Welsh Headlines — 08 Sep 2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Welsh News Headlines — 8 September 2026

🔴 Top Story: Wales falls further behind rest of UK in international school tests — PISA results published this morning

Wales' performance in the OECD's three-yearly Pisa tests for 15-year-olds has fallen further behind the other UK nations, with the biggest drop in maths and reading also down, while science scores rose only slightly. The 2025 round — taken by a sample of teenagers in 91 countries and economies, with 3,406 pupils at 113 schools in Wales — saw Wales' average maths score fall from 466 to 456 and reading from 466 to 459, against broadly stable results elsewhere in the UK; science edged up from 473 to 476, but England's teens hit 516, up 13 on three years earlier. The 2023 results were Wales' lowest ever in all three subjects. The OECD's Andreas Schleicher said the UK was "bucking the trend" of declining performance — featuring in the top 10 for all three subjects — but added that "unfortunately for Wales, we see that overall downward trend still continuing": Welsh results were worse than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with maths and science broadly in line with Spain and Croatia and below the OECD average, while reading was on a par with Denmark and France. Welsh teenagers also scored lower than other UK nations in the round's extra test of computational problem solving.

Education Minister Anna Brychan (Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language) insisted there would be no knee-jerk response: "These results are not where we want them to be. But in many ways, they reinforce what we knew already and highlight our need to improve standards of reading and maths, as a priority." She said the results were not the only measure of school performance, pointed out that Wales' most disadvantaged learners "compare well internationally", blamed an inherited system "that lacks clarity, coherence and a sure sense of direction", and said she will soon launch a Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan. The Welsh Government's 08:30 statement stressed reading and science have remained broadly stable since 2022 and that Welsh schools are comparatively effective at supporting disadvantaged learners. The cohort that sat Pisa is the last not to have studied under the new Curriculum for Wales.

📰 BBC Wales (Bethan Lewis) / GOV.WALES press release — 8 Sep 08:30 BST

🏛️ Politics & Senedd

Reform accused of trying to start a race row over Pakistan flag at Cardiff Castle. A senior Reform MP attacked Cardiff council after it flew Pakistan's flag over the castle — with Welsh Tories and Plaid accusing the party of stoking division. Cardiff council says the flag flew on 9 August (overnight after a ceremony) and on 14 August, Pakistan's Independence Day, as part of its long-standing practice of marking significant dates — India's flag was flown the following day. Reform's economic spokesman Robert Jenrick posted that flying the flag was "an attempt to dominate our culture… I am sick to death of foreign flags being hoisted above our historic buildings. Under a Reform government this pathetic submission ends," while a Reform Wales spokesman said "no flag other than the Welsh dragon or the Union Flag should fly over our historic landmarks". Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas used a picture originally posted in 2024, in the present tense, on a day no flag was flying. Welsh Conservative MS Natasha Asghar said she was "really fed up of Reform trying to fuel and start a race row" — such ceremonies are "just showing a form of respect to one another" — and Plaid Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said: "After an abysmal conference, Robert Jenrick is reaching for Reform's favourite distraction… Welsh identity is not threatened by another nation's flag." Cardiff council leader Chris Weaver said the "whole furore has stemmed from misinformation". Reform Wales previously objected to the Ukraine flag flying outside the Senedd.

📰 BBC Wales (David Deans) — 7/8 Sep

Faith leaders warn of religious and ethnic prejudice ahead of the Senedd's return. Senior representatives of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá'í and other faith communities have signed an open letter to MSs ahead of Members' return to Cardiff Bay next Monday after the summer recess, saying many people "live with some fear for themselves and especially for their children" amid a period of "significant tension" across the UK. The letter — signed by Archbishop Mark O'Toole (Cardiff-Menevia), the Archbishop of Wales Cherry Vann, Rabbi Michoel Rose of Cardiff United Synagogue, Dr Abdul-Azim Ahmed of the Muslim Council of Wales, Gurmit Singh Randhawa MBE of the Sikh Council of Wales and others — insists "antisemitism, anti-Hindu prejudice, Islamophobia, or prejudice based on religion or ethnicity must be rejected", and offers to build closer links between faith communities and the Senedd.

📰 Nation.Cymru (Mark Mansfield) — 7 Sep

Dafydd Iwan: defence policy is a "big problem" for the Plaid Cymru government. (Compact update to the 04-09 arms-industry story.) On a special Gwleidydda podcast marking 90 years since Penyberth, former Plaid president Dafydd Iwan said businesses in Wales that are "preparing weapons" will create a "dilemma" for the new Plaid Cymru government given the party's pacifist tradition, with some in government likely to "insist on a firm policy of opposing the use of Welsh land to prepare for war weapons". Prof Richard Wyn Jones (Cardiff University) said the pacifist influence "is still there as a very live argument in Plaid Cymru". The Welsh Government reiterated that it opposes selling arms to countries committing serious breaches of international humanitarian law and is developing an ethical defence framework — the first of its kind in Wales — with investment decisions deferred until it is published; the defence industry directly employs around 16,000 people in Wales.

📰 BBC Cymru Fyw (Gwenno Robinson) — 7 Sep

🏥 Health

New mums "left to get on with it" as C-section numbers hit record high. 42% of babies in Wales were born by caesarean section in 2025 — the highest rate on record, with just over half of those operations emergencies (England is around 45%), prompting mothers to describe being left to recover from major surgery with "no support". Carys Louise Brandon, 29, from Swansea, whose first emergency C-section was in 2022, said she was "thrown in at the deep end" — it was almost three weeks before she felt able to leave the house, and she fainted taking the dressing off her wound with no one telling her how her scar "should" be recovering. Ceri Ann Roberts, 29, from Gwynedd, said she was left alone on a recovery ward at Ysbyty Gwynedd in 2025 after an emergency C-section while her daughter Ania was in neonatal intensive care — it was seven hours before she held her baby, when her husband returned and took her to the unit himself: "It was awful, I just cried and cried." Betsi Cadwaladr said women in that position are supported by midwives who help facilitate visits "at the earliest safe opportunity". The Royal College of Midwives' Wales director Julie Richards said maternity services "may not have had… the developments in maternity care to respond to the change in landscape". A Welsh Government report in February flagged the rapid rise in caesareans and inductions and the unassessed consequences; ministers have committed to a three-year programme of improvements.

📰 BBC Wales (Aimee Thomas) / BBC Cymru Fyw — 7/8 Sep

💼 Economy & Business

£10m pilot launched to draw institutional investment into Welsh businesses. The Development Bank of Wales' new Equity Co-investment Scheme will provide matched investments of between £500,000 and £2m alongside private investors, as part of funding rounds worth up to £10m, targeting companies commercialising technology and scaling while staying in Wales. Applicants must secure an FCA-registered lead investor backed predominantly by private-sector institutional capital; the £10m is ring-fenced from the existing Wales Flexible Investment Fund. Enterprise Minister Adam Price said active capital "does more than just provide funding — it brings expertise, networks and long-term backing". The pilot follows earlier co-investment deals with Welsh medtech firms IQ Endoscopes and Ceryx Medical. The bank has invested more than £1.1bn since 2017 and attracted £680m of additional co-investment.

📰 Nation.Cymru (Mark Mansfield) — 8 Sep

UK Government retail work-experience scheme aims to help young people in Wales. The DWP and British Retail Consortium's Opening Shift programme will offer more than 11,000 placements across the UK with Tesco, John Lewis, Currys, M&S, Boots, Primark, Aldi and Asda — 16-35 hours a week for two to four weeks, with interview experience and travel costs supported, for 18-24-year-old Universal Credit claimants identified through Jobcentres. There are around 56,800 young people classified as NEET in Wales, and the scheme is part of a wider retail ambition to create 100,000 jobs for young people not in employment, education or training by the end of this Parliament. Wales Secretary Stephen Kinnock said it would help young people in Wales take "those vital first steps on to the jobs ladder".

📰 Nation.Cymru — 8 Sep

🏠 Housing

Nearly 4,000 new homes planned as Newport prepares major expansion. Newport City Council has identified several large development sites for the next stage of its replacement Local Development Plan, including land at Llanwern capable of accommodating up to 2,500 homes (with a new railway station planned as part of the development), plus 750 homes north of Langstone, 360 to the south of the village and 650 south of Bettws. A scrutiny committee heard on Monday (7 Sep) that the council estimates 3,988 new homes will be needed to meet demand and projected population growth; the LDP — running behind schedule, with adoption now expected in January 2028 — would still require individual planning applications for every site. Planning policy manager John Gibson said Cardiff was "reaching capacity" and Bristol "becoming the most expensive local authority in the country"; Cllr Matthew Pimm warned of "a bit of animosity" if incomers buy up new homes while locals "are not seeing any improvement". Public consultation is expected from October.

📰 Nation.Cymru (Nicholas Thomas, LDR) — 7 Sep

🌍 Environment

£1m project launched to restore 1,600+ hectares of Eryri landscape. The Natur i Bobl Nant Ffrancon project — led by National Trust Cymru with nearly £1m from the Nature Networks Fund, delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government with NRW — will restore or conserve around 1,635 hectares (4,040 acres) from Cwm Idwal down the Nant Ffrancon valley to Dyffryn Ogwen, where habitats have fragmented and species including ring ouzel and twite are at risk of disappearing. Work with tenant farmers and volunteers will include targeted grazing, with pine martens, otters, aspen and juniper used as indicator species; a new Hwb Natur Ogwen hub will host a native tree nursery and school/community facilities. Project manager Simon Rogers said the valley is "at a tipping point". The project, due to run until early 2029, builds on Plantlife Cymru's Tlysau Mynydd Eryri alpine-plant work (including GPS-collared grazing livestock at Blaen y Nant farm) and NRW peatland restoration reconnecting the Afon Ogwen with its floodplain. A community day at Blaen y Nant follows on 3 October.

📰 Nation.Cymru — 8 Sep

Dead cygnets spark pollution fears at Cardiff's Roath Park Lake. Calls have been made for an investigation after reports of sick and dead cygnets at the lake in recent weeks — one resident who waded in to retrieve a dead cygnet said the water "absolutely stinks", and another claimed a vet had confirmed a death was "sewage related" based on the bird's condition. Other recent reports describe a sick cygnet "covered in flies, looking distressed and panting" near the boat house and a dead juvenile swan left in a willow tree. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said its foul sewer network "is not connected in any way" to the watercourse at Roath Park; Cardiff Council said it was "not aware of any current pollution incidents" (bathing there was prohibited years ago over water quality) and urged people not to enter the water, with dead birds reportable via the Cardiff Gov app or 029 2087 2087 for collection and, if appropriate, testing.

📰 Nation.Cymru (Emily Price) — 8 Sep

⚖️ Crime & Justice

Self-described "genocidal racist monster" jailed after BBC Wales Investigates probe. Thomas Webster, 29, from Lapworth, Warwickshire, a former HMRC tax worker, was jailed for two years at Warwick Crown Court on Monday after admitting 10 counts of stirring up racial hatred online plus charges of stirring up religious hatred and hatred on grounds of sexual orientation. Webster — who described himself as "the ultimate genocidal racist monster" and wrote that "the next Hitler will be a man like me" — called for people of several races to be killed, including Muslims "until they are globally extinct", and said Jewish and gay people should be tortured and executed. A member of the far-right Patriotic Alternative, he was filmed at two of the group's events in 2024 by an undercover journalist for the BBC programme Unmasked: Extreme Far Right, boasting that in his HMRC job he liked to "deliberately" give non-white people bad information. He was dismissed by HMRC in February 2025, a month after broadcast; police found further posts praising Hitler and threatening politicians, some still visible on X in the weeks after his guilty plea (removed after the BBC contacted the platform). Days before sentencing, BBC News also found an active Substack account appearing to belong to him, posting despite bail conditions restricting his internet use.

📰 BBC Wales (Wyre Davies, Paul Heaney, Ben Summer) — 7 Sep

Inquest opened into death of 102-year-old dementia sufferer pushed at Cwmbran pub. (Update to the 14-08 coverage.) An inquest at Pontypridd Coroners' Court heard that Phillip Ormerod, 102, of Cwmbran — a former design engineer with dementia who was visiting the Crows Nest pub on 1 August and went on stage to complain about the volume of the music — "sustained a fall at the pub… following an allegation that he was pushed". He was taken to the Grange hospital with a fractured hip but deteriorated and died on 12 August. Senior coroner Caroline Saunders opened and adjourned the inquest while a police investigation continues; a 56-year-old man from Llanelli arrested on suspicion of inflicting grievous bodily harm remains on bail. The inquest would only resume (on 26 May 2027) if no criminal prosecution follows.

📰 BBC Wales (Stephen Fairclough) — 7 Sep

Disqualified driver jailed for three-week Cardiff "crime spree". Liam McDonald, 35, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to one year and nine months at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday and banned from driving for three years after pleading guilty to a July spree including two stolen cars, five jars of coffee from B&M in Leckwith and two bottles of whisky worth £119 from Waitrose in Pontprennau — ending on 27 July when police boxed in a car he was driving dangerously after another theft. (Brief.)

📰 BBC Wales — 7 Sep

🎭 Culture & Heritage

Penyberth at 90: the night three men lit a match under an RAF base. Today marks 90 years since 8 September 1936, when Plaid Cymru founders Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine and DJ Williams — three middle-aged academics with no criminal history — set fire to the under-construction RAF bombing school at Penyberth (Penrhos) on the Llyn Peninsula, in protest at the demolition of the 600-year-old Penyberth farmhouse, a centuries-old Welsh cultural and religious hostel. Historian Arwel Vittle says roughly 500,000 people — about 20% of Wales' population at the time — attended rallies opposing the base. The trio handed themselves in, faced a mistrial at Caernarfon Assizes (the foreman reportedly congratulated them in the pub afterwards), were retried at the Old Bailey, convicted and jailed for nine months in Wormwood Scrubs, and were released in August 1937 to a crowd reported at more than 15,000. The act is widely credited with putting Welsh nationalism on the political map, and now forms the subject of Fflamau Penyberth, an opera by Patrick Young's OPRA Cymru — the world's only Welsh-language opera company — with a libretto adapted into Welsh by Vittle and principal singers Emyr Wyn Jones and Robyn Lyn Evans. (Related: a special Gwleidydda podcast marking the anniversary featured Dafydd Iwan, Richard Wyn Jones, former judge Nic Parry — who said the trio would today face a terrorism charge and a sentence "much closer to five years" — FAW's Ian Gwyn Hughes and historian Mari William.)

📰 BBC Wales (Neil Prior) / BBC Cymru Fyw — 7/8 Sep

Kids go free at Cadw castles this Sunday for Owain Glyndŵr Day. Children and young people will get free entry to Cadw-run monuments across Wales on 13 September as part of celebrations marking Owain Glyndŵr Day (16 September — the date he was declared Prince of Wales in 1400). Sites including Caernarfon, Coety, Dinefwr and Kidwelly castles were all once besieged during Glyndŵr's rebellion; events include a parade at Castell Harlech — where Glyndŵr held his parliament from 1404-09 — and costumed guided tours at Criccieth. Culture Minister Heledd Fychan said the castles "are storytellers in their own right", and Cadw chief executive Dr Kate Roberts said free entry for under-17s should "inspire more families".

📰 GOV.WALES (00:01) / Nation.Cymru — 8 Sep

Sixty years of the Severn Bridge — the anniversary falls today. The bridge was opened by the Queen on 8 September 1966, making today the 60th anniversary of the direct road link between South Wales and the South West of England. Built at a cost of £8m with construction centred on Chepstow's Fairfield Mabey shipyard, it ended the town's decades of gridlock — "the day the bridge opened the ferry stopped", says local historian John Burrows, who traces calls for a crossing back to the 1920s. The second crossing, now the Prince of Wales Bridge, opened 30 years later. (Feature, with Chepstow memories via the Palmer Community Centre's memory wall.)

📰 Nation.Cymru (Twm Owen, LDR) — 8 Sep

Also in culture: Full line-up revealed for Cardiff Music City Festival 2026 (2-17 October) — Sŵn, Llais and the Welsh Music Prize with 2026 Mercury nominee Dove Ellis, Joe Webb, Gwenno, Laurie Anderson and Wax Tailor's only UK date of the year, plus a special opening-night Acid Casuals show marking 20 years of Omni (see 06-09 vinyl coverage) — and Singleton Live, a new summer concert series for Swansea's Singleton Park in 2027 promising "some of the biggest names in music", with the first headliner announced next week. (Briefs.)

📰 Nation.Cymru — 7/8 Sep

🏉 Sport

Ashley Williams and Alan Sheehan join Bellamy's Wales coaching staff. Former Wales captain Ashley Williams — 86 caps, skipper of the Euro 2016 semi-final side — and former Swansea City head coach Alan Sheehan have been appointed assistant coaches to Craig Bellamy ahead of Wales' League A Nations League campaign. The appointments follow changes since June's 2-1 friendly defeat in Romania: James Rowberry has stepped down for work reasons and Piet Cremers has taken charge of Club Brugge's second team, while Andrew Crofts stays despite joining Tottenham as assistant head coach. Wales begin away to Portugal and Denmark later this month, host Norway at Cardiff City Stadium on 1 October and Denmark on 4 October; Bellamy names his squad on Tuesday 15 September.

📰 Nation.Cymru / BBC Sport Wales — 7 Sep

WRU appoints Siwan Lillicrap to new head of women's coaching and development role. The former Wales captain — 51 caps, and the WRU's pathway manager and women's under-18s head coach since retiring in 2022 — will "deliver an aligned coaching and development system across the women's performance pathway" for players aged 14-24 in the newly created role.

📰 BBC Sport Wales — 7 Sep

Championship tonight (19:45): League leaders Swansea City — unbeaten after five games — visit Southampton, with last season's golden-boot winner Zan Vipotnik still to score this term; Wrexham host struggling Burnley, with new signing Joe Worrall facing his former club after deadline-day frustration ("I kind of swallowed it up and played like a bit of a backseat role"); and Cardiff City — winless, on three points, in the relegation places after Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth — host Stoke, with head coach Brian Barry-Murphy urging calm: "It's a tough schedule." (Pre-match, from Tuesday's pressers.)

📰 BBC Sport Wales — 8 Sep

FAW signs three-year cyber security deal. Cardiff-based Socura becomes the Football Association of Wales' official cyber security partner, providing round-the-clock monitoring, threat detection and staff training for digital services covering 822 affiliated clubs and around 120,000 playing participants, as preparations continue for Euro 2028 — which begins in Wales. (Brief.)

📰 Nation.Cymru — 7 Sep

🚐 Local & Community

Joan Bye, the mother who campaigned for nearly 50 years over her daughter's medical negligence death, dies at 92. Helenor Bye was 12 when she died in 1978, nine months after being admitted to hospital in Bridgend with a suspected bladder infection — wrongly prescribed the epilepsy drug Epilim, her parents always insisted; an inquest ruled out epilepsy and found she died of hyperammonaemia, a form of ammonia poisoning. The Byes' agony was compounded in 2001 when UHW in Cardiff told them Helenor's body had been stripped of its organs — "her brain had been removed" — with remains scattered across eight hospitals, leading to four funerals as body parts were gradually recovered. Joan and her husband Derek, who died in 2021, spent decades arguing in vain for a public inquiry. Fellow campaigner Will Powell said Joan "campaigned until the day she died".

📰 Nation.Cymru (Martin Shipton) — 8 Sep

Bridgend deputy leader brands councillor a "racist misogynist". Bridgend Council's Deputy Leader Jane Gebbie delivered a stinging rebuke to Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr councillor Owain Clatworthy (Restore Britain) after he shared an image of young people of colour in a Pen-y-Fai park and attacked fellow councillor Heidi Bennett for challenging him. Gebbie said his posts were "divisive, inflammatory and racist", questioned why no safeguarding referral was made if he had genuine concerns, and highlighted "a disturbing pattern of targeting women who challenge or call out his views". The pair have clashed before — Clatworthy issued Gebbie a legal threat in July after she raised concerns about his remarks on asylum seekers and Islam.

📰 Nation.Cymru (Emily Price) — 8 Sep

Contractor search begins for Cynon Gateway North link road. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has started the procurement process to design and build the 1.2km road linking the A4059 Aberdare Bypass (between the Trecynon and Penywaun roundabouts) with the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road at Croesbychan, with a contract expected to be awarded during 2027. The scheme — revised after the Welsh Government's February 2023 Roads Review — has £2.01m allocated via the Cardiff Capital Region for 2026-27 plus £603,000 from the council's capital programme; the council says it will cut congestion in Llwydcoed and support economic growth in the Cynon Valley.

📰 Nation.Cymru — 8 Sep

"Death tax" row: bereaved Cardiff man hit with council tax premium on inherited home. Phil Bond, 68, from Llandaff North, said he and his brother were charged a "premium furnished and no-one resident" council tax bill — doubling the annual amount to more than £4,000 — after inheriting their 91-year-old mother Eunice's house when she died in May. Cardiff Council applies a 100% premium to furnished properties that are no one's main residence (Welsh councils may charge up to 300%) to encourage empty homes back into use; no exemption was applied automatically after the death, though circumstances can be considered on request. Bond, who contacted local councillors and secured an exemption, still faces a reduced premium of £544 for May-August: "You can't tell me we're the first people that this has affected."

📰 BBC Wales / LDRS (Kieran Molloy) — 7 Sep

Also local: Plans have been lodged for a pet crematorium at Ty Mawr Farm, Lisvane — Susan Bateman wants to convert part of the long-established family farm (a partly-built stable block plus a log-cabin reception and "private chapel of rest") to provide "a more consistent source of income", expecting one or two visits a day. And two Welsh routes — the Precipice Walk near Dolgellau and the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal towpath from Abergavenny to Crickhowell — have been named among Britain's most beautiful paths by walking authors Jen and Sim Benson in The Times. (Briefs.)

📰 Nation.Cymru (LDR) / The Times — 8 Sep

📊 Quick Summary

Section	Key story
🔴 Top Story	Pisa 2025: Wales falls further behind UK — maths 456, reading 459; minister promises no knee-jerk response
🏛️ Politics	Reform race-row accusation over Pakistan flag at Cardiff Castle; faith leaders' letter ahead of Senedd return; Dafydd Iwan on Plaid's defence "dilemma"
🏥 Health	C-section rate hits record 42%; new mums describe being "left to get on with it"
💼 Economy	£10m Development Bank co-investment pilot; retail work-experience scheme for NEETs
🏠 Housing	Newport LDP: ~4,000 homes planned, up to 2,500 at Llanwern
🌍 Environment	£1m Nant Ffrancon restoration; dead cygnets spark Roath Park pollution fears
⚖️ Crime	"Genocidal racist monster" Webster jailed two years; Cwmbran 102-year-old inquest opened
🎭 Culture	Penyberth 90th anniversary; kids go free at Cadw castles for Glyndŵr Day; Severn Bridge at 60
🏉 Sport	Williams & Sheehan join Bellamy's staff; WRU new women's role for Lillicrap; big Championship night
🚐 Local	Joan Bye dies at 92; Bridgend "racist misogynist" row; Cynon Gateway contractor search; inherited-home premium

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Compiled 8 Sep 2026 ~09:45 BST by Emrys (Hermes cron) · Sources: BBC Wales, BBC Wales Politics, BBC Cymru Fyw, BBC Sport Wales, Nation.Cymru, GOV.WALES, LDRS. SearXNG: all three queries full garbage mode (Wikipedia/Visit Wales/Omniglot spam, zero news links) — sources swept directly via the Playwright fetch service (192.168.178.100:8090); 30+ pages fetched. Top story Pisa results published 08:30-08:45 BST this morning (BBC + WG release); UK file's 08:20 compile preceded them. Skipped as repeats: badger vaccination TB (07-09), energy company consultation (07-09), chemo hair loss + Dorothea Bate plaque (07-09), "Plaid may not finish its term" (UK files 04-06 Sep), Newport defence summit/arms ethics saga re-reported only as compact Dafydd Iwan update (original 04-09), Acid Casuals Omni reissue (07-09, only festival show noted). Ormerod inquest and Crows Nest incident written as updates referencing 14-08 coverage; no weather note carried (no Wales-specific detail in UK file).

Tags

• #daily-news
• #wales
• #pisa
• #education
• #senedd
• #politics
• #health