1.
Welsh language
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Welsh is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, historically it has also been known in English as the British tongue, Cambrian, Cambric and Cymric. The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% of whom had been born outside Wales, and 73% of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and this can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20. 8% of the population reported being able to speak Welsh. 787,854 of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh, in surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language. An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England, Welsh emerged in the 6th century from Common Brittonic, the common ancestor of Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the extinct language known as Cumbric. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, the name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning foreign speech. The native term for the language is Cymraeg, and for the name of the country of Wales it is Cymru, Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth. During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and it is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or Early Poets – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns, the next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh, poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. Both the works of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin were in this era, Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts, Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, during one of the Kings many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army
2.
Independent school (United Kingdom)
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For example, pupils do not have to follow the National Curriculum. Seven of the older, expensive and more schools catering for the 13–18 age-range in England. The term public being derived from the fact that they were open to pupils regardless of where they lived or their religion, prep schools, educate younger children up to the age of 13 to prepare them for entry to the public schools and other independent schools. Some former grammar schools converted to an independent fee paying model following the 1965 Circular 10/65 which marked the end of their state funding, others converted into comprehensive schools. There are around 2,500 independent schools in the UK, in addition to charging tuition fees, many also benefit from gifts, charitable endowments and charitable status. Many of these schools are members of the Independent Schools Council and these schools were founded as part of the church and were under their complete dominion. However, it was during the late 14th & early 15th centuries that the first schools, winchester & Oswestry were the first of their kind and paved the way for the establishment of the modern Public school. These were often established for scholars from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds, however, English law has always regarded education as a charitable end in itself. For instance, the Queens Scholarships founded at Westminster in 1560, are for the sons of decayd gentlemen, also, facilities already provided by the charitable foundation for a few scholars could profitably be extended to further paying pupils. After a time, such fees would eclipse the original charitable income, in 2009 senior boarding schools were charging fees of between £16,000 and nearly £30,000 per annum. However, majority of the independent schools today are still registered as a charity, christs Hospital in Horsham is one of the examples, large proposition of its students are funded by its charitable foundation or by various benefactors. Most public schools developed significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries, under a number of forward-looking headmasters leading public schools created a curriculum based heavily on classics and physical activity for boys and young men of the upper and upper middle classes. They were schools for the elite of Victorian politics, armed forces. Often successful businessmen would send their sons to a school as a mark of participation in the elite. More recently heads of schools have been emphasising that senior pupils now play a much reduced role in disciplining. To an extent, the school system influenced the school systems of the British Empire. Until 1975 there had been a group of 179 academically selective schools drawing on both private and state funding, the direct grant grammar schools, the Direct Grant Grammar Schools Regulations 1975 required these schools to choose between full state funding as comprehensive schools and full independence. As a result,119 of these schools became independent, pupil numbers at independent schools fell slightly during the mid-1970s recession
3.
Church in Wales
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The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. It defines itself as the ancient Church of this land, catholic and it proclaims and holds fast the doctrine and ministry of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops, the most recent archbishop, Barry Morgan, retired in January 2017 and has not yet been replaced. Unlike the Church of England, the Church in Wales is not an established church, disestablishment was effected in 1920 under the Welsh Church Act 1914. As a province of the Anglican Communion, the Church in Wales recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity, eighteen cross-border parishes remained in the Church of England and were exempt from disestablishment. The Church in Wales adopted its name by accident, the Welsh Church Act 1914 referred throughout to the Church in Wales, the phrase being used to indicate the part of the Church of England within Wales. In 1920, a convention of the Welsh church considered what name to select, however, there were concerns that adopting a name different from that mentioned in the act might cause legal problems. Given the situation, it seemed sensible to adopt the title the Church in Wales, christianity in Wales can be traced back to the Romano-British period and an organised episcopal church has had continuous existence in Wales since that time. Wales became a refuge for other Britons following the pagan Anglo-Saxon invasion of what became England, the Welsh refused to co-operate with Augustine of Canterburys mission to the Anglo-Saxons. Afterward they were part of the Church of England until disestablishment in 1920, from the time of Henry VIII, Wales had been absorbed into England as a legal entity and the established church in Wales was the Church of England. The bill was fiercely resisted by members of the Conservative Party and blocked in the House of Lords, eventually being passed under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911. In response to this description, the writer G. K. Chesterton penned the satirical poem Antichrist, or the Reunion of Christendom, An Ode containing the memorable retort Chuck It, Smith. The act both disestablished and disendowed the Church in Wales, the used to define the part of the Church of England which was to be separated. Disestablishment meant the end of the special legal status and Welsh bishops were no longer entitled to sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. As the Church in Wales became independent of the state, tithes were no longer available to the church, endowments before 1662 were to be confiscated, those of later date were to remain. Disestablishment finally came into effect in 1920, the Church in Wales adopted a written constitution and elected a Governing Body which initially met once a year, but now meets twice annually. The Governing Body has ultimate authority to approve liturgies, review organizational structures, today, the Church in Wales is fully independent of both the state and the Church of England. It is an independent member of the Anglican Communion as are the Church of Ireland, in the first years of the 21st century, the Church in Wales has begun to engage in numerous debates
4.
Llandovery
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Llandovery is a community and market town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the River Tywi and the A40/A483 roads. The town is served by Llandovery railway station, where there is a park and ride to Llanelli, Llandovery — a corruption of Llanymddyfri, meaning Llan ymlith y dyfroedd — owes its name to its position between the River Tywi and the Afon Brân just upstream of their confluence. A smaller watercourse, the Bawddwr, runs through and under the town, Llandovery is twinned with Pluguffan in Brittany, France. The Roman fort at Llanfair Hill to the northeast of the town around was known to the Romans as Alabum. It was built around AD50 to 60 as part of their strategy for the conquest of Wales, a Roman road heads across Mynydd Bach Trecastell to the southeast of Llandovery bound for the fort of Brecon Gaer. Another heads down the Towy valley for Carmarthen whilst a third makes for the goldmines at Dolaucothi, the castle was used by King Henry IV while on a sortie into Wales when he executed Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan in the marketplace. It was later attacked by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1403, a 16-foot high stainless steel statue to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan was unveiled in 2001 on the north side of Llandovery Castle, overlooking the place of his execution six hundred years earlier. He had led the army of King Henry IV on a wild goose chase under the pretence of leading them to a rebel camp. The statue won a competition to choose a suitable design. It was funded by the National Lottery and the Arts Council of Wales, the Physicians of Myddfai practised in the area. Llandovery is also the place one of the first independent Welsh banks. The building is part of the Kings Head inn which was the home of The Bank of the Black Ox, also in the town are a charity-run theatre, a heritage centre and Llandovery College. A tourist information and heritage centre is situated in the heart of the town, the Llandovery Epoch is the earliest in the Silurian Period of geological time. In a small place in the centre of Llandovery is Llandovery Town Hall by the architect Richard Kyke Penson. There is a courtroom over a market, in an Italianate style. The building has two storeys with open arcades, at the rear are police cells with iron grilles and entry to the courtroom under a clock tower. Many visitors use Llandovery as a base for the western part of the Brecon Beacons National Park which lies immediately to the south of the town. For others it is a stop en route to Pembrokeshire and West Wales, large numbers of motorcyclists congregate, particularly at weekends, in the West End cafe on Broad Street, part of the A40
5.
Carmarthenshire
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Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south-west of Wales and is the largest of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre of Carmarthenshire, but the most populous settlement is Llanelli. Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the town of Carmarthen was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. It saw turbulent times during the invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13h centuries before it was subjugated, along other parts of Wales. There was further unrest in the early 15th century when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr, Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which at one time was heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county the woollen industry was important in the 18th century. Nowadays the economy of the county depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing, with the decline in its industrial base and the low profitability of the livestock sector, Carmarthenshire is economically one of the worst-performing regions in the United Kingdom. Although Carmarthenshire is less frequented as a tourist destination than some other counties in Wales, further west are the sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine, and Dylan Thomas boathouse at Laugharne. Further inland there are a number of castles, hillforts. Humans have been living in Carmarthenshire since at least 40,000 years ago as evidenced by stone tools found in Coygan Cave, near Laugharne. The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one at Caerwent to control the southeast of the country, the fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is a Roman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales. Carmarthenshire has its roots in the region formerly known as Ystrad Tywi and part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales, Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times. Following the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire. Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there. The Normans transformed Carmarthen into a trading port, the only staple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead, Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France. In 1405, Owain Glyndŵr captured Carmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood, however, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance to King Henry V
6.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
7.
Carmarthenshire County Council
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The council is one of twenty-two unitary authorities that came into existence on 1 April 1996 under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1994. It took over government functions previously provided by Carmarthen District, Dinefwr Borough, Llanelli Borough councils. The council is based in County Hall in Carmarthen, the County Hall was designed by Percy Thomas in 1935 but not completed until 1955. It replaced the Carmarthen Gaol built by John Nash on part of Carmarthen Castles site, the first election to the original council were held in January 1889 and the majority of the seats were won by the Liberals. This pattern continued until the 1920s from which time most rural seats were held by Independents while the Labour Party dominated the industrial part of the county, the authority has adopted the Cabinet system of running the county, and since 2004 ran by the Independents and Labour groups. Currently there are 28 Plaid Cymru councillors,22 Independents,22 Labour and 2 others, the Leader of the Council is Cllr Emlyn Dole. The Chief Executive, Mark Vincent James, was awarded the CBE for services to Local Government in Wales in the 2012 New Year Honours, James was forced to step aside temporarily in 2014 after a criminal investigation was launched into his affairs. In 2013 Chief Executive Mark James was sued for libel by Jacqui Thompson and he brought a counterclaim against Mrs Thompson, his legal action was funded by the council. Although he won his action, this indemnity was ruled unlawful by the Auditor General for Wales and it also found that the payment of his pension contributions to him in cash was unlawful. Thompson is in the process of appealing the ruling on a point of law, Local AM Peter Black commented that The way that the Council has handled this whole affair has been a public relations disaster from start to finish. These latest claims do not help, in February 2014, a criminal investigation was launched into these payments by Gloucestershire Constabulary, Mark James stepped aside for the duration of the investigation. The episode led to criticism of senior councillors, including the leader, Kevin Madge. Local politicians Rhodri Glyn Thomas and Jonathan Edwards both called for Mark James full and final resignation, along with that of Kevin Madge, Madge survived a vote of no confidence by 41 votes to 28. However, the council accepted the findings of the Wales Audit Office on the illegality of the payments, Madge resigned as leader of the Council in May 2015 having lost the leadership of the Labour group. Two days later it was announced that Plaid Cymru would form a new coalition with the Independents, elections take place every four years. The last election was held on 3 May 2012 The county is divided into 58 electoral wards returning 74 councillors, most of these wards are coterminous with communities. Most communities in Carmarthenshire have a community council, for each ward, councillors are elected to sit on Carmarthenshire County Council. The following table lists council wards, community councils and associated geographical areas, communities with their own community council are marked with a *
8.
Department for Education
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The Department for Education is a department of Her Majestys Government responsible for child protection, education, apprenticeships and wider skills in England. The DfE is also responsible for women and equalities policy, the DfE was formed on 12 May 2010 by the incoming Cameron ministry, taking on the responsibilities and resources of the Department for Children, Schools and Families. In July 2016, the Department took over responsibilities for higher and further education and for apprenticeship from the dissolved Department for Business, Innovation, the Permanent Secretary is Jonathan Slater. DfE is responsible for education, children’s services, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England, and equalities. The predecessor department employed the equivalent of 2,695 staff as of April 2008 and as at June 2016, in 2015-16, the DfE has a budget of £58. 2bn, which includes £53. 6bn resource spending and £4. 6bn of capital investments. The EFA was formed on 1 April 2012 by bringing together the functions of two non-departmental public bodies, the Young Peoples Learning Agency and Partnerships for Schools and it was established on 1 April 2013, when the Teaching Agency merged with the National College for School Leadership. The Skills Funding Agency is responsible for funding skills training for further education in England, as well as running the National Apprenticeship Service, the SFA was formed on 1 April 2010, following the closure of the Learning and Skills Council. It shares a Chief Executive, Peter Lauener, and Chief Financial Officer with the Education Funding Agency, the Standards and Testing Agency is responsible for developing and delivering all statutory assessments for school pupils in England. It was formed on 1 October 2011 and took over the functions of the Qualifications, the STA is regulated by the examinations regulator, Ofqual. The DfE is also supported by 10 public bodies, Education, youth, following Michael Goves speech in 2012, the subject of Information Communication Technology has been disapplied and replaced by Computing. With the new curriculum, materials have been written by companies, to support non-specialist teachers. The Computing at Schools organisation has created a Network of Teaching Excellence to support schools with the new curriculum, deflecting European Union influence on national education policy-making, the case of the United Kingdom. Official website Official department YouTube channel Official Flickr presence
