Abbie Wightwick

Education Editor

Abbie Wightwick is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years experience in newspapers. She specialises in covering education for WalesOnline and all our print titles. Her column appears every Monday in the Western Mail.

DWP issues warning to people with National Insurance numbers ending in these digits

State pensioners may see their regular payment date changed this month as a result of the upcoming bank holidays - here's how to find out if you will be affected

BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Claudia Winkleman's lifelong health battle as she 'bangs into walls'

Claudia Winkleman

Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman has been very open about her ongoing health battle which has affected her eyesight since birth - and has even had to undergo surgery

The Victorian mansion with 80 Christmas trees and its own Ebenezer Scrooge

Hundreds of years of Christmas traditions are being brought to life with festive displays and events at historic sites in Wales

Ofgem new energy rules means firms must offer 'zero standing charge' tariffs

The regulator wants suppliers to have to offer 'zero standing charge' tariffs alongside other tariffs by next winter

Warning issued that schools in Wales are 'catastrophically' short of funding

Financial situation in Wales' school described as “overwhelming, paralysing, and terrifying” by the Association of School and College Leaders Cymru

Welsh school where inspectors said children spoke too much English taken out of special measures

Yygol Pen y Garth in Penarth has improved enough to be taken out of the highest level of Estyn monitoring

Photos show grim state of food truck as award-winning chef appears in court

JOL’s Food Truck attracted big queues for high-end street food but its owner admitted a range of food hygiene offences

The crisis facing Welsh schools that nobody is talking about

Welsh Government

Pupils are being taught by unqualified staff because of one big problem in schools that no one is talking about

Teachers walk out in protest as council approves plans to merge schools

Lewis School Pengam

Council agrees plans to shut Wales' last maintained single sex girls' school and merge it with the last boys' school

DWP confirms Christmas and New Year pay dates for State Pension and benefits

The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed State Pension and benefit payment dates over Christmas and New Year

Supporting children with additional needs in schools in Wales faces 'significant challenges', warns watchdog

The new ALN system replaced the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system in September 2022, but is being applied inconsistently across Wales, a report from Estyn finds

Amazon fence repair hack that 'works incredibly well' for £22

The storms have wreaked havoc across the UK with many people now having fallen trees to remove and fences to repair. But Amazon has a 'fence post repair' that can fix the problem without any digging or need to destroy planting

Women don't get fair healthcare. Wales has a plan to do something about it

Women live longer than men, but live fewer years free from disability, wait longer for pain relief and many have their symptoms dismissed in an unequal healthcare system

Major Welsh attractions to shut in tourism tax row

A £1.25 per night tourism tax which could be paid by guests at hotels, B&Bs and self-catered accommodation could be introduced in Wales from 2027

Cardiff school does one thing very differently in the morning and it's working

"You can tell straight away if a child isn’t happy. You’ve got to get it right"

Storm Darragh: Some schools in Wales shut on Monday as fallout continues

Schools have suffered structural damage as well as being affected by power cuts and lack of heating after Storm Darragh

Storm Darragh damage shuts school for start of week

Pupils are being asked to work from home for health and safety reasons after the high winds caused damage to their school

Nursery totally destroyed in Storm Darragh winds

Fierce winds tore the roof off the cylch meithrin Cei Newydd leaving the children with nowhere to go and nowhere to hold next week's planned Christmas party

Wine expert shares tip for keeping the fizz in unfinished bottles of Christmas bubbly

There's no use sticking a spoon in a bottle of bubbly to keep the fizz in

Wales breaking news plus weather and traffic updates (Sunday, December 8)

Latest Wales News

All of the latest news from across Wales and further afield

Storm Darragh: The Met Office weather warnings still in place on Sunday as disruption to continue

There are still yellow alerts for wind and warnings of disruption in the wake of Storm Darragh

People living in six streets in Wales get huge cash payout in time for Christmas

Lots of lucky people have won cash to share

The hundreds of parents fined and prosecuted for not sending children to school

Parents across Wales have been fined tens of thousands of pounds in total with hundreds of prosescutions and thousands of fixed penalty notices issued for children not attending school

The eight best secondary schools in Wales and why one came out on top

The private and state secondaries with the best exam results, taking part in the annual guide, have been named by the Sunday newspaper

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