Coleg Llandrillo hosts Urdd girls’ football tournament
Ysgol Awel y Mynydd were crowned the winners as more than 190 girls from across Conwy county competed on the 3G pitches at the Rhos-on-Sea campus
Coleg Llandrillo hosted the Urdd Conwy girls’ primary school football tournament, won by Ysgol Awel y Mynydd of Llandudno Junction.
The seven-a-side tournament for years 4, 5 and 6 girls, organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru, was held on the 3G pitches at the college’s Rhos-on-Sea campus.
Fifteen teams from 13 schools across the county played in the competition, with more than 190 children having the opportunity to enjoy football while developing their Welsh-language skills.
Each team played a series of group-stage matches, with the top eight teams progressing to the knockout rounds.
Ysgol Awel y Mynydd beat Ysgol Llandrillo-yn-Rhos 3-2 in a thrilling final which featured high-quality goals from both teams. The Llandudno Junction school will now go on to represent Conwy in the national finals at the Urdd Primary Schools Festival in Aberystwyth next May.
Nia Rowlands, a teacher at Ysgol Awel y Mynydd, said: “It was fantastic, it’s a really well organised event.
“It’s great to see so many girls’ teams taking part. Our girls have loved it.”
The event followed last month’s Urdd Conwy mixed primary school football tournament at Coleg Llandrillo, which was won by Ysgol Bod Alaw of Colwyn Bay.
As with the previous tournament, sport students from Coleg Llandrillo helped with refereeing, timekeeping and organising the teams to help make the event a success.
Amy Thomson, programme area manager for Sport and Public Services at Coleg Llandrillo, said: “Once again, it has been a pleasure to host the Conwy Primary Girls' Urdd football competition here at Coleg Llandrillo.
“It has been great to see so many girls from the county participating in football whilst also providing our Year 1 BTEC Level 3 Sport learners with the opportunity to develop their leadership and Welsh-language skills as part of their Welsh Baccalaureate and Community Sports Leaders Course. We wish Ysgol Awel y Mynydd all the best in the next round.”
Osian Llywelyn Woodward, a first-year Level 3 Sports Science student, said: “A few of us on the course have been refereeing, keeping a record of the score and helping with organising and problem-solving for the teams. It’s been fun and also challenging because that’s new to us.
“It’s been nice seeing all the kids here enjoying football, and for the girls to have the chance to play in such a big tournament.”
Guto Williams, Welsh language facilitator at Coleg Llandrillo, said: “It’s another fantastic day for the students gaining valuable volunteering experience through the medium of Welsh, and it’s brilliant to see so many girls playing football.
“Women’s football has developed so much recently, which is great, and the atmosphere today has been brilliant. The girls have really enjoyed it.”
Gwion John Williams, Urdd Gobaith Cymru’s senior sports development officer for North and Mid Wales, said: “It was a pleasure to see so many taking part in our competition once again.
“As an organisation we are trying to ensure that everyone is offered an opportunity to play, and it was fantastic to see so many girls playing football of such a high standard.
“I would like to thank Coleg Llandrillo for their willingness to help and for being allowed to use the facilities. We look forward to working together in the near future and seeing the Welsh language flourish in the area.”
For more information about the range of sport and outdoor education courses available at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, click here. Applications open in November for 2024 entry.