Clwyd West Assembly Member Darren Millar visited pupils at Ysgol Pen y Bryn in Colwyn Bay last week to take part in a mindfulness lesson with them.

The school is on the cutting edge of international research into the use of mindfulness in education with Bangor University.

Mindfulness practice is a technique which helps to improve mental health and wellbeing and it has been shown to improve pupil attention and behaviour, and boost educational attainment.

The session was delivered by Mrs Tabitha Sawyer, Assistant Head Teacher at Ysgol Pen y Bryn.

Darren said:

“It was great to join the young people at Ysgol Pen y Bryn for this mindfulness session. I'm delighted that the school is pioneering the use of this technique in the classroom. 

“We live in a hectic world, surrounded by gadgets and mindfulness gives young people tools that they can use to help them cope with these pressures and avoid unnecessary worry and burn-out.

“It has been proven to bring about excellence in many fields, including education. The pupils at Ysgol Pen y Bryn seemed to really enjoy the session and I would like to commend all the teaching staff for providing them with the opportunity to learn about the brain and develop mindfulness practice. I’m sure it will lead to positive outcomes for the children’s work and wellbeing.”

While at the school, Darren  also met with a visiting teacher from Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province, China, who is based at the school until June next year as part of an international link that the school has developed with the support of the British Council.

Picture Caption: Clwyd West AM Darren Millar speaking to the children after the mindfulness session.

Picture caption 2:  Clwyd West AM Darren Millar with Headteacher John MacLennan, Assistant Head Tabitha Sawyer, and Wang Yue, from Ysgol Pen y Bryn's sister school in China.