- 12/03/2015
- Posted by: Joyce Watson MS
- Category: Feature
Pupils and staff from Ysgol Dyffryn Aman took centre stage at the National Assembly for Wales’ Commonwealth Day celebrations on Tuesday evening (10 March).
Esther Jones and James Jones delivered a speech to around 100 guests that included international students, politicians and representatives from the British Council and the schools division of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs.
The A-level students were invited by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Wales Branch, chaired by Joyce Watson AM.
Speaking after the event, Mrs Watson, Labour member for the Assembly’s Mid and West Wales region, said:
“Public speaking is a big part of the job for a politician, and Esther and James hold the floor as well as anyone. I was delighted to meet them again – they’re a credit to their school and to Wales.
The Ammanford pair have represented Wales at a series of international events, over the past year. On Monday (9 March), they attended the annual Commonwealth Youth Parliament in the Houses of Parliament. Last year, James and Esther reached the finals of the Welsh schools debating competition, before their oratory skills impressed parliamentarians from as far afield as Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, St Helena and Malta at an international Commonwealth conference in Cardiff, which Mrs Watson attended.
Joyce Watson AM continued:
“The theme of this year’s Commonwealth Day is ‘youth’. It ties in with the Assembly’s Vote@16 consultation, a national conversation about whether Wales should lower the voting age to 16. The consultation runs until 2 June and I would encourage every young person in Wales to have their say.”
