Wales

Princess of Wales

Diana Princess of Wales(1 July 1961 - 31 August 1997) was the first wife of Charles Prince of Wales. Their sons Princes William and Harry are second and third in line to the thrones of the UK and fifteen other Commonwealth Realms

Wales is to the West of England

It is a very small country

A Few Facts About Wales

Wales is part of the United Kingdom.

The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

The money used is called the pound sterling.

The population of Wales is 2,821,000.

The languages spoken are Welsh and English. St.David’s day is on The 1 of March

National symbols of Wales

Flags

The Flag of Wales incorporates the red dragon, now a popular Welsh symbol, along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 after which it was carried in state to St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Flag of Saint David is sometimes used as an alternative to the national flag (and used in part of Crusaders' crest), and is flown on St David's Day.

Other symbols

The daffodil is the national flower of Wales, and is worn on St David's Day each 1 March

The leek is also a national emblem of Wales. It is still worn on St David's Day each 1 March

The red kite is sometimes named as the national symbol of wildlife in Wales

The Sessile Oak, also called the Welsh Oak is the national tree of Wales

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital of Wales. It has a castle and its new Millennium Stadium has hosted some important football and rugby matches. It is also home to the Welsh Assembly.

Swansea

Swansea has a beautiful bay and a large marina. It is the second largest city in Wales

A statue of Dylan Thomas a famous Welsh author who lived in Swansea.

Newport

Newport is the third largest city in Wales (after Cardiff and Swansea). It stands at the gateway of England and Wales, on the banks of the River Usk.

St.David is the Patron Saint

St.David’s day is on The 1 of March

Nature attractions in Wales

Ancient castles

Snow don mountain

Moorland in Wales

Woodland

Henry VIII’s Sands foot Castle

Along the Old Castle Road in Rod well Dorset is the remains of Henry VIII’s Sands foot Castle

Henry VIII’s Sands foot Castle was built in 1539.It is said that fragments of the medieval stonework in its walls were brought from Bindon Abbey at wool.

Snowdon mountain

Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of 1,085 meters )above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park  in Gwyned , and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain". It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna

Moorland

Ancient woods

For many species of animal and plant Ancient Woodland sites provide the sole habitat and for many others conditions on these sites are much more suitable than those on other sites.

Green bridge

The Hall at Abbey-Cwm-Hir

Industry in Wales

Wales’ industry has changed drastically over the last hundred years. Coal exports manufacturing and heavy industry have decided nowadays and have been replaced by new industries. Tourism and public services have taken over as the main employers within Wales.

The traditional heavy industry

The shape of manufacturing also has changed. The traditional heavy industries have given way to lighter manufacturing such as electronics parts and technology. Unemployment in Wales is higher than in both Scotland and wages are on overage lower.

The museum of Welsh life which focuses largely on the industrial past of Wales is currently the most popular tourist attraction in Wales attraction in Wales attracting over 600.000visitors annually.

Politics

Senedd home to the national assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales(NAW or NAfW) is a devolved assembly with power to make legislations in Wales. The assembly building is known as the Senedd. Both English and Welsh languages are treated on a basic of equality conduct of business in the Assembly.

Current Party representation

The labor party

The Labor party has emerged as the most popular political party in Wales before 2009 having won the largest share of the vote at every UK General Election National Assembly of Wales election and European Parliament election since 1922. The Wales Labor Party has traditionally been most successful in the industrial South Wales valleys North East Wales and urban costal areas such as Cardiff Newport and Swansea

The conservative party

The Welsh Conservative Party has historically been the second political party of Wales having obtained the second largest share of the vote in Wales in a majority of UK general Elections since 1885.

The liberal democrats

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are part of the federal Liberal Democrats and were formed by the merger of the Social Democratic Party(the SDP) and the Liberal Party in 1988.Since then they have gained an average vote share of 14% with the highest share 18% gained at the 2005 General Election

Welsh Culture

Welsh people have special celebrations around the Christmas season. The get up between 3 and 6 AM to go to church services. Many families spend the entire night of Christmas eve decorating the house and singing and dancing until it is time to go to church. They go wassailing which means going out drinking and singing and carrying the wassail bowl to friends and neighbors. The wassail bowl contains cakes, baked apples and sugar with warm beer and spices poured over it.

Welsh people have a tradition of giving hand carved wooden love spoons to a sweetheart.

Welsh children like to play rugby, football, and netball. On weekends and school vacations they hike or ride horses along the coast.

Education in Wale

Education is important in Wales. It’s thought that Britain’s first university was set up by St. Lilted on the coast of the Vale of Glam organ, south Wales in the 6th century.

Education in Wales is compulsory between the ages of 5 to 16 and we have about 1900 state schools offering free education to more than 470,000 pupils. Another 65,000 students between 16 and 19 are in vocational training in further education institutions. A number of overseas pupils are also enrolled in our private fee-paying schools.

A significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh and lessons in the language are compulsory for all until the age of 16. Welsh medium education is available to all age groups from nursery through to schools, colleges, universities and adult education.

Today the student population in Wales is large and diverse; there are 12 universities and 25 further education colleges and institutions. We have around 250,000 learners studying at further education institutions per year.