Year 7 pupils at Rydal Penrhos celebrated Welsh culture by holding their first-ever online Eisteddfod.
The second educational lockdown brought plenty of challenges across Rydal Penrhos for pupils and teaching staff alike. Their exceptional commitment to academic progression during a difficult 12 months, coupled with a superb effort from the entire school community, resulted in a minimal loss of learning during a diverse and engaging online provision.
Year 7 pupils were among those who deserve a tremendous amount of credit for their application, which also saw them participate in an inaugural event that celebrated the Welsh language and culture in an online setting.
The school’s Year 7 Eisteddfod took place over the spring term during online Welsh lessons. The group participated in exciting activities for some friendly competition with a view to winning the “Chair” as a result of their efforts.
These events included:
- Reciting Welsh Poetry
- Singing in Welsh
- Prayer Readings in Welsh
- Baking a Welsh Recipe
- Writing a Biography of a Welsh Icon
- Making a 3D model of a Welsh Castle
- A rugby goal-kicking competition
- A ‘Blind Art’ competition
- An origami dragon competition
- A textiles competition.
As part of their preparation for the competition, pupils also researched the origins and history of the National Eisteddfod. Points were awarded for first, second and third place in each round with double points on offer for the events conducted in the medium of Welsh.
Teacher Chris Davies, who organised the Eisteddfod, said: “It was wonderful to watch so many excellent entries in the different events.
“Pupils (and their families) had clearly gone to a lot of trouble in helping to prepare for the competition with some parents even giving video feedback on some of the baking pupils had done.”
The Eisteddfod brought the very best out of each pupil involved, building key skills, improving creativity and also developing knowledge of all things Wales related in the process.
After a hotly contested competition, Lucy Ranales-Griffiths was crowned the winner after narrowly pipping Oscar Ellwood (2nd) and Charlotte Payne (3rd) to the Chair.
Lucy Ranales-Griffiths
A local antique and salvage dealer – Drew Pritchard – donated a beautiful chair as a prize for this year’s winner and has also agreed to create a special chair for the 2022 event.
Lucy, Rydal Penrhos’ first Eisteddfod Chair, had this to say on the event:
“Mr Davies kindly organised the event for the Year 7s to have a friendly competition and to learn some more about the Welsh language and culture. There were opportunities for everyone with categories such as reciting some Welsh poetry, singing Calon Lan, reciting the Lord’s Prayer in Welsh, baking a traditional Welsh dish, playing the Welsh national anthem on a musical instrument and much, much more.
“It was all kicked off by the baking category, with several well baked and delicious-looking entries. Amelia’s Bara Brith looked amazing!
“My favourite event was probably reciting the poem as we got to practice reading and performing in Welsh; learning it off by heart was fun. My mum helped me learn what some of the words meant and how to pronounce them.”
Well done to all our amazing Year 7 pupils on their incredible efforts throughout their first Eisteddfod and hopefully, this will be the start of yet another long-standing tradition here at Rydal Penrhos.
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Anyone wishing to enquire about Rydal Penrhos School can do so by calling 01492 530155, email admissions@rydalpenrhos.com or register your interest online here: https://rydalpenrhos.com/admissions/apply-now.
