Here’s your Friday update, covering: GCSE results better than 2019; Cardiff Young Influencers have their say on future of education; road closure for stadium wrestling event; and award-winning Food and Fun programme

Pupils across Cardiff have today received their GCSE results. This year is the first time that learners have taken summer exams since 2019, after two years of grades being determined by schools and colleges. Overall outcomes are higher than 2019, when exams were last sat.

Based on the provisional results announced today, 31.9 percent of GCSE results for 2022 are graded A* to A in WJEC examinations, compared to the Wales figure of 25.1 percent (in all exam boards), and Cardiff's 23.1 percent in 2019.

The percentage of GCSE entries resulting in C grades and above has risen to 73.5 percent, an increase of 7.2 percentage points from 2019, and above the Wales figure of 68.6 percent.

For entries graded A* to G, the 2022 figure for Cardiff is 97.5 percent, compared with 96.3 percent in 2019.

The national picture across Wales is that overall results are higher than 2019, when exams were last sat. However, this year is not directly comparable with any other year.

Cllr Sarah Merry, Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, said: “GCSE results day is a real milestone for our young people and I would like to congratulate all of those pupils receiving results today.

"After two years without exams, pupils have been given the opportunity to show what they've learnt through exams and assessment and although not directly comparable to previous years, it is encouraging to see the overall increase in grade across the city and to hear of so many stories of success from across the city.”

Read more here:

www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29742.html  

To ensure Pride Cymru 2022 can be safely enjoyed by all, road closures will be put in place to prepare for the event and facilitate the parade.

In preparation for the event, from 6am on Wednesday August 24^th, the bottom of King Edward VII Avenue will be closed from the junction with City Hall Road down to the war memorial.

From 6am on Thursday, August 25^th, the following roads will be closed:

•  Gorsedd Gardens Road from the junction with Park Place
• Museum Avenue from the junction with College Road down to City Hall
• King Edward VII Avenue up to the Glamorgan Building
• City Hall Road in its entirety.

After the celebrations, these roads in the Civic Centre will be re-opened by 6pm on August 30^th at the latest.

On the day of the parade - which is on Saturday August 27^th - the following roads will be closed:

• From 4am until 12 noon, Windsor Place from the junction with Queen Street to the junction with Stuttgarter Strasse and Windsor Lane will be closed in its entirety
• From 9am until 2pm, there will be a full city centre road closure put in place for the parade, but North Road from Boulevard De Nantes to the junction with Column Road will also be closed. Access for buses and residents will be maintained on Westgate Street.

Read more here:

www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29703.html

•  We are supporting this weekend’s Pride Cymru event. For more on this, visit PrideCymru is back with a star-studded line up for 2022 • News & Blogs • VisitCardiff

A group of young people have been given a glimpse of the future of education in Cardiff – and a chance to put their own stamp on how it could look.

The Cardiff Young Influencers are an 18-strong group of 13- and 14-year-olds who volunteered to take part in a five-day School Organisation Planning summer school at County Hall.

The programme is designed to give young people a platform and the ability to give their opinions on key decisions on school organisation and investment strategy and how the authority will invest millions of pounds in Cardiff schools over the next 10 years.

During the programme, the Influencers, from all areas of the city and from a mixture of English- and Welsh-medium community and faith schools, enjoyed a series of team-building exercises, examined the factors involved in making planning decisions, took part in an interviewing workshop, examined current and progressive approaches to education and visited some high-profile city landmarks, including the new BBC studios and Cardiff City FC.

One of the highlights was a visit to the new Fitzalan School being built by Kier near to the Cardiff City stadium. Here, they saw how modern schools are being built in often radically different new ways as education practices are implemented and changes in society evolve.

At the end of the week, the Influencers put into practice all they had learnt during a series of interviews with Cllr Sarah Merry, the council’s deputy leader and the Cabinet Member for Education.

Read more here:

www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29745.html

More than 30 of Cardiff’s city-wide partners are providing school children with opportunities to take part in sport, learn new skills and socialise as part of Cardiff's multi-award-winning Food and Fun programme.

The initiative, now in its seventh year, helps to ease the financial pressures on many families across the city during the school holiday period by providing healthy nutritious meals alongside an exciting programme of educational, skills and sports provision as well as sessions in nutrition from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry said: “During the past seven years, Cardiff Council has established successful partnership working with a host of organisations across the city who play a key role in supporting Food and Fun. Their involvement is integral in promoting positive health and wellbeing amongst those children who benefit from the scheme the most.

“By providing access to physical activity, healthy meals, nutrition education and food sessions, the initiative offers a wide range of activities which some children may not usually have the opportunity to take part in. Additionally, it helps ease the financial burden that the six-week school brings particularly during a time when the effects of the current cost of living crisis is having considerable impact on many families.”

Read more here:

www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29748.html  

First established as part of the BBC’s commitment to fund network TV production, talent development and support for the creative sector, BBC Comedy today (Thursday 25 August 2022) confirms that Cardiff will become the BBC City of Comedy for 2023. The BBC City of Comedy aims to help find, nurture and connect new comedy talent in Wales with UK commissioners and the wider TV industry.

As BBC City of Comedy, Cardiff is set to benefit from a raft of different initiatives and activities taking place in and around the city, including hosting the BBC Comedy Festival - a multi-day event for indie producers, anyone with a new career in TV and comedy, and people looking to break into or advance their career in the industry to explore, reflect on and celebrate comedy in the UK.

Read more here:

www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2022/cardiff-city-of-comedy