alleged the broke rules when they
:26:39. > :26:43.advised teachers in England on the topics the future exams.
:26:44. > :26:50.The last government has published a new banding structure for schools.
:26:50. > :26:55.But there are questions over how effective it will be.
:26:55. > :27:00.Scotland has been battered by the worst storm in 10 years. Again
:27:00. > :27:03.force winds of up to 165 miles an hour have left schools closed,
:27:03. > :27:08.driving dangerous and more than 50,000 homes without power. The
:27:08. > :27:13.North of England was badly affected as well. Wales recorded wind speeds
:27:13. > :27:23.of up to 81 miles an hour. If you have a story you want this
:27:23. > :27:31.
:27:31. > :27:34.to cover, get in touch. The Don't forget our website: