Plas Newydd art exhibition comes to an end soon

Plas Newydd is reminding art lovers there are only eight days left to see Maria Hayes exhibition in Y Caban.  It is open until Wednesday August 30 at 4.45pm.

Walking and cycling meeting to be held

On Wednesday August 30 Denbighshire County Council will be holding a drop-in public consultation event at County Hall between 10am and 3pm.

This is one of four events being staged across Denbighshire with the purpose of having face to face discussions with Denbighshire residents about walking and cycling issues in their communities.

Regiment to parade in Denbighshire

* A previous freedom parade in the county.

Shenkin the Regimental Goat will lead a parade of over 130 soldiers through Ruthin next month, as part of the reaffirmation of the Freedom of the County to The Royal Welsh.

This momentous occasion will mark the reaffirmation of The Freedom of the County to the Royal Welsh and will give the people of Denbighshire and visitors to the area, a chance to show support and thank our armed forces for their courage and bravery in the execution of their duty, both at home and overseas.

The Reaffirmation event will take place in Ruthin on Saturday September 2 where the march will be led by L/Cpl Shenkin the Regimental goat and The Goat Major will be: Sgt ‘Jacko’ Jackson, followed by the Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh and with soldiers of the Royal Welsh parading with colours flying, bayonets fixed and drums beating.

Joining the Royal Welsh on the march and parade will be members of Denbighshire’s Cadet Forces.

The Royal Welsh will form up on Wynnstay Road at 1.45pm and will march up Market Street to St Peter’s Square where there will be a parade inspection by a number of civic and military dignitaries. 

Following a public address and National Anthems, L/Cpl Shenkin will then lead the Royal Welsh, the Regimental Band and the Cadets around St Peter’s Square, down Well Street and into Wynnstay Road where the march will end at the cenotaph.

The Freedom of the County was first awarded by Denbighshire County Council to The Royal Welsh in June 2011, when hundreds of people lined the streets of Denbigh to support and witness the event. 

Denbighshire County Council is encouraging Denbighshire residents and visitors to come along on the day and line the streets to show their support for their armed forces, in what promises to be a truly memorable, colourful and dramatic event.

There will be a number of parking restrictions, road closures and bus stop restrictions in force prior to and during the event, please see the Denbighshire County Council website for more information.

Llan packed with mountain bike action

* The busy scene over the weekend at One Giant Leap near Tan Y Graig Farm.

Top flight mountain bikers from across the came flocking to Llangollen over the weekend to take part in the British Downhill Series: Round 4.

They competed on a new track at One Giant Leap near Tan Y Graig Farm.

It has been carefully hand crafted out of the hillside by Brian Mundy of Ride Portugal as showcase for his course building skills.

The track itself is almost two kilometers long and features multiple line choices, solid berms and large man-made jumps, doubles, tabletops, step-downs, triples and hip jumps.

Top mountain bikers are competing in Llan

Top flight mountain bikers will be heading for Llangollen this weekend to take part in the British Downhill Series: Round 4.

There is a brand new track for the event, which is the latest round of the HSBC UK National Downhill Series, at One Giant Leap near Tan Y Graig Farm.

It has been carefully hand crafted out of the hillside by Brian Mundy of Ride Portugal as showcase for his course building skills.

The track itself is almost two kilometers long and features multiple line choices, solid berms and large man-made jumps, doubles, tabletops, step-downs, triples and hip jumps.

Strider Racing is back by popular demand for riders from two years of age onwards and FMD Racing's Tahnee Seagrave will be handing out the medals at their award ceremony.

Charlie Hatton leads the way in the series standings for elite men, with 467 he has a 45-point lead over Danny Hart in second and 51 points ahead of Matt Simmonds in third.

In elite women, it looks like Tahnee Seagrave may come away with the overall as she's currently 120 points ahead of Manon Carpenter in second and 235 points ahead of Veronique Sandler in third. Best four out of five rounds count for the season.

There is a spectator charge of £5 per day payable cash on the day for each adult aged 16 or over.

* For more details, go to: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/bds-round-4-race-preview-llangollen-2017.html

Schedule

Saturday: 09:30 to 18:00 - Practice.

Sunday: - 08:30 to 10:45 – Practice, 11:15 to 14:00 - Seeding Runs, 14:30 to 17:00 - Race Runs.

Dinas Bran pupils celebrate A Level success

* Dinas Bran students jump for joy at their A Level success.

* Carys Stallard (left) and Jessica Brown.

* Declan Clifford (left) and Bethany Carol.

Delighted sixth form students have been celebrating their A Level results at Ysgol Dinas Bran today.

Overall the pass rate at A level was an excellent 99% with over half the grades being awarded at A*-B.

100% of students achieved the national benchmark level 3 measure. 

BTEC results were also very good with a 100% success rate. 

There were good performances in subject areas more than 50% of grades awarded in Maths, Physics and History being A* or A.

A large number of students enjoyed great success, achieving places at high level universities in the face of stiff competition across the land. 

Elinor Barnett achieved three A* grades and an A grade in her subjects (Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Design and Technology).  Elinor will now study Mechanical Engineering at Bath University. 

Jessica Brown (Llangollen) was awarded an outstanding three A* grades in her subjects:  Maths, Further Maths and Physics.  Jess will now go on to study Mathematics at Somerville College, Oxford University. 

Carys Stallard – taking her A levels one year early – achieved a fantastic three A* grades in History, Art, English Literature and and an A in English Language.  Carys will now read English Literature at Durham University. 

Adam York achieved a clean sweep of three A* in all his subjects -  Maths, Further Maths and Physics- and will now study Mechanical Engineering at Bristol University. 

Elinor McSorley will study Biomedical Sciences at Magdelen College, Oxford University, after adding an A* grade in Further Maths to the grades she achieved last year. 

A particular mention too for Julian Gonzalez.  Julian, taking A levels a year early, achieved three A* grades (including, incredibly, full marks in the demanding Further Maths papers) He will now apply for university next year.

Other students who achieved at least three A grades at A level were:

Declan Clifford – one A* grade, two A grades

*Barra Liddy – one A* grade, two A grades

Elliot Howatson - three A grades

Amy Jones – three A grades

*Bethany Carol - three A grades

(*- students taking exams a year early)

Headteacher Martyn Froggett said: “We are delighted with the success of all our students.  They have worked very hard and their results are a credit to themselves.  I thank all the staff for the support they have given the students over the course and all parents for their help too.  We wish everyone the best for their futures.”

Denbighshire County Council said: "Early indications show approximately 98.5% of students have been successful in achieving the Level 3 threshold, which is an improvement on the previous year. There has also been an increase in the number of students gaining A*-C grades this year.

"There have been some excellent individual achievements across all schools. In addition, nearly all schools have shown an increase in the number of students gaining A* and A grades."

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Denbighshire's Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People, said: “We would like to congratulate all students on their individual results and we wish them every success in their chosen pathway.

“The results reflect the months of hard work and dedication of students and their teachers, in preparation for the examinations.

"Education remains a top priority in the County and I am extremely pleased to see the majority of schools in Denbighshire continue to improve performance.”

Funding row could hit Welsh policing warns PCC

* North Wales PCC Arfon Jones.

A row over how police training is funded could result in 200 fewer officers in Wales - and potential recruits choosing to sign up to work for English forces instead.

That's the warning from the four police and crime commissioners and the chief constables in Wales who are calling for urgent action over the controversial Apprenticeship Levy that's putting Welsh forces at a "huge disadvantage".

The All-Wales Policing Group has voiced its concerns in a letter to Professor Mark Drakeford, the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government.

The group's chair, Arfon Jones, who is also the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, says the four Welsh forces are paying a total of £2 million and he fears they'll get nothing back in return.

The UK Government has agreed a funding deal for the levy for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland under which each of the devolved governments will receive a share of the money paid in based on their population.

In England the money forces pay into the levy go the English police college but in Wales it goes to the Welsh Government which is due to get back a total of almost £400,000,000 over the next three years.

But Mr Jones says that because the Welsh Government is not responsible for policing there’s a big question mark over whether any of the money paid in by Welsh police forces, including North Wales, can be spent on officer training.

According to Mr Jones, recruitment was being seriously hampered.

He said: "We are most concerned that the uncertainty that exists in Wales will create a situation where English forces are more attractive to potential recruits than Welsh forces.

Ultimately, this will be to the detriment of Welsh communities.

"Welsh police forces are now at a serious financial disadvantage and in future will be disadvantage in terms of training compared to our English counterparts.

"Under the English funding model, 92 per cent of the costs of training would be met through the Apprenticeship Levy, with only eight per cent being borne directly by the forces.

"In contrast, the funding arrangements in Wales mean that forces here would have to bear between 95 and 100 per cent of the costs themselves.

"Under such pressures, Welsh forces might have to lower the standard of training and it would be regrettable to break away from the uniform standards that are currently in place.

"Being force to fund the training from existing resources would inevitably have an impact on front-line policing.

"We believe the problem is an unintended consequence of how funding from Whitehall to the devolved government in Wales is calculated via the Barnett Formula.

"We are seeking an urgent resolution to this issue because an unfunded cost of nearly £10 million of the Police Education Qualifications Framework is equivalent to 200 fewer officers in Wales - this equates to 86 officers in South Wales, 45 in North Wales, 35 in Dyfed Powys and 34 in Gwent.

"This will be in addition to the reductions that Welsh forces have already suffered since 2010, which has seen a reduction of over 2,500 police officers and staff, equivalent to the entire resources of North Wales Police.

"We appreciate that Cabinet Secretaries and Welsh civil servants have been extremely constructive in the support that has been offered to date.

"However, we request the Welsh Government's support in urgently escalating this matter with the UK Government.

"We cannot have a situation where Welsh forces either fall behind England in the quality of education for officers or having to make further significant reductions in our numbers. Operationally, either choice is intolerable.

"We cannot resolve these two very unattractive alternatives in a way that safeguards the interests of our communities without the active and constructive intervention of both Cardiff and Whitehall Governments."