A special ceremony was held at an Ammanford school last week in memory of a former teacher.

Mrs Gayner Jones started teaching at Ysgol Bro Banw in 1986 and moved into the Ysgol Bro Banw Special Unit in 1987.

During her 28-year service, the teacher created a caring environment which allowed each individual child to progress to their full potential.

Mrs Jones passed away suddenly three and a half years ago and her family have commissioned a memorial tree at the Special Unit to remember Gayner.

On Thursday, Gaynor’s sisters Judith Blamey, Helen Brennan and brother Lee Jones attended the school to officially launch the memorial tree.

A representative for Gayner’s family said: “For us a family loosing Gayner so suddenly and unexpectedly has been difficult. Finding s away to remember her was easy as her love for the school was indeed her life blood.

“The family are delighted to see the idea we created released into a fantastic, interactive tribute to Gayner.

“This has been funded mainly through the donations given by the community to the Gayner Jones Memorial Fund set up by Gaynor’s husband John.

“The tree represents fruitfulness, growth, beauty and strengths. The roots of the tree are deep and have a firm foundation. This is Gayner.”

The tree was designed by father of an ex-pupil Saraj Guha who created the piece with interactive and moving parts, bright colours and different textures to stimulate the senses.

The ceremony also celebrated the renaming of Ysgol Bro Banw Special Unit to Canolfan yr Enfys, which was a name voted on by staff and parents.

Anthony May said: “The renaming of the school is something that Gayner had wanted to do in her time here. We want to use the renaming of Canolfan yr Enfys and unveiling of Gayner’s Tree to re-engage with the community charities and businesses so that we can further improve our outdoor spaces that are in desperate need of development.

One of our projects is currently being voted for in Tesco’s Ammanford. The project which attracts the most votes will receive £4,000.”

If you are a local business that would like to get involved or indeed you knew Gayner and would like to come and see the tree for yourself, contact Anthony May on 012169 592481.