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Free School Meals: Rydal Penrhos Year 13 Pupil Travels to Westminster to Champion Cause
September 20, 2023

A Rydal Penrhos Year 13 pupil has recently visited Parliament to support a campaign for Free School Meals.

In an inspiring display of determination and advocacy, Fayeth Jones, a pupil at Rydal Penrhos and one of the Welsh Young Ambassadors for the Food Foundation, recently took her campaign for accessible Free School Meals (FSM) to the heart of British politics; the Palace of Westminster.

Fayeth’s mission has focused on addressing the pressing issue of FSM provision in the UK, with particular emphasis on Wales, where 25,000 young individuals find themselves caught in the grip of food poverty due to narrowly missing the £7,400 annual threshold for benefits.

For the past six years, Fayeth and her fellow ambassadors have tirelessly campaigned to make FSM provision permanent in Wales and extend it to all pupils. As an interim measure, they propose including families receiving Universal Credit in this vital support system.

Fayeth’s day at parliament was memorable and impactful. It began with a powerful demonstration outside the parliamentary buildings, where young food ambassadors, including Fayeth, stood alongside a billboard, handing flyers to the public and drawing media attention from photographers.

Inside the iconic Westminster halls, Fayeth and her fellow advocates were treated to an exclusive tour, personally guided by a Member of Parliament. Fayeth then participated in a meeting with Dr James Davies, MP for the Vale of Clwyd, where they discussed the campaign’s objectives and ideas. Following this, they conducted press interviews, shining a bright spotlight on the campaign’s significance.

The day concluded with one final meeting with the school food team at the Department for Education, where Fayeth and her colleagues presented a compelling case for their cause.

Rydal Penrhos could not be prouder of Fayeth for standing up for what she believes in and championing a cause that, as an educational charity working to benefit the wellbeing and flourishing of children and young people, lies close to the hearts of all of us at Rydal Penrhos.