The Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. has announced that due to its popularity it will be extending its stay in St David’s Cardiff until October 6th, allowing visitors to experience the exhibition for a further four weeks.

This multi-room exhibition offers fans of all ages the opportunity to delve into the super-workings and backstory of each member of The Avengers as they train to become an agent of the S.T.A.T.I.O.N. – and has been a big hit this summer for families and fans of the movie franchise.

James Waugh, General Manager for St David’s said:

“We were so excited when Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. chose Cardiff as the first city outside of London for its next location, and to say it’s been popular would be an understatement! It’s been fantastic to see so many people enjoying the exhibition, and now even more can visit with the Cardiff dates extended.”

The Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. hasn’t been the only big hit at St David’s this summer. At the end of July, the centre revealed #SharkCDF, a giant, 25-foot Great White Shark that has taken over the centre and is playing host to a wide range of family activities throughout the summer. St David’s also launched a competition to name #SharkCDF, which received over 1,000 entries, with some of the most creative including ‘Shark-ira’, ‘Rhod Gillsbert’ and ‘Anthony Jaw-shua’.

James continued,

“The day that #SharkCDF was revealed to the shoppers of Cardiff we had a near 20% increase in visitors, reaffirming the trend we’re seeing towards shoppers looking for richer experiences when visiting us. By hosting a range of family friendly events throughout the summer that will teach children to be more sustainable through crafts and other fun activities, we have something exciting happening every day at St David’s this summer.”

To keep up to date on all of the events taking place at St David’s this summer head to stdavidscardiff.com.

COLEG CAMBRIA maintained its position as the number one college in Wales with an outstanding overall A Level pass rate of 99%.

Students at the Yale site in Wrexham and Deeside Sixth Form Centre contributed to another incredible year for the award-winning institution, with 26 subjects achieving 100% exam success.

These included English, Chemistry, Psychology, Modern Foreign Languages, Economics and History.

Cambria is also celebrating a 100% pass rate for grades A* to C in Art and Design, and the news that 58 learners secured an A* or A in Mathematics and Further Mathematics.

Six students are off to study at Oxford or Cambridge universities, 11 will progress on to degrees in Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, and 34 learners received straight A*s and A grades.

Meanwhile, AS students managed an overall pass rate of 92% and there was another outstanding performance in the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge, a near perfect 99.9%.

Chief Executive David Jones was delighted with the outcome and believes the college’s ability to maintain strong results year after year is testament to the culture they have instilled at Deeside and Yale.

“Our students and staff are simply amazing, their commitment and dedication to Cambria and setting high standards is what makes this the number one college in Wales,” said Mr Jones.

“Getting to the top is very difficult, but staying there is even tougher, so to again achieve a 99% pass rate across the board is remarkable.

“Much of this success is attributed to our hard-working and skilled team, and also the cutting-edge facilities we have opened across all of our sites in recent times, but ultimately the belief and support we have in the students plays a major part.”

He added: “I would like to congratulate everyone who received their results today, and to those moving on to the next chapter in their lives, we wish you every success for the future.”

As well as students entering higher education, many will begin advanced apprenticeships with industry-leading organisations.

Principal Sue Price said receiving such a high overall pass rate proves why the college continues to go from strength to strength.

“To achieve such high grades once again shows just how hard our staff and students are working to maintain the high standards of previous years,” said Mrs Price.

“As Coleg Cambria continues to unveil revolutionary new facilities and work even closer with giants of business and industry, it’s crucial the core values of teaching and learning remain at the heart of everything we do.

“The students will always be our top priority, and ensuring they are given the very best pathway to their chosen careers is vital. I am delighted to see that has been reflected in these wonderful results.”

For more on Coleg Cambria’s A Level results, visit www.cambria.ac.uk

LEADING independent school Christ College Brecon is celebrating yet another successful year for its A-level students.

Pupils have achieved excellent A Level results, with an outstanding pass rate of 99.4%.

Overall 39% of all grades were A/A* and 69% A*/B. These results are significantly above national averages and the average points score per candidate was 137 which is broadly equivalent to AAB.

Performance in English Literature was strong with 75% of grades achieved an A*/A with 50% at the same level in Geography, Spanish, French, Art, Photography and extended project.

Based on these results, many pupils from Christ College will proceed to top universities including Russell Group institutions to study for highly selective courses.

Star performers include Fergus Stevens from Welshpool achieved 3A* in Maths, Further Maths and Physics and will go to read Physics at University of Nottingham. Fergus also played Hockey for Wales under 21 whilst in the sixth form.

Phoebe Sussmann from Llangorse has a place to study Veterinary Science at University of Bristol following her A*/A/A and Ben Masters from Sennybridge achieved A*/A*/A which has secured him a place at University of Nottingham to read Mathematical Physics. The 47% of A*/A grades in Maths and Further Maths follows the recent trend of success in these most difficult subjects.

Notable successes from local pupils include Hannah Mathias from Brecon whose 3 As see her safely into University of St Andrews to read Languages. Danny Clarke from Hereford achieved A*/A*/B, Nerys Abberley from Merthyr Tydfil A*/A/A, Artai Hernandez from Brecon  A*/A/B and Elin Jones from Pembrokeshire and Poppy Lawley from Shrewsbury both achieved three As. Head of school Niamh Draper from Llanelli will go on to read History at University of Bristol following her A*/A*/B grades. Sarah Jeffes from Sennybridge also achieved A*/A/B with an A* in extended project.

Head of Christ College, Gareth Pearson, said:

I am delighted with this set of results, achieved through hard work, self-discipline and perseverance. With all subjects now linear and involving more stretch and challenge, we are delighted that performance across the board has held up well in this more academically demanding environment. These results will enable our pupils to go forward positively to the next stage in their lives.

The dedicated staff at the school are all committed to the success and fulfilment of our pupils and believe that a whole person approach is key to achieving this, a belief reinforced by such positive results. Although we will be sad to see them go, we wish them all the best and have confidence they will all go on to achieve brilliant things with bright futures ahead of them.”

Set within the Brecon Beacons National Park, Christ College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school, with 380 pupils on roll between the ages of seven to 18. With strong academic provision at its core, the school provides high-quality, broad and balanced education, in a friendly, nurturing atmosphere.

These successful results follow the ‘excellent’ Estyn inspection of Christ College. The school achieved the highest score possible in all five areas of judgement: standards; wellbeing and attitude to learning; teaching and learning experiences; care, support and guidance; and leadership and management.

Environmental charity Hubbub is urging local businesses to sign-up to Swansea #InTheLoop, a new campaign to improve on-the-go recycling rates in the city centre. Backed by a range of national brands and retailers, the campaign is being run in partnership with Swansea City Council. Swansea #InTheLoop will launch as a five-month pilot in September, aiming to increase levels of recycling of plastic bottles, cans, glass bottles and coffee cups. It will introduce a fresh new look for recycling points across the city and engaging communications activities to educate and inspire people to recycle in the right way.

A central focus of the campaign will be to improve coffee cup recycling. Cups can be recycled but have to be recycled in their own separate recycling bins, due to the plastic lining that stops the cups from leaking. To tackle this, Swansea City Council will introduce new bright orange bins in the city centre to collect coffee cups.

Businesses in the city centre will have an important role to play in spreading the word to their staff and customers about the new opportunities to improve recycling rates in the city. Organisations signing up to Swansea #InTheLoop will be provided with:

• discounted bins and collections for coffee cup recycling
• a bank of high quality recycling communications materials for employees
• the opportunity to work closely with partners to measure their impact
• access to additional activations and events that can be customised to suit their company.

Participating businesses will also have exclusive access to an event being held on 10^th September in Swansea city centre, where they will be able to meet with stakeholders and partners to hear more about how their involvement will contribute to revolutionising recycling across the city.

Led by Hubbub and Swansea City Council, the campaign is also being supported by local partners, who collaboratively have made the initiative possible. These include the Environment Centre, Swansea University and Keep Wales Tidy – pioneers of the Love Wales recycling initiative.

All organisations based in Swansea city centre are encouraged to take part, and participation in the campaign is funded by the following collaboration of funders:

Starbucks, Ecosurety, Asda, Bunzl, Caffè Nero, Coca-Cola GB, Costa Coffee, Danone, Highland Spring Group, Innocent Drinks, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Marks & Spencer, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Pret a Manger and Shell.

Gavin Ellis, Co-founder and Director of Hubbub said:

“Wales is already well-known for its high recycling rates, with the country ranking second in the world for recycling household waste after Germany. One area that still needs improving is recycling when ‘out and about’, which is why we’re launching this campaign in Swansea in partnership with Swansea City Council. The success of this initiative will rely on all those who live and work in the city centre knowing about the new opportunities to recycle, so we’re calling on any city centre business keen on demonstrating their commitment to recycling and waste reduction to get in touch.”  

Philip McDonnell, Manager of the Environment Centre, Swansea said:

“This is an exciting next step to helping Swansea residents make positive changes for a greener, healthier lifestyle. This campaign demonstrates that by coming together as a community, we can all make small adjustments to our behaviour that have a big impact to our local area and the planet. We hope that businesses getting involved can help us achieve our three aims – by empowering their employees to take action on the issue, we can work together to develop a solution and promote awareness of the issue of recycling while on-the-go.” 

Cllr Mark Thomas, Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure Management at Swansea Council said:

“Recycling does not involve only recycling household waste in your own home. Clearly people consume items on the move while they are out and about. We already work with many local businesses in Swansea to provide commercial waste recycling services so businesses can recycle more in the workplace. Anything more that can be done to capture more waste for recycling and divert it away from landfill should be welcomed and taken advantage of.” 

For more information, visit: https://www.hubbub.org.uk/swansea-intheloop-collaboration or contact enterprise@hubbub.org.uk

North Wales record holder, adventurer and extreme explorer Ash Dykes is celebrating after crossing the finish line on his latest, 352-day 4,000-mile outing where he’s taken over 8 million steps – walking to achieve his third world-first record.

After almost an entire year of lengthy, exhaustive and sometimes incredibly dangerous walking, Ash finally reached the end of his largest mission to date – #MissionYangtze.

The challenge was clear, to be the first person in recorded history to traverse the entire length of the Yangtze River in China. From source to sea; this to many seemed an unimaginable feat, a point which made it look ever more attractive to the odds-defying Ash Dykes.

Ash has always had a curious fascination about the wonders of China, and when the opportunity to trek the 4,000-mile journey on foot started holding some traction, further planning, training and behind the scenes logistics allowed Ash to mentally and physically prepare for what would become his most ambitious and challenging mission to date.

The source of the Yangtze is the highest source of any major river around the world with an altitude of over 5,100 meters. Situated in the Tibetan Plateau; the severity of the challenge was not to be underestimated. It was expected Ash would be facing a lot of dangers from the sub-zero temperatures early on, the wild bears, wolves and snakes through to the regional locals who would naturally be caught off guard to see a strange foreigner alone, walking in such remote and dangerous areas of China.

Finally, the demands that Ash would face both mentally and physically with the expedition being one year to complete could take him to breaking point – however, the training, from both fitness to mental preparation allowed Ash to throw himself into the uncomfortable, dangerous & physical challenges that awaited him.

Ash started close to the source on 15/08/2018, however on the 26/08/2018 Ash returned to the 5,100m altitude with authorisation to take his team to the source of the Yangtze river in order to take pictures and technology to verify his achievement. Making it to the remote location alone was tricky, and kicked Ash into his ‘wild side’ very quickly!

#MissionYangtze showed its sheer difficulty early on, due to the -20°C temperatures, 40-mile setbacks/rewinds due to Tibetan government-officials, and the odd detainments by police; such as that by the Qinghai Police in early September 2018.

It proved to be a trek of attrition, which saw his initial videographer team have to bail due to the extremities.  Ash responded admirably to every challenge he experienced – telling his fans back home that the challenges just gave him even more willpower to carry on – and carry on he did.

One of the things Ash realised very early on in #MissionYangtze was simply how wonderful the people living in China are. Even the officials who were just doing their job by asking questions, and taking Ash on administration-based detours. Many people who Ash met along #MissionYangtze were incredibly approachable, supportive and giving – as Ash was invited into the small homes of families in the east, given warm welcomes, incredible regional food, as well as helpful advice and warnings in regards to the dangers Ash would face along the way.

Crowds of well-wishers and film crews surrounded Ash as he completed the final KM’s of his 6500KM expedition which was filmed by his media partners based in China – he now returns but in true Ash Dykes style; Ash will continue sharing his stories, adventures, conservational and humanitarian work in the weeks, months and years to come.

His hard-working UK support team, including his Dad, proudly paid tribute as he crossed the line:

“Ash is a fantastic example of someone with heartwarming morals, respect for people & nature all around the world, and impeccable physical and emotional strength – this isn’t the end, as Ash returns to share his story.  #MissionYangtze. You’ve not seen anything yet :-)”

The News from Wales team have loved tracking Ash’s mission and our readers have followed his progress excitedly, so we’re delighted to add our voices to the many congratulations Ash is now deservedly receiving.

You can learn more about Ash Dykes epic adventure on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and visit his website here: https://www.ashdykes.com

Wales’ largest celebration of diversity and equality is bringing some extra love to its Big Weekend this summer, as Pride Cymru teams up with Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity.

Visitors to Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend have been invited to bring along their pooches on Saturday, August 24th, to enter the Welsh LGBT+ charity’s first-ever dog show hosted by Dogs Trust.

Categories range from Waggiest Tail to Golden Oldie to Cutest Pup, celebrating diversity among pet owners’ furry friends. With up to thirty dogs entering each class this spectacle is bound to wag some tails.

Rhiannon Lavis, Supporter Relations Officer at Dogs Trust Bridgend said:

“We are excited to be part of this year’s Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend surrounded by our furry friends. They play such a big part in our lives, so to give people the chance to take their dogs with them to Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend is wonderful. 

“The day is set to be great fun for two- and four-legged friends alike so we are looking forward to seeing dog lovers and their furry friends to help us raise as much money as possible for the dogs in our care.”

Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and finds loving new homes for around 15,000 dogs each year. Last year alone, the charity cared for over 600 dogs in South Wales at its Bridgend rehoming centre.

The show will take place on Saturday 24 August between 2 and 4pm in the event’s Family Area, sponsored by Uber. For £3 visitors can enter their fur babies in one of five judge classes, as all proceeds go to the animal welfare charity in Wales.

Gian Molinu, Chair at Pride Cymru, said:

“We are thrilled to host our first ever dog show and excited to be collaborating with Dog Trust and help raise funds for a great charity. Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend is all about celebrating love and diversity, so why not extend that to animals? As a community-focused event, we are excited to introduce this to the Uber Family Area and I am already looking forward to seeing the variety of pooches that are going to be taking part. It will not only be great fun for families and children, but also for every animal lover.”

Anyone interested in taking part in the dog show can register their dogs online at https://www.pridecymru.com/prides-first-dog-show/. Dog owners can rest assured as a vet as well as Dogs Trust staff will be present on the day. Due to welfare reasons, the show will be cancelled if temperatures rise above 27C.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Pride Cymru’s Big Weekend, formerly known as Cardiff Mardi Gras, and will be held outside Cardiff City Hall Lawns on 23, 24 and 25 August. Tickets can be bought at www.pridecymru.com.

Students receiving their GCSE and A-Level results this summer are being offered free advice on their CV and interview skills by a local businessman commended for his dexterity in this field.

Rod Lloyd, managing director of Low Cost Vans (LCV), previously starred in reality TV series ‘The Job Interview’ on Channel 4. Lloyd will be running mock interviews and a CV workshop for students receiving their GCSE and A-Level results in August – whether they received the results they want or not.

The mock interviews and CV workshop will run in early September and is open to any teenagers receiving their GCSE results on 22^nd August, as well as A-level students who receive their results on 15^th August – regardless of the mark they achieved. With decades of recruiting experience under his belt, Lloyd has a talent for being able to see from the perspective of the employer and the candidate alike.

Students will be able to visit LCV’s headquarters in Neath and take part in a ‘job interview’ with Lloyd. They will then be given advice on how to improve their performance, and they will also have the chance to submit their CVs for catered critique and gain invaluable insights from seasoned industry professionals.

Although all students receiving their GCSE and A-Level results are welcome, the idea is that those who didn’t receive the results they hoped for will come along and get some effective and tangible advice to help improve their future career prospects.

Rod Lloyd stressed the importance of inspiring the next generation by offering them the help they need. He said:

“It can be disappointing when you don’t get the results you wanted, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be great opportunities out there to allow you to reach your potential.

“I always wanted to be a cartographer, but I didn’t achieve the grades I needed. At the time this seemed like a disaster, but now I employ 41 people in my hometown of Neath. My advice is that whatever your results are, this is only the beginning – there is always a way to succeed.

“I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years, and I know what it takes to impress an employer – I see it as our commitment to the next generation to teach them how to do it.”

Low Cost Vans was established in 1999 and is one of the UK’s leading providers of van leasing and van contract hire for new vans to businesses and private individuals. The company received the ‘Highly Commended’ accolade for Neath Port Talbot Company of the Year at the Top 100 Companies in South West Wales Awards 2018.

To arrange an ‘interview’ and CV health check with Low Cost Vans, email cv@lowcostvans.co.uk.