Two Students Awarded Scholarship from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
Two of Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s highest performing A-level students have beaten the odds, winning sought-after scholarships worth thousands of pounds!
Erin Pennant Jones from Rymmain, Dolgellau, and Cynwal ap Myrddin from Lwyndyrys, Pwllheli, have both won scholarships from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol was founded in 2011, and its aim is to work with educational providers to ensure and develop more Welsh-medium study opportunities for learners, students and apprentices in Wales.
Erin, who has just gained her A-levels in History, Welsh and Law at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, Dolgellau, has won the scholarship to study Law at Aberystwyth University.
The Gwilym Prys Davies Scholarship was established by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in 2018 in the name of the distinguished lawyer, Lord Gwilym Prys Davies of Lanegryn, Meirionnydd. The scholarship is worth £1,000 per year (or £3,000 over three years).
Erin, who is 18-years-old, said: "It is an honour to be awarded a scholarship from the Coleg Cymraeg in the name of Lord Gwilym Prys Davies. He was an extremely influential figure in the areas of law and the Welsh language, in my area of Meirionnydd, and across the whole of Wales. It will be a privilege to study part of the course through the medium of Welsh at Aberystwyth University, the same place where Gwilym Prys Davies studied.
"I am also so grateful to the Coleg Cymraeg for the financial support that will help alleviate some of my worries whilst studying at university over the next three years."
A young woman from the Welsh countryside who is passionate about the Welsh language - and an enthusiastic member of the Dolgellau Young Farmers’ Club - Erin hopes to pursue a career within the police force in the future,
She added: "Studying law partly through the medium of Welsh will enable me to have the professional skills to work in my mother tongue in the future. Hopefully this will have a positive effect on the community, encouraging more people to do the same in order to reach the government's target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050."
Cynwal ap Myrddin, who has just successfully completed his A-levels in History, Welsh and Business Studies at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, Pwllheli, has won the scholarship to study Welsh at Cardiff University.
The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Gwynedd Council Scholarship was established by the Council, and is awarded annually to an individual who has applied for one of the main scholarships of the Coleg Cymraeg. The scholarship is also worth £1,000 per year (or again, £3,000 over three years).
Cynwal, who is also 18, and is a former Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor ambassador of the Coleg Cymraeg, said: "I was very proud to hear that I had won the Gwynedd County Council Scholarship. I'm looking forward to moving to Cardiff to study the Welsh language at university and get involved in the Welsh community there. The money will be a great help, so I am so grateful to Gwynedd Council and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol for the scholarship."
Councillor Beca Brown, cabinet member responsible for Education on Gwynedd Council said: "Warm congratulations to Cynwal ap Myrddin on securing the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Gwynedd Council Scholarship and all the best to him on his studies in Cardiff. As a Council, we are proud to support students from Gwynedd who want to study and develop their careers through the medium of Welsh and are proud to be able to collaborate with the Coleg Cymraeg on the important work of promoting Welsh-medium higher education provision."
As a leading member of the community in Pen Llŷn, Cynwal works part-time at Nant Gwrtheyrn Language and Heritage Centre, is a columnist for the Eifionydd local paper, Y Ffynnon, plays rugby for the Pwllheli team, and is an enthusiastic member of the Young Farmers' Club Llangybi. Winning the scholarship on behalf of his home county is therefore very important to him.
