The warm weather and sunshine have brought out the wonders of nature in our beautiful county, to help inspire our hard-working school pupils, many of whom who have been engaged in the exams. Let us hope that the brief respite of half term will give everyone a little more stamina for the weeks ahead.

I send my good wishes to all of them. It can b a nervous, stressful time for the students and their families, as well as for school staff, who support and prepare pupils for these exams.

I am especially proud of the new King Henry VIII school, which is now being used.. The design and facilities are something out of the ordinary and I find them inspiring. The huge change from the old school was years in the preparation and the fact that it has gone smoothly is a credit to all involved: staff, the leadership team, the programme managers, contractors and the governors.

Over the last three years, we have achieved a huge amount in education in Monmouthshire. A new curriculum has been rolled out, which was a big change for all involved.

We have focused on the wellbeing of young people and on supporting families. And in so doing, we have reduced the number of absent pupils in Monmouthshire to among the lowest in Wales. Indeed attendance rates in our primary schools are the highest in Wales.

We worked hard to ensure that our schools are safe and happy places where the behaviour of a minority of pupils is not allowed to disrupt the learning of others. This has been one focus of our administration.

At the same time, we have improved the educational provision offered by the Pupil Referral Service which provides education for children and young people experiencing social, emotional and mental health needs, including those who, by reason of illness, exclusion or otherwise, may not receive such education in a mainstream school.

In addition we have been able to reduce the number of children going to out-of-county specialist placements.

We have also fully funded the teachers’ pay settlement and to make a real increase to school budgets.

Our A level pupils across the county have been the first to share lessons across schools in ‘virtual’ classes, making the most of technology and the knowledge of specialist teachers.

Just as important are the young people who are going on to apprenticeships, college courses and employment this summer. We have been working to remove some of the barriers to opportunity that exist in a rural county like ours.

Iin closing I pay a special tribute here to my cabinet colleague, Cllr Martyn Groucutt, who has been spearheading our education success story with his many years of experience. Martyn has chosen this moment to step back a little to allow him time to campaign more widely ahead of Senydd elections next year, followed in 2027 by county council elections. He will work to maximise Labour support so our administration can continue to make a success at county hall. His education portfolio has been taken up by another Abergavenny councillor, Laura Wright.