Eisteddfod 2017

Glan-y-Môr’s Eisteddfod is always a highlight of the school year. After a busy schedule of rehearsing the four houses: Dewi, Gwenllian, Illtyd and Mair gather to compete in various competitions. 

This year’s Eisteddfod began with performances from our very talented musicians in Lower School. Llongyfarchiadau i Olivia Walters who won the competition for Gwenllian. Equally impressive were our musicians in Upper School who each played a different instrument: piano, electric guitar and for the first time ever- a Launchpad! It was a very difficult decision for our judges but for his unique sequencing skills the winner this year was Alan Meyrick-Cooke of Tŷ Dewi. Da iawn ti. 

The vocal competition was different this year; pupils were asked to either sing a Welsh song, song by a Welsh artist or song from a musical. Lewis Jaros-Reynolds won the Senior Vocal with his mature rendition of “The Green Grass of Home” by Tom Jones. The winners of the Junior Vocal competition brought tears to a number of eyes!! Rebecca Lewis, Iris Mills and Chloe James (blwyddyn 7) had the audience mesmerised with their beautiful, note-perfect singing of “When we were young” by Adele. Her dad is Welsh! 

On to the English recitation – “Steel” by Paul Henry. Again a close competition between the four houses, however, Mair were the worthy winners with their dramatic, well-rehearsed recitation. The judges really liked the way this group formed a rugby scrum to depict the words “steel frame”. A different sport for the Welsh poem-“Fy ngôl gyntaf” by Hedd ap Emlyn! Even though they had the smallest recitation party Mair were, once again, triumphant. There are certainly some talented recitalists in Mair! 

Disco dancing is always a popular competition in the Eisteddfod. This year pupils were required to dance to instrumentals. The judges were really impressed with the variety of movements, outfits, team work and enthusiasm. Grŵp Poppy Taylor (Gwenllian) was awarded first place-da iawn merched a bechgyn. All those hours spent rehearsing during your half-term paid off! A special mention has to go to the tutu-wearing year 11 boys; they certainly added to the entertainment factor of Gwenllian’s performance. 

The last competition of the morning was the Chairing Competition. Pupils in Year 11 compete annually for the prestigious Chairing Competition. This year they had to write a Welsh poem entitled “Y Dyfodol”– “The future”. The winner was Emily Brown (Mollymop) from Tŷ Mair. Llongyfarchiadau! The ceremony saw Year 7 girls participating in the traditional ‘Flower Dance’ and Mr Richard Allen powerfully singing ‘Henffych Brifardd’ 

The focus of the afternoon was the English crown, the choirs and the “back by popular demand” pop groups. Da iawn i Tamzin James (Jinx) of Tŷ Illtyd for winning our first English crown competition. All pupils participated in the house choir competition and the chosen song this year was “Sosban Fach” Miss Jones was delighted with, yet another, Mair victory! Grŵp Mollie Dunning of Tŷ Illtyd was awarded first place in the pop group competition for their emotional rendition of “Good Morning Baltimore” from the musical “Hairspary”. Staff then entertained the pupils with their “tuneful” singing of “Delilah” and “Dakota”. A very successful day for Ysgol Glan-y-Môr. 

The final scores were:
1^st        Tŷ Mair
2^nd       Tŷ Gwenllian
3^rd        Tŷ Illtyd
4^th        Tŷ Dewi

We would like to thank our judges: Jo Rogers (Youth Worker at Glan-y-Môr) Mrs Odette Williams (Staff Governor), Mrs Janet Cross (PE teacher) and Mr Kevin Lewis (Parent Governor) for spending the day with us and judging all our competitions. Diolch. 

We must also say a big thank you to Catrin Weston (Blwyddyn 11) for providing her services as the school photographer for the day. Another super talented pupil! 

Thank you to everyone for making ‘Eisteddfod 2017’ ‘profiad bythgofiadwy’ - unforgettable indeed. We are already looking forward to Eisteddfod 2018.

What the pupils said…. 

Saffron Bardsley, Year 11
Although my nationality is English I have lived in Wales for five years and feel privileged to have celebrated St David’s Day at Glan-y-Môr. The celebrations are all about things that happen in Wales, to recognise Welsh culture and tradition. The things that really stood out for me were the support and adoration given to a young child called Robyn who became emotional during her performance. It was lovely to see her grow and become more confident.

Emily Brown, Year 11
Reflecting on the Eisteddfod I feel proud to have won the Welsh Chair competition. I was nervous about being sat in front of everyone but felt at ease when I saw everyones support, especially from my house, Tŷ Mair. I felt proud of the flower dancers for getting up in front of everyone. I really enjoyed seeing the support everyone showed to the performers. I was also happy to see the Year 7’s come out of their shells. Especially the Tŷ Mair dancers who I helped to coach along with William Hughes and Head Girl, Rachel Lewis. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. 

Bethan Escott, Year 7
Lots of my friends were involved in the disco dancing and wanted me to join. I was excited when they asked me to do this. I had to practice hard to learn my steps. On the day I was really excited to perform in front of everyone. We were all pleased that it went well and no one made a mistake. The audience thought we were great and clapped and cheered when we finished. It was very exciting when the judges announced that we had come first.

Tamzin James, Year 11
The Eisteddfod at Glan-y-Môr has always been a very successful day and the recent one reflected that for me. This one summarised the special day because of many factors. School can be tough and not everyone gets along but on the day, everyone came together (not just in their teams) and respected each other for the effort they had put in despite some people being out of their comfort zones. The effort to carry on such a unique tradition came before and on the day. Everyone in the house took part and some did this through unseen events before the day. In Tŷ Illtyd, we all decided ‘non-participants’ was the wrong word and we took part individually in more of the homework competitions. I was one of these people and I worked hard during the holidays to produce a piece of writing for the Welsh Chairing Competition and the English Crown Competition. To take part in such events felt special as the history of these go far back and I have the opportunity to continue it. I was pleased to be mentioned in the top four for the Chairing Competition but to come first in the English Crown Competition felt amazing. To be the first winner of this felt like I now have a legacy and that my hard work paid off. At first I felt anxious but as soon as I stood up, it all went and I was supported by my peers for this. When it comes to the Eisteddfod, the tradition doesn’t just lie in the events but in the closeness of the school like the closeness that lies in the country when they hold this same special day. 

Tramy Nguyen, Year 9
We had a great day at the Eisteddfod. Everyone in school all came together. It was really fun – screaming, clapping, fingers crossed and hoping that my house won.

Josi Robinson, Year 7
One of my favourite parts about Wednesday was when I did the flower dance, it was really fun and I was extremely excited, however, at the same time I was really nervous. When I tried out to be a flower dancer I was really nervous, because we only had two days to learn it but in my opinion it went really well and we all knew the steps.

Tobi Sobola, Year 11
I have been to an Eisteddfod once before but this was the first time taking part. I found it a lot of fun because of the dance and it was very different. In my culture they celebrate and have fun. The Eisteddfod is competitive but pupils support each other in what they are doing.

Tomi Sobola, Year 7
I have been in the Eisteddfod for four years. It was really fun and amazing, the energy was brilliant. I took part in the disco dancing, it all went to plan and we came first place. The Eisteddfod was very different to me because I’m not used to big crowds, the vibe and how many competitions there were. I was very proud of my house coming second.

Wiktoria Swiatkowska, Year 10
I found the Eisteddfod both fun and entertaining as well as educational. It is interesting learning about the roots of Wales and the culture. Singing ‘Sosban Fach’ and observing the girls doing the flower dance would be an excellent example of this.