Dyffryn Ogwen young farmer wins first agriculture scholarship

Gwion Pritchard

An 18-year-old from Dyffryn Ogwen has become the first Agriculture student to win a major Welsh-medium scholarship worth £3,000 at Aberystwyth University.

Gwion Pritchard, who was a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, Bethesda and completed a level 3 Agriculture course at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, Glynllifon, has won the scholarship to study Agriculture at Aberystwyth University.

The Coleg’s Main Scholarship is given annually to successful applicants that choose to study at least 66% of their degree scheme in any subject field through the medium of Welsh.

Students at Aberystwyth University can now study at least two thirds of their Agriculture degree in Welsh.

The news of the award by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol comes as Aberystwyth University gets set to celebrate 20 years of Welsh medium Agriculture teaching.

Gwion said: "It is an honour to have been awarded this scholarship and I am also delighted to be able to study for a degree in Agriculture predominantly through the medium of Welsh, my first language. Being able to study through the medium of Welsh was the primary factor in making my choice to study at Aberystwyth University”

Gwion was raised on a beef and sheep farm in Tal-y-Bont, Gwynedd where Welsh Black x Limousin cattle and Welsh mountain sheep are farmed. He is also an active member of Dyffryn Ogwen young farmers club and in his spare time plays for Bethesda rugby club.

He added: “In recent years, our farm has been part of the Hill Ram Scheme which has allowed us to improve our flock’s genetics, whilst we have also invested in a techno grazing system which has benefited our grassland, soil and animals. I have learnt a lot from these experiences, and I am excited to further my knowledge and understanding of agriculture at Aberystwyth”.

Aberystwyth University has been offering Welsh medium provision in Agriculture since 2006, and the provision has been building over the last decade thanks to funding and support from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.

Dr Rhys Aled Jones, who coordinates Welsh medium teaching at the Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University said:

“I am delighted to see Gwion attain this prestigious scholarship, the first of what I’m sure will be many Aberystwyth University Agriculture students who will win this scholarship in the coming years”

“Our agriculture industry and rural communities are the cornerstones of the Welsh language here in Wales and we are delighted to have been able to work with the Coleg Cymraeg to develop and increase our Welsh medium agriculture provision in recent years and to support students such as Gwion and others who have attained the Coleg’s incentive scholarships.

Dr Dylan Phillips, Director of Higher Education and Coleg Cymraeg Secretary said:

“We’d like to congratulate Gwion on being awarded a Main Scholarship this year and we wish him the best of luck studying Agriculture at Aberystwyth University.”

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