IAN JENKINS AWARDED BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL

I was lucky enough to be invited to a ceremony at Craigfelen Primary school, Clydach where Ian Jenkins was awarded a British Empire Medal. The Lord Lieutenant of West Glamorgan, D. Byron Lewis ( on behalf of the Queen), presented Ian with the medal at Craigfelen during an evening attended by Ian’s family and friends as well as pupils from the school. When Ian learned he was to be honoured with the medal there was only one place that he wanted the ceremony to take place, the school where he has been a volunteer governor for the last 23 years.

The 57 year old Ian works at the DVLA, where he is also co-chair of the disability forum. He is also incredibly involved in the Lighthouse Church in Clydach. The Church is  family friendly and apart from regular ‘Messy Church’ sessions is heavily involved in the community and Ian plays a prominent part in its projects.But above all he loves the part that he plays in the school. Ian said: “It was an honour and I am very proud but it is for the children as much as myself. “We have a good team of governors here and we have an excellent relationship with headteacher Alison Williams. “

Alison runs the school but we are here to support her and her team and we all pull together because all we want is the best for the children and the school. “It’s important to have a diverse group as governors. We have a governor who is a manager at Tesco, one is a bank manager and another works at a funeral directors. We all have different skills.” Ian says there have been many highlights during his involvement with the school including last year’s Estyn Inspection report that rated Craigfelen as excellent in three of the five inspection areas and good in the other two.

“We’ve still got things we want to do but it’s a great school,” he added. “It’s not the wealthiest area in Swansea but the children are so respectful to each other, to the staff and everyone who comes here. We have great support from the parents as well.Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Improvement, Learning and Skills, Jennifer Raynor, said: “Ian is thoroughly deserving of the British Empire Medal and I was delighted to be invited to the presentation along with Council Leader Rob Stewart and many of Ian’s family and friends.

The most emotional part of the evening was when Ian’s father stood to talk about his son. In his view, Ian was a ‘miracle baby’. No less than three specialists had stated that Ian wouldn’t survive beyond his 5th Birthday. His life shattered, he found himself in the back of a Baptist Church in 1963 and drew strength from there. He prayed morning and night and put his faith in Jesus and 57 years on his son was awarded the British Empire Medal.