The Ospreys have backed Swansea Council’s drive to improve school attendance, with Dan Lydiate and Hanno Dirksen on hand to congratulate pupils at a special awards ceremony at the Guildhall.
Some very deserving young pupils received some fantastic prizes under the council’s Incentivising Attendance Programme.
Youngsters in Swansea who achieved a 98 per cent or better attendance record during the spring term or had shown significant improvement in attendance compared to the same period in 2016 were entered into a prize draw.
More than 12,000 pupils in schools across Swansea had their names in the hat.
At a city wide level eight prizes are awarded every half-term with the council also recognising top performing classes or year groups.
Latest figures show that primary school attendance for this academic year so far is 95.3% – which is up from 94.9% for 2015/2016.
As well as handing out the prizes the Ospreys duo signed autographs and posed for pictures with pupils.
Nick Williams, Swansea Council’s Chief Education Officer, said:
“We were really pleased to again recognise pupils for their excellent attendance.
“It is a priority for the council because good attendance gives our youngsters the best possible chance of realising their full potential. Parents and guardians have a crucial role to play and our ever improving attendance figures are a credit to them.
“We were delighted that Dan and Hanno were able to attend and I would like to thank the Ospreys for their ongoing support of our attendance drive.”
Paul Whapham, Ospreys in the Community, said:
"We are delighted to be able to throw our weight behind this drive by Swansea Council, which fits perfectly with our commitment to help raise attainment in education across our community.
“This initiative is another way in which we are helping to achieve this, in addition to our ongoing primary schools education programme and the Tackle project we are running in comprehensive schools in conjunction with BT Supporters Club." 