:00:00. > :00:00.BBC weather website. That is it all from the BBC's News at Six.
:00:00. > :00:09.Welcome to Wales Today. Our top story: School pupils here score
:00:10. > :00:11.below average in reading, maths and science, compared to their
:00:12. > :00:15.counterparts in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It's a major
:00:16. > :00:22.embarrassment to Labour, who have been in charge of education for over
:00:23. > :00:32.a decade. I think there are questions that surround seeking our
:00:33. > :00:36.eye off the ball with regard to literacy and numeracy. Tonight,
:00:37. > :00:39.successive education ministers, parents and teachers have some
:00:40. > :00:43.serious soul searching over years of wasted opportunity in education.
:00:44. > :00:47.Civil servants maybe didn't do their part and they were some rather
:00:48. > :00:54.average ministers that probably didn't help. It is not just schools,
:00:55. > :01:01.it is really everybody and it needs to be everybody that puts things
:01:02. > :01:04.right. We will be hearing from politicians and teachers about
:01:05. > :01:19.what's wrong and how we fix it. Our other headlines tonight: A
:01:20. > :01:23.mother of a three-year-old boy tells us why she fears she could lose her
:01:24. > :01:27.son in a tug of love. And it was the pride of this church
:01:28. > :01:36.in the Conwy Valley. A 500-year-old Bible is stolen.
:01:37. > :01:39.Good evening. An international study shows 15-year-old pupils in Wales
:01:40. > :01:45.are now three quarters of a year behind the rest of the UK in maths,
:01:46. > :01:49.reading and science. Although the scores for Wales in the PISA tests
:01:50. > :01:53.are similar to the results in 2010, other countries have performed
:01:54. > :01:57.better. In all, 68 countries took part in the tests. Wales is now
:01:58. > :01:59.ranked 43rd in maths when it's compared with England, Scotland,
:02:00. > :02:06.Northern Ireland and other countries. A higher score for
:02:07. > :02:11.reading this time. We are now 41st. And for science, we are joint 36th.
:02:12. > :02:14.We'll get all the political reaction to today's disappointing results, as
:02:15. > :02:17.well as the long term implication for jobs here. First, here's our
:02:18. > :02:27.Education Correspondent, Arwyn Jones.
:02:28. > :02:34.Science lessons at their school in Bangalore. If only there was a
:02:35. > :02:42.former lover improving -- if only there was a way of improving our
:02:43. > :02:45.results. There are very regular changes and unfortunately the
:02:46. > :02:50.government wants to find quick fixes to problems and it never really
:02:51. > :02:57.allows sufficient time for new policies to bed down. They are very
:02:58. > :03:01.often not planned and they don't appreciate the consequences on the
:03:02. > :03:05.classroom floor. These results will be disappointing for the Welsh
:03:06. > :03:09.Government. Each country is given a score. Wales stayed pretty much the
:03:10. > :03:15.same but other countries have raced ahead. So our position of 43rd in
:03:16. > :03:22.maths is done from 40th in 2010. In reading despite our school going up
:03:23. > :03:26.the ranking went down to 41st. It was 38th in 2010. Science is our
:03:27. > :03:34.strongest subject but we have slipped down to 36 compared to 33 is
:03:35. > :03:37.ago. You are seeing the legacy of the opening decade of devolution
:03:38. > :03:44.where you had our school starved of cash, there was policy drift and no
:03:45. > :03:49.focus and the chickens have come home to roost. Having said that, two
:03:50. > :03:55.of three years ago, we had a wake-up call and we are putting things in
:03:56. > :03:58.place to remedy the situation. On maths, our rankings show how far
:03:59. > :04:02.Wales is behind with Scotland topping the home nations. We don't
:04:03. > :04:08.fear any better in the reading tests. Scotland once again are on
:04:09. > :04:12.top. In science the score for Wales was higher but our ranking is still
:04:13. > :04:17.a long way behind other UK countries. These parents, the news
:04:18. > :04:28.did not go down well. -- for these parents. I am worried. It takes time
:04:29. > :04:31.for policies to come into place. If we get further and further behind it
:04:32. > :04:38.does not look good for Welsh education. Frightening. The
:04:39. > :04:43.politicians are to blame. They are cutting back on everything. But our
:04:44. > :04:48.scores were so far below the rest of the UK, it is a concern for the head
:04:49. > :04:56.of PISA. The results are similar to what they were last time. Wales
:04:57. > :05:01.lagged behind other parts of the UK and it is significant. At the same
:05:02. > :05:05.time, many of the steps that have been taken in recent years cannot
:05:06. > :05:15.possibly be reflected in the -- the results in 2012. It takes time for
:05:16. > :05:20.actions to come to fruition. Finland were 12 in maths, fifth in reading
:05:21. > :05:23.and sixth in science. But it was countries like Shanghai, Singapore
:05:24. > :05:27.and Hong Kong who top the International league. Pupils here
:05:28. > :05:31.work long hours in school and get great results. But there are
:05:32. > :05:38.concerns about piling on so much pressure on the instead. But what
:05:39. > :05:40.can we learn from them? Teachers in Penarth recently visited Shanghai to
:05:41. > :05:46.see what could be learnt from the world's best. We learnt how focused
:05:47. > :05:54.the students are in Shanghai. They spend long periods of time when they
:05:55. > :06:01.are very concentrated. The teachers deliver a lesson and the pupils at
:06:02. > :06:07.expected to focus the longer than they would in the UK. The Welsh
:06:08. > :06:11.Government had pinned a lot of hope on climbing at the PISA tables but
:06:12. > :06:13.on the basis of today's results, there is still a lot more work to be
:06:14. > :06:17.done. Well, the man in charge of education
:06:18. > :06:20.in Wales is the minister Huw Lewis. He's been giving his reaction to
:06:21. > :06:24.today's PISA results. Arwyn Jones asked him whether the results are a
:06:25. > :06:31.fair reflection on the standard of education in Wales. These are
:06:32. > :06:40.disappointing results but they come as no surprise really. I have made
:06:41. > :06:42.that clear to everyone. We all need to be concerned and that is a
:06:43. > :06:46.challenge for everybody in the educational system in Wales.
:06:47. > :06:51.Everyone needs to take a good long look in the mirror and recognise the
:06:52. > :07:06.challenges for them as well as the people around them. This is what we
:07:07. > :07:11.heard three years ago from your predecessor who said it was alarming
:07:12. > :07:21.and a change was necessary. But three years on, nothing has changed.
:07:22. > :07:28.We have reform programmes but we were clear that time that these
:07:29. > :07:43.sorts of reforms take time to have traction within the system. Labour
:07:44. > :07:53.education Minister -- ministers have been in power since 1999. We have
:07:54. > :08:03.heard from teaching unions today. They say not enough... My apologies
:08:04. > :08:06.for the technical issues on that report.
:08:07. > :08:09.The Education Minister, Huw Lewis, speaking to our correspondent, Arwyn
:08:10. > :08:12.Jones. Well, the PISA results have dominated debates at the Senedd
:08:13. > :08:19.today. Our Political Editor, Nick Servini, is there for us.
:08:20. > :08:23.The anti-was always known to be high on this one. This is the last set of
:08:24. > :08:29.PISA results before the next assembly elections. It is always a
:08:30. > :08:32.political background and the 15-year-olds that have been tested
:08:33. > :08:36.at the first-generation going into their GCSEs that have had their into
:08:37. > :08:42.higher education system and a devolved Labour administration. So
:08:43. > :08:46.there was always going to be plenty of pressure on this subject and that
:08:47. > :08:50.was reflected in many of the debates today.
:08:51. > :08:54.Labour ministers from Jane Davidson to Jane Hutt to Leighton Andrews
:08:55. > :09:00.have been running education in Wales for 14 years. Today's PISA results
:09:01. > :09:06.indicate the country has failed to keep up with the rest of the UK but
:09:07. > :09:10.the results don't show why. There are many theories from the abolition
:09:11. > :09:15.of school tests and league tables to a weakness in the way that policies
:09:16. > :09:18.are implemented on the ground. In a tense first Minister 's questions,
:09:19. > :09:24.opposition leaders went on the attack. It is quite shameful that on
:09:25. > :09:30.a day when we have had more damning evidence of educational failure
:09:31. > :09:34.under Labour, you cannot show any humility for the people of Wales who
:09:35. > :09:40.have depended on education as a route out of poverty and a route to
:09:41. > :09:45.good jobs and above all developing an economy fit for the 21st-century.
:09:46. > :09:49.Today you have delivered the worst set of PISA results in western
:09:50. > :09:56.Europe. Are you now going to take full responsibility for those
:09:57. > :09:59.results? As a Labour Assembly Member for 14 years and the Cabinet member
:10:00. > :10:10.to 13 years and now as the first and serve our nation, are you not
:10:11. > :10:16.ashamed? No. Complacent, complacent, complacent. Carwyn Jones responded
:10:17. > :10:22.by challenging the opposition to come up with alternative policies of
:10:23. > :10:27.their own. They have quite rightly held me to account. It is my
:10:28. > :10:31.responsibility to explain to the people of Wales what we're doing to
:10:32. > :10:36.improve results in the future. But it is also a responsibility for the
:10:37. > :10:41.opposition parties to outline what they would do differently and not
:10:42. > :10:45.once have we heard a suggestion as to how things would be done
:10:46. > :10:48.differently. The first Minister said none of the results across Britain
:10:49. > :10:52.were particularly good but it didn't stop the UK Government highlighting
:10:53. > :10:57.Wales as the poorest performer. The Welsh Labour government chose to
:10:58. > :11:02.abandon league tables, abandon external accountability and the
:11:03. > :11:06.current administration is not matching our commitment to spending
:11:07. > :11:10.in schools. The conclusion we can draw from this is if you want to
:11:11. > :11:13.know what our education system would be like if the country were
:11:14. > :11:18.foolishly to vote Labour at the next election, you need only look to
:11:19. > :11:24.Wales to see a country going backwards. The coalition government
:11:25. > :11:28.already criticises the government over its record in the NHS and no
:11:29. > :11:36.education will join the list. So how bad is this for the Labour
:11:37. > :11:40.run Welsh Government? This is the last set of PISA results before the
:11:41. > :11:44.next assembly elections so whenever the education system is mentioned
:11:45. > :11:49.here you can guarantee the opposition parties will roll out
:11:50. > :11:56.these figures and refer to them. The danger for the Welsh Government is
:11:57. > :11:59.it has a resonance with parents and grandparents that are going to care
:12:00. > :12:07.passionately about the state of the education system. An interesting
:12:08. > :12:12.point that came today from Plaid Cymru was a comparison with the
:12:13. > :12:17.system in Scotland which has many of the same social economic problems
:12:18. > :12:21.that parts of Wales has and yet it has performed better. In terms of
:12:22. > :12:26.the perspective of the Welsh Government, Carwyn Jones said today
:12:27. > :12:31.that while the figures are disappointing it is not show the
:12:32. > :12:35.entire Welsh education system is in crisis and he also pointed to some
:12:36. > :12:40.of the reforms that were introduced by the former education minister to
:12:41. > :12:49.bring in things like numeracy tests and school banding. So it will
:12:50. > :12:52.really come down to how those tests take effect and whether they can
:12:53. > :12:58.continue and live up to this aim of getting into the top 20 of the PISA
:12:59. > :13:06.test results when those results are made in 2015. It is a big challenge.
:13:07. > :13:10.Business leaders say the poor performance in the PISA results must
:13:11. > :13:13.be a "wake-up call". CBI Wales say it's unacceptable that we've slipped
:13:14. > :13:18.so far behind other countries. Here's our business correspondent,
:13:19. > :13:21.Brian Meechan. ?6 billion of trade deals have been
:13:22. > :13:24.unveiled during the Prime Minister's visit to China and it's
:13:25. > :13:33.no coincidence that the economic powerhouse is also leading the way
:13:34. > :13:38.in the PISA tables. By 2016 PISA, unless we have moved up the league
:13:39. > :13:43.tables so business people think it is worthwhile to come here, we will
:13:44. > :13:49.frankly cease to exist as a major industrial society. The importance
:13:50. > :13:55.of skills to boost Welsh companies in international marketplaces is a
:13:56. > :13:57.lesson they don't need to learn here near Cardiff. This manufacturer
:13:58. > :14:07.produces enzymes to improve food shelf life and enhance flavour. For
:14:08. > :14:12.many of our positions, we recruited locally. Lab technicians and
:14:13. > :14:17.production technicians. When we come up to scientists and commercial
:14:18. > :14:26.people, we do actually recruit internationally. We have two
:14:27. > :14:33.Spanish, three Irish, an Indian and many people from Wales. This
:14:34. > :14:37.employer set up a training company in the depths of the recession in
:14:38. > :14:44.2008 and has had recruitment prop -- problems. We have had applicants
:14:45. > :14:52.from people who do not have the skills. We are good at providing
:14:53. > :14:54.skills. Fixed training goes into businesses to improve skills
:14:55. > :14:58.including nearly as likely to and numeracy. Much of the funding comes
:14:59. > :15:07.from the European Union and the Welsh Government. Business leaders
:15:08. > :15:12.say businesses should not have too paid for a shortage of basic
:15:13. > :15:21.indication or maths skills. The reality is, people come from
:15:22. > :15:30.different perspectives and they might have a different experiences.
:15:31. > :15:35.Business leaders say that tackling the basic skills problems of today
:15:36. > :15:39.can lead to higher skilled jobs for the future. That issue may be being
:15:40. > :15:47.addressed but it will take a long time to see the benefits.
:15:48. > :15:51.Much more to come before 7pm. It was the pride of this church but a
:15:52. > :16:13.500-year-old Bible has been stolen. The mother of a three-year-old boy
:16:14. > :16:17.from Bala, whose been ordered to return to Italy with her child after
:16:18. > :16:20.a custody battle, says she fears her son will be taken into care if she
:16:21. > :16:24.returns. Paula Reynolds decided to return to Wales in September. But
:16:25. > :16:28.taking her son out of Italy breached child abduction laws and a British
:16:29. > :16:30.judge has told her she must go back. Caroline Evans reports.
:16:31. > :16:34.Precious moments in front of the TV with her little boy. Paula Reynolds
:16:35. > :16:38.has been told she must get on a plane on Monday morning but she's
:16:39. > :16:40.frantic about what might happen if they go back. I am absolutely
:16:41. > :16:47.terrified because nobody can reassure me that I won't be arrested
:16:48. > :16:55.at the other end. I am terrified he could be put into these state run
:16:56. > :16:59.institutions. I have lived with the threat the two years and nobody can
:17:00. > :17:03.assure me it will not happen. I am petrified. She says despite the
:17:04. > :17:07.court here accepting her ex-husband's assurances that he
:17:08. > :17:10.won't seek to have her son removed from her, she fears the legal system
:17:11. > :17:16.in Italy may not enforce those undertakings. Her MP plans to raise
:17:17. > :17:21.her case in Parliament tomorrow. If what I am told is correct, that she
:17:22. > :17:25.will have to go back on Monday and she is likely to be -- to be
:17:26. > :17:30.arrested and the child will be put in a care centre, where she will
:17:31. > :17:36.only see the child once every 15 days for a few minutes, it is
:17:37. > :17:42.absolutely inappropriate for that to happen in this case. I hope to raise
:17:43. > :17:46.this matter in Parliament so that this government can put pressure on
:17:47. > :17:51.the Italian government not to treat as a common criminal and allow her
:17:52. > :17:56.back and allow the child to stay with her pending the outcome of the
:17:57. > :18:00.court case in Italy. She is, she says, desperate and doesn't yet know
:18:01. > :18:03.what she will do, but while she fears arrest in Italy, if she
:18:04. > :18:17.doesn't go she could be arrested here for contempt of court. Either
:18:18. > :18:20.way, she risks losing her son. A religious education teacher, who
:18:21. > :18:24.exchanged messages with a 17-year-old girl pupil on Facebook
:18:25. > :18:26.about a boy in the school, has been suspended from the teaching register
:18:27. > :18:30.for 18 months. The General Teaching Council hearing was told that Lisa
:18:31. > :18:32.Manship, who worked at Cwm Rhymni school near Caerphilly, behaved in
:18:33. > :18:41.an unacceptable professional manner. She had claimed she was offering
:18:42. > :18:44.support and a shoulder to cry on. Reducing the number of patients not
:18:45. > :18:48.turning up for GP appointments is a "top priority", according to the
:18:49. > :18:50.Chief Executive of the NHS in Wales. Giving evidence to the Assembly's
:18:51. > :18:53.Public Accounts Committee, David Sissling confirmed as many as 11% of
:18:54. > :18:56.patients in some areas weren't attending their appointments. Mr
:18:57. > :18:58.Sissling said work is underway to get a better understanding of the
:18:59. > :19:01.problem. A rare 500-year-old Bible has been
:19:02. > :19:04.stolen from a Conwy Valley church. The 16th Century Geneva Breeches
:19:05. > :19:07.Bible had been on display at St Mary's Church in Trefriw, but
:19:08. > :19:17.churchgoers noticed it was missing from its case on Sunday. They fear
:19:18. > :19:20.it could be sold or destroyed. The Geneva Breeches Bible was
:19:21. > :19:24.produced in 1589 and takes its name from a description of the "breeches"
:19:25. > :19:28.Adam and Eve made from fig leaves. It is usually displayed in this case
:19:29. > :19:31.at St Mary's in Trefriw but whoever took it switched it for a modern
:19:32. > :19:35.version of the Bible. The church warden and her husband made the grim
:19:36. > :19:41.discovery after a service on Sunday. Being the rector 's warden as well,
:19:42. > :19:46.I feel I have let everybody down. I am the main key-holder. But what can
:19:47. > :19:53.I do? We will keep it open whatever happens. At first, I thought I would
:19:54. > :19:57.never open again but it will be open. Similar bibles are available
:19:58. > :20:04.to buy online and in book shops, sometimes for thousands of pounds.
:20:05. > :20:10.Legend has it that Llywelyn the great founded this site. The Bible
:20:11. > :20:16.was written 300 years after that. He was the witness of the theft of the
:20:17. > :20:20.book but it might turn up on the open market. The church is regularly
:20:21. > :20:24.open to visitors and police believe the Bible was taken at some point
:20:25. > :20:26.over the past month. It's now a race against time to recover it. Some
:20:27. > :20:31.enquiries have been made which indicate that the item is of some
:20:32. > :20:35.considerable value financially but probably more importantly is the
:20:36. > :20:38.value to the church and the community. The congregation at St
:20:39. > :20:41.Mary's just want the book returned. They've expressed their gratitude to
:20:42. > :20:44.North Wales Police and hope their investigation will result in some
:20:45. > :20:49.good news. It's a week when you have a big
:20:50. > :20:51.decision to make. Who will be this year's BBC Cymru Wales Sports
:20:52. > :20:55.Personality of the Year? There's a short list of five for you to choose
:20:56. > :20:58.from - Gareth Bale, Aled Sion Davies, Becky James, Non Stanford
:20:59. > :21:02.and Leigh Halfpenny, Your votes will decide the winner. We're looking at
:21:03. > :21:03.each of the candidates in turn this week. Tonight, it's Paralympic
:21:04. > :21:17.athlete Aled Sion Davies. Athlete Aled Sean Davis is certainly
:21:18. > :21:21.mining array seam of gold at present. Last year it was the
:21:22. > :21:26.Paralympic gold, this summer the World Championships beckoned and
:21:27. > :21:30.once again the big man led the way. He said a new world record in the
:21:31. > :21:34.shop that and in the final round of the disc as he took bold with one of
:21:35. > :21:37.the biggest throes of his life. Success at another major
:21:38. > :21:39.championship confirms him as one of the best Paralympic throws in the
:21:40. > :22:35.world. -- throwers. Let's get the weather forecast now.
:22:36. > :22:47.Derek is here. If you're fed up with the grey,
:22:48. > :22:51.cloudy weather, I've got some good news. A cold front is heading our
:22:52. > :22:55.way. That's going to bring a drop of rain followed by sunshine tomorrow.
:22:56. > :22:58.Dry for most of us this evening. A few mist and fog patches. However,
:22:59. > :23:02.rain will spread from the northwest after midnight. The wind picking-up
:23:03. > :23:09.on the coast. No frost. Temperatures staying above freezing. Here's the
:23:10. > :23:13.picture for 8.00am in the morning. Some rain in the far south and
:23:14. > :23:18.southeast but this will soon clear. Elsewhere, most places dry and
:23:19. > :23:25.clear. Just the odd shower in the northeast. Breezy on the west coast.
:23:26. > :23:30.So a big improvement tomorrow. Rain in the southeast will clear during
:23:31. > :23:35.the morning. The whole country then dry and much brighter than recently
:23:36. > :23:40.with sunshine for a change. Top temperatures, 7C to 9C, with a west
:23:41. > :23:45.to north-westerly breeze. In Gwynedd tomorrow, much nicer than today. Dry
:23:46. > :23:50.with sunny spells. Breezy on the coast with a high of 7C in Halrech.
:23:51. > :23:58.A good day for a walk tomorrow. Nice and clear on Cadair Idris, but cold.
:23:59. > :24:02.Freezing on the summit. Tomorrow night will be dry. A touch of frost.
:24:03. > :24:06.A few mist and fog patches forming. However, late in the night, cloud
:24:07. > :24:10.will increase. The wind picking-up as well. And that sets the scene for
:24:11. > :24:15.Thursday. A windy day. Strong winds and gales. There is a warning in
:24:16. > :24:20.force for northern most counties. Gusts of around 60mph or more in
:24:21. > :24:24.exposed places. The morning will be dry but rain will spread from the
:24:25. > :24:27.north during the afternoon and evening. The rain will clear before
:24:28. > :24:32.midnight leaving us in colder air from the Arctic. Coldest in Scotland
:24:33. > :24:37.and North East England. Temperatures will drop a few degrees in Wales but
:24:38. > :24:40.it'll be less windy on Friday. A few wintry showers, mainly in the north,
:24:41. > :24:45.but I'm not expecting much snow. So a cold snap to end the week but it
:24:46. > :24:48.will be brief. Temperatures will recover over the weekend. The main
:24:49. > :24:51.concern this week will be the strength of the wind on Thursday.
:24:52. > :25:03.And during high tide, some fairly big waves are likely on the Bristol
:25:04. > :25:08.Channel coast. Our picture tonight is from Lloyd Thomas. Red sky at
:25:09. > :25:17.night, shepherds delight. Before we go, let's return to our
:25:18. > :25:20.top story. International test results show school pupils in Wales
:25:21. > :25:23.are continuing to lag behind England, Scotland and Northern
:25:24. > :25:25.Ireland in reading, maths and science. Let's get the final word
:25:26. > :25:33.now from our Education Correspondent, Arwyn Jones. Arwyn,
:25:34. > :25:46.disappointing but not surprising? These are disappointing results but
:25:47. > :25:49.they come as no surprise. We are on an educational improvement journey
:25:50. > :25:53.and there are no quick fixes within it. It will take some years to learn
:25:54. > :26:00.the lessons from PISA and turn the system around.
:26:01. > :26:06.Let's have a final word with our education correspondent. This
:26:07. > :26:09.appointing but not surprising. Yes. The tone of the Huw Lewis interview
:26:10. > :26:13.earlier spoke volumes about how they are feeling. The Welsh Government
:26:14. > :26:20.were expecting it but it was disappointing. You don't want to be
:26:21. > :26:24.seen as constantly slipping down these international league tables
:26:25. > :26:27.and that is what we have done. Another thing he said was that he
:26:28. > :26:32.thought the Welsh Government has taken its eye off the ball when it
:26:33. > :26:41.came to education policy early on in the life of the assembly. Other
:26:42. > :26:43.countries focused on driving up standards and improving the quality
:26:44. > :26:50.of teaching and teacher training but Wales was more interested and
:26:51. > :26:52.concerned with tinkering the curriculum in order to change and
:26:53. > :26:57.have a specifically Welsh curriculum. I think the sense you
:26:58. > :27:01.get from the government now is they think they have turned the corner.
:27:02. > :27:07.They have introduced a whole raft of policy changes in schools and in
:27:08. > :27:13.terms of testing children every year. They are looking to the future
:27:14. > :27:18.and they think we will be seeing and improving picture. The opposition
:27:19. > :27:23.parties were having none of that today and said that after 14 years
:27:24. > :27:28.of Labour rule we are in a bad situation. But there is no golden
:27:29. > :27:31.rule that education in Wales has to lag behind other countries. We have
:27:32. > :27:35.been at the top of the pile in the past. The feeling is, let's hope
:27:36. > :27:39.that can happen again in the future. I'll have an update for you here at
:27:40. > :27:43.8.00pm and after the BBC News at 10.00pm. That's Wales Today. From
:27:44. > :27:45.all of us on the programme, good evening.