Bridgend schools’ success continues!

The first prize for wellbeing support has been awarded to Corneli Primary School.  Invited by Investors in Families to participate in Wales’ first Mental Health and Wellbeing Awards, Corneli Primary School won first prize for providing the ‘Best Mental Health Support during the Pandemic’. 

The school’s activities ranged from ‘Story Cafes’ led by the headteacher and deputy headteacher throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, to the mixed Year 2 and 3 class choosing to write letters of hope to the people in the community experiencing loneliness. 

Amongst the great response to the letters, was the reply of an elderly gentleman, living in a care home.  Following sharing his life story in his letter, the 94-year-old has become a pen pal to the class.

A spirit of generosity and kindness continues in other schools within the county borough, with Tondu Primary School supporting its community through its ‘Tondu Trade Up’ initiative.

Based on ‘swap shop’ principles, the school offers pupils’ families, and more recently the wider community, the opportunity to trade items of uniform or other clothing. 

At Christmas time, the contents of the ‘shop’ extended to toys and the school plans to stock spring clothing, as well as shorts and t-shirts in readiness for summer.  If parents have nothing to swap, they are welcome to make a small financial donation or just to take what is needed.

Plasnewydd Primary School set up a successful ‘Christmas Jumper Pop-up Shop’, whereby donated jumpers were chosen by visitors to the shop to wear on their Christmas Jumper Day. 

Eco Schools have recognised this contribution to sustainability, as well as the school’s partnering with NatureQuest and ADA Recycling in the ‘Love it, Don’t Trash it’ campaign to support the environment.  The eco-friendly efforts of the pupils have gained them the Platinum Flag Award for the fourth time!

Schools across the county borough continue to explore different ways of approaching the curriculum. 

Visits to the library to listen to stories have captured the imagination of Plasnewydd Primary School pupils, inspiring them to participate in the ‘Young Writers’ competitions.  Porthcawl Primary School champions ‘pupil voice’ through their ‘Observe, Wonder and Infer’ initiative, encouraging pupils to discuss, reflect and debate different topics. 

The Head of the Skills Challenge Certificate at Bryntirion Comprehensive School, has created the ‘Victory for Velindre’ challenge in partnership with Velindre Fundraising and WJEC.  The challenge focuses on developing creativity, entrepreneurship, as well as ethically informed learners and is now available to all schools in Wales.

Staff from Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen, Archdeacon John Lewis Church in Wales Primary School and Pencoed Comprehensive School have all successfully completed the ‘Reading Reconsidered’ professional learning programme - a scheme which explores how learners can be supported to develop and extend their reading skills.

I am so proud of the experiences that pupils from our county borough are having. Not only are learners developing academic skills, but they are also developing invaluable citizenship skills.

A huge thank you to the teachers who continue to commit to providing pupils with a varied curriculum and who are always striving to develop their own professional skills to help further support their learners. We are extremely grateful.

Councilor Jon-Paul Blundell, the Cabinet Member for Education