Links Between Universities and Schools in Wales

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 13 December 2017.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 2:01, 13 December 2017

I agree, Vikki, that we need to do more to integrate approaches like Seren into schools in Wales. I'm working with universities to ensure that they work on the delivery of their civic mission. As you say, that's especially important in communities that perhaps don't have a university on their doorstep. So, for instance, the modern foreign language mentoring scheme that has proven very successful is now going to be offered on a digital basis to those schools where we can't physically get the graduate into the building. I am pleased to say that, at the 27 January deadline for applications to start higher education courses in this current academic year, the application rates for 18-year-olds in the Cynon Valley reached 30 per cent, and that's the highest rate in more than a decade of the data that is recorded. I hope to see further increases in the Cynon Valley in the years to come.