Eisteddfod 2024

An evolving Eisteddfod!

2024 saw an Eisteddfod with a difference. The morning session consisted of four interactive activities that required pupils to work as a house team (Dewi, Gwenllian, Illtyd, Mair) and gain as many points as possible. Activity one was “dawnsio gwerin” – Welsh folk dancing. Pupils were required to dance with a partner to the traditional tune of “Jac y Do”. This was an entertaining, physical activity and it was a pleasure seeing upper school pupils supporting lower school pupils and working as a big family. Miss Jones had the chance to show off her choreography skills!!

Activity two was a pop-up talent show “Sioe dalent”. We knew that there was a lot of talent amongst our pupils but there were certainly some surprises on the day. We experienced a whole range of talents: joke telling, gymnastics, sign language, magic tricks, singing and dancing. We certainly saw some confident, creative learners and of course Mr Forrester was the Greatest Showman!

Activity 3 tapped into the pupils’ general knowledge about Wales and Welsh culture. Mrs Stone had done her research and had set the pupils some tricky questions. In house teams pupils were required to answer questions about famous Welsh people, castles and the history of the Eisteddfod. Again, it was an absolute delight to see the pupils working as one big “teulu” – family.

Activity 4 gave the pupils the last chance to practise the chosen house choir song this year – “Sosban fach”. One could hear the “Oi ois” from the quad! The story behind Sosban Fach was also explained to the pupils.

The afternoon session consisted of stage performances from our very talented vocalists and instrumentalists. These performances ranged from a year 10 pupil (Owain Reynolds) playing the piano after self- teaching for the last 4 months (what an inspiration!) to Casey Lane’s mesmerising rendition of “Careless Whisper” on the saxophone.

We then listened to the harmonious renditions of “Sosban Fach” by the four houses. Mr Allen’s house, Gwenllian, had sneakily incorporated some rhythmical body movements to gain those precious points but it was Illtyd who were victorious.

The last session of the day was the traditional chairing ceremony. At Glan-y-Mȏr we also have the crowning ceremony which is run by the English department. This year, in both Welsh and English, KS4 pupils were set the task of writing a poem based on the theme “Cynefin” “Belonging”. There were some very linguistically sophisticated entries and unique interpretations of the theme but there could only be two winners. The winner of the Welsh Chair was Celyn Calford, year 11, and the winner of the English Crown was Azeemah Popoola, year 10. The final score was delivered and the victorious house for 2024 was Dewi. The greens were triumphant.

An Eisteddfod day would never be complete without the National Anthem and this was wholeheartedly sung by the four houses with Mr Allen at the helm. As the title states – our Eisteddfod is evolving annually and the last performance of the day was Tally Bowley delivering a “Million Dreams” through the medium of sign language. The audience was extremely touched by this performance and Tally’s unforgettable smile.

Pupil feedback this week has been extremely positive and pupils have requested for the morning, interactive sessions to be incorporated into next year’s Eisteddfod. We will see what next year brings!

Diolch yn fawr iawn i’r staff a’r disgyblion am eu cefnogaeth.