Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:12 pm on 29 June 2016.
Thank you, and thanks to the Member for Islwyn for this opportunity to talk about the fantastic new learning centre being built in Holywell, nearing its final stages, in my constituency. In fact, I was wondering whether I should declare a tenuous and random interest as the site is of significant importance to me as it was the predecessor school of Holywell Grammar School where my parents met in the sixth form. But, fast forward to the twenty-first century and, today, twenty-first century schools, it’s more than bricks and mortar, as my colleague was saying; it demonstrates the commitment of both Welsh Government and Flintshire County Council, in my case, in investing our community and our future. Ysgol Treffynnon, as it will be called, is a big building that will bring pride back and has even bigger ambitions for our community to ensure that the school becomes a community hub, a centre of activity in the evenings and in the daytime, a venue for sport and recreational clubs, engagement evenings for hard-to-reach families, and a forum to provide support and advice for families, really putting the school at the heart of the community. The headteacher at Holywell wishes to thank those that have made this happen, because, in his words, ‘They’ve helped to ensure a much brighter and promising future for our pupils’ in what is a clear and visible statement in Wales that Wales cares about its young people and its future.