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Over the past few months, a series of discussion panels have been held in Pontio by ȫ���Ʊ's Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies. The ‘Trafod Testun’ project received £2,300 from the Development and Alumni Relations Office-administered Bangor Fund.

The discussions, which included a cross-section of experts, scholars and professional practitioners, focused specifically on various aspects of the A/AS syllabus, including the stage play Siwan by Saunders Lewis, the award-winning film, Hedd Wyn, the second branch of the Mabinogi, the legend of Branwen, and the hengerdd and the cywyddau of Dafydd ap Gwilym.

The events were open to students, school pupils and the public. The events were ticketed on the Pontio website and advertised widely. Approximately 50 tickets were booked for each panel with a total of 8 local schools attending the events as well as university students and members of the public. Following interest from several schools in mid and south Wales, the discussions were recorded and sent to teachers throughout the country and were also uploaded to the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol resource website, Y Porth. Recording the discussions also enable them to be an educational resource that can be used every year.

Pupils and teachers reported that they felt that they had benefited greatly from the discussions as they revised for their A/AS Level exams. Llio Davies, Head of Welsh at Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni, said: “The discussion panels were interesting and extremely useful in bringing the texts to life for the pupils. It was also a valuable opportunity for them to meet fellow Welsh students and get a taste of what ȫ���Ʊ has to offer.”

Schools from beyond North Wales were particularly grateful to be able to take advantage of the resource via the recordings. Catrin Rowlands, Head of Welsh at Ysgol Llanhari, said “It was great to receive digital copies of the discussion panels that took place in Bangor so that we could share the experience with the pupils. It was a useful independent revision resource and the majority referred to it, quoting and interpreting panel members' comments in their final oral examination.”

The Project Coordinator, Dr Manon Wyn Williams from the School of Arts, Culture and Language, said, “A number of valuable relationships with secondary school teachers throughout Wales have been made through the ‘Trafod Testun’ project which will be a solid basis for similar activities in the future. The Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies would like to thank the Bangor Fund for the funding to support the project.”

Emma Marshall, Head of Development and Alumni Relations, said “These panels were a great success in engaging schools and raising the profile of the Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies. The Bangor Fund is very pleased to support this kind of activity which benefits a number of groups.”

The Bangor Fund enables the University to deliver a margin of excellence or an element of “additionality” to the student experience. For further information please click here or contact Persida Chung, Development Officer, on p.v.chung@bangor.ac.uk