The National Eisteddfod has published details of how to express an interest and ideas to be considered for the 2024 Eisteddfod Chair and Crown, with the festival to be held in Rhondda Cynon Taf next year
Both prizes are presented by local schools, with the Chair donated by Ysgol Llanhari, and the Crown donated by Ysgol Garth Olwg.
According to Meinir Thomas, Head of Ysgol Llanhari, the opportunity to sponsor the Chair this year is a 'privilege', and with the Chair and the financial prize given by pupils and the school community to celebrate 50 years of Welsh education in Rhondda Cynon Taf area, Mrs Thomas says, "Ysgol Llanhari celebrates 50 years of offering Welsh education in the south west corner of the county in 2024. Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari was opened in 1974, one of the earliest Welsh medium schools in the south east and since 2012, it’s been a successful all-age school for pupils between 3 and 19. It’s a great opportunity for the current pupils to be part of the Eisteddfod buzz and celebrate their identity as we reach this important milestone as a school, in the same year as the National Eisteddfod's visit to the area.
"One of the school's earliest pupils was Mererid Hopwood, the first woman to win the Chair and she will of course be the new Archdruid in 2024. It’s therefore fitting that Ysgol Llanhari is a central part of one of the ceremonial highlights of the Eisteddfod the next year.
"The Chairing ceremony is an annual highlight of the School Eisteddfod, and a tradition that arouses the respect and curiosity of our school's pupils. Everyone is given a role in the celebration, from the celebratory folk dance by our primary pupils to the bearers from the sixth form.
"We’re all looking forward to working with the designer and maker of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Eisteddfod Chair over the next year as part of this exciting project celebrating the landscape, culture and history of the area together with the contribution of Welsh education locally."
The staff and pupils of Ysgol Garth Olwg are also looking forward to presenting the Crown and the financial prize this year, and according to the school, the importance of Welsh education is deeply rooted in this area and the school is proud that the first Welsh Secondary School in the south was opened in Pontypridd in 1962. At that time pupils travelled from all over the region to receive Welsh medium education in Rhydfelen, and it will be wonderful to welcome the whole of Wales back to the area for the National Eisteddfod.
Staff and pupils at Ysgol Garth Olwg are very grateful to local parents for their continued faith in Welsh education, and state that the success of all the Welsh medium primary schools including Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Garth Olwg must also be celebrated. As a 3-19 school, Ysgol Garth Olwg is going from strength to strength ensuring Welsh education of the highest quality for children and young people in the Pontypridd area.
The school is looking forward to working together with the Crown’s designer to put the pupils' ideas and vision into action and there is excitement in the school ready for the preparations for the Eisteddfod next year. Several Eisteddfod-winning poets are former pupils at our school, it’s a great pleasure for us to sponsor the Crown at our local National Eisteddfod.
Details of the Chair and Crown brief are available here, along with how to declare an interest and submit ideas for consideration by the Gorsedd Board. The closing date is 17:00 Friday 13 October.