:00:17. > :00:21.Good evening. You might be disappointed with your poor GCSE
:00:22. > :00:25.English exam results, but there will be no regrading. That's the blunt
:00:26. > :00:28.message from the Education Minister tonight. Some teachers had
:00:29. > :00:35.complained about unexpectedly low grades. But a review by the Welsh
:00:36. > :00:40.Government has said, 'no one single factor' contributed to the results.
:00:41. > :00:47.Here's our Eucation correspondent Arwyn Jones.
:00:48. > :00:53.These year ten pupils will sit at their GCSE exams next year. The
:00:54. > :00:59.outcome today's report will affect them directly. Following the fiasco
:01:00. > :01:04.in the summer of 2012, a unique GCSE English language exam was offered
:01:05. > :01:09.only to pupils in Wales. January this year was the first time schools
:01:10. > :01:11.could sit those exams. At the beginning of March, the results were
:01:12. > :01:16.published and headteachers across the country raised concerns over the
:01:17. > :01:20.unexpectedly low grades. The next day, the government ordered a
:01:21. > :01:24.review. Schools said that the marking of the papers had been
:01:25. > :01:27.unduly harsh. The increase in pupils sitting the exam early might have
:01:28. > :01:30.been a factor above the Welsh government could have prevented
:01:31. > :01:37.that. Teachers also said the training on offer last year was pure
:01:38. > :01:42.and unhelpful although no complaints were made at the time. And the
:01:43. > :01:46.report found that teachers had been too generous in predicting pupils'
:01:47. > :01:49.grade. I've been teaching for 15 years and we have been very good at
:01:50. > :01:57.assessing and judging our students. We would expect them to be in a
:01:58. > :02:01.certain place and these results are not what we expected. Having looked
:02:02. > :02:06.at the papers, the papers do not add up. It does not make sense where the
:02:07. > :02:11.marks have been awarded. The report said the exam board should do more
:02:12. > :02:16.in future to provide online papers so that teachers know what is needed
:02:17. > :02:19.in the exams. It also said that the deadline for deciding if pupils want
:02:20. > :02:24.to resit in the summer should be extended to the end of April. The W
:02:25. > :02:28.JC says that the actions identified in the report are ones for which
:02:29. > :02:33.they have already sought brutal and are implementing. As the matter was
:02:34. > :02:35.debated today in the chamber, opposition parties turned their
:02:36. > :02:41.attention to the role of the Welsh government as the exam regulators
:02:42. > :02:44.year, overseeing these tests. I was staggered when I've read the comment
:02:45. > :02:51.about greater vigilance, and that the Welsh government were not aware
:02:52. > :02:55.of what was going on, not aware of the standards that these students
:02:56. > :03:01.were going to be achieving. I think every grading exercise would be a
:03:02. > :03:04.retreat from the agenda of rigour that we have promised to parents and
:03:05. > :03:12.learners and employers. In terms of the worst of -- worth of the Welsh
:03:13. > :03:16.GCSE. The Welsh government has made it clear that the GCSE results
:03:17. > :03:20.should be similar to last year but be more rigorous. Exams will be
:03:21. > :03:23.tougher in future of these pupils need to be prepared.
:03:24. > :03:26.The Swansea born MP, Nigel Evans, has accused the prosecution in his
:03:27. > :03:30.trial for rape and sex offences, of portraying him as a cross between
:03:31. > :03:33.Allen Clark, Oscar Wilde and Benny Hill. He appeared in the witness box
:03:34. > :03:41.at Preston Crown Court for a third day, being cross examined about nine
:03:42. > :03:50.allegations against seven men. Mr Evans denies all the charges against
:03:51. > :03:53.him. The Conservative MP, Guto Bebb, has
:03:54. > :03:56.accused the shadow Welsh Secretary, Owen Smith, of a U-turn over a
:03:57. > :03:59.proposal which could give the Welsh Government more powers over income
:04:00. > :04:03.tax. Mr Bebb says the policy contradicts a number of comments
:04:04. > :04:06.made by Mr Smith in recent weeks in which he expressed concern about
:04:07. > :04:10.devolving income tax. Mr Smith says Labour's position is quite clear.
:04:11. > :04:13.They do not accept the devolution of income tax is a priority.
:04:14. > :04:17.149 staff at a factory in Flintshire, which makes frozen ready
:04:18. > :04:20.meals, could lose their jobs. A proposal has been put forward to
:04:21. > :04:30.close Creative Foods on the Aber Industrial Estate. The company says
:04:31. > :04:35.the business may not be viable following an extensive review.
:04:36. > :04:38.A mother and her baby daughter who were found dead at their house could
:04:39. > :04:41.have been there for three weeks, an inquest has heard. Joanne Thomas was
:04:42. > :04:44.found in bed alongside four-month-old Harper at their home
:04:45. > :04:47.in Troedyrhiw, last July. The coroner recorded an open verdict,
:04:48. > :04:53.after hearing that, the cause of their deaths could not be found.
:04:54. > :04:56.Matthew Murray was in Court. Joanne and Harper Thomas' family
:04:57. > :04:59.were looking for answers into this tragedy but they left the coroner's
:05:00. > :05:06.Court today with many more questions. We have still not got any
:05:07. > :05:15.closure and we do not know why they died. It is a tragedy. I do not know
:05:16. > :05:22.how my mother is going to get over this. There must be so many
:05:23. > :05:26.unanswered questions. More questions than answers, unfortunately. Joanne
:05:27. > :05:28.was found in her bed alongside four-month-old Harper at their
:05:29. > :05:32.terraced home in Troedyrhiw, near Merthyr Tydfil, last July. The
:05:33. > :05:35.bodies could have been there for up to three weeks and had to be
:05:36. > :05:40.formally identified via dental records and DNA testing. The inquest
:05:41. > :05:43.heard how Harper had been on the "at-risk register" due to a
:05:44. > :05:47.relationship of Miss Thomas's but by the end of May she was removed from
:05:48. > :05:50.that list and placed on a lesser voluntary scheme. It was said the
:05:51. > :05:55.mother and daughter had moved to Troedyrhiw to start a fresh and had
:05:56. > :05:58.only been living there a few months. The inquest heard that concerns have
:05:59. > :06:02.been raised weeks before when Joanne Thomas failed to take the baby for
:06:03. > :06:07.injections. Social services had been called to the property three times
:06:08. > :06:09.but there had been no answer. Today, the family said that social services
:06:10. > :06:13.should have done more but the coroner said that they had acted
:06:14. > :06:17.accordingly. Today the inquest ruled out foul play as well as discounting
:06:18. > :06:19.the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning. Joanne Thomas had a
:06:20. > :06:23.history of depression but the coroner also said there was no
:06:24. > :06:27.evidence to suggest she had taken her own life. At school Joanne
:06:28. > :06:35.achieved 12 straight As at GCSE and her family believed she was turning
:06:36. > :06:37.her life around before this tragedy. The BBC's English language
:06:38. > :06:40.television programming in Wales has been "eroded" in recent years,
:06:41. > :06:43.that's according to the BBC's Director General. Tony Hall made the
:06:44. > :06:52.remarks in Cardiff during a wide-ranging speech to mark BBC
:06:53. > :06:55.Cymru Wales' 50th anniversary. Despite BBC Wales' success, we must
:06:56. > :06:59.acknowledge that English-language programming for and from Wales has
:07:00. > :07:05.been in decline for a decade. The reduction in ITV Wales' contribution
:07:06. > :07:09.has played a part of the BBC's output has also been eroded. What
:07:10. > :07:13.does that mean for audiences? It means that inevitably there are some
:07:14. > :07:18.aspects of national life in Wales that are not sufficiently captured
:07:19. > :07:23.by the BBC's television services in Wales and a wooden clued in that
:07:24. > :07:26.comedy, entertainment and culture. Gwent Police officially re-opened
:07:27. > :07:34.seven of its stations to the public today, two years after they were
:07:35. > :07:40.closed to save money. The force will keep front desks open for a year so
:07:41. > :07:44.their use can be monitored. The area's Police and Crime Commissioner
:07:45. > :07:46.says it will be paid for by cutting 'overstaffed' units and dipping into
:07:47. > :07:52.reserves. We are able to take some money from our reserves, until we
:07:53. > :07:56.have done the evaluation. If it is ongoing and the stations remain
:07:57. > :07:59.open, because that is what the community needs, we will need to
:08:00. > :08:00.think about where we make savings. Let's get the weather forecast for
:08:01. > :08:07.Wales and it's all change. Let's get the weather
:08:08. > :08:09.Some rain and April showers heading our way. You may hear some rumbles
:08:10. > :08:19.of thunder. Some lovely sunshine today, with a high of 17 Celsius. It
:08:20. > :08:22.is dry at the moment, but showers will spread northwards after
:08:23. > :08:28.midnight. Some of them will turn heavy and sundry. In mild night than
:08:29. > :08:32.last night. Tomorrow, not as nice as today, breezy with thundery showers.
:08:33. > :08:42.And you may see some more of that dust turning up on your car. Some
:08:43. > :08:45.places are dry, but some of us will be hit by showers and possibly
:08:46. > :08:50.thundery ones. The best of the weather across south-east England
:08:51. > :08:55.tomorrow. Dry with lovely sunshine. 21 Celsius in London. Further west,
:08:56. > :09:00.rain and showers drifting north. The North of Scotland will stay dry but
:09:01. > :09:04.meanwhile, north-east England, dull, cold and misty. Seven Celsius in
:09:05. > :09:10.Newcastle. Keep the brolly handy in Wales tomorrow afternoon. Further
:09:11. > :09:17.showers, heavy and thundery. Dry spells mixed in. A southeasterly
:09:18. > :09:19.breeze mixed in. And watch out for poor air-quality tomorrow. High
:09:20. > :09:24.levels of pollution and Hayes coming in from the new continent.
:09:25. > :09:37.Especially in the south-east. -- Hayes. Thursday, some of this rain
:09:38. > :09:42.could be wintry. The week and looks changeable. Some rain and breezes,
:09:43. > :09:46.but not as warm as last weekend. Thank you. Jeremy Paxman's got
:09:47. > :09:49.Newsnight's over on two now, asking if house prices are now overheating.
:09:50. > :09:52.We're back in Breakfast with the latest news and sport from six
:09:53. > :09:56.tomorrow morning. That's Wales Today, thank you for watching from
:09:57. > :10:00.all of us on the programme, good night.