Pupils at Cwmbran High School enjoyed their second annual Branfest event on Wednesday 16 July – an alternative to an end-of-year coach trip to a theme park with the usual long queues for rides and getting stuck in traffic on motorways.
The school site was transformed with entertainment, a fairground, stalls, food vans, animals, and things for pupils to spend the day exploring and having fun. During my visit, the school band was inviting pupils up to take the microphone and sing karaoke-style while they played along.
I asked Cheryl Haynes, who is retiring this week after teaching at the school for 23 years, about Branfest and why they decided to bring it back after the first festival at the end of the summer 2024 term.
Branfest: bigger and better
She said: “Branfest started last year. We had a really successful event and we decided we make it bigger and better this year.
“So basically, we don’t run trips at the end of the year. They’re just so expensive, and the children actually get nothing out of them. They queue all day. We thought we’d do it on our school site and give all opportunities to all pupils so everybody’s involved, staff are involved, every pupil is involved.
“They’ve earned tickets. They get loads of events to go on and we’ve actually got a fairground this year, which is amazing.
“We’ve got the emergency services, the TA are supporting us, so pupils are looking around the vehicles, trying on all the equipment and the clothing, so they are enjoying that. We’ve got the gaming van from the police. so that’s obviously very popular.
“The school band is playing in the background, so that’s great.
‘Chloe Griffin’
“We’ve also had a former pupil, Chloe Griffin, join us and sang a few songs for us so that was amazing.
“And we’ve got Dante’s Fair, who have brought some fairground rides on for a little bit of extra fun.
“Pupils have absolutely loved it. We’ve been really lucky with the weather. We were worried yesterday when the rain came in, but they’re out and about, wandering and enjoying everything that’s going on.
“They’re covered in glitter and they’re just having a whale of a time.”
I finished by asking about her upcoming retirement.
She said: “It’s been a surreal week. I’m feeling a little emotional now, but you know it’s all about the kids. I’ve had a brilliant time, and it’s time to move on and do something new, but thank you for making me emotional now.”