YSGOL Dewi Sant head boy Rhys Jones and head girl Ebony Owen will form part of a delegation from St Davids to the royal village of Matsieng later this month.

The visit, which is being organised by the St Davids Matsieng Link group, is planned to strengthen the link between the two communities which was first set up in 1999, when the Queen Mother of Lesotho paid visit to the city.

Since then there have been regular visits to St Davids, especially by the late Queen’s second son, Prince Seeiso, who until recently was Lesotho’s High Commissioner in London.

The purpose of this latest visit, which will be lead by the chairman of the group, St Davids City Councillor Chris Taylor, will be to explore all avenues for strengthening and updating the link, especially with the younger generation.

High on the agenda will be visits to Moshoeshoe II High School in Matsieng, and also some of the local primary schools.

Both Rhys and Ebony are keen members of their Young Farmers Clubs, and they also hope to visit local farms in the area.

Cllr Taylor said: “Our charitable work is very important, and will continue to be a significant part of our role in the future, but we want the link to go much further than this.

“We want to build real links and bonds with our opposite numbers, and there will also be much that they can contribute to us. Twinning if it is to have any long term meaning has to be a two way process, and this is what we are hoping to initiate during this visit.”

Making up the fourth member of the party will be Ysgol Dewi Sant English teacher Eleanor Walker who will help to co-ordinate the school’s involvement in the visit.

The group is receiving assistance from Dolen Cymru, the national organisation which coordinates links between Wales and Lesotho, and also from Wales Africa Community Links, which is generously assisting with the costs of the journey.