It is announced today, Thursday 12 January, that Lowri Haf Davies, Taylor-James Daughton, and Alys Ffion Chisholm are the three students who will receive a bursary worth £3,000 each in memory of Gareth Pierce, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and former Chief Executive of WJEC, who died in July 2021.
The Gareth Pierce Bursary Scheme was launched earlier this year by the WJEC in conjunction with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and is offered to up to three undergraduate students studying at least a third of their Mathematics degree course through the medium of Welsh.
Taylor-James, from Barry, who studies at Aberystwyth University, hopes to work as a Maths teacher in the future, and is delighted to win the bursary in a subject he loves to study. He said:
"I really appreciate the bursary and am grateful to the Coleg Cymraeg and the WJEC for the recognition and funding. I'm happy that I can study Maths, which is such a useful, current, and interesting subject through my mother tongue. I look forward to working as a teacher in the future to share my passion for Maths and inspire the next generation to choose to study the subject through the medium of Welsh."
Lowri Haf Davies, a student at Aberystwyth University who is from Nantgaredig, was delighted to hear that she had won the bursary, and feels grateful to her secondary school for encouraging her to study Maths at university:
"It is a privilege to receive the Gareth Pierce bursary, and I will be using the money to purchase books that will help me on my course. I love the course at Aberystwyth University and I’m very grateful to the Maths Department at Ysgol Bro Myrddin where my interest in the field began. I hope to have a career in statistics in the future."
Alys Chisholm, from Caernarfon and student at Cardiff University, said,
"It is an honour to receive this new bursary in the name of Gareth Pierce, an important figure in Welsh-medium education in Wales. I'm very grateful to the Coleg Cymraeg and the WJEC for the funding as it will be very helpful and facilitate my time at university over the next few years."
Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Coleg, said:
"On behalf of the Coleg, I would like to congratulate all three on winning the Gareth Pierce Bursary. Gareth was an influential figure in education in Wales and made a key contribution to the Coleg, specifically in securing a suitable budget to extend the Coleg’s work into areas of further education and apprenticeships. Gareth was a respected friend and colleague and the loss of him was a tremendous blow especially to his family, but also to his friends in so many circles in Wales and beyond. It is a privilege on behalf of the Coleg to support the bursary in his memory and we are very grateful to Gareth's family and also to WJEC for their support. We wish Lowri, Taylor-James and Alys every success in the future. ”
Ian Morgan, Chief Executive of WJEC said:
"On behalf of the WJEC I would like to congratulate Lowri, Taylor-James and Alys, who are the first recipients of the Gareth Pierce Bursary. Gareth was a significant figure within the Welsh education landscape, and this bursary is a testament to his passion for mathematics and learning through the medium of Welsh.
“We wish the students the very best in their studies, and hope the bursary will enable them to flourish in their respective courses."
For more information about Gareth Pierce's bursary, and to check which courses are eligible, visit the Coleg Cymraeg website