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SWANSEA: Schoolfriends reunited as Cllr Penny Matthews becomes Lord Mayor — 60 years after they sat in the same classroom

Swansea councillor Penny Matthews has been inaugurated as the city’s new Lord Mayor at a ceremony held at the Guildhall this morning — with her old schoolfriend Cllr Susan Jones taking up the role of Deputy Lord Mayor on the same day.

The pair were in the same class at Swansea Secondary Technical School for Girls as teenagers — the building that now houses Gower College Swansea’s Llwyn y Bryn Campus — making their joint elevation to the city’s top civic roles all the more remarkable.

Cllr Penny Matthews in her Lord Mayor’s robes following her inauguration at Swansea Guildhall on 15 May 2026. (Image: Swansea Council / supplied)

Cllr Matthews, who has represented Llansamlet ward since 2007, said she was hugely honoured by the appointment.

“It is a huge honour to be serving the communities of Swansea as their Lord Mayor in the coming year,” she said. “I am really looking forward to getting out and about among the people of this fantastic city, as well as representing Swansea to visitors as our communities’ civic ambassador at a very exciting time.”

She added that the coincidence of her and Cllr Jones being honoured together in the same year was almost too good to believe.

“It’s uncanny that Cllr Jones and I should be honoured in such a way in the same year since we’ve known each other for so long and studied together all those years ago,” she said.

The inauguration programme from the ceremony at Swansea Guildhall on 15 May 2026. (Image: Swansea Council / supplied)

Cllr Jones represents Gowerton ward on Swansea Council and is also a community councillor in the area.

The chains of office were handed over by outgoing Lord Mayor Cllr Cheryl Philpott, who paid tribute to Cllr Matthews’s contribution as Deputy Lord Mayor during the past year — before Cllr Matthews in turn thanked her predecessor for her “energy and commitment” during her time in office.

Cllr Matthews was born and brought up in Swansea, attending Manselton Primary School before passing the 11-plus and moving on to the technical school for girls. Her first job was a Saturday shift on the makeup counter at Woolworths on Oxford Street, followed by a stint at the Steel Company of Wales in Velindre, and then four years managing the office at DC Francis Coal Merchants.

She later worked as a booking clerk and union representative at the Goods Vehicle Centre on the Strand — and has been a governor at Trallwn Primary School since 1995, supporting the school through committees and events for more than three decades.

Her nominated charity for the year ahead is arthritis research, supporting the St David’s Medical Foundation Charity based at Swansea University.

The new Lord Mayor Cllr Penny Matthews with pupils from a Swansea school choir who performed at the inauguration ceremony. (Image: Swansea Council / supplied)

The inauguration ceremony was held in the Council Chamber — part of the Grade 1 listed Guildhall complex in Swansea, which is also home to the Brangwyn Hall. Pupils from Trallwn Primary School — where Cllr Matthews has been a governor since 1995 — performed as a choir, a fitting touch for a Lord Mayor whose connection to the school stretches back more than three decades.

Cllr Matthews said she was grateful for the good wishes she had received ahead of the ceremony.

“I want to say thank-you to everyone for all their good wishes for my year in office,” she said. “The year ahead promises to be a very exciting one.”

Cllr Matthews takes up the role at a time when Swansea is in the midst of significant regeneration — with the Kingsway development winning national awards this week, the former Debenhams building sold, and major investment continuing along the waterfront. Her year as civic ambassador will take place against a backdrop of a city that is changing fast.

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