Agricultural Shows will pay the price for Welsh Government's plans to reduce school summer break

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society and other show and event organisers are rallying their supporters to oppose the Welsh Government’s plan to reduce school summer holidays from six to four weeks in the biggest shake-up of the calendar for decades.

Rural areas are renowned for their agricultural shows, summer fetes, and fares, where locals of all ages hone their skills, whether that’s showing sheep or horses, or taking part in various horticultural and crafting competitions. They are places for social gatherings, and the show date has usually been on the calendar for decades or more. Furthermore, they tend to be the one time that farming families congregate in the communities they underpin to enjoy each other’s company under an umbrella of (usually) friendly competition. The village shows are also a lifeline for charities who often get a free pitch to promote their charity's work and raise valuable funds on the day.

The Welsh Government’s first phase of changes proposes to take one week off of the beginning of the summer holidays and add it to the October half term. So instead of long summer nights of enjoying the countryside – whether that be woodland walks or last-minute dashes to the coast – you will have to entertain your children when the temperature has dropped, the nights are drawing in, and the rain is feeling a lot colder on your face. The second phase will see an extra week added to the Whitsun weekly break which means that the usual two-week break over Easter would then become a break of just Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Smaller agricultural shows are the cogs to the machine that is the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show, held annually at its home in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells. The Society is quite rightly not at all happy with the suggestion that they move their date, as it would have a knock-on effect on the show calendar, and so they have issued a statement on their website.

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society said:

“Preliminary calculations show that the changes would lead to a loss of income in excess of £1 million, from reduced gate sales, membership, and camping revenue. The changes would also lead to reduced attendance, affecting the trade for our exhibitors and catering vendors, not to mention the wider economic impact on the several businesses who benefit from the event both regionally and nationally.”

They go on to say:

“We are extremely concerned about the impact these changes will have, including taking away the ability for young people, families, teachers, and school staff to attend the show which represents a large proportion of our visitor profile.

In addition, thousands of children compete at the Royal Welsh Show each year, in both young farmer competitions and young handler and junior classes. This proposed change would remove the opportunity for young people to compete at the show, and to learn and showcase their skills.”

Agricultural Shows are a significant part of our heritage and culture and are where you would find the most Welsh spoken at a community event. They are also an incredibly important showcase for Welsh farming and the food chain. This is another perfect example of where Welsh Government policy needs to be rural-proofed. I make another call for our “Rural Community Impact Assessment”, which studies how a policy or project could impact Wales’ heritage, culture, food security, and the Welsh language – an idea put forward by the Countryside Alliance in 2022, which was warmly welcomed by Minister Julie James but rejected by her officials and Natural Resources Wales.

You can support the call by responding to the consultation. You need not answer every question, you can just send in a cover letter with your thoughts. The consultation closes on the 12^th of February and you can respond to it here: The structure of the school year | GOV.WALES