Rafftio Dwr Gwyn - White Water Rafting

Tonight, Year 10 and 11 pupils who are considering studying Welsh at AS Level went to 'Cardiff International White Water' in Cardiff Bay to experience the thrill of white water rafting through the medium of Welsh.

Heno, aeth disgyblion Blwyddyn 10 ac 11 sy'n ystyried astudio Cymraeg i Lefel AS i 'Dwr Gwyn Rhyngwladol Caerdydd' ym Mae Caerdydd i brofi gwefr rafftio dwr gwyn trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg.

The trip was organised by the Welsh department with the support of the 'Cymraeg Bob Dydd' (Welsh Every Day) project. The school is one of 11 schools in Wales to be selected by the Welsh Government to take part in ‘Cymraeg Bob Dydd’. Cowbridge School was chosen by the Welsh Government because the Welsh department is seen as a strong and innovative department with excellent GCSE results. Urdd Gobaith Cymru run this project on behalf of the Welsh Government.

The aims of the project are twofold - to increase the uptake of Welsh at AS and A Level and to give students the opportunity to use Welsh outside the classroom to develop their conversational Welsh skills. ‘Cymraeg Bob Dydd’ covered the cost of the white water rafting.

Paige Pendle said: "It was great. We used a lot more Welsh than we would usually use on a Friday night and it really developed my confidence in speaking Welsh in a few hours. This kind of experience also opens your eyes to how you could use Welsh outside school and in the future."

Hannah Williams added: "You don't feel you're learning Welsh even though you are and you're hearing Welsh constantly. For example, all the instructions in the raft were through the medium of Welsh - 'Ymlaen' (forward), 'Yn ol' (backwards), 'pwyso mewn' (lean in), 'i lawr' (down), and 'chwith a dde' (left and right)."

Jamie Ferguson felt that the teamwork involved was one of his favourite parts of the activity and that using Welsh outside school helps to build his confidence to use Welsh more often. 

"We had so much fun. We laughed non stop and it's easy to learn when you're having fun," said Rhiannon. "And also, if we didn't stay 'on the ball' and pick up the vocabulary quickly we would let the team down or worst still, end up in the water! All lessons should be like that - if you get something wrong you get drenched!"