The summer data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications is by age rather than year group. Provisional data sets will be published later this week providing greater granularity. Current figures for full-course GCSEs show 47,821 entries by 15-year-olds or younger, from a total of 298,370 across all subjects.

Every part of Wales will have a contribution to make in achieving the vision for a million Welsh speakers by 2050, whether they are areas where Welsh is traditionally strong or those with the potential for the language to grow.

Life-saving skills are an important part of education in Wales and I am pleased that over 99 per cent of maintained schools are participating in the Welsh network of healthy school schemes. Safety is one of the scheme’s seven topics and requires curriculum schemes of work to cover first aid.

Universities across the UK value the Welsh Baccalaureate—Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate. It is an internationally recognised and benchmarked qualification, and I expect universities to accept it as part of entry requirements or an alternative offer within universities.

Food and Fun seeks to enrich the school holiday experience of children in schools reporting high rates of free school meal eligibility. 2017 saw 39 schools provide approximately 1,500 children with two free meals a day over 12 days. They benefited from food education, physical activity and other sessions.

Education in Wales sets out how we intend to measure success. This will include new assessment and accountability arrangements and an annual report card. It is about holding the whole system to account, including the Welsh Government.

Aberystwyth University is developing in the field of veterinary science, supporting their ambition of becoming a centre of veterinary expertise. They have secured European funding via the Welsh Government. It is for them, and other universities in Wales, to consider any future developments in veterinary education.