When it comes to our priorities as a local authority, very, very high on the list is providing an education which helps all our young people thrive. It is the route-map to the future.

We are so fortunate here in Monmouthshire to have great schools and wonderful teachers and their support staff.

And we have been able to improve on the foundations we inherited when we came into office, when results were good but not the best. We were the middle of the pack for Wales and there was a noticeable gap in attainment between learners receiving free school meals and those who did not. Now, with excellent support from the Welsh government, we have been able to help students to achieve in so many different ways.

For example, September 2025 marks one year since the launch of our pioneering “Autism in schools and settings” programme – the first in Wales. Working with the Autism Educational Trust, and with officers and education professionals, parents/carers, and of course young people with autism, we aim to create a truly inclusive and supportive educational experience. What is driving us is the belief that with the right environment children and young people with autism can be seen, heard and celebrated on a journey to achieve their full potential.

And let us not forget that in so many cases it was our education system and our pupils who faced some of the unkindest effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notwithstanding which, our actions and those of our school leaders, teachers and support staff, and clearly the efforts of our pupils, are reflected in the latest statistics.

School attendances, which certainly needed help in the recent past, are now the very best in the whole of Wales.

And the latest exam results are also highly impressive and among the best in Wales. More than a quarter of our pupils taking GCSE exams this year got A or A-star grades – better than the Welsh average. Three quarters of all Monmouthshire state school pupils achieved A-star to C grades.

A-level results were no less encouraging: four in every ten pupils sitting these exams here achieved A-star or A grades, and more than eight in ten pupils were in the A-star to C range.

Hardly surprising then that all our schools reported that the majority of pupils have achieved their first choices and secured the pathway of their choice.

It is not just English-medium education that receives our attention. We have also been committed to supporting the growth of Welsh education across the county. Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni, in Abergavenny is soon to move into new premises, on the site of the refurbished Deri View school, allowing it to continue to grow and flourish.

Last September, in Monmouth, we opened Ysgol Gymraeg Trefynwy - a new Welsh-medium primary school for the area. It had 18 pupils and now, one year on there are 28 and more expected soon. From small shoots, it is growing fast because of the enthusiasm and commitment of parents, teachers and the governing-body to build a beacon of Welsh-medium education in the town.

Happy Birthday Ysgol Gymraeg Trefynwy. May you continue to thrive!