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The terms of appointment for Ms Kate Eden, Dr Rachel O’Riordan and Mr Dafydd Rhys will commence on 1 April 2017 and will initially last for three years.

ACW Council members are responsible for setting the aims and objectives of the Arts Council, aligning these  to the Welsh Government’s strategic priorities and ensuring funding in Wales is invested effectively.

The three new members are in addition to the two members appointed from 1 November 2016 and complement the current membership of the Council. With the appointments the Council will now comprise 13 members plus the Chair,  Dr Phil George.

The Cabinet Secretary said:

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of these three new Council members. These appointments have enormous personal and professional experience in the arts but come from completely different backgrounds.

“Their individual skills, knowledge and expertise will add significantly to the current strengths of the Council during a period of transition as it faces up to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Phil George, Chair of ACW added

“I’m delighted to welcome three new members who will bring a wealth of skills and experience, as well as a passion for the arts, to our Council.

“They will be terrific advocates and ambassadors for the arts in Wales and I look forward to their contribution as we strive to ensure that all communities in Wales are able to benefit from and have access to high quality arts.

“We look forward to welcoming them as Council Members to our Council meeting in May.”

Two long-serving current members – Dr Kate Woodward and Mrs Margaret Jervis – come to the end of their third and final terms of appointment on 31 March 2017.

The Tomorrow’s Engineers programme, led by the engineering community, provides young people the chance to engage in hands-on activities showcasing the benefits of a career in engineering.

As part of their annual curriculum-linked Robotics challenge, the 11 to 14 year-old students from the Cynon Valley learned how to build, program and control autonomous LEGO robots to complete a series of missions. This has given them first-hand experience of solving real-world engineering, technology and computing challenges, as well as working as part of a team.

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, who won their South West region final, have now been invited to compete in the UK final at the Birmingham NEC on Friday (March 17).

Kirsty Williams said,

“This is a brilliant success story and I would like to wish the school and its pupils the best of luck for the final. Their achievements link well with our key ambitions of raising standards in the learning and teaching of science and technology.

“We want our young people to be able to reason scientifically and understand the value of scientific approaches. This is key for the 21st Century, as tested by PISA, and our new curriculum is being designed to better integrate this approach.

“Earlier this year, I announced a new national network of excellence for science and technology aimed at improving pupils’ experience of the subjects at school. The network will involve schools working with the science and technology departments of universities, education consortia, further education and other experts to learn from the best practice available.”

This success follows on from that of Team Tachyon, a group of year 11 pupils from Denbigh High, who recently won three awards for Wales at the F1 in Schools World Championships in Austin, Texas.