WHILE education is far from the thoughts of children during the summer, an important schools initiative will be taking place in the Vale of Clwyd.

A pilot school uniform recycling exchange in a Vale of Clwyd town has proved so successful that the scheme is now being rolled out to other towns in Denbighshire - and it is believed to be the largest scheme of its kind in Wales.

The pilot project in Denbigh in the last three years has proved so successful that the scheme, organised by Citizens Advice Denbighshire and fully supported by Denbighshire County Council, is now being rolled out to Rhyl and Ruthin.

The recycle scheme allows parents to access affordable, high quality school uniforms in their community.

Uniforms are collected from schools before the end of the summer term and are washed and pressed before they are made available to the public.

The most recent sale, back in August 2017, saw over 200 customers going along to the pop-up shop to buy school uniforms.

Citizens Advice Denbighshire also provides further support around benefits take up, free school meals eligibility and issues around Universal Credit.

A pop-up shop will be in Rhyl ASK Centre, at Christ Church, Water Street between August 6 and 10 (12-2pm).

Lesley Powell, chief executive of Citizens Advice Denbighshire, said: “This scheme brings together parents, children, schools, staff and volunteers of Citizens Advice, town and county councils and local businesses; it is provided by the community for the benefit of the community.

"We'll be offering families a 'financial health check' if people want to make sure they are receiving all their benefit and credit entitlements.

"We would like to thank Denbigh Town Council and Denbigh Rotary Club for their funding and Lock Stock Self storage for helping us to store and transport the uniforms.”

The schools taking part in the initiative are Ysgol Llywelyn, Ysgol Mair, Ysgol Glan Clwyd, Blessed Edward Jones High School and Rhyl High School.

Cllr Huw Hilditch-Roberts, cabinet lead member for children, young people, education and the Welsh Language, said: “Denbighshire is delighted to be working in partnership with Citizens Advice Denbighshire on this innovative approach.

"It has been hugely successful due to the commitment of volunteers and the generosity of people in providing school uniforms.

"Buying school uniforms can prove costly to a lot of families and many people have now been able to buy uniforms at affordable prices without having to break the bank.

“We are looking forward to monitoring the success of this year’s initiative, with a view to rolling the scheme out to other communities in Denbighshire in the future.”