Former College Principal Inaugurated by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
On Tuesday 19 March, at Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Annual Congregation at Bangor University, Linda Wyn was crowned an Honorary Fellow of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol for her lifetime contribution to Welsh-medium education.
Linda was principal of Coleg Meirion Dwyfor and Coleg Menai until 2019, and was also a member of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Board and was Vice Chair for several years.
Linda was responsible for a large number of innovative developments to promote the Welsh language during her career within Further Education. Professional courses were developed significantly under her guidance, and Coleg Menai was the first college to offer courses in the field of Management, Personnel and Training through the medium of Welsh.
She also led the development of the Certificate of Initial Education courses for Further Education and, as well as ensuring that the course was available through the medium of Welsh at the college, she was responsible for developing the Bilingual Learning modules for the sector, encouraging staff to experiment with new learning methods in the classroom.
Coleg Menai was the first to offer online courses to learners of the Welsh language and under Linda's guidance the ‘Clic Cymraeg’ course was developed - the first interactive program for learners.
As a senior leader at the college, Linda was also determined to see an increase in the number of courses available through the medium of Welsh and bilingually in the college - and also in the number of students following their courses in Welsh, setting concrete targets for that progress.
She started the first project to mentor staff in order to raise their confidence, and to develop and share Welsh language resources. Little by little, these projects were imitated by other colleges across Wales. In order to encourage more learners to study through the medium of Welsh, Linda developed the ‘Yr Iaith ar Waith’ qualification, which recognised their ability to work confidently in Welsh. In due course, this qualification was accredited by WJEC and made available to students throughout Wales.
Linda said,
"It is a pleasure to be accepted as an Honorary Fellow of the Coleg. During my time as a Board member and as Vice Chair of the Coleg, I was privileged to be part of the early development of the Coleg and to the enthusiasm and dedication of the staff and members”
She added, “The achievements of the Coleg since those early days are undoubtedly truly remarkable and it is with great pleasure to see that the excellent progress made to increase Welsh language education in the higher education sector is now being spread to further education and workplace learning"
Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, added,
"Congratulations to Linda for being honoured at this year's Coleg Cymraeg Annual Congregation in Bangor. We enjoyed celebrating her achievements and contribution to Welsh and bilingual medium higher and further education”
