Llyr Gruffydd MS Member of the Senedd for North Wales

An MS has welcomed a group of “enthusiastic” school pupils from Flintshire to the Senedd.

Today we were paid a visit to the Senedd by Ysgol Pen Barras primary school. Having year 5 and 6 pupils from the school, which is a stone's throw from my office in Ruthin here to learn about the workings of the Senedd was amazing.  Learning about the work of organisations such as the Senedd is extremely important, and to be able to explain what the central role of the institution is in the landscape of Welsh governance is always gratifying. I hope that today's visit will stimulate this generation of pupils to take an interest in the work of the Senedd, and also to show an interest in politics. Good luck to the future Ysgol Pen Barras, and thank you for listening to the presentation and for the fun questions!  

Llyr Gruffydd was lucky enough recently to be invited to visit Caernarfon Youth Tennis Club to learn about how they work.  “The work that the coaching staff do with the youth of the area is phenomenal” said Mr Gruffydd, The club now attracts more than a hundred school-aged children to play tennis every week in the purpose built Arfon Tennis Centre in the town, and has recently attracted funding from Sport Wales to improve facilities. Osian Williams, who is head-coach at the club said- “Thanks to the £200k funding, we’ve been able to secure the future of the club here in Caernarfon. We’ve invested in new lights, new court surfaces and much more” “Although tennis at the centre had been in decline since its heyday in the 1990s, this funding has supported the continued revival of tennis in the Caernarfon area in recent years.” “We are an unique tennis club in a way. We are the only Welsh language medium youth tennis club in the world, which is something special we think.” Mr Gruffydd added- “Tennis in the Gwynedd area is up against other popular sports when it comes to attracting youth players, but the achievement of the staff and volunteers here in Caernarfon is amazing. Attracting so many young players to the sport is quite an achievement.” “Maybe we’ll see the tennis stars of the future emerging from the club – with the facilities available to them here, there’s nothing to prevent them from achieving greatness.”