The four finalists for the Welsh Learner of the Year competition at the Wrecsam National Eisteddfod have been announced. The competition is organised by the National Eisteddfod and the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
The four finalists are Rachel Bedwin who lives in the Bangor area, Lucy Cowley who lives in Llangollen, Hammad Hassan Rind who lives in Cardiff, and Leanne Parry who lives in Prestatyn.
The adjudicators are Steve Morris, Francesca Sciarrillo and Ian Gwyn Hughes, and the final round is held on the Eisteddfod Maes on Wednesday 6 August.
The judges said, “It was a real pleasure to meet the new Welsh speakers who applied for this year’s Learner of the Year competition. They all said that learning Welsh has changed their lives, and has opened the door to a wealth of valuable experiences, and many new friends.
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“Four came out on top from among the excellent candidates. Listening to their experiences of learning, using and enjoying the language was an inspiration, and we congratulate them, and all the candidates.”
So who are they? Here’s a little bit of their history and their Welsh language journey over the past few years.
Originally from London, Rachel Bedwin had no contact with Wales before she began learning Welsh, and she says her life would be completely different if she hadn’t set out to learn our language.
Now living in the Bangor area, she moved to Wales to work with the National Trust, and she now works in the Policy and Advocacy department of RSPB Cymru and uses as much Welsh as possible at work. One of her ambitions is to be able to discuss nature policy in Welsh with members of the Senedd.
Rachel joined a Welsh choir to help with pronouncing words, and helps others in the choir to learn Welsh, and believes that learning Welsh can change people’s lives.
Lucy Cowley comes from Is-y-Coed, Wrecsam, the home of this year’s Eisteddfod. Her grandfather was a refugee from Poland and her grandmother a refugee from the Ukraine. Although she learnt some Welsh at school, she didn’t feel that she was part of the Welsh.
After graduating, she qualified as a primary teacher and began working at Holt School. She realised that she loved sharing her Welsh with the children and enrolled on several courses before starting to use Welsh resources in the classroom.
She set up a Welsh discussion group in Llangollen, which attracts people from diverse backgrounds, some are new learners and others are there to regain their confidence when speaking Welsh.
Hammad Hassan Rind and his wife, Charlotte, have been learning with Dysgu Cymraeg Cardiff, for just over a year and a half, and in this time, he has been helping others in the class to learn.
He teaches Welsh with ‘Made in Roath’ to immigrants and refugees using the other languages he speaks to communicate and is also part of a group of volunteers working together to bring more Welsh language activities to Grangetown.
Over the past few months Hammad has been writing poetry, articles and stories in Welsh, together with translating poems from Arabic into Welsh. This year, he will start a PhD course on Welsh literature, funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
Leanne Parry returned to north Wales intending to reconnect with the language and raise her son bilingually, having studied Welsh up to GCSE second language standard at school.
Leanne works as a neurological physiotherapist at Glan Clwyd and Colwyn Bay hospitals, working with people with conditions such as MS and Parkinson’s. The National Centre for Learning Welsh’s health and care plan was key to her language journey; she took great advantage of the local health board’s offer to learn Welsh, and in 2024, won the title of ‘Betsi Cadwaladr Learner of the Year’ at intermediate level.
Originally from Rhyl, Leanne lives in Prestatyn, where she regularly meets other learners to practice their Welsh.
The winner will be announced on the Pafiliwn stage on Wednesday 6 August, and will receive the Dysgwr y Flwyddyn Trophy donated by Spencer and Jeni Harris, and £300, donated by Ann Aubrey. The other three finalists will receive £100.
For more information on the Wrecsam National Eisteddfod, visit www.eisteddfod.wales, and for more on the National Centre for Learning Welsh and to find a Welsh course which works for you, click on www.learnwelsh.cymru
