THE Welsh Government should not undermine the Royal Welsh Show by changing school term times, according to a Carmarthenshire MP.

The Welsh Government is considering changing the school term times with a plan to extend the October half-term break from one week to two weeks and shorten the summer holidays from six weeks to five weeks.

There would also be flexibility to de-couple the spring half-term break from the Easter public holiday. If this goes ahead and the Easter public holidays fall outside of the spring holiday dates, the schools would still be closed on those holidays such as Good Friday and Easter Monday. The Welsh Government says that the Easter and Holy Week periods would roughly fall outside the spring holiday for two years in every 10-year period.

There is also a consideration for being flexible to extend the May half-term break and/or move the break away from the public holiday with an associated shortening of the summer holiday by a week and for moving GCSE results day to the same week as the AS/A-level results day.

The Welsh Government has said that these changes could have benefits including freeing up more weeks within the break to offset a shortened summer break if the GCSE and AS/A-level results days were in the same week, with any changes the Welsh Government decides to implement planned for the 2025 to 2026 school year.

However, Jonathan Edwards, the Carmarthenshire MP, is urging the Welsh Government to think very carefully as the changes would mean that the Royal Welsh Show – which sees thousands of children attend each year with their families – would be on during school time rather than during the school holidays, with a predicted loss of £1m in revenue for the show.

Mr Edwards was made aware of the concerns by Aled Jones, the chief executive of the Royal Welsh Show and has written to Jeremy Miles – the education and Welsh language minister who is currently in the running to be the new First Minister – to urge him to consider the show and its impact as part of the consultation process.

Mr Edwards said: “I was grateful to the chief executive of the Royal Welsh Show, Mr Aled Jones, for bringing these concerns to my attention. The show is one of Wales’ premier national events and is a unique week for us as a nation to celebrate our agricultural heritage and acknowledge the contribution of rural Wales.

“The reality unfortunately is that these major events operate on fine financial margins. The Royal Welsh Show in Stoneleigh hasn’t been held since 2009 as a result of financial sustainability. Despite being one of the largest shows in Europe, our national event faces a potential loss of £1m in revenue if held during school term.

“The show plays a key role in attracting thousands of visitors to mid Wales and is a huge boost to the local economy.

“Whilst I understand the main consideration will be what’s best for pupils and teachers, it is imperative the Welsh Government and members of the Senedd do not undermine events like the Royal Welsh and National Eisteddfod.

“Senedd Members should therefore tread very carefully. The last thing Wales needs is another tin eared policy such as 20mph. Policy needs to be introduced on the basis of consensus building and not intransigence.

“I am sure that the Labour party along with the leadership of the junior coalition party, Plaid Cymru, will be anxious not to be perceived as turning their backs on rural Wales.”

There is a consultation on the school term changes which can be found at https://www.gov.wales/structure-school-year-html#:~:text=The%20consultation%20exercise%20will%20run,changes%20in%202025%20to%202026.