News

This year’s A Level and GCSE results are being celebrated by Falklands students, with the majority of A Level candidates achieving sufficient grades to be accepted on the university course of their choice.  The GCSE results were equally impressive, with thirty three students, mostly from Year 11, sitting a total of 248 examinations, and achieving a pass-rate of 97.98%, which is comparable with the pass-rate of their peers in the UK.

At the presentation of the Islands’ Economic Development Strategy last week, an upbeat message was delivered on the state of the agricultural sector.  Director of Agriculture, Phyl Rendell said that wool prices are expected to rise as a result of the continued demand balanced with the worldwide decrease in wool production. She listed beef, lamb and mutton export as areas of diversification that will continue to provide significant alternative income for farmers.  Senior Agricultural Advisor, Mac McArthur suggested that technical change and innovation could improve lambing percentages, decrease the sheep death-rate and improve crops.  There are further opportunities for the development of Falklands agriculture, including the continued reduction in the fibre diameter of wool and the premium prices available to those with organic accreditation.  For more information visit www.agriculture.gov.fk.

Gentoo penguins are returning to the Falklands in record numbers, after their best breeding season in more than ten years, according to a report by Falklands Conservation officer Pierre Pistorius.  King penguins also continue to thrive, making this season’s Seabird Monitoring Programme one of the healthiest undertaken.  The colony of king penguins at Volunteer Point is prospering, with a record number of 594 chicks counted last season.  The population has slowly been increasing since the first count in 1980.  For the third consecutive year the breeding success of Magellanic penguins has been above average and the breeding population in the Falklands has been estimated at about 100,000 breeding pairs.  For more information visit www.falklandsconservation.com.

A British Foreign and Commonwealth security consultant who spent a week in the Islands earlier this month appeared “impressed with the facilities and emergency plans that are in place for such a small country,” according to Director of Minerals and Agriculture Phyl Rendell.  Fred Rokkita’s work will assist the Falkland Islands Government to progress the drilling of offshore exploration wells.  He met with Members of the Legislative Assembly in order to discuss the physical security of rigs and vessels as well as operational security in terms of logistics.  Members were able to assure Mr Rokkita that all of the issues he had been tasked with examining were being looked at already by the Falkland Islands Government.  For more information visit www.falklands-oil.com.