Erin Pennant Jones from Dolgellau has been awarded Coleg Cymraeg’s Gwilym Prys Davies Scholarship, worth £3,000
Erin Pennant Jones from Rhydymain, Dolgellau, has been awarded Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Gwilym Prys Davies Scholarship this year, which is given to students who choose to study at least 66% of their degree course in the field of Law through the medium of Welsh, and come from the areas of Meirionnydd or Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Erin, who has just passed her A Level exams in History, Welsh and Law at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, Dolgellau, has been awarded the scholarship to study Law at Aberystwyth University.
Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol established the Gwilym Prys Davies Scholarship in 2018 in the name of the noted lawyer, Lord Gwilym Prys Davies from Llanegryn, Meirionnydd. The scholarship is worth £1,000 a year (or £3,000 over three years).
“It’s an honour to receive the scholarship from Coleg Cymraeg in the name of Lord Gwilym Prys Davies”, said Erin, who is 18 years old. “He was a very influential figure in the field of Law and the Welsh-language in my area of Meirionnydd, and worldwide. It will be an honour to study part of the course through the medium of Welsh at Aberystwyth University, in the same place that Gwilym Prys Davies studied.”
“I am also so grateful to Coleg Cymraeg for the financial support that will facilitate my time at university over the next three years
Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of Coleg Cymraeg said:
“On behalf of the Coleg, I would like to congratulate Erin on being awarded the scholarship this year and we wish her every success in the future as she studies Law at Aberystwyth University. I would also like to convey our appreciation to the family of Gwilym Prys Davies for their support over the years.”
As a young woman from rural Wales who is passionate about the Welsh language, and a keen member of Dolgellau Young Farmers’ Club, Erin hopes to follow a career with the police in the future.
“Studying Law partly through the medium of Welsh will enable me to gain the professional skills to work in my native language in the future”, she said. “I hope that this will have a positive effect on the community and encourage other people to do the same in order to reach the Government’s target of ensuring a million Welsh speakers by 2050.”