Last week Kirsty Williams, Cabinet Secretary for Education, showed support for a new Welsh Baccalaureate challenge to keep communities safe in and around water.
The launch of the safety challenge took place at CEMEX’s Wenvoe Quarry and was also attended by Chris Leese, our VP for Aggregates.
The initiative is aimed at Wales’ comprehensive schools who are to undertake new community challenge looking at water safety to gain their Baccalaureate qualification. Shockingly one person every 20 hours drowns in the UK. This equates to around 400 accidental drownings happening each year in the UK. With almost 40 of those being in Wales, safety in and around water has become a priority for emergency services, charities, industry and rescue organisations to ensure that drowning is reduced across the coastal, inland, rivers and open waters of Wales.
The agencies involved with delivering and supporting this Baccalaureate challenge include the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS), the three Welsh Fire and Rescue Services, the Mineral Products Association (MPA), RNLI and Welsh Water. I look forward to meeting students from Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Carmarthen to hear their views on these resources.