Gareth Evans, 31, is an Executive Director of Education Policy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David from Cardiff
To mark three decades of the IWA’s role in making Wales better, we decided to look forward to ‘the next thirty years’ by introducing some of the people who will be shaping ‘the Welsh agenda’ as the future unfolds. We have teamed up with PricewaterhouseCoopers and their #GreatWales campaign, which celebrates the ideas and people who contribute to the Wales of the future.
Gareth Evans, 31, is an Executive Director of Education Policy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David
from Cardiff
A qualified journalist, I was the Western Mail’s Education Editor for seven years from 2009, during which I established a reputation as a leading and fearless commentator in the field of Welsh education. Having developed a broad knowledge and understanding of the many issues and challenges facing our education system and its practitioners, I decided in late 2016 to ‘put my money where my mouth is’ and join the sector itself.
Having entered the education system at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, my new role puts into practice everything I have learned over the past decade – as well as analysing, scrutinising and contributing to education policy in Wales, I now work with schools and other key stakeholders to help in its successful implementation. A regular contributor to broadcast and print media, my debut book – A Class Apart: Learning the Lessons of Education in Post-Devolution Wales – was published with generous reviews by Welsh Academic Press in 2015.
A proud Welshman, I am committed to helping redress the imbalance that sees Wales lagging behind the rest of the UK in key education comparators. I firmly believe that huge untapped potential lies within Wales’ schools system and I am passionate about ensuring all children achieve to the best of their abilities, regardless of their background. There is always room for improvement and everyone working in the education sector has something to learn – that much is certain! My overriding hope is that we can continue to raise educational standards across Wales and develop a schools system to rival any in the world. Moving forward, I would love to play my own small part in that process.
Each day, throughout the month of June, we are celebrating the exceptional people on the Next 30 list by publishing a short pen portrait here on Click on Wales, as well as raising their profile on Twitter using #IWAnext30 and #GreatWales to highlight the exciting contributions these people are making to Wales’ future.
