With a long summer ahead of us, how about joining in Menter Iaith Bangor and Hunaniaith’s competition to learn as many ‘englynion’ as possible?
As we know, all children in Wales are now home educated due to Coronavirus. So, Menter Iaith Bangor thought it would be a good opportunity to spark an interest in Welsh poetry amongst Gwynedd’s young people and adults.
There are 4 categories in total, and the prizes will be announced soon – a challenge for School years 7-9 to learn 35 ‘englyn’, a challenge for years 10-11 to learn 50 ‘englyn’, a challenge for years 12-13 to learn 70 ‘englyn’ and a challenge for adults over 18 years old and Welsh learners to learn 100 ‘englyn’. The competition started on the 1st of April and closes on the 1st of September 2020. Menter Iaith Bangor and Hunaniaith will publish 20 new ‘englyn’ each month on their Facebook page for the competitors to learn. Participants are also encouraged to give comments and/or upload videos of their learning experiences on Facebook to see how everyone is getting on.
Menna Baines, one of the Menter Iaith Bangor members and the ‘Barn’ magazine editor said;
“This idea stems from a competition held by Elfed Gruffydd, the former Headmaster at Ysgol Nefyn, for Year 6 pupils in 1981. So we thought of reviving that competition now. Then, a few pupils managed to learn around a 100 ‘englyn’, which was a remarkable achievement. But this time, there’s a chance for the whole family to compete. I wonder if we’ll see anyone surpass some of Ysgol Nefyn pupils’ achievement in ‘81? That’s the challenge!”
There’s a registration form to update progress on which ‘englyn’ are learnt on the competition’s Facebook page
Best of luck to you all. #HerdysguEnglynion