News Archive

Thank you and Farewell:

As I come to the final end of my time as Headteacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, I would like to thank the staff, pupils, parents, governors and community partners for all their support over the last 8 years. I have been very proud of the school and its students over my time here and look back fondly over these past few years. I wish Mr Owain Gethin Davies, the school’s pupils and staff all the best for the next exciting period in the school’s journey.

It has been delightful to finish with seeing so many of our pupils over the last two weeks as they have collected their A Level and GCSE results. Best wishes and success to our pupils.

Warm regards,
Miss Elan Davies,
Head.

  • 210820-elan

 


GCSE Results Day Summer 2020:

Following what has been a period of change and uncertainty over the last few months, it was a real pleasure to see and contact so many of our GCSE pupils today receiving their results. This was particularly important as we have not seen year 11 since the school closed on March the 20th and have not had the usual ROA ceremony and prom this year. Staff were on site this morning to support pupils and congratulate them on their results, as well as wishing them all the best with their future pathways, particularly at a time with so much change. It was particularly good to see so many wanting to return to the 6th form for Septemvber 2020.

We are very proud of the achievements of every one of our pupils today, particularly in light of their resiliance and perseverance through the lockdown period and in response to so much uncertainty. Amonst the many this year celebrating outstanding GCSE results were: Jonathan Driver - 9A* and 3As; Talia Rippin 9A*AB; Zosia Cywinska 8A*2As and 2Bs; Isabella Toms-Arbel 8A*,1A, 3Bs and C; Elliot Wright 6A*, 1A 3Bs and 2Cs”; Martha Howatson, 5A*6A, 1B; Elen Jones 5A*4A, 3Bs; and Caron Hughes 5A* 3As and 4Bs. Congratulations to them on their excellent results! Amonst the many others celebrating achieving 5A*/As or higher this year were: Morgan Fivash-Henderson, Ffion Williams, Brianne Roberts, Christopher Sabisky, Chelsea Jones, Tomi Butler, Angharad Roberts, Lewis Watkins, Caileigh Russell, Sam Fahy, Jamie Williams, Elin Davis, Elan Williams, Caitlin ac Olivia Trueman, Ffion Jones, Jacob Ashall, Olivia Wilding a Morgan Jones. We are proud of all of our year 11 learners today and wish each one of them all the best for the future. Well done and , all the best Class of 2020!”

To see photos of many of the pupils who came to school to collect their results today, log onto our Twitter account. Pictured are all of our twins receiving results this year too.

If you are interested in returning to the 6th form and have not yet made and application, please email us at cyff@dyffrynconwy.conwy.sch.uk to note your interest.

  • 210820-caron
  • 210820-elen
  • 210820-elen
  • 210820-isabella
  • 210820-jonathan
  • 210820-martha

20.08.20 - Open Letter from Conwy Secondary Heads GCSEs

 


A Level Results Day 2020:

“It has been a real pleasure to see and contact so many of our A Level pupils today with their A Level results, particularly as we have not seen year 13 since the school closed on March the 20th. Staff have been on site to support pupils and congratulate them on their A Levels, as well as wishing them all the best with their future pathways, particularly at a time with so much change. It has been a difficult time for all our students in light of Covid 19 and we are very proud of their achievements in their A Levels, as well as their resiliance and contact over the past months.

Amongst those moving on to study at university following their A Level results are Elliw Ford, Angharad Butler and Patrick Lynch who have all been successful in their applications to Oxford this year to study Medicine, Music, French and Polish. Amongst some of our highest achivers this year were Elliw Ford and Ethan Witt, gaining 4A*s each. Isabelle Walmsley and Angharad Butler also gained one A* and 3 As each; and Modlen Alun 3As, B and C; and Bethany Trow A*AAC. We wish them all the best following their excellent results and achivements.

We wish the class of 2020 all the best as they move on to university to study a range of subjects, including Medicine, Law, Physics with Astrophysics, Psychology, Music, Languages at universities including Oxford, Durham, Lancaster, Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Harper Adams and Liverpool John Moores, to apprenticeship and the world of work.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the staff for their work in a very different process this year too. On their behalf, we wish all our pupils the best in the future.”

  • 140820-a-levels-elliw-f-lrg
  • 140820-a-level-isabelle-w
  • 140820-a-level-modlen-a

Here are some of our pupils, Elliw, Isabelle and Modlen after receiving their results.

 

Further information about the Examination process this year can be found from the following links:

13.08.20 - Open Letter from Conwy Secondary Heads, A Level Results


INDUCTION BOOKLET

June 29th - July 2020

PDF - Pupils Induction Booklet


 

Provisions in schools - Frequently asked questions - Conwy June 2020

We would like to thank parents and carers for their continued support and co-operation during the ongoing challenges posed by coronavirus (Covid-19)

We appreciate you have a number of questions about returning to school, here are a few frequently asked questions...read more


 

22.06.20 - Letter to Parents/Guardians

Information for parents in light of COVID 19

 

New purpose for schools from 23/3/20:

 

The school is now closed for pupils for an extended early Easter break from Friday the Mae’r 20/3/20.

On Monday the 23/3/20 schools across Wales were re-opened with a new purpose including providing food for pupils entitled for free school meals (to be collected from the school); support for vulnerable pupils in partnership with external agencies and the Local Authority ALN service; and provision for the children of key workers where there is no further provision available. We are working with our local partner schools on providing and adapting this provision where it is needed.....click here to read more


Dyffryn Conwy Students receive offers to Oxford:

poster

Congratulations to Angharad, Patrick and Elliw who are delighted to have received offers to study at Oxford 2020/21. The three are following very different pathways including Music, International Languages (French and Polish); and Medicine. We are very proud of them. Thank you to the staff who have supported their applications, including Mrs Barlow, Head of the 6th form, Mrs Lynne Roberts and Mrs Iona Owen. All three are now busy studying for their summer examinations.


Conwy Urdd Art and Design 2020: Congratulations

Congratulations to the pupils who competed in and gained success in this year’s Conwy round of the Urdd Art and Craft Competition. We wish the entrants going through to the final round all the best.

Huge congratulations to Chloe Cash who has won the main secondary prize for her art work. Brilliant, Chloe.

  • 120320-clef-1-lrg
  • 120320-clef-2-lrg
  • 120320-clef-3-lrg




Congratulations to Cai!

poster

Congratulations to Cai who came 3rd in the floor and vault gymnastic competition in Cardiff recently. He was presented with the Welsh feathers badge following representing Wales in Stoke last year.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Climbing Teams Competition Successes:

Congratulations to all the pupils who recently competed at Ysgol Gogarth in the Conwy climbin wall competition. Winning first place in their rounds were the year 9-11 Girls’ Team, whilst the Year 9-11 Boys’ Team came second in their competitions. The Year 7-8 Girls’ and Boys’ teams came third in their competitions. Congratulations to all who competed and thank you to the PE department for arranging. The Year 9-11 Girls’ team will now go through to the North Wales round on the 5th of March. We wish them all the best!


Careers Wales and your school:

posterMeet your careers Wales school delivery team.

More information - click here (pdf)


Eco Council Success – Green Flag Banner accreditation 2020:

posterWe are delighted as an Eco Council and School Council on our recent accreditation for the Green Banner Award! A group of dedicated pupils have been striving to ensure that the school’s environmental standards are high enough to meet the challenging expectations for achieving this coveted award. We have been meeting weekly to plan and discuss different ideas about how we can make our school and the community as eco-friendly as possible. Some of our recent successes have been to ensure that a more effective recycling system is being developed on the school site; rubbish collection around the school site and on Ffordd Nebo; holding an own-clothes day to raise money and our big project which is planning our school garden. Our hope is to create a quiet and relaxing area for pupils to spend time in as well as helping us grow vegetables and manage the garden. We are very excited about how these plans are developing and delighted and proud that our work has been recognised through the Eco Schools Green Banner award.


Year 9 Volcanoes Competition:

posterCongratulations to Daniel from 9G who recently won the creative Geography competition for year 9. He created a model of a volcano, labelling the model to show the key features of a volcano and to model its impact. All pupils in year 9 have recently been studying the dangers of tectonic plates over the term. This was a practical opportunity to show their understanding and knowledge as well as their creativity. Thank you to all who competed. The volcanoes are impressive and can be seen in the Geography department. Daniel’s winning volcano stood out and was very effectively labelled. Well done, Daniel.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Robotics Team Success 2020:

posterThis year the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy robotics team, “City Slickers” competed in the First Lego League at Ysgol Bryn Elian. Our team members were: Harry Bethel, Abe Hopwood, Dafydd Phillips (yr 7) Ffion Phillips, Amy Ingham,Eléa Chennel, Jessica Robinson-Jones (yr 10), Tomi Butler, Charlie Bailey, Jamie Williams, Sam Fahy (yr 11). Competitors were judged on: a robotics round; which involved programming a robot to carry out specific tasks, a group project on the theme “City Shapers”, and on Core Values. We scored 195 points in the robot round which was a huge improvement from the year before. Our project was a plan for a new bridge which could be built in Llanrwst, we worked well as a team in delivering our presentation. We were able to win the group project trophy, having won core values the year before. Sadly only the overall winner will go through to the next round, but the day was a huge success, we can’t wait to compete again next year! Thank you to Miss Sarah Tudor for her support for the team.


Wear Your Own Clothes Day Raised £438.

Thank you to everyone that supported our own clothes day on the 24th of January.Thanks to your support we raised £438. The money will be split between our School Eco Council who are busy planning our school garden and Sion and Cadi's trip to Patagonia with the Urdd.


20/21 6th Form Open Evening:

poster

The 6th form Open Evening for 2020/21 will be held on Tuesday the 21st of January 2020. A warm welcome for pupils and parents from our current year 11 and outside of our cluster catchment area. The doors will open at 5.15pm with a presentation in the hall at 5.30pm. There will be the opportunity then to visit subject departments to discuss possible options and A level courses. Further information about entry to the 6th form and 6th form options can be found in our 6th Form options booklet through the following link.

If you require any further information or are unable to attend the evening, please contact the school directly to make other arrangements.

 

More information - click here (pdf)

 

Caerdroia Performance

During the spring term, year 10 Drama students and members of the Drama Club worked with Mair Thomas Ifans and Fiona Collins to devise their own performances based on local myths and legends. Year 10 pupils prepared performances around the legend of William Pencriaginco and Morgan ap Morgan, with members of the drama club creating characters around Welsh legends including Blodeuwedd and Rhys and Meinir.

On Thursday evening the 11th of May, the final performance of Y Caerdroia was held at Gwydir Forest, with pupils performing alongside pupils from Ysgol Bro Gwydir. A varied combination of performances, including clog dancing, singing and acting ensued. The pupils had a very valuable experience of performing in the open air and we thank Menter Iaith for the opportunity to be part of this unique opportunity celebrating Llanrwst’s culture and history. This is the first performance from pupils in the Caerdroia. We very much hope that there will be further opportunities in the future.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy GCSE Press Release

We are delighted with this year’s GCSE results at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy which show a significant increase on previous performance across all subjects. The results are proof of the hard work from pupils over the last two years. The results of our highest performers remain high and sustain the high performance achieved over the last two years. I would like to congratulate all of our pupils and their families on these superb results. We also look forward to welcoming many of our pupils back to the 6th form following their successful results.

Amongst the pupils who have excelled this year is talented artist Ela Owen who gained 9A* a 4A; also Iolyn Chennell who in addition to gaining 5A*, 5A and 4Bs also gained an A grade in A Level French – quite an achievement! Congratulations to both. Also achieving excellence this year are: Mali Evans 5A*, 7A and a B; Haf Roberts 5A*, 6A and 2Bs; Nel Davies 4A*, 4A and 5Bs; Jack Hardy 4A*, 4A, 5B; Sarah Roberts 4A*, 7A and a B; Lochlan Watson 3A*, 7A and a B; Jack Carus-Davies 2A*, 6A and 5Bs; Sion Dafydd Edwards 2A*, 4A and 6Bs; Elgan Williams 2A*, 6A and 5Bs; Nanw Jones 2A*, 3A and 8Bs; Carwyn Jones 7A, 5B and a C; Sion Meirion Williams 6A, 5B and a C; Matthew Cawley 5A, 8B; and Gwern Jones 5A, 4B and 4Cs. We wish congratulations to each of them on their results and look forward to formally congratulating them during our forthcoming awards ceremony on the 10th of September.

Amongst the subjects excelling this year are Music, Art, Drama, Chemistry and Welsh First Language, each with a high percentage of A*/A grades.

As a Headteacher I am extremely pleased with this year’s strong performance, particularly in light of continued changes to GCSEs and national performance measures. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our pupils on their results and to wish them every success in the future whether in the 6th form, at college or in the world of work. I am very proud of them and look forward to hearing their success stories in the future. On behalf of the Governing Body, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the school’s staff for their continued hard work and to thank our supportive parents. Today is a day to feel proud and to celebrate.

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

 

A Busy A Level Results Day at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 2019: 15/8/19

We are delighted with this year’s A level results that show a considerable increase on past performance at both A Level and AS level, including strong A*/A performance this year. Amongst these exceptional results are: Rosy Pearson who plans to study Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge who gained A*A*AB; Ifan Jones A*AA and Efa Celyn Davies AAA who both plan to study Medicine in Cardiff; Amaan Abbasi A*AAA who plans to study Mathematics and Economics at the London College of Economics and Political Science; and a Caitlin Thomas who gained a Double Distinction, A a B grade and plans to study Criminal Justice in Liverpool. Others proving success were: Abbie Wilding and Lowri Roberts with AABB each and Sara Roberts and Shannon Jones AAB each. Rydym yn falch iawn ohonynt.


We are also delighted with this year’s strong AS results. Excelling are Elliw Ford and Ethan Witt with AAAA each and Angharad Butler and Isabel Walmsley with AAA each. Well done, year 12 – we now look forward to next year’s very promising results!


Pictured are Rosie, Ifan and Amaan with their fantastic results. Congratulations to them on their results and all the best at university.

 

Llwyddiannau Celf a ChrefftWe wish to congratulate all our pupils and their families on their results, the result of months of hard work, study and revision. We wish them all the best in their future pathways – to university, college, the world of work and apprenticeships. We look forward to hearing their future success stories. We also take this opportunity, on behalf of the school’s Governing Body to thank the staff who have taught them.

 

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Job Vacancies: Office Administration Apprentice

click here for more information


Job Vacancies: Teaching Assisstant Apprentice (Science Technician)

click here for more information


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy: Preparing for Curriculum for Wales 2022

Recently, a film crew from Welsh Government visited the school to gather the views of pupils, staff, governors and one of our Cluster Primary Heads on our journey towards Curriculum for Wales. You can learn more through the following link to the Curriculum for Wales BLOG - click here (only available in Welsh)


 

Ski Champions

pupilsCongratulations to Scott and Thomas who both recently took part in Snowsports Wales Schools Races, North Wales region held at Runcorn 1/7/19.
Scott won the individual U16 registered racer Silver, whilst Thomas won the individual U14 non-registered racer Silver.
Congratulations to both on their achievements! Well done!


Information for Year 7 and 8 pupils and parents about the Summer 2019 Activities Week

July 8 - 12, 2019

Year 7 Activities - click here

Year 8 Activities - click here


Information for Year 9 and 10 pupils and parents about the Summer 2019 Activities Week

July 8 - 12, 2019

Year 9 Activities - click here

Year 10 Activities - click here


Liverpool Choir Experience

Congratulations to Jamie Oliver from year 7 who recently represented North West Wales in a choral concert at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. Click here to read more about Jamie’s experience.


Urdd National Eisteddfod in Cardiff

Congratulations to the following pupils who are national winners in the Art and Craft section of the Urdd National Eisteddfod in Cardiff this year. Judges noted high standards in each category. Congratulations to the following:

Cai Williams, 2nd prize for Puppet or Mask under 19
Begw Williams, 1st for CAD years 7, 8 a 9; and
Branwen Metcalf, 2nd for CAD years 7, 8 a 9.
A very talented group of young artists!

We also wish all pupils competing in the Urdd Eisteddfod all the best next week!


GCSE Art Workshop with Cefin Burgess

Year 10’s GCSE Art group have had the opportunity to work with artist Cefin Burgess, arranged by Menter Iaith Conwy. During the workshop, pupils had the opportunity to take pictures of different areas within Llanrwst in order to create their own individual pieces. Their journey around Llanrwst for inspiration included a visit to St Crwst Church. This is the view of one of the year 10 pupils working on this exciting project:
“Today we took part in an art workshop with Cefin Burgess. I used the ‘embelish’ machines and different materials including wool and felt. Everyone created their own individual pieces which will be combined together to create one finished piece. It was really interesting to use a different art technique and to visit St Crwst Church in Llanrwst which was an eye opener. An excellent opportunity!”

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

WRU Welsh National Champions – Girls’ Rugby final

Pencampwyr Rygbi Merched WRU CymruCongratulations to the year 9 and 10 girls’ rugby team who competed at the Principality Stadium on the 2nd of May in the WRU National 10 aside championship. The girls won 4 out of 4 preliminary games in order to reach and win the final. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to play in the stadium in Cardiff. Thank you to Llion, our School Rugby Officer for training the girls and arrangements for the event and to our supportive parents for ensuring that the girls reached the stadium safely and their support during the trip.

The scorers during the day were:
Ffion Williams x2
Ela Evans x 2
Nel Metcalfe x 7 and 8 trys
Erin Jones x2

The scorers during the final game against Rhydywaen with a score of 41 : 10 were:
Nel Metcalfe
Mali Edwards
Erin Jones
Erin Evans
Ela Evans


Year 9 Arts Workshop:

Recently, the artist Eleri Jones came to work with a group of year 9 pupils. The workshop focused on ‘creating’ and printing. The 30 pupils involved in the workshop were very enthusiastic and thoroughly enjoyed creating their experiment books and decorated houses.

Conwy Region Arts and Craft Eisteddfod:
Congratulations to the following on their success in the Conwy Region Art and Craft section of the Urdd Eisteddfod. We are very proud of their successes.

Drawin work - 2D BL 7,8 A 9
1st Cadi Llyn Davies, 2nd Owain Williams, 3rd Enid Lloyd Hughes

Creative 2D work Yrs. 7,8 and 9
1st Cai Williams

Monochrome print Yrs.7,8 and 9
2nd Cadi llyn Davies, 3rd Cai Williams

Colour print:
3rd. Cai Williams

Series of monochrome prints:
3rd Cai Williams

Print Series (colour) – 3rd Cadi Llyn Davies

Artefact:
1st. Cai Williams

CAD
1st Begw Mai Williams, 2nd Branwen Sion Metcalfe.

Llwyddiannau Celf a ChrefftA huge congratulations to Cai Williams who won the trophy for winning the most points across all the Art and Craft competitions – a real achievement! Well done Cai.

 

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Cog Urdd Competition, Conwy Round:

Cog Urdd Competition, Conwy RoundThe final round of the CogUrdd (Urdd Cooking competition) was held on Wednesday the 1st of May at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy.  3 competed and, according to the judging panel the standard this year was extremely high from the young competitiors.  Thank you to all three who competed and to all who supported them in preparing and competing.  They had an excellent opportunity! 

Two competed from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, Rhudion Rees ac Enid Hughes.  Rhudion won the first prize with Enid winning second prize.  Congratulations to both – excellent results.   

Thank you to the local Urdd officers for arranging, to the judge Mrs Bethan Matthews, and to Mrs Buddug Williams who co-ordinated the work and arrangements at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy.   

After his success, Rhudion will now represent Conwy in the National Eisteddfod on Tuesday the 28th of May.  We wish him all the best in the competition. 

Caerdroia Performance

During the spring term, year 10 Drama students and members of the Drama Club worked with Mair Thomas Ifans and Fiona Collins to devise their own performances based on local myths and legends. Year 10 pupils prepared performances around the legend of William Pencriaginco and Morgan ap Morgan, with members of the drama club creating characters around Welsh legends including Blodeuwedd and Rhys and Meinir.

On Thursday evening the 11th of May, the final performance of Y Caerdroia was held at Gwydir Forest, with pupils performing alongside pupils from Ysgol Bro Gwydir. A varied combination of performances, including clog dancing, singing and acting ensued. The pupils had a very valuable experience of performing in the open air and we thank Menter Iaith for the opportunity to be part of this unique opportunity celebrating Llanrwst’s culture and history. This is the first performance from pupils in the Caerdroia. We very much hope that there will be further opportunities in the future.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy GCSE Press Release

We are delighted with this year’s GCSE results at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy which show a significant increase on previous performance across all subjects. The results are proof of the hard work from pupils over the last two years. The results of our highest performers remain high and sustain the high performance achieved over the last two years. I would like to congratulate all of our pupils and their families on these superb results. We also look forward to welcoming many of our pupils back to the 6th form following their successful results.

Amongst the pupils who have excelled this year is talented artist Ela Owen who gained 9A* a 4A; also Iolyn Chennell who in addition to gaining 5A*, 5A and 4Bs also gained an A grade in A Level French – quite an achievement! Congratulations to both. Also achieving excellence this year are: Mali Evans 5A*, 7A and a B; Haf Roberts 5A*, 6A and 2Bs; Nel Davies 4A*, 4A and 5Bs; Jack Hardy 4A*, 4A, 5B; Sarah Roberts 4A*, 7A and a B; Lochlan Watson 3A*, 7A and a B; Jack Carus-Davies 2A*, 6A and 5Bs; Sion Dafydd Edwards 2A*, 4A and 6Bs; Elgan Williams 2A*, 6A and 5Bs; Nanw Jones 2A*, 3A and 8Bs; Carwyn Jones 7A, 5B and a C; Sion Meirion Williams 6A, 5B and a C; Matthew Cawley 5A, 8B; and Gwern Jones 5A, 4B and 4Cs. We wish congratulations to each of them on their results and look forward to formally congratulating them during our forthcoming awards ceremony on the 10th of September.

Amongst the subjects excelling this year are Music, Art, Drama, Chemistry and Welsh First Language, each with a high percentage of A*/A grades.

As a Headteacher I am extremely pleased with this year’s strong performance, particularly in light of continued changes to GCSEs and national performance measures. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our pupils on their results and to wish them every success in the future whether in the 6th form, at college or in the world of work. I am very proud of them and look forward to hearing their success stories in the future. On behalf of the Governing Body, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the school’s staff for their continued hard work and to thank our supportive parents. Today is a day to feel proud and to celebrate.

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

 

A Busy A Level Results Day at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 2019: 15/8/19

We are delighted with this year’s A level results that show a considerable increase on past performance at both A Level and AS level, including strong A*/A performance this year. Amongst these exceptional results are: Rosy Pearson who plans to study Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge who gained A*A*AB; Ifan Jones A*AA and Efa Celyn Davies AAA who both plan to study Medicine in Cardiff; Amaan Abbasi A*AAA who plans to study Mathematics and Economics at the London College of Economics and Political Science; and a Caitlin Thomas who gained a Double Distinction, A a B grade and plans to study Criminal Justice in Liverpool. Others proving success were: Abbie Wilding and Lowri Roberts with AABB each and Sara Roberts and Shannon Jones AAB each. Rydym yn falch iawn ohonynt.


We are also delighted with this year’s strong AS results. Excelling are Elliw Ford and Ethan Witt with AAAA each and Angharad Butler and Isabel Walmsley with AAA each. Well done, year 12 – we now look forward to next year’s very promising results!


Pictured are Rosie, Ifan and Amaan with their fantastic results. Congratulations to them on their results and all the best at university.

 

Llwyddiannau Celf a ChrefftWe wish to congratulate all our pupils and their families on their results, the result of months of hard work, study and revision. We wish them all the best in their future pathways – to university, college, the world of work and apprenticeships. We look forward to hearing their future success stories. We also take this opportunity, on behalf of the school’s Governing Body to thank the staff who have taught them.

 

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Job Vacancies: Office Administration Apprentice

click here for more information


Job Vacancies: Teaching Assisstant Apprentice (Science Technician)

click here for more information


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy: Preparing for Curriculum for Wales 2022

Recently, a film crew from Welsh Government visited the school to gather the views of pupils, staff, governors and one of our Cluster Primary Heads on our journey towards Curriculum for Wales. You can learn more through the following link to the Curriculum for Wales BLOG - click here (only available in Welsh)


 

Ski Champions

pupilsCongratulations to Scott and Thomas who both recently took part in Snowsports Wales Schools Races, North Wales region held at Runcorn 1/7/19.
Scott won the individual U16 registered racer Silver, whilst Thomas won the individual U14 non-registered racer Silver.
Congratulations to both on their achievements! Well done!


Information for Year 7 and 8 pupils and parents about the Summer 2019 Activities Week

July 8 - 12, 2019

Year 7 Activities - click here

Year 8 Activities - click here


Information for Year 9 and 10 pupils and parents about the Summer 2019 Activities Week

July 8 - 12, 2019

Year 9 Activities - click here

Year 10 Activities - click here


Liverpool Choir Experience

Congratulations to Jamie Oliver from year 7 who recently represented North West Wales in a choral concert at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. Click here to read more about Jamie’s experience.


Urdd National Eisteddfod in Cardiff

Congratulations to the following pupils who are national winners in the Art and Craft section of the Urdd National Eisteddfod in Cardiff this year. Judges noted high standards in each category. Congratulations to the following:

Cai Williams, 2nd prize for Puppet or Mask under 19
Begw Williams, 1st for CAD years 7, 8 a 9; and
Branwen Metcalf, 2nd for CAD years 7, 8 a 9.
A very talented group of young artists!

We also wish all pupils competing in the Urdd Eisteddfod all the best next week!


GCSE Art Workshop with Cefin Burgess

Year 10’s GCSE Art group have had the opportunity to work with artist Cefin Burgess, arranged by Menter Iaith Conwy. During the workshop, pupils had the opportunity to take pictures of different areas within Llanrwst in order to create their own individual pieces. Their journey around Llanrwst for inspiration included a visit to St Crwst Church. This is the view of one of the year 10 pupils working on this exciting project:
“Today we took part in an art workshop with Cefin Burgess. I used the ‘embelish’ machines and different materials including wool and felt. Everyone created their own individual pieces which will be combined together to create one finished piece. It was really interesting to use a different art technique and to visit St Crwst Church in Llanrwst which was an eye opener. An excellent opportunity!”

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

WRU Welsh National Champions – Girls’ Rugby final

Pencampwyr Rygbi Merched WRU CymruCongratulations to the year 9 and 10 girls’ rugby team who competed at the Principality Stadium on the 2nd of May in the WRU National 10 aside championship. The girls won 4 out of 4 preliminary games in order to reach and win the final. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to play in the stadium in Cardiff. Thank you to Llion, our School Rugby Officer for training the girls and arrangements for the event and to our supportive parents for ensuring that the girls reached the stadium safely and their support during the trip.

The scorers during the day were:
Ffion Williams x2
Ela Evans x 2
Nel Metcalfe x 7 and 8 trys
Erin Jones x2

The scorers during the final game against Rhydywaen with a score of 41 : 10 were:
Nel Metcalfe
Mali Edwards
Erin Jones
Erin Evans
Ela Evans


Year 9 Arts Workshop:

Recently, the artist Eleri Jones came to work with a group of year 9 pupils. The workshop focused on ‘creating’ and printing. The 30 pupils involved in the workshop were very enthusiastic and thoroughly enjoyed creating their experiment books and decorated houses.

Conwy Region Arts and Craft Eisteddfod:
Congratulations to the following on their success in the Conwy Region Art and Craft section of the Urdd Eisteddfod. We are very proud of their successes.

Drawin work - 2D BL 7,8 A 9
1st Cadi Llyn Davies, 2nd Owain Williams, 3rd Enid Lloyd Hughes

Creative 2D work Yrs. 7,8 and 9
1st Cai Williams

Monochrome print Yrs.7,8 and 9
2nd Cadi llyn Davies, 3rd Cai Williams

Colour print:
3rd. Cai Williams

Series of monochrome prints:
3rd Cai Williams

Print Series (colour) – 3rd Cadi Llyn Davies

Artefact:
1st. Cai Williams

CAD
1st Begw Mai Williams, 2nd Branwen Sion Metcalfe.

Llwyddiannau Celf a ChrefftA huge congratulations to Cai Williams who won the trophy for winning the most points across all the Art and Craft competitions – a real achievement! Well done Cai.

 

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Cog Urdd Competition, Conwy Round:

Cog Urdd Competition, Conwy RoundThe final round of the CogUrdd (Urdd Cooking competition) was held on Wednesday the 1st of May at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy.  3 competed and, according to the judging panel the standard this year was extremely high from the young competitiors.  Thank you to all three who competed and to all who supported them in preparing and competing.  They had an excellent opportunity! 

Two competed from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, Rhudion Rees ac Enid Hughes.  Rhudion won the first prize with Enid winning second prize.  Congratulations to both – excellent results.   

Thank you to the local Urdd officers for arranging, to the judge Mrs Bethan Matthews, and to Mrs Buddug Williams who co-ordinated the work and arrangements at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy.   

After his success, Rhudion will now represent Conwy in the National Eisteddfod on Tuesday the 28th of May.  We wish him all the best in the competition. 

Sporting Successes: Spring 2019

It has been a full term of sporting successes including recent success for the Athletics Team in the Conwy Athletics Competition on the 11/4/19. The pupils competing are now through to the next round, representing both Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy and Conwy County. We are delighted with their success and wish them all the best in the next round!

Our girls’ rugby teams have also been very successful during recent competitions, including the recent Urdd 7 aside. Strong teams are certainly in play in years 9 and 10. Well done girls and our thanks to Llion for organising, training and supporting.

The boys’ teams have also been successful, winning the 7 aside championship for the Urdd too. We look forward to seeing how the teams perform in the Eryri cup after Easter. Amongst some of the other successes this term are:


Under 16 Boys – RGC Cup Champions:
Dan 16 Bechgyn - Ennillwyr cwpan RGC Congratulations to the under 16 team who won against Ysgol Caereinion in the recent RGC cup. The score was YDC 40 – 15 Caereinion. The scorers were Siencyn Metcalfe , Tomos Carwyn , Carwyn Jones (2), Taliesyn Taylor , Luke Roberts. Trys - Carwyn Jones (5). Congratulations to them all.
 
Under 15 Girls – RGC Cup winners:
Merched Dan 15 - Ennillwyr Cwpan RGC Congratulations to the year 9 and 10 girls who have won the recent RGC 10 aside competition with two teams in the final round! The Star of the match was Lois Morris. This win has ensured that the girls now have the opportunity to play in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium or at ‘Parc Yr Arfau’! Well done girls!

Extracurricular Sporting Activities:

It has been good to see the success of the swimming club that has started over this half term. We wish the members of the team all the best as they compete in the future! Another new club that has recently started is the moutainbiking club. Our thanks to Mr Turner and the PE department, along with local partners for their support in engaging learners and broadening the offer available for them.


Read for Good

Coding ChampionsYsgol Dyffryn Conwy have raised an amazing £113.20.


CONWY COUNTY URDD EISTEDDFOD

It was wonderful to see many pupils competing on the Eisteddfod Stage on Sunday the 30th of March this year. Congratulations to everyone who took part. Here is a summary of the successes:

Girls’ Solo for Years 7-9: 3rd Erin Mai Grove
Boys’ Solo for Years 7-9: 1st Rhys Lloyd Thomas
Year 7-9 Duet: 1st Caitlin and Erin; 2nd Rhys and Robat
Alaw Werin Solo for years 7-9: 1st Erin Mai Grove; 2nd Erin Fflur Edwards
Harp Solo for years 7-9: 1st Elen Basset
Guitar Solo for years 7-9: 1st Jamie Oliver; 2nd Carla Williams
Brass Solo for years 7-9: 2il Jamie Oliver
Piano Solo for years 7-9: 1st Erin Fflur Edwards; 2nd Elen Basset
Ensemble for years 7-9 :Hank, Daisy and Eleanor
Harp Solo for year 10 and above: Christopher Sabisky
Wind Instruments’ Solo for year 10 and above: Christopher Sabisky
Cerdd Dant Duet for years 7-9: Erin Grove and Caitlin
‘Ymgom’ : 2nd parti Madi Wyn
Dance under 25: 1st parti Madi Wyn

As a result of all the hard work, effort and success above we are very proud that the school won the award for the most points this year.

Well done to all who competed. All the best and every success in the national round in Cardiff in May-June.


Year 7 Reading Challenge

Year 7 pupils have been participating in activities to promote reading over the year. They are supported by our 6th Form Literacy Champions, Isabelle and Bethany. So far this year 7G and 7M have raised over £110 towards the charity ‘Read for Goo’ which supports reading in hospitals for children through sponsored reading challenges. The charity funds mobile libraries and storytellers for hospitals. We wish the rest of year 7 all the best as the initiative continues over the next term. You can read more about the charity’s work through the following link.


Concert

As a school we were very proud of our pupils and former pupils who recently performed at a concert in Betws y Coed Church on Sunday the 14th of March, 2019 under the leadership of Miss Angharad Ellis. There were excellent performances from the youth choir which now has over 60 members from years 7 to 11. It was also delightful to hear the older pupils within the school along with former pupils singing as côr Cantilena later during the evening. We are very glad to have had the opportunity to support the local community and the National Eisteddfod.


Skiing in Andorra, 2019

‘During the February half term I and a number of other pupils from different year groups, had the opportunity to go skiing with the school to Andorra. The trip was excellent for a number of reasons – the weather, the activities in the evening, the skiing instructors, the fabulous views and the hotel.

After a journey of around 24 hours on a bus and boat, everyone was really pleased to reach Andorra. After passing the border, the skiing slopes could be seen from the main road and looked excellent! Everyone was really excited and ready to ski, even though we had to wait until the next morning! A short journey then to the hotel, a chance to unpack and to get used to the area.

The following morning we began our skiing. There were many on the trip who had not been skiing before and it was exciting for all of us. We were put in groups according to our skiing ability, and placed with a trainer. Our trainer was excellent! I learnt an awful lot of new techniques about how to improve my skiing over the week.

The activities in the evening were also a lot of fun! We went ten pin bowling, to the Hard Rock Café for food, shopping to Andorra La Vella, the capital city, and we also enjoyed a quiz at the hotel.
It all came to an end too soon! We had all enjoyed ourselves so much and were sad to leave but were completely exhausted, so quite glad when we finally returned to Glasdir and our families – we were glad to see them and reach home.'

Gruff Gwyn


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Equestrian Club Success

Congratulations to our equestrian team who were competing over the weekend at Southview, Camarthenshire. Competing were Siwan Williams, Huw Foulkes Humphreys, Harri Wheway, Iri Davies, Celyn Owen, Scarlett Owen. They were split into two teams for the 70cm and 80cm jumping competitions and both teams will now go on to compete in the championships at Bury Farm in April. An excellent result! Following their success, Celyn will also be competing in the individual 70cm competition and Iri Daview in the 80cm. Another successful member of the team was Twm Cernyw competing individually in the 90cm and 1m jumps. Hermione Williams also competed in the 1m and 1.10m competitions and goes on to compete in the next round for the 1.1. Folliwing success in the dressage, Morgan Haaer will also go on to compete in the championships. A very successful competition for all involved. We look forward to hearing about their success in the next round and are very proud of them all! Good luck in Bury Farm in April. Thank you to all the parents who have supported and arranged for the students to compete and particularly to Ceri for leading the work.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy round – ‘Cogurdd’ (Urdd Cooking contest)

On Friday the 1st of February, pupils from year 9 competed in the school round of the Urdd cooking contest, ‘Cogurdd’. During the morning they prepared delicious meals under the supervision of Mrs Buddug Williams. These were then judged by Mrs Marian Pritchard. Rhudion Rees came first with Enid Hughes in second place and Elen Bassett third. Congratulations to all three. The next round takes place at county level on the 12th of April in Coleg Llandrillo. We wish them all the best. Thank you to the staff who supported them and judged the competition. An excellent opportunity for learners to demonstrate their cooking skills.

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Education Minister’s Visit to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy:

On Thursday the 7th of March, Kirsty Williams visited Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy to meet with cluster heads and our Business Managers team supported by the Small and Rural Schools Grant. During the visit, the Minister learnt about our school to school collaboration around the grant and Curriculum for Wales work. She met with Cluster Heads, Meinir Jones, Karen Lloyd Owen and Nia Jones-Artell; Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Business Manager, Mrs Delyth Williams and the Cluster Business Managers, Tracey Owens, Einir Jones and Sian Owen.

We were delighted that the Minister could visit the school to learn about the impact of the grant in supporting Head Teachers and governing bodies with the business management of school, particularly at times where finance has been challenging. The scheme has seen many benefits including the benefits of joint procurement, scrutiny of School Level Agreements with the local authority and other agencies, and the benefits of releasing Head Teachers in small schools to focus on teaching and learning priorities. The additional benefit has been in closer school to school collaboration, an essential part of cluster working towards national priorities such as Curriculum for Wales and the ALN Transformation Agenda. We are delighted that funding will be available for the next two financial years to support this project.

During the visit Kirsty Williams also met our Head pupils, Jake and Efa, and Evan Burgess, Aberconwy representative for the National Youth Parliament. The pupils spoke about their subjects and future ambitions, Evan also questioned the Minister about topical issues such as school funding.

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

History of the Harp Workshop

On Tuesday the 5th of February, Elin Angharad Davies visited the school to give a talk on the history of the harp in Llanrwst. She led two workshops for pupils of different ages. The pupils all enjoyed, learning much about the history of the harp. The pupils had the opportunity to see the Deires harp being played. Some pupils also had the opportunity to play the instrument at the end of the session.

Angharad Butler, a pupil studying Music A Level and a keen harpist also had the opportunity to play the instrument. She said that she had ‘learnt a lot of new facts about the history of the harp in Llanrwst and the Deires harp in particular from the workshop. It was fascinating to learn about the harp’s history, particularly as the history of the harp and Llanrwst is little known. I also enjoyed having the opportunity to play the harp - something I very much enjoyed.”

disgyblion disgyblion

Information for parents/carers and stakeholders about Curriculum for Wales

A new website has just been launched in order to share information about the new curriculum with parents/carers and other stakeholders. You can find out more through the link below.

For more information - click here


A Warm Welcome to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s 6th Form Open Evening 2019/2020

A Warm Welcome to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s 6th Form Open Evening 2019/2020For more information - click here


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy round – ‘Cogurdd’ (Urdd Cooking contest)

On Friday the 1st of February, pupils from year 9 competed in the school round of the Urdd cooking contest, ‘Cogurdd’. During the morning they prepared delicious meals under the supervision of Mrs Buddug Williams. These were then judged by Mrs Marian Pritchard. Rhudion Rees came first with Enid Hughes in second place and Elen Bassett third. Congratulations to all three. The next round takes place at county level on the 12th of April in Coleg Llandrillo. We wish them all the best. Thank you to the staff who supported them and judged the competition. An excellent opportunity for learners to demonstrate their cooking skills.

disgyblion disgyblion

Winners in ‘Game of Codes’

Coding ChampionsCongratulations to Eleanor and Awen who were once again very successful in a recent national coding competition. They won the ‘Judges Award’ and £300 worth of ICT/Digital equipment for the school in the ‘Game of Codes’ competition. The girls were the only team from North Wales competing, and out of 25 teams they won this excellent award. Superb success once again girls!


National Coding Competition

Coding ChampionsCongratulations to Awen Dafydd who yesterday won the KS3 Commendation award in the National Coding Competition in Pwllheli. Excellent, Awen!


Anweledig (a Production by Fran Wen Theatre Company)

Coding Champions"On February 20th we, year 12 and 13 students who are studying Welsh, went to the Pontio Arts Centre in Bangor to watch a production of Anweledig by Cwmni’r Fran Wen.
Anweledig was first performed at Denbigh National Eisteddfod in 2013. At that time it was called Ar Lan y Môr and it was part of an art project involving the North Wales Hospital at Denbigh, which eventually closed.

Its ‘subject’ is mental illness, and in the words of the author, Aled Jones Williams, “Unseen is the journey of a breakdown”. Throughout the performance we eavesdrop on the internal emotions of Glenda, listening to her chaotic, painful and funny thoughts. It all begins when Glenda doesn’t get up one morning to go to work in the bank. We walk with her to Denbigh Mental Hospital. Aled Jones Williams has added to the script since 2013 and in the author’s own words: “After a long time the journey of Glenda’s breakdown expands into a journey of recovery. Recovery isn’t ‘they all lived happily ever after’ but rather, a process that’s as difficult as the illness itself”. Ffion Dafis’s portrayal of Glenda was honest and excruciating. Not only does the play focus on the idea that mental illness is a ‘taboo’ subject and try to break down the wall between sufferers of the illness and other people, but it also shows that recovery is harder to achieve than the illness itself. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the play, and without a doubt everyone in the audience left the theatre having been emotionally affected.”

Lowri Owen, Elan Jones, Mali Williams


Coding Champions

Coding ChampionsCongratulations to Awen and Eleanor from year 7 who have had further success in their coding competitions. Their project ‘Smartville’ has reached the final round of this year’s ‘Game of Codes’ competition arranged by Technocamps. We would like to thank the parents of both pupils for their support. We are very proud of their achievement and wish them all the best in the next round at Llandrillo College on the 7th of March.

This builds on their recent success winning 3rd prize in the STEM Championship. Keep at it girls!


6th Form Options Fair for year 11

During this week pupils from the 6th form presented information about their A Level and AS subjects to year 11 pupils who are considering returning to the 6th Form as part of the options process for next year. Our Head pupils have been very passionate about Pupils from year 11 had the following responses to the fair:

“It was good to hear the views of older pupils about their 6th form subjects and 6th form study.”

“It was good to be able to see the work that the 6th form do”.

“It gave me a really good opportunity to ask questions of the 6th form.”

“The experience has helped me make decisions about the courses I want to study next year.”

For further information on returning to or joining our 6th form click here.

disgyblion disgyblion

History of the Harp Workshop

On Tuesday the 5th of February, Elin Angharad Davies visited the school to give a talk on the history of the harp in Llanrwst. She led two workshops for pupils of different ages. The pupils all enjoyed, learning much about the history of the harp. The pupils had the opportunity to see the Deires harp being played. Some pupils also had the opportunity to play the instrument at the end of the session.

Angharad Butler, a pupil studying Music A Level and a keen harpist also had the opportunity to play the instrument. She said that she had ‘learnt a lot of new facts about the history of the harp in Llanrwst and the Deires harp in particular from the workshop. It was fascinating to learn about the harp’s history, particularly as the history of the harp and Llanrwst is little known. I also enjoyed having the opportunity to play the harp - something I very much enjoyed.”

disgyblion disgyblion

Information for parents/carers and stakeholders about Curriculum for Wales

A new website has just been launched in order to share information about the new curriculum with parents/carers and other stakeholders. You can find out more through the link below.

For more information - click here


A Warm Welcome to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s 6th Form Open Evening 2019/2020

A Warm Welcome to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s 6th Form Open Evening 2019/2020For more information - click here


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy round – ‘Cogurdd’ (Urdd Cooking contest)

On Friday the 1st of February, pupils from year 9 competed in the school round of the Urdd cooking contest, ‘Cogurdd’. During the morning they prepared delicious meals under the supervision of Mrs Buddug Williams. These were then judged by Mrs Marian Pritchard. Rhudion Rees came first with Enid Hughes in second place and Elen Bassett third. Congratulations to all three. The next round takes place at county level on the 12th of April in Coleg Llandrillo. We wish them all the best. Thank you to the staff who supported them and judged the competition. An excellent opportunity for learners to demonstrate their cooking skills.

disgyblion disgyblion

‘Pwy geith y Gig?’ (Who gets the Gig?)

On Tuesday the 29th of February there was great excitement at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy as the hall was filled with year 8 pupils for the recording of the S4C programme ‘Pwy geith y Gig?’. It was wonderful to welcome back former pupils (and Head pupils) Leusa Ellis and Mali Sion with their band, ‘Serol Serol’ to perform on the school stage to an audience of year 8 pupils. Following the gig, pupils from the school also competed to part of a new group which will be formed through the programme. Erin, from year 8 expressed her views about the experience by saying, “It was exciting to have a programme such as ‘Pwy geith y Gig’ at the school and to take part in a recording for the show. The gig by Serol Serol was excellent and being interviewed was also a really good experience. It was a good opportunity to hear a band perform live in front of cameras and to perform individually as well!”

We look forward to hearing more over the next few months as the competition progresses nationwide.


SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING

poster

12/02/2019
5.30 - 7.30pm

More information - click here (pdf)


January 2019 Extracurricular Sporting Activities

Extra Curricular SportsFor more information - click here


An Excellent Pefromance of the musical ‘Cae Melwr’ at Venue Cymru: 19/12/18

With the end of another busy term approaching it was fabulous to experience this year’s school’ musical, ‘Cae Melor’ at Venue Cymru. The performance showcased a high quality performance from a dedicated cast and band. The show is a new development for the school this year, working in partnership with Ysgol y Creuddyn as part of our collaborative work towards this Summer’s National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst. It was warming to see so many from our local community there to enjoy the performance and a very full auditorium. I would like to thank all who came to see the show for their support. It was clear from many that there were warm memories of the 1989 performance of the show too!

I would particularly like to thank the pupils who performed and supported the cast, the staff who trained them, particularly Miss Llio Japheth, Miss Angharad Ellis and Mr Sam Jones as well as to all the staff who supported on the night.

It was also excellent to welcome pupils and staff from our local primary schools to the school to see the very first performance on Tuesday morning – thank you for supporting!

disgyblion disgyblion

Theatre Clwyd Young Artist Award for under 18s

Merry Christmas and a Happy New YearCongratulations to Ela Owen who has won the Theatre Clwyd Young Artist Award for under 18s.


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and a Happy New YearWith Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - School re-opens for pupils on the 7th


RYLA Young Leaders Training

2 fachgenDuring the Summer term Efa, Celyn Davies from year 13 had the opportunity to be part of the prestigious RYLA project. This is a project run annually by the Rotary and sponsored locally by Dyffryn Conwy Rorary. Each year it gives the unique opportunity for at least one of our sixth from pupils to attend a leadership training experience in the Arthog centre in Gwynedd. Every one of our pupils who have had the advantage of this experience have been full of enthusiasm about the experience, Efa was thrilled with the opportunities she had and spoke passionately about them in a recent Rotary meeting. The meeting was attended by Efa’s Head of Year, Mrs Barlow on the 19th of December. She also had the opportunity during the evening to thank our local Rotary representatives for their generous sponsorship of the experience. We look forward to continuing with this excellent partnership and to the opportunity that this year’s individual(s) will have next summer.


ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS LETTER

poster

14/12/18

In any event of inclement weather, the school will remain open until a message to the contrary is shared with parents in any of the ways listed below:

More information - click here (pdf)


SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING

poster

29/01/2019
5.30 - 7.30pm

More information - click here (pdf)


Welsh Youth Parliament

2 fachgenThis year, three pupils will stand to represent Aberconwy in the Welsh Youth Parliament. We are delighted to announce that in November this year, Evan Burgess has been elected to represent Aberconwy in the Parliament. Evan will meet with 40 representatives from across Wales to express the opinions of young people of the county. Congratulations to you Evan and all the best in your new role.



SCHOOL COUNCIL

The School Council has been busy this term. To find out more, watch this video clip - click here


'Cae Melwr' School Show

poster

19/12/2018
7.00 pm
Arena Venue Cymru

This year our School Show 'Cae Melwr' will be performed in Venue Cymru's Arena next Wednesday night of the 19th of December. A fantastic opportunity to see year 7 to 13 pupils on stage showing their talent. Tickets are on sale from the school reception.

More information - click here (pdf)


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Skills Day

During the term we held a whole school skills day with pupils having the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills and experiences.
Year 7 developed their understanding of growth mindset through interactive sessions and practical drama-based workshops and PE. Year 8 developed their understanding and information about e-safety and in particular ensuring that they are caring citizens when using the internet. Year 9 had a range of different activities including learning CPR, health and fitness sessions and business activities from local businesses through Big Ideas Wales. Learning Performance came in to work with both year 10 and year 13 on their study skills after which they also had problem solving and politics sessions, an opportunity to discuss Brexit and its impact on Wales and young people.


Visit to Aberystwyth University

Some of our year 12, 13 and year 9 pupils recently had the opportunity to visit Aberystwyth University to take part in a series of lectures and discussions on politics. As part of the day they also had the opportunity to question panel of journalists and a member of Plaid Cymru about politics in Wales.
Modlen, one of the year 12 pupils said, ‘I learnt a lot about politics and the future of Wales. It was good to discuss current topics such as Brexit.’


A Level Welsh Workshops in Glan Llyn

Pupils from year 12 recently spent 3 days in Glan Llyn experiencing different lectures on poems they are studying as part of their A level course. They had the opportunity to discuss the poems with professional poets such as Myrddin ap Dafydd and Caren Owen. Pupils also had the chance to take part in a poetry contest, competing in teams and visited the ‘Ysgwrn’ in Traswnewydd as part of the experience. ‘I really enjoyed the three days, the highlight being the poetry contest on the Tuesday evening’, said Gwen one of the year 12 pupils attending.


End of Term School Musical

This year our end of term school musical will be the musical ‘Cae Melwr’ set in Llanrwst. The show will be performed this year at Venue Cymru on the 19th of December. The play is based on a famous local legend. A warm welcome to pupils, parents and the community to come and support the performance. Tickets are available from the school Reception.


Children in Need Day 2018: 16/11/18

Ysgol Dyffryrn ConwyOn Friday the 16th of November there was great excitement at the school as we celebrated Children in Need Day. It was an own clothes day for pupils and staff. There was the opportunity for both staff and pupils to compete in a ‘Bake off’ with Iori from year 7 winning with his delicious cake inspired by bees and honey. Mmmm! There were also competitions in the Gym designed for problem solving such as guessing how many sweets were in the jar, where the treasure was hidden and the name of the Children in Need Teddy. There was also an opportunity to watch a very competitive game of netball between staff and 6th formers. A game full of energy and enthusiasm! Outside was the traditional ‘sponge a teacher’ game – a game which inspired plenty of gusto! No wonder that the activities, planned and managed by the School Council and Sports Council under the guidance of Mr Turner raised our biggest amount yet for Children in Need, over £1,000. Thank you to all pupils, parents and staff who supported so generously.


Annual Sporting Awards Evening 2018: 23/10/18

Annual Sporting Awards EveningOn Tuesday the 23rd of October we had an excellent evening of celebration to recognise the achievements of pupils in sports and Physical Education through our Annual Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrated the sporting achievements of learners during 2017/18.
The evening was an excellent opportunity to celebrate the successes of both individuals and teams who had competed and/or improved their performances in a range of different sporting activities over the year and also those pupils who achieve specific success or improvements at KS3, KS4 and KS5.
Our thanks go to the members of the Physical Education Department who arranged the evening and for their support to a range of events over the year. Our thanks also go to Mr Kevin Thomas, our School Rugby Officer during 2015-2018 who presented the awards on the evening. We would also like to thank our local sporting partners, without whose support we would not be able to provide a range of sporting activities both within and after the school day. In particular, our thanks goes to Nant Conwy Rugby Club and the WRU who continue to support us through funding our School Rugby Officer. Our warm thanks also to our parents for their ongoing support and support on the evening.
Congratulations to all our pupils who received awards during the evening. Further information is available in the accompanying flier. We look forward to continuing to follow the successes of the Department and our pupils in a range of activities across the year.

Physical Education Awards Ceremony Leaflet - click here


Equestrian Club – Success at Southview 29/9/18

Once again a superb success competing at Southview with everyone doing well and some of the highlights as follows:

• Twm Cernyw - 1st in the ‘preliminary dressage’
• Morgan Haeer – 4th in the ‘elimentary dressage’
• Jumping and style team, 75cm - Celyn Owen, Scarlett Owen, Twm Cernyw 4th; Scarlett 6th in the individual and the 85cm team 6th
• Jumping team, 75cm - Iri Davies, Harri Wheway, Celyn Owen, Morgan Haeer were 5th
• 85cm Scarlett Owen, Eben Davies, Harri Wheway, Twm Cernyw were 2nd
• 95cm Hermione Williams, Jac Cernyw, Eben Davies, Scarlett Owen yn 5ed

The pupils were all supportive of each other, important in light of responding to different challenges on the day. They were polite and looked fantastic in their new ‘hoodies’ in the school colours. We are very proud of all their achievements, a fantastic start to the club this year with both experienced and new members proving successful on the day. Our thanks to Ceri for co-ordinating their work and to all the parents and pupils involved for their work, energy and enthusiasm! Excellent – well done you!


Celebrating National European Languages Day: 26/9/18

As part of our work developing the Languages, Literacy and Communication Area of Learning for the New Welsh Curriculum, the Modern Foreign Languages Department worked with pupils to deliver different languages in order to help learners in year 7 discover new languages, develop curiosity and an interest in other languages. This builds on our successful project with primary schools last term as part of our Global Futures Project, looking at the connections between different languages. It also builds on our links with the Rossario Language School in Argentina which led to both traditional and modern links between pupils from both schools and an enjoyable visit from pupils and colleagues at the end of last term.

Patrick, one of our 6th form Linguists talks about his experience of the National European Languages Day:

“My name's Patrick, a 6th form student here at Ysgol Dyffyn Conwy. As it was National European Language Day on September 26, the Modern Language department decided to provide some less common foreign language lessons to some of the year 7 pupils. Ms Phillips, one of our French teachers willingly prepared a German lesson for 7G, and I held a Polish lesson for 7M, with some help from my friend Marek, in year 8. We, as the language department, found it important to introduce some different modern languages to what most schools have to offer because the number of secondary school students deciding to pursue languages is rapidly decreasing, with only 5 pupils in the whole of the Conwy Valley choosing French for A level, 3 of which are from our school. We were pressed for time, however, I managed to teach the pupils how to have a simple conversation about themselves, how to appropriately greet each other and also how to count to 5. I was overall very pleased with hope the lesson went, I just wish that I had more time. Surprisingly, throughout the remainder of the week, I would receive pupils greeting me in Polish and asking when their next lesson would be! I am glad that I was able to shed some light on my history and heritage to some of the year 7s and I hope to begin a club where the eager and enthusiastic pupils could learn some more about this beautiful language.”

disgyblion disgyblion

Parents’ Evenings and Reports Calendar 2018/19

poster

 

More information - click here (pdf)

For the Staff Version - click here (pdf)


School Council 2018/19

2 fachgenCongratulations to all the members of the new School Council 2018/19. Following a process of election at class, year and school level new representatives from each year group have been elected to lead on pupil voice over the next year. The Council meet regularly to discuss both school and pupil priorities. We wish them well in their new responsibilities over the next year. You can learn more about the work of the Council and your year representatives on their bulletin board, through audio-visual presentations during Tutorial lessons and on the screens around the school.



Head Pupils 2018/19

2 fachgenFollowing a process of application, interviews, presentations and election, our Head Pupils for 2018/19 have now been elected. The 6th form were given a presentation by last year’s Pupil Leadership Team explaining the roles and experiences they had during 2017/18.

As a result a number applied for the posts and following the application and interview process, 5 students presented their pitch to their fellow 6th formers in the school hall on the 18th of September.

By now Jake and Efa have taken on the posts of Head Pupils with Trystan, Elen and Elan supporting them as Deputy Head Pupils. We wish all 5 the best for their year of leadership. They show the promise of an excellent leadership team who will make the most of their opportunities, responsibilities and leadership and presentation skills over the next year.

Some of their first responsibilities will be to:
- Lead the School Council;
- Represent pupils on the School Governing Body; and
- Taking a key role in the forthcoming Year 5 and 6 Open Evening.


Gwobr Marc Ansawdd Gyrfaoedd 2018

2 fachgenAr ddydd Gwener yr 21ain o Fedi daeth Phil Jones o Gyrfa Cymru i gyflwyno tystysgrif ar gyfer Marc Ansawdd Gyrfaoedd i’r ysgol. Cyflwynir y tystysgrif yn sgil y gwaith mae’r ysgol yn ei wneud ar gyfer hyrwyddo gyrfaoedd a byd gwaith. Bu cyfnod o wirio gweithgareddau a profiadau byd gwaith yr ysgol cyn llunio arfarniad ac adnabod blaenoriaethau newydd ar gyfer y flwyddyn nesaf. Cyflwynwyd y wobr i Mrs Elliw Davies, Cydlynydd Gyrfaoedd a Byd Gwaith yr ysgol gan Mr Phil Jones a Mr Stephen Williams, Swyddog Gyrfaoedd Gyrfa Cymru yr ysgol.

 

Mae’r gweithgareddau mae’r ysgol yn ei gynnig fel profiadau byd gwaith yn cynnwys:

  • • Diwrnod cyfweliadau blwyddyn 11. Bob tymor yr Hydref mae disgyblion blwyddyn 11 yn cael y profiad o lunio ceisiadau a CVs ar gyfer gwahanol swyddi. Arweinir hyn at ddiwrnod o gyfweliadau gan bartneriaid busnes a byd gwaith lleol yr ysgol. Mae gwobrau yn cael eu cynnal ar ddiwedd y dydd i ymgeiswyr gan ystyried eu ceisiadau, eu cyfweliadau ac agweddau fel ymddangosiad proffesiynol a’u sgiliau cyfweld. Rydym yn ddiolchgar iawn i’n partneriaid am eu cefnogaeth yn y gwaith ac yn edrych ymlaen yn barod at y diwrnod cyfweliadau eleni fydd yn cael ei gynnal ar ddydd Gwener y 26ain o Hydref. Mae Mr Doug Blair, un o’n partneriaid eisoes wedi bod yn cyflwyno i flwyddyn 11 er mwyn eu sbarduno ar gyfer y broses.
    • Wythnos profiadau byd gwaith blwyddyn 10. Fel rhan o’r wythnos hon mae disgyblion yn cael cyfleoedd i weithio gyda cwmni Learning Performance ar sgiliau cyfweld ac ymgeisio am swyddi; i gyfarfod ac i ymweld a cyflogwyr lleol a rhanbarthol; ac i gymryd rhan mewn gweithdu’r ddraig i ddatblygu eu sgiliau menter. Mae’r wythnos yn pontio y disgyblion i’w Her Menter Bac, her maent yn ei wneud dan arweiniad yr Adran Wyddoniaeth yn ystod blwyddyn 11.
    • Ffair Gyrfaoedd i flwyddyn 9 a 10. Unwaith eto cyfle arbennig i gyflogwyr a mentrau lleol gydweithio gyda’r ysgol i gyflwyno disgyblion i rai o’r gyrfaoedd sydd ar gael iddynt.
    • Ffair Sgiliau Venue Cymru. Bob Hydref mae cyfle i ddisgyblion fynychu Ffair Sgiliau Venue Cymru. Eleni bydd blwyddyn 10 yn mynychu am fore yn ystod mis Hydref i brofi amrywiaeth o stondinau a gweithgareddau yn ymwneud a byd gwaith a sgiliau byd gwaith.
    • Wythnos Prentisiaethau. Yn flynyddol mae cyfle i ddisgyblion hyn yr ysgol glywed am gyfleoedd ym maes Prentisiaethau gan gynnwys clywed o brofiadau uniongyrchol prentisiaethau.
    • Cyngor a sesiynau grwp gan Cynghorydd Gyrfa Cymru yr ysgol. Mae Mr Stephen Williams, Cyngorydd Gyrfa Cymru ar gael yn ystod nosweithiau rhieni o flwyddyn 9 ymlaen; ar ddiwrnodau canlyniadau er mwyn rhoi cyngor; ac yn ystod y flwyddyn drwy wahanol ddulliau gan gynnwys – cefnogaeth ar lein, grwpiau ffocws, gwasanaethau blwyddyn, cyfnodau tiwtorial, seisynau galw mewn 1-1/dros y we neu’r ffon. Mae cyngor ac arweiniad parhaus ar gael hefyd drwy safwe Gyrfa Cymru. Caiff pob ddisgybl enw defnyddiwr a cyfrinair yn ystod eu proses dewisiadau pwnc ym mlwyddyn 9. Mae hyn yn rhoi mynediad parod iddynt i gynor, gwybodaeth ac arweiniad o hynny ymlaen.

Annual Awards Ceremony 2018

We had the opportunity, Tuesday evening the 11th of September, to celebrate the achievements of many of our pupils with the support of our local community. Supporting one of the awards this year was the Mayor of Llanrwst, Counsellor Ian Jenkins, awarding year 13 pupil Shannon Jones for her work with young people in the local area and beyond for the charity Young Carers. Dyffryn Conwy Rotary were also generous in their support of the 10 best GCSE results again this year. We thank the Rotary for their continued support. In light of our highest results in the A*/A grade a further 10 learners also received an award on the evening. We are delighted to have been able to recognise the high achievement of so many of our young people.

Receiving the Governors’ Awards for the highest A Level Achievements this year were: Cadi Edwards, Elin Cawley, Stuart Phelen and Owain Williams. We wish all four of them the best at University this year. Receiving awards for the best AS results this year were: Pearson, Efa Celyn Davies, Amman Abbasi and Trystan Jones. We very much look forward to their continued success this year and their A Level results next Summer.

Receiving awards on the evening too were the 10 highest achievers at KS3. In presenting the awards to year 9, Mr Roberts spoke of the challenge of doing so well across a range of very different subjects. Pupils who gained the highest results in the national Literacy and Numeracy tests were also awarded on the evening with individuals showing success across the different disciplines. Attendance at 100% was also awarded on the evening, not an easy feat last year following the difficult weather during the Winter and Spring. We would like to thank Llew Jones for sponsoring this award again this year.

Receiving a Special Recognition Award on the evening was Eve Jones, Deputy Head Girl for 2017/18 who has work superbly with vulnerable learners within the ALN unit. It was excellent to be able to acknowledge the work that Eve has done over the last year in this role.

A group of talented musicians from our 6th form also entertained us during the evening – Angharad, Elliw and Modlen with their ensemble of voice, harp and guitar; and Patrick Lynch on the piano. Thank you to all four for their valuable and excellent contribution to the evening. There was no better way to end the evening than through light refreshments in the canteen provided by ‘Popty Pen uchaf’ and a chance to speak to parents and pupils about their achievements and next steps. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the evening.

To see the Annual Awards Ceremony programme - click here

disgyblion disgyblion

New Term September 2018

It has been a pleasure to begin a new term and academic year in the company of staff and pupils at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy. Our new year 7 have settled in well following their induction week last term. Following their strong GCSE results almost 70 pupils have returned to/joined us in the 6th form this September. It’s also been lovely to see how smart our pupils are in our new school uniform. We would like to thank our pupils and their parents for all their support with this change.


PE Extracurricular Activities timetable

timetable

Extracurricular Sports Activities Timetable 2018. Join in with the activities!

Click here for more information.

 

Information about learner participation in extracurricular sporting/fitness activities 2017/18:

Read more about the different extracurricular sporting activities Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy have taken part in. We are very proud of the range of activities and the increase in both girls and boys’ participation over the last year. Thank you to the Physical Education Department and our partnerships for sport and wellbeing for their work and support. We would also like to thank the pupils who have been coaching and running activities as part of the Sports Council and Young Ambassadors.

Click here for more information.


Open Evening Year 5 a 6

poster

Tuesday 9/10/2018
5.15 - 7.30 pm

We extend a warm welcome to all our year 5 and 6 pupils and their parents.

More information - click here (pdf)


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy GCSE Press Release 2018: 23/8/18

Ysgol Dyffryrn ConwyWe are delighted with this year’s GCSE results. Following continued strong results annually, the first results of the new Foundation subject GCSEs and performance measures today show the fruit of the pupils’ hard work over the last two years. The results of our most able learners this year are particularly strong, demonstrating their hard work and commitment across their subjects. On behalf of the whole school I would like to congratulate all our pupils and their families on these excellent results. We look forward to welcoming many of our pupils back to further their studies at our vibrant 6th form.

Amongst our excelling students this year are Elliw Ford who has gained an amazing full house of 13 A*s and Ethan Witt who has gained a full house of 11A*s. Other high fliers include: Gwen Arfon – 9A*, 3A and B; Isabel Walmsley – 7A*and 5As; Gruffudd Edwards – 6A*, 6A and B; Angharad Butler 5A* and 8As; Alyia Abbasi and Tomos Land - 4A*, 7A, 1B; Patrick Lynch – 5A*, 3 A, 4B and C; a Modlen Alun 3A*, 6A, B and 3Cs. Although most of our students have joined us at school to celebrate this morning, some have opened their results very far from Llanrwst, including Ethan Witt who is at his home in Africa where he studies for half the year. Another of our high achievers is Isabel who joined us at the end of year 10 and has adapted superbly to the different suite of qualifications in Wales compared with England. A further 10 pupils also gained at least 5A*/As or more this year – excellent results across their GCSE subjects which reflects the school’s excellent performance in the higher grades this year.

Amongst our subjects excelling this year are Art, Music, Drama and French where over half of pupils have gained the highest grades of A*/A.
I am thrilled at another strong year of results at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, especially in light of all the changes to the GCSEs this year. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our students on their results and wish them all the best in the future whether continuing in our 6th form, moving to college or to the world of work. I am very proud of them and look forward to hearing all their future success stories. I would also like to thank the staff who have taught them for their continued hard work and to our very supportive parents. This is a day for celebration and pride.


A Busy A Level Results Day at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 2018: 16/8/18

Ysgol Dyffryrn Conwy Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupils have once again performed exceptionally well with some outstanding results! This year’s results show continued success in traditional Advanced Level courses and Vocational A Levels and BTECs. We congratulate all our pupils on their results and wish them all the best in their next steps and futures. Among our high achievers this year is Cadi Edwards who has gained an A*AAA and intends to study French and Spanish at Cambridge University. Also Elin Cawley A*A*B and the Welsh Bac who will be studying Psychology in Bristol; Stuart Phelan Distinction*AB and the Bac and Owain Williams Distinction*AB and the Bac. Congratulations to each one of them. We are also delighted with our strong AS results this year – well done year 12!

Pictured are Cadi and Elin and Owain, three of our high fliers. Congratulations on their excellent results. We wish them all the best with their courses.

Today is a day for celebration – well done! We are all extremely proud of our pupils’ achievements. They have worked hard over the last two years to gain their results and to plan their next steps for the future. I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the School and its Governors to congratulate all pupils their parents and families, and all of our staff for their continued hard work and dedication.

We wish all our students every success in the future and look forward to tracking their achievement through University, further study and their future careers.


2018/19 Key Dates

posterWe wish all our pupils and families a good summer break.

For more information about 2018/19 key dates - click here


Memories from the Activities Week 2018

Memories from the Activities Week Ysgol Dyffryn ConwyMemories from the Activities Week 2018 - Click here (pdf)

 

Read for Good

2 fachgen£87.68 was raised this year by year 7 pupils that were sponsored to read during morning registration periods. The money has been sent to support the charity shown above that enables hospitals to buy new books for children that are unwell. Thank you very much year 7 for your support and well done!


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, Annual Sponsored Walk, 13/7/18

2 fachgenWe had a fantastic day on Friday the 13th of July for our annual sponsored walk in Gwydir Forest. Despite the terrible weather forcast, the day proved ideal for the walk – dry and a bit cooler than it has been of late! The first group – the runners – set off promptly at 9.30am with Mr Beech and Miss Hannah Jones. They were also the first to return, with Math Thomas in first place and Evan Burgess second. Well done!

Everyone then set off in groups of around 10 pupils with each member of staff, following the route marshalled by our older pupils and members of staff. Everyone returned, tired, having enjoyed and having succeeded with the walk! Just in time for lunch before an afternoon gig from the band, Cledrau – a perfect way to end a hectic activities week. Thank you to all the staff and pupils who took part in the walk. Thank you too, to everyone who has sponsored our pupils – the money this year goes to the 2019 Eisteddfod apeal and to support some of the activities during the week. A special thanks to Miss Branwen McBride who planned, arranged and organised the day – a job well done! We look forward to an equally successful day next year.


Visit from pupils and staff from the Language Centre, ‘Centro Britanico’, Rosario, Argentina:

disgyblion disgyblion

It was a pleasure to welcome pupils and staff from the English Language Centre, ‘Centro Britanico’ to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy on the last Monday of the Summer Term. Having had weeks of bright sunshine in Llanrwst, the day brought with it our more typical weather of clouds and rain, but also a minibus of pupils along with staff from Argentina to brighten our day.

During the morning, pupils had a chance to learn about Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy both through a tour of the school and from a presentation and talking to pupils; we shared some Welsh food including local ‘Barabrith; and shared some Welsh in return for a little Spanish from our guests.

After lunch together we also had the chance to learn more about Argentinian culture, such as foods, well known places and traditions, and the importance of Football. In return we shared information about Welsh traditions, studying in a bilingual school, the Welsh language and Eisteddfodau, and the importance of Rugby. An enjoyable time was had by all. A good chance to learn about a different culture and to meet the pupils we have been contacting through traditional post and through the internet. We had the chance to enjoy some of their traditions including tasting meze and some of their traditional sweets with dulce leche. We wish them all the best on their return journey to Argentina and look forward to keeping in touch with them in the future. Our thanks to the pupils from the School Council for looking after our guests.


2018 Activities Week

The annual Activities Week 2018 is in full swing with pupils from Years 7-10 enjoying a range of activities within the school and out of school. You can read more about the week’s programme of activities in the following booklets. Updates over the week will be shared through our Twitter account.

Yr 7 2018 Activities Week - click here

Yr 8 2018 Activities Week - click here

Yr 9 2018 Activities Week - click here

Yr. 10 2018 World of Work Week - click here


Congratulations: Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Mountain Biking Champions

Pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy recently competed in the Conwy Mountain Biking Competition. The winning teams will go on to the next round of the competition at Nant BH on the 28th of June. Congratulations to all who took part. Thank you to Mr Jason Turner and Mr Penri Jones for arranging and supporting.

Bechgyn Blwyddyn 7 & 8 Boys
2nd Dyffryn Conwy 1 ( Osian, Torin & Daniel) with 32 points = Highest Placed 4th in Time Trial was Torin
4th Dyffryn Conwy 2 (Dafydd, Shay & Guto) with 71 points

Bechgyn Blwyddyn 9 & 10 Boys
2nd Dyffryn Conwy 1 ( Lewis, Toby & Gareth) with 44 points
5th Dyffryn Conwy 2 (Sam, Kyle & Logan) with 88 points


Working in partnership with Conwy and Llanrwst Library Services

We are delighted to have begun a new partnership with our local libraries in Conwy including Llanrwst Library. As part of this partnership there will be opportunities for parents and pupils to find our more about the library service, to look at books that might be of interest; to renew membership or to join the library; and to order books on line from the library service.

 

Using and visiting local libraries can be a useful tool to support reading for pleasure, homework, study and revision. The library service is keen to work with us as a school to support our pupils and we will be using our school reading champions to help select books to replenish our school resources and to recommend new books for the local libraries.

 

If you, as a parent or a pupil, would like more information or to renew membership/join your local library we have arranged that a representative from Llanrwst Library will be available during our parents' evenings to share information and hep with making best use of the library services. They will be available during:

- our Year 7 Parents' Evening, Tuesday the 19/6/18
- Year 6 Information Evening for Parents, Tuesday, 3/7/18
and during our Open Evening for Year 5 and 6 parents in the Autumn Term 2018.

For further information, click here


Online Safety Workshops for Parents

posterWe will be hosting our free online safety workshop for parents at our school on June 25th

For more information - click here


Eisteddfod yr Urdd Brycheiniog and Maesyfed 2018 Successes

A huge congratulations to everyone who competed in the Urdd Eisteddfod at Brycheiniog and Maesyfed over half term.

Amongst the successes were:
• Christopher Sabiski – 1st in both the Harp solo and Wind Instruments solo for Years 7, 8 and 9.
• Cadi Gwyn Edwards – an amazing 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize for Music Composition, years 12 and 13.
• Modlen ac Elenid Alun – 2nd in the ‘Cerdd Dant’ duet for year 10 and under 19 years old.
• Cari and Marged 3rd in the ‘Cerdd Dant’ duet for years 7, 8 and 9.

RugbyMany pupils also were successful in the Art and Craft competitions:
• Ela Owen – 1st for her 2D Design work, 2D Year 10 and under 19 years old.
• Cai Williams – 1st for a Mask/Puppet, Year 10 and under 19 years old.
• Parti Twm Cai – 3rd for Creative 3D work, years 7, 8 and 9.
• Cai Williams – 3rd for creating an Arfeffact, years 7, 8 and 9.
• Cadi Llyn Davies – 2nd for her Ceramics/Pottery for years 7, 8 and 9.

Click here for more photos

Congratulations to each one of you. We are very pleased and proud of your achievements. Thank you also to the staff who trained/supported you and to our parents for their support too.


A very successful term of Rugby

Pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy had an excellent term of success in rugby, competing in local, regional and national competitions and winning almost all of them. We are very proud of all their achievements and are particularly grateful to Mr Kevin Thomas, the school’s Rugby Development Officer for training, supporting, transporting and organising the teams for all their competitions. Below is a summary of their success. You can learn more by following the PE Department’s Twitter feed: @PEDyffrynConwy.


Eryri Cup – 15 aside
Under 13s –Eryri Cup Winners
Under15s – Eryri Cup Winners
Under 18s – Eryri Cup Winners

 

North Wales Cup (RGC)
Under 13 – Winners against Ysgol Glan Clwyd
Under 15 – Winners against Ysgol Caereinion
Under 16– Winners against Ysgol Drenewydd

 

7 aside Competition (North Wales)
Year 7/8 – finalistsl
Year 9/10 – Winners

 

Year 7/8 Girls – North Wales winners

Wales 7 aside Competition:
Year 7/8 winners.

Wales 12 aside Competition
Under 18 girls’ – Representing North Wales as Regional Champions


Year 13 Progress File Ceremony: Friday 25/5/18

On the last evening of half term we had the pleasure of wishing our year 13 a formal farewell. It was a lovely evening, full of memories, an opportunity to celebrate and to thank. We were inspired by a presentation by former pupil, Russell Morris, now a Professor of Chemistry at St. Andrews University in Scotland. He shared many of his memories of the school, his experiences and career development since leaving Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, as well as words of wisdom for our pupils about making the most of their future opportunities. We also enjoyed a musical item from 6th form pupils Chloe and Ffion; presentations from our Head Pupils, Rhydian, Mali, Eve and Meredydd along with inspiration for both mind and heart from Mrs Glenda Barlow, 6th Form Progress Leader. At the end of the evening there was an opportunity to enjoy some light refreshments with pupils and their parents in the school canteen. Thank you to the staff who arranged the evening, everyone who attended and to both staff and pupils who took part in the ceremony. Our thanks also to our guest speaker, Russell Morris. Click here for more information.


Llongyfarchiadau i Gruffudd a Dylan ar cael ei capio i Dim Cymru (Welsh only available)

RugbyLlongyfarchiadau i Dylan a Gruffudd ar ennill eu capiau tim pysgota plu Cymru dan 18.


£1,000 raised for Leukemia Charities including ‘Cronfa Caio’

disgyblion disgyblion

A huge thanks to all the staff and students who supported this special Charity day on Friday 27th of April. The charities supported are close to our hearts. Through an own clothes day (which included 6th form and staff ‘fancy dress’), stalls, raffle and activities, £1,000 was raised towards our special causes. Amazing! Thank you in particular to the School Council and our Head Pupils who were busy arranging and managing the day’s events, holding a raffle over the week, advertising and organising stalls and activities. A lot of fun was had during the day including an awesome obstacle race – particularly challenging for those in fancy dress! Thank you to everyone who took part. Here are some photos of the staff and winning 6th form entries in their fancy dress.


Geography Trip to Iceland: Easter 2018

pupils pupils

Over the Easter break I was fortunate enough to travel with the Geography Department to Icelant. Iceland is a volcanic island that is well known for its wide range of geographical features, as we saw during our visit.

After a morning of travel, we visited the ‘Blue Lagoon’, a geothermal pool in the centre of an ice filed in Grindavik. Whilst there we were able to try a mud mask made of algae, silica and minerals. Having settled into our hotel we walked to the centre of the capital city, Reykavik. We passed many famous coloured houses and the well known statue, ‘Sun Voyager’ by Jon Gunnar Arnason. We also tasted some of Reykavik’s traditional street food.

On our second morning, after an early start, we enjoyed a bus ride around the ‘Golden Circle’, one of the most popular sightseeing trips around the country. Or first stop on the trip was the national park, Thingvellir, where we saw the Prime Minister’s Summer house and the exceptional surrounding landscapes. We walked through the gap between the North American and European tectonic places, before standing on the spot where the National Senate of Iceland first began in 930AC.

Next we visited the popular ‘Strokkur’ ‘hot springs’/geysers in Haukadalur. The view was amazing, to see the steaming water gushing up to 20 metres in the air at short notice. Our last stop on this journey was the Gullfoss waterfall, often called the ‘Golden Waterfalls’. We had the opportunity to see the falls from two different viewpoints – before and above the waterfall. On our way back to the hotel we visited the famous, Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral where we walked to the top of the tower to see the fantastic views of Reykavik.

On our last day we went on a journey around the southern coast where we saw many waterfalls including Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss. We also saw a famous volcano called Eyjafjallajökullwhich last erupted in 2010 and is still live today. After we went to the sand beach, du Reynisfjara, one of the strangest beaches in the country thanks to its special rock formations and basalt columns. On our way back we visited a brand new interactive museum all about volcanoes and lava. We walked through timelines going back in time to show the journey of all the volcano eruptions on the island.

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and will have fantastic memories of the country and its amazing landscapes. We all received a certificate and award on our way home. I would like to thank Mr Carwyn Williams, Head of Geography for arranging and guiding us on such an amazing trip.
Nel Davies 10C


 


National Literacy And Numeracy Tests Timetable:

To view the timetable - click here


Radio Wales visits:

Radio Cymru

It was lovely to welcome back one of our former pupils Elin Medi to interview pupils from year 11 on their views about the right to vote at 16 years old. The pupils from year 11 were interviewed for the programme ‘Dal Pen Rheswm’ which was broadcast on the 15/3/18. Congratulations to Gwion, Elliw, Heledd and Alaw who took part.


Urdd 7 aside Rugby Champions: Year 7 and 8 winners 2018:

RugbyCongratulations to the girls’ Rugby year 7 and 8 team who won all the rounds in the recent urdd 7 aside championship tournament in Cardiff. Excellent results girls – well done! Thank you to Mr Kevin Thomas for coaching and arranging the event and to Mrs Glesni Rogers Jones who accompanied the girls to South Wales.


Winners of the North Wales Robotics Competition:

Wales Robotics CompetitionAs part of a project to develop learners' digital skills in science a group of year 8 and 9 pupils have been hard at work developing a robot, presentation and video for a recent regional competition. They competed in Rhyl Town Hall on Friday 9/3/18 to much praise. The fideo and presentation showed the design work that they had gone through in developing their robot. They were very successful during the competition and we have now had confirmation that they are the regional winners for their robot! They also came first with their fideo! This means that the equipment that they have worked with in developing their robot can be kept by the club as well as winning an additional £100 and £25 towards further development. Thank you to Mr Carl Thatcher who has been coaching ther group. Congratulations to all involved:

Elliot Wright, Jamie Williams, Lucy Farrell, Evan Burgess, Elea Chennel, Amy Ingham, Lily Taylor, Sam Fahy, Wil Neale, Tomi Butler, Olivia Wilding, Jonathan Driver, Ella Campbell, Libbie Thomas.


Spring Sporting Successes:

Congratulations to the climbing team on winning the Conwy Schools' competition at Ysgol y Gogarth. The following pupils will represent the school at the Eryri finals. Jacob Duncalf, Tomos Land, Gethin Lloyd and Pwyll Williams. Best wishes to each one of them.

Congratulations to the U13s and U18s football teams on reaching the quarter finals of the Welsh Football Cub. Unfortunately, both teams were enable to reach the semi finals.

Congratulations to our cross country runners at the Eryri and Welsh championships. Ella Grundy was our star performer, placing 3rd in Wales. Math Thomas, Tomos Land and Morgan Clwyd Jones also competed at the Welsh championships.

Congratulations to all our Sportshall athletics teams that competed at the recent Conwy championships. Two teams were successful and are Conwy champions.

Congratulations to the Year 10 pupils that successfully completed their Welsh Bac community challenge. They worked alongside the PE department to plan a multi activity day for over 100 pupils from our feeder schools. The day was enjoyed by all involved.

During the Autumn term, 57% of our pupils participated in extra curricula activities. We hope to see more pupils attending the activities available to them over the spring and summer term. Thank you to the senior pupils who support the activities for younger pupils, to the PE department and other members of staff who support the activities, along with our external partners – local clubs, Llanrwst Leisure Centre and Conwy Authority for supporting our activities.

Rugby update to follow …


Art and Craft Successes in the 2018 Regional round of the Urdd Eisteddfod:

Congratulations to the following pupils:

Year 7-9 2D Design
1af Jessica Jones
2il Sophie Coirer-Roberts
3ydd Owain Williams

Year 10 2D Design
1af Ela Owen

Year 7-9 Creative Work in 2D
1af Awen Williams
2il Rhudion Rees

Year 7-9 Monochrome Print
1af Eben Davies
2il Cai Williams

Year 10 Monochrome Print
1af Mali Evans

Year 7-9 Colour Print
1af Cai Williams

Year 10 Colour Print
1af Mali Evans

Year 7-9 Series of Colour Prints
1af Jessica Jones
2il Erin Mai Grove

Year 10 Series of Colour Prints
1af Mali Evans

Mask or Puppet
1af Cai Williams

32 Creative Work Year 7-9
1af Cadi, Mia a Lea
2il Parti Twm a Cai

Artefact Year 7-9
1af Cai Williams
2il Parti Ela Haf

Pottery/Ceramics – Year 7-9
1af Cadi Llyn Davies


Aberystwyth University Entry Scholarships 2018

Learners from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy have been successful in the recent Entry Scholarships for Aberystwyth University. This year 68 scholarships have been awarded to students applying to study at Aberystwyth September 2018.

The following scholarships have been awarded this year: Stuart Phelan – Evan Morgan Scholarship; Owain Williams – Sir Alfred Jones Scholarship; unconditional offers for Lleucu Howatson, Awel Mai Roberts, Owain Vaughan a Lois Williams following their strong entry examination performance. Congratulations to each one of them.


Girls in Sport: BBC News

Two of our learners were recently interviewed for BBC news about girls’ participation in sport (10/3/18). You can read more and watch their responses through the following link. Well done Efa and Sara.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-43316757


Urdd County Eisteddfod

As a school we are extremely proud of our young people that represented the School during the Urdd Eisteddfod on Saturday the 10th of March 2018 in Ysgol Y Creuddyn. After weeks of preparation, many pupils competed enthusiastically during prelims and on the stage. A warm congratulations to you all on your success and all the best to all that will be representing the school this May in the National Eisteddfod. We would also like to thank the members of staff that helped prepare the pupils for the Eisteddfod. Here are the fantastic results this year;

Girls Solo Year 7-9
1st Lea Morus Williams
2nd Erin Mai Grove

Boys Solo Year 7-9
1st Afan Jones
3rd Aron Brenig Jones

Duet Year 7-9
1st Lea a Lliwen
2nd Erin a Morgan
3rd Afan ac Aron

Girls Singing Party Year 7, 8 a 9
1st Parti Blwyddyn 7 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy
2nd Parti Merched 8 a 9 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy

S.A. Choir Year 7, 8 a 9
2nd Cor Dyffryn Conwy

Vocal Ensemble Year 10 to 19 years old
1af Parti Sion Dafydd

Individual Folk Song Year 7, 8 a 9
1st Erin Mai Grove
2nd Afan Jones
3rd Enid Hughes

Individual Folk Song Year Bl. 10 to 19 years old
1st Sion Dafydd Edwards
2nd Modlen Alun

Harp Solo Year 7- 9
1af Christopher Sabisky

Woodwind Solo Year 7- 9
1st Christopher Sabisky

Brass Solo Year 7- 9
1st Lily Taylor

Piano Solo Year 7- 9
1st Elen Basset
2nd Ella Davies

Instrumental Duet Year 13 and under
1st Christopher a Chloe Louise

Cerdd Dant Solo Year 7 - 9
1st Lea Morus Williams
2nd Marged Alun

Cerdd Dant Duet Year 7- 9
1st Cari a Marged
2nd Erin a Morgan
3rd Anna Glyn a Lea Morus

Cerdd Dant Solo Year 10 to 19 years old
1st Modlen Alun (Adran Ysbyty Ifan)
2nd Sion Dafydd Edwards

Cerdd Dant Duet Year. 10 to 19 years old
1st Elenid a Modlen

Reciting Individual Year 7 - 9
1st Cadi Llyn Davies

Reciting Individual Year 10 to 19 years old
1st Sion Dafydd Edwards

Ymgom Year 7, 8 and 9
3rd Gruffudd, Afan, Aron a Noa

Musical Solo Year 10 to 19 years old
1st Modlen Alun (Adran Ysbyty Ifan)


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Robotics Club Competition Entry

On 19/3/18 the Dyffryn Conwy robotics group are taking part in a North Wales competition run by G2G communities in Rhyl Town Hall. Their hard work over the year has led to this point where different teams within the group have used their different skills to combine and best prepare themselves for the competition.

There has been the build team of Jonathan and Evan who on their 3rd design came up with one that both met the competition specification and desired range of functionality. Tomi came up with the storyboard and Lily Taylor used this as inspiration for the video introduction whilst Olivia prepared a presentation. Lily, Tomi, Amy and Elea also composed their own music to put on the video.

Now all of the groundwork has been completed it is up to the programmers of Elliot, Jamie, Samuel, Will and Ella to design a coding program to complete the competition tasks/missions. All of this has been closely monitored by group leader Lucy making sure everyone contributed and led by Physics teacher Carl Thatcher project managing the whole group.

Good luck Dyffryn Conwy in the competition.

Robotics Club Robotics Club  

Saint Dwynwen Concert 27/1/18:

Saint Dwynwen ConcertCongratulations to the Dyffryn Conwy Youth Choir for an exceptional performance at the Saint Dwynwen Concert on Saturday night the 27th of January at Capel Seion, Llanrwst. The performance was superb, the choir fully deserving of the praise, applause and standing ovation received on the night from both the audience and their fellow performers. The night was arranged by Bro Aled’s Male Voice Choir and included the well know CF1 Choir from Cardiff and also folk band Pererin. Out thanks to the pupils and former pupils who took part; to their parents and the community for their support; and especially to Miss Angharad Ellis and Mr Chris Roberts for training the pupils, conducting and accompanying them. Excellent! A superb and very memorable start to the process of raising money, support and talent for the Conwy 2019 Eisteddfod in Llanrwst.


St. Dwynwen Concert

posterSt. Dwynwen Concert at Capel Seion, Llanrwst on Saturday the 27th of January in the company of the following choirs: CF1, Bro Aled Male Voice Choir and YSgol Dyffryn Conwy senior choir. Proceeds towards Eisteddfod Llanrwst 2019.

For more information - click here


Congratulations to the following teams:

Excellent performance from the year 8 boys competing against Rhyl in a recent football match. The boys won 4-1 and are now through to the final round in Wales – a home match this time!
For more information please visit 'Trydar yr Adran Addysg Gorfforol': @PEDyffrynConwy


Year 12 Mock Examinations

Year 12’s mock examinations will be held at the beginning of the Spring Term 2018 in a number of AS subjects. A copy of the timetable can be downloaded through the following link - click here


Pupils Christmas Fair

During the term as part of their Enterprise Challenge with the Welsh BAC pupils of year 11 have been busy planning and creating events to raise money for the charity Hope House. On Wednesday the 13th of December the pupils held a Christmas Fair in the hall. There were over 15 stalls selling a range of different Christmas products such as a Festive Hot Chocolate, Milkshakes and cakes. The hall was full of pupils and staff supporting their work. They raised over £250 for Hope House. Thank you to everyone for their support.

 

Ffair Nadolig y Disgyblion Ffair Nadolig y Disgyblion  

A Special Christmas Concert: 18/12/17

At the beginning of the last week of term the school held it’s bi-annual Christmas Concert at Capel Seion, Llanrwst. The church was warm and full, ready for a feast of music performed by pupils across the year groups in school. The programme included choral and ensemble vocal groups from year 7 to the sixth form; small group and paired performances as well as readings from senior pupils. At the beginning of the evening, those arriving were able to enjoy Patrick Lynch and Angharad Butler’s skilful playing of the piano and harp, their music ranging across many well known carols and tunes to celebrate Christmas. Amongst the highlights of the evening were the choral performances of ‘Hallelujah’ and a Welsh version of the classic Pogues Christmas anthem, ‘Fairytale of New York’. Cadi and Sion Dafydd had also penned their alternative Christmas medley, providing joy, laughter and a unique comic touch to the evening. We were also treated to two polished performances from pupils of the drama club who had been busy rehearsing under the guidance of Miss Llio Japheth.

Pupils taking part in the musical items had been rehearsing hard over the last few weeks under the guidance of Mr Chris Roberts and Miss Angharad Ellis. They were supported by the team of teachers including Mrs Sian Gibbson and Dafydd Huw who trained the individual singers and harpists. A number of instrumentalists also took part this year, supporting the choirs on their various instruments and working together on a medley of Christmas tunes. Thank you to the staff, pupils and parents for all their time and support.

This was a superb way to begin the last week of the autumn term and to wish pupils, parents and our local community a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cyngerdd Nadolig Arbennig: 18/12/17 Cyngerdd Nadolig Arbennig: 18/12/17  

A superb Interviews Day for Year 11!

Congratulations to all the year 11 pupils who took part in today’s annual interviews day. Each one arrived dressed to impress and prepared for their interviews – with attendance and commitment completely evident. Thank you to all our local partners – business people and employers for giving so generously of their time to interview the pupils and to provide professional feedback to them on their application letters, CVs, their presentation and their interviews. A very valuable day for all involved. Thank you to all the staff involved including our year 11 tutors, Mrs Gwenno Ifan, Mrs Glesni Rogers Jones, Mrs Tina McDonnell a Mrs Leah Jones. A special thank you to Mrs Elliw Davies, Careers and World or Work Co-ordinator and Mrs Iona Owen for all the arrangements for and during the day.

The following are the winners of the different categories:

Best CV in each group: Pwyll, Jess, Cara, Gwen, Tom, Osian, Gruff and Modlen.
Bet application letter in each group: Osian, Elliw Jones, Elliw Ford, Pwyll, Toby, Modlen, Ruben and Chloe.
Best presented in each group: Siwan R, Iwan Lloyd, Alaw, James, Garomon, Cassey, Heledd and Dylan.
Best interviews in each group: Tomos, Sam O. Jones, Maimee, Bethany, Iwan, Sion, Modlen and Angharad.

The overall winners in their applications for the job were: Ruben, Modlen, Bethany, James, Maimee, Pwyll, Alya and Angharad.

The overall winner for the job was: Ruben – congratulations Ruben! Coming close in second place was Pwyll and in third place Angharad.

Well done year 11 – we are very proud of you!

Diwrnod Cyfweliadau Blwyddyn 11 Gwerth Chweil! Diwrnod Cyfweliadau Blwyddyn 11 Gwerth Chweil! Diwrnod Cyfweliadau Blwyddyn 11 Gwerth Chweil!

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Christmas Fair:

Due to the weather the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Christmas Fair scheduled for 12/12/17 has been cancelled.


Robotics Club Extracurricular Visit:

Pupils from the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Robotics Club recently went to Pontio in Bangor to a public robotics exhibition where they interacted with robots of different personalities to have their reactions studied. The group met with Merel Bekking who explained the aim of the study and introduced the rest of the design/programming team to the pupils. After the participation in the study the pupils were then shown extra robots (Now and Cosmo - neither of which were available to the general public) and had an informative discussion with the designers and loads of questions were answered. The pupils left the exhibition at the end full of smiles and inspired to throw themselves back into the competition preparation, 3 months to go! Thank you to Mr Thatcher for arranging the event.

Ymweliad Addysgol Clwb Robotics Ymweliad Addysgol Clwb Robotics  

Llanrwst Christmas 2017:

Nadolig LlanrwstCongratulations to Ela Evans, the winner of this year’s Christmas Card competition run by Llanrwst Town Council as part of ‘Nadolig Llanrwst’ celebrations. As part of her prize, Ela had the honour of lighting the Christmas lights on the tree in the square. Congratulations also to Sara Roberts who came 2nd place and Alex Valentine, 3rd prize. Many pupils had been busy taking part in thie year’s competition under the guidance of the Art Department, designing and carefully crafting their Christmas cards over the last few weeks. Thank you to Llanrwst Town Council for their support and to the Art Department and to all who took part.

During the evening, year 7 and year 9-10 students also took part in the celebrations in Crwst Church. There was high praise for the girls who sang, accompanied and led by Miss Angharad Ellis during the evening’s carol service. Thank you to all who took part. It was a wonderful taste of the musical feast ahead in this year’s Christmas Concert at Capel Seion, Llanrswst on Monday the 18th of December.


Winners of the 2017 Year 9 Volcano competition;

Ennillwyr cystadleuaeth

Year 9 have been busy over the last few weeks collaborating and working independently on their volcanoes project. Having judged all the entrants we are proud to announce this year’s winners.
Congratulations to the following on their excellent volcanoes:
1st - Tom Parry
2nd - Talia Rippin
3rd - Lily Backsall
Well done to all three.

Congratulations to all the pupils who took part. Thank you also to the Geography Department and to our parents for their support.


6th Form Handbook 2018 - 2019

Llawlyfr6th Form Handbook 2018 - 2019 - click here


A Level Geography Fieldwork at – Cwm Idwal and Llanberis

As part of enrichment experiences in geography, the small group of us studying the subject at A Level were looking forward to our field trip to Plas Tan y Bwlch, a drive of around half an hour away to Maentwrog and then to Cwm Idwal. After a little time spent gaining an overview of the work ahead of us, and to meet our fellow-pupils from Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, we dressed up warmly against the wet and cold weather ready for our field work.

Out in Cwm Idwal we learnt a range of things including seeing how the landscape had changed over time due to ice flows thousands of years ago. After our successful visit to Cwm Idwal we returned to Maentwrog to review and analyse the data we had collected.

On our second day we travelled to Llanberis to study the development of the area as part of our A Level course. Whilst we were there we visited ‘Snowdonia Watersports’ where we were able to question staff on a range of issues related to human and physical geography. We also visited the Slate Museum where we continued with our questions and discussion.

The two days gave us an excellent opportunity to put our study in practice and to experience what we have been studying first hand. It was also great to be able to learn from the experience of others working in the field. We all enjoyed our visit to Plas Tan y Bwlch and the local areas, inspite of the challenge of the weather in Llanberis. I would like to thankk the Geography Department for arranging the trip and to Ymddiriedolaeth Llanrwst for their generous support.

Meilyr Williams , Year 12

 


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Christmas Service

Gwasanaeth NadoligSeiont Chapel Llanrwst, Monday, December 18th, 7pm

Click here to view information


Mock Exam timetable for year 11

Gwasanaeth NadoligMock Exam timetable for year 11 from 29/11/2017 until 08/12/17

Click here to view information


Prosiect Arloesol Digidol mewn Addysg Gorfforol: ‘Aspire2Be’ (Welsh only available...)

Aspire2BeLlongyfarchiadau i Mali Edwards, Deio Williams, Cain Jones, Nel Metcalfe ac Aron Brenig Jones am gwblhau prosiect ar dechnoleg mewn chwaraeon a drefnwyd gan Aspire2Be. Pwrpas y prosiect oedd ffilmio rhaglen rygbi eu hunain i ddadansoddi perfformiad Cymru yn erbyn yr Alban yn Murrayfield. Disgwylir i'r disgyblion ymgymryd â rolau cyflwynwyr teledu, cyfwelwyr, sylwebyddion a dadansoddwyr. Wedi ffilmio, golygu a chyflwyno eu gwaith, cafodd y disgyblion eu llongyfarch am eu gwaith caled a'u gwahodd gan Aspire2Be i ddadansoddi gêm rygbi, i'w chwarae yng Nghaerdydd, yn y flwyddyn newydd. Cyflwynwyd clip ffilm y grwp yn ystod ein Seremoni Dathlu Llwyddiant Addysg Gorfforol diweddar lle roedd y disgyblion yn rhan o’r grwpiau/unigolion yn cael eu gwobrwyo. Da iawn chi.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Christmas Fair 12/12/17

Ffair Nadolig Year 11 pupils have been busy over the last few weeks in preparing, as part of their BAC enterprise challenge, activities and products to sell in our Christmas Fair that will be held in the School Hall on the 12th of December. The doors will be open at 4 o’r clock with free entry.
We are also very grateful to a number of local companies for their support with the event. There will be stalls by Bys a Bawd, Siop Sioned and Tlws. We are really looking forward to the evening and a chance to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. A warm welcome to you all.

Click here to view the poster


Conwy Crosscountry Success:

Congratulations to the following pupils for their recent success in Conwy’s Crosscountry championships.

First in their class: Math Thomas, Tomos Land, Ella Grundy

2nd in their class: Evan Burgess, Nel Metcalfe

3rd in her class: Begw Williams

Congratulations also to the rest of the team competing: Will Neale, Matthew Cawley, Morgan Clwyd, Jonathan Driver, Gruffudd Edwards, Ynyr Euros, Elea Chennell, Enid Hughes, ac Erin Jones.


Fishing Champions

Pencampwyr PysgotaCongratulations to Dylan Jones, Gruffudd Edwards a Rooney Moore from the school’s Fishing Club who have been chosen to represent Wales! We wish the boys all the best in their competitions this year. They have received sponsorship from Ymddiriedolaeth Llanrwst – we thank the trust for their generous support. This will help the boys make sure they have all the necessary equipment to compete.


Young Footballer playing for Wales

Peldroediwr IfancFollowing last year’s footballing success stories, we are delighted that Jac Parry, Year 13 has been selected to play for the Wales under 18 team. We wish him all the best with the team this year.


Football and Rugby Results: Autumn Term

Football Results:

Under 18
YDC v Syr Thomas Jones 11-2
YDC v Bodedern 10-1

Under 15
YDC v Eirias 4-0
YDC v Tryfan 2-3

Under 14
YDC v Dyffryn Ogwen 4-1
YDC v John Bright 2-2; (but lost on penalties).

Under 13
YDC v Aberconwy 2-1
YDC v Emrys ap Iwan 5-2

Under 13 (Merched)
YDC v Creuddyn 10-1

Under 12
YDC v Bryn Elian 1-9

Rugby Results: Autumn Term

Dan 18
YDC v St David's College Curo 38-0

Dan 16
YDC v Eirias Curo 41-0
YDC v St David's College Curo 50-0

Dan 13
YDC v Eirias Curo 55-0

Dan 12
YDC v Berwyn Curo 15-10


Children In Need 2017

Plant Mewn Angen On Friday the 17th of November the school was full of excitement in supporting the charity Children In Need. Pupils were wearing their own clothes and some had fancy dress costumes. The School Council and the Sport Council had been busy planning and organising different activities for pupil during lunch time such as cake stalls, sponge the teacher and a maths challenge. Holly, Mali and Lucy as members of the school council took part in Aled Hughes's radio show on Radio Cymru on Thursday morning discussing the activities planned for Children In Need. Together we raised over £650, thank you very much. To see more pictures of the activities visit our twitter account @ysgdyffrynconwy

Click here to see more photos


Year 11 GCSE Drama Performances

Perfformiadau DramaFor weeks Year 11 Drama GCSE pupils have been busy creating and preparing their creative performances and on Monday the 20th of November there were very memorable performances in the Drama Department. During the day there were performance to year 9 and 10 pupils transferring very interesting and important messages about equality and the Welsh Language. During Monday night, parents and friends came to watch the performances and it was a pleasure again this year to see the Drama room full of support for our young talented pupils. Thank you to all the students for their hard work. To hear more about performances and activities within the Drama Department follow us on twitter @DramaYDC.


Teams 4 U: Christmas Box Appeal for Children

Teams 4 UThis year we continued to support the important Charity Teams4U as our teachers and students came together in filling shoe boxes with different materials and essentials as a Christmas present. It was a pleasure to see all 43 boxes go on their way to Children and families in need on Monday the 20th of November. Thank you to everyone for their support.

T4U Poster - click here


6th Form Open Evening

Noson Agored 6ed Dosbarth

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s annual 6th Form Open evening will be held this year on Tuesday the 28th of November between 5.30 and 7.30pm. Doors will be open from 5.15pm. During the evening there will be a presentation from Pupils and Senior Staff about what the 6th Form at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy has to offer your child. There will also be the opportunity to discuss with subject teachers about any of the options your son/daughter might be considering. A copy of the 6th From Prospectus for 2018/19 will be shared during the evening. We hope that this will be an opportunity for your son/daughter to begin to consider 6th form options and to take part in the initial free choice options for our post-16 curriculum. Further discussion will also be possible during the year 11 parents’ evening on Tuesday the 6th of February following your son/daughter’s full report.

To view more information - click here


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Equestrian Team compete at Addington 2017

Tîm Marchogaeth

Congratulations to the Equestrian Team who recently competed in the second round of the NSEA Championships at Addington. Twm and Eben competed in the 70cm Show jumping round with both competing fantastically well and Twm gaining 3rd place on his horse Billy out of a class of 55. Superb results – well done, Twm!. On the Thursday evening both competed as part of the Welsh Schools’ Team in two competitions, the 70cm and 80sm Showjump. Twm was the only member of the Welsh team to jump the 80cm clear, both teams gained 3rd place. On the Friday, Twm competed on his horse, George in the 80cm individuals where he came 1st out of a class of 72 pupils under 17. A phenomenal achievement! The competing continued into the Saturday with Harri and Jac joining Twm and Eben in the challenging 90cm jump.

We are very proud of the achievements of this talented team!Click hereto see the photos


Dafydd Chilton Visit to the Welsh Department

Ymweliad Dafydd Chilton

On Thursday the 12th of October, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Welsh author, Dafydd Chilton to the Welsh Department. Dafydd is the author of the book ‘Dim’ which we are studying for our GCSE Welsh Literature course. Some of our class members know Dafydd because he lives locally and some had seen him riding his bike around the local area. It was very generous of him to come in to answer our questions about his novel. He also brought in photos of the places featured in the novel. It was really interesting to hear about his stories, about his place of birth and to understand that many local historical characters were in his novel. This included biographical details – ‘Dim is very much about me’ he said. He also had a collection of books he read when he was growing up. His visit definitely brought the novel to life for us and we really enjoyed his company. Diolch Dafydd.
Ethan, Jack, Mathew, Sion


Geography Field Trip

On the 26th of September, I and the other pupils in year 11 who are studying Geography, travelled to 3 different sites on the River Conwy in order to study the river’s flow. We had to ensure that we were properly dressed and equipped for this field work, wearing anti-water trousers and heavy wellingtons. The focus of the day’s work was then explained to us by a member of staff at the Rhy-y-Creuau centre in Betws y Boed. They supervised the day’s activities and helped us with our field work.
Our first stop was a small stream called ‘Nant y Brwyn’ where we studied the river; with some of the more adventurous amongst us approaching the river with enthusiasm whilst others stayed on the banks. We studied several aspects of the river including its length, depth, width and even the kinds of stones at the bottom of the river in order to test the geographical predictions linked to the changes in the river’s course.

We then moved on to our second site where two rivers merged; the water was deeper here, meaning we got wetter and were glad of our waterproof clothing. On the way back on the mini bus, with everyone tired and wet, two members of the group got caught up in the bogland along the path. Help was at hand to help them (and their wellingtons) escape the bogland.
After a final visit to Ysbyty Ifan where we could see the river had grown further we went to the Rhyd- y-Creuau Centre to analyse the data we had collected and record our findings and observation towards our coursework.
On behalf of all the pupils who went on the field work, I would like to thank the staff at Rhyd-y-Creuau for supporting us throughout the day, and to the staff in the Geography Department and Mr Carwyn Williams for arranging the day’s experience for us as part of our GCSE course.

Elliw Fflur Ford (11T)

Gwaith Maes Gwaith Maes  

Radio Cymru visits Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy:

Radio Cymru

Nia Cerys Gwynn visited the school on Monday the 9th of October to record a section for Radio Cymru’s Post Cyntaf programme. The focus was on the school’s pioneering new programme, Let’s Think in English which is being developed within English lessons. Nia visited one of our year 9 classes and interviewed Tommy, Brienne, Elen and Sion about their experiences of learning through ‘Let’s Think. The programme encourages learners to develop their responses to challenging reading material through talk and discussion, focusing on questioning, thinking and reasoning skills.

You can hear the interviews with the pupils and with Mrs Tesni Chaka, Head of English and Mrs Anna Robers, Literacy Co-ordinator through the podcast link here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007rkzw/episodes/player


Talented young pianist from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy taking part in a charity event at Maenan Abbey Hotel

Pianydd talentog This is the description from Patrick Lynch, year 11 about this important local event.

“I have the amazing opportunity last Friday to play the piano in a charity event at the stunning Maenan Abbey Hotel. As the occasion was quite formal, I decided to play challenging pieces to accompany the sophisticated atmosphere and to demonstrate my abilities. The pieces I played were: ‘The Lark’ by Glinka ‘Moonlight Sonnata’ by Beethoven and other grade 7 and 8 pieces such as ‘The Butterfly’ and ‘Romance sans Paroles’. This opportnity was amazing and once in a lifetime!”

Patrick’s performance on the evening was highly praised. Thank you Patrick for representing the school and supporting the local community.


YSGOL DYFFRYN CONWY ‘BAKE OFF’

BAKE-OFFFriday the 28th of September the school gym was full of a variety of tasty cakes. The teachers and sixth form students had been busy baking cakes for the Bake off competition. We are very grateful to Rhian Williams from Siwgr a Sbeis for taking the time to come in and judge the competition for us. After the tasting session, the crown of Star Baker was awarded to Ms Julie Hall from the English department for the amazing there tier heart shaped cake. Annest from year 13 came second and Mrs Buddug Jones came third. Elinor form year 7 won the winning cake with the raffle. The School council and the sixth form students were busy selling cakes and sweets throughout lunch time, all raising £460 towards Macmillan. Thank you to everyone for their support and especially to Rhian Williams form Siwgr a Sbeis for being our judge.


Education in Wales: Our National Mission

Addysg yng NghymruFor the information of parents and stakeholders.

Newly launched Educational Mission for Wales document expressing the vision for education in Wales from 2017 to 2022. The document was launched by the Cabinet Secretary on Tuesday the 26th of September. The school is playing an active part in this vision through our role as a Pioneer School for the Languages, Literacy and Communication Area of learning. The Headteacher, Miss Elan Davies joined the Cabinet Secretary, Kirsty Williams to present as part of the launch.


Llwyddiant ym Mharc Gwledig Pen-bre, Llanelli - Welsh Road Relays: (Welsh only available...)

Welsh Road RelaysLlongyfarchiadau mawr i Math Lloyd Thomas o Lanrwst, disgybl blwyddyn 8 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy ar ei lwyddiant yn cystadlu ym Mharc Gwledig Pen-bre, Llanelli mis penwythnos y 16 a 17 o Fedi. Yno roedd yn rhedeg ras Welsh Road Relays. Roedd yn rhedeg fel rhan o dîm athletau Menai. Enillodd y tîm wobr aur a hefyd cafodd Math fedal aur am redeg y lap cyflymaf yn y ras. Camp arbennig – da iawn ti, Math.


Sharing excellent practice as a Pioneer School for the New Curriculum:

Rhannu arferion rhagorol Last night, Miss Elan Davies, Headteacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy joined the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams at the launch of her new Mission Statement for Education in Wales at the National Museum, Cardiff. This was an excellent opportunity to share the school’s good practice ans learner success with the Cabinet Secretary and other representatives at the launch.

You can read more about the new Mission Statement for Education in Wales through the following link: http://learning.gov.wales


New Prospectus:

Prospectws

To read the new prospectus - click here


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Head Pupils 2017/18:

Prif DdisgyblionCongratulations to Rhydian Jones and Mali Sion from Year 13 who have been elected as this year’s Head Boy and Head Girl (2017/18). Meredydd Walker and Eve Jones were also elected Deputy Head Pupils. Their work has already begun, including the process of chairing and leading the School Council and school activities and priorities. The quality of the presentations this year were very high by everyone taking part – well done! We look forward to the work from your lead pupils over the year.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Equestrian Team competing in National Championships:

Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in the first round of the NSEA (National Schools Equestrian Association) National Championship Qualifiers at Southview over the weekend of the 23rd of September. Competing were: Jac Cernyw, Efa Davies and Harri Williams from year 12; Eben and Twm from year 8 and Morgan from year 7. A very hectic schedual of competitions across Showjumping and Dressage events confronted the talented team over the weekend. We are very proud of their efforts and look forward to hearing their success stories over the year’s events.

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Equestrian Champions: NSEA Southview 23/9/17 Results

These are the team and individual results:

Morgan Haerr 3rd Dressage
Twm Cernyw 2nd, Dressage and 2nd Showjumping 75cm
Harri Williams 1st and 3rd Dressage
Jac Cernyw Jumping with Style 1m 5th

Showjumping Team - 85cm Eben Davies, Efa Davies, Harri Williams and Twm Cernyw 5th
Showjumping Team - 95cm Harri Williams, Jac Cernyw and Twm Cernyw, Efa Davies 1st
Showjumping Team with Style - 95cm Harri Williams, Jac Cernyw and Twm Cernyw 3rd

As a result of their fantastic success the team are through once again this year to the National Event. Well done – fantastic!

Tim Marchogaeth Tim Marchogaeth  

An article by Tomos MacDonald:

Tomos MacDonaldAn article by Tomos MacDonald, former pupil and Deputy Head Boy at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy about life as a Welsh student at Oxford University:

Congratulations to Tomos on his article for ‘Wales Online’ about his experiences during his first year at Brasenose College, Oxford. You can read Tomos’ article from the link below.
Tomos was one of the talented 6th formers who left us at the end of 2015/16 to study at Oxford. We wish him all the best in his second year!

www.walesonline.co.uk


Exciting Reading Project with King’s College London:

Prosiect CyffroesTeachers and pupils at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy have begun working on an exciting project to develop higher order reading and thinking skills. The school is working with Laurie Smith from King’s College London as part of the School’s Pioneer Schools work. The school is the first school in Wales to be part of King’s College’s accelerated reading programme Let’s Think.

As part of their Pioneer work for Languages, Literacy and Communication, staff at the school have been researching different pedagogies for teaching languages, literacy and communication, including exploring ways to develop pupils’ higher order reading skills, to raise standards in reading and develop pupils’ bilingual and multilingual skills. The partnership with Kings’ College London has developed as part of this research work.

Headteacher, Elan Davies, is GWE Lead for the LLC Area of Learning for the new curriculum. The school is delighted to be working with King’s on the Let’s Think in English project as part of our pioneer work. Laurie came to speak to the national Languages, Literacy and Communication group in June. His recognition of how the project could work with our research into what matters and ways of working towards the new curriculum inspired the staff at the school. He has since visited the school to deliver professional learning and to demonstrate the impact of the methods used by the project. The language departments are very much looking forward to continuing their work with King’s and are delighted to be the first school in Wales to be part of Let’s Think.” Over the course of the project the school will be exploring how the strategies can be used across the language subjects and to support literacy across the curriculum.

2017/18 is a Year of Reading at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy with experiences to support and enrich reading and literature planned over the course of the year.


Head Pupils 2017/18:

Congratulations to Rhydian Jones and Mali Sion who were elected as Head Pupils today. Congratulations alto to Eve Jones and Meredydd Walker who will be their Deputies.
The quality of this year’s presentations were very high this year – well done to everyone who was part of the process. We are very proud of you all.

The School Council will be meeting for the first time next week. Best wishes to all with their important leadership roles.

We will also be looking for 6th form leaders to lead on different aspects of the school. More information to follow next week …


Own Clothes day for Jeans for Genes and Macmillan Cancer Care:

Thank you to everybody for their support today for both charities. Through our own clothes day we have managed to raise over £400.


Open Evening:

Noson AgoredClick here to view information about the open evening


Useful Online Safety Resources for Parents from Welsh Government:

1. A parent and carer's guide to Google safe search and YouTube safety mode;
2. A parent and carer's guide to age ratings of apps and games.


Electing Head Pupils 2017/18:

Ethol Prif Ddisgyblion Some of our Head Pupil nominees for 2017/18 after their excellent presentations to pupils. We look forward to hearing the remaining presentations on Thursday and to the election process. Good luck to all taking part!


New – September 2017 Parents’ Bulletin:

Bwletin i RieniNew – September 2017 Parents’ Bulletin, Key Dates, parents’ evenings and reports to parents 2017/18.

Click here to view the bulletin


Electing New Pupil Leaders for 2017/18:

There is considerable excitement this week with pupils in year 13 preparing to apply for the key roles of Head Boy, Head Girl and their Deputies for the next year. Following inspirational presentations from Leusa and Russell, our Head Girl and Boy over 2016/17, the process of application and election has begun. We look forward to their applications, interviews and presentations, wishing each applicant all the best in the process this year.


Open Evening

We will be holding our Open Evening for year 5 and 6 pupils and their parents on Tuesday the 10th of October. Doors open at 5.15pm with a presentation in the hall from the Head and Senior Leaders at 5.30pm and an opportunity for guided tours of the school between 6 and 7.30pm.


Rewarding Success - Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Annual Awards Ceremony:

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy recently celbrated it’s annual Awards Ceremony, an opportunity to celebrate the amazing success of our pupils following this Summer’s exceptional results. Amongst the first awards presented were the Governors’ Awards for excellence at A Level. Winning the coveted William J Lewis scholarship this year for his A Level results of A*A*A was Tomos Arfon. Tomos will be going to study Medicine at Birmingham University and was delighted to receive the award. The award, along with the Dr Harold Williams scholarship, was presented by Huw Roberts, Chair of Governors. Receiving the award for their A* and two As each this year were Jake Jones (going to study Law at Cambridge) and Russell Wingfield (off to study Engineering at Leeds). The boys have not only been busy and successful in their studies, they also took leading roles within the school community including Head Boy (Russell) and Deputy (Tomos). Kyron Mc Cavish and Dion Williams, also from the 6th form, were this year’s recipients of the Celf Alfred Davies Art Scholarship to support them with their further study of Art at university. Their excellent art work was shown during the ceremony.

The list of recipients for excellence at GCSE, awarded by the Conwy Valley Rotary Club was the longest in the award’s history with 10 pupils receiving the award from Rotary President Elect, Mr Kevin Grifiths and Mr Richard Howe: Rosy Pearson, Efa Celyn Davies, Amaan Abbasi, Ifan Jones, Mali Williams, Howard Wingfield, Brenig Hughes, Elan Jones, Trystan Jones, Abbie Wilding. Additional awards were also awarded by the school to Jac Cernyw, Cara Gates, Chloe Thomas and Penri Metcalf for their outstanding results. Their success was particularly strong in light of all the changes to the GCSEs this year and the fall in national performance. We are particularly proud of them and their whole year group who once again achieved excellent results in comparison with local and regional results. Their performance in the new Numeracy GCSE in particular stood out, placing the school in the top two across North Wales.

This year’s first award for Special Recognition this year was Harri Roberts, now in year 11 for his work as the school’s Young Photographer, enabling the school to capture and celebrate many of our key moments last term. As a result of their excellence in year 10, achieving an A* in both English Language and Numeracy a year early, the second special recognition award went to the talented trio – Elliw Ford, Gwen Arfon and Ethan Witt. Quite an achievement – well done!

Many pupils from KS3 were also awarded prizes during the evening, including for excellence at KS3: Mali Evans, Iolyn hennell, Ela Owen, Nel Davies, Sky Alfree, Gwenlli Jones, Haf Robets, Sara Roberts, Sion Dafydd Edwards, Glain Jones, Jac Lloyd and Sion-Meirion Williams. 22 pupils also gained an award for 100% attendance over the year, sponsored by Llew Jones bus company, Llanrwst. To close the ceremony, before enjoying some light refreshments, 16 pupils were awarded for top scores in the national Literacy and Numeracy tests. Head, Elan Davies, expressed her pride in the success of all the pupils awarded during the evening and to the school’s staff, parents and partners for their support.

Seremoni Dathlu Llwyddiant Seremoni Dathlu Llwyddiant Seremoni Dathlu Llwyddiant

Dyffryn Conwy Delight at Summer 2017 GCSE Results!

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Results day 2017: 24/8/17

We are delighted with this year’s GCSE results. Following excellent results last Summer, the first results of the new Core GCSEs and performance measures today show the fruit of the pupils’ hard work over the last two years. Mathematics results are particularly strong once again this year, something we are very proud of in light of the changes to two mathematics GCSEs this year. On behalf of the whole school I would like to congratulate all our pupils and their families on these excellent results. We look forward to welcoming many of our pupils back to further their studies at our vibrant 6th form.

Amongst our high fliers this year is Rosy Pearson who has gained an excellent full house of 11 A* grades! Other high fliers include Efa Celyn with 8A* and 3Bs; Ifan Jones, 6A*, 4As and 1B; Amaan Abassi 7A*, 3As and 1B. Amaan moved to Wales from London during the summer term of year 10 and has made a fantastic job of adapting to the very different courses now being studied in Wales compared with England.

Other excellent results were gained by the following pupils: Howard Wingfield 3A*, Distinction*, 4A, 2Bs; Mali Williams 3A*, 6As and 2Bs; Brenig Hughes 2A*, 2Distinction Stars, 4As and 3Bs; Elan Jones, 3A*s, 4As, 4Bs; Abbie Wilding 3A*, 4A, 1B, 3Cs; Trystan Jones, 3A*, 3As, 4Bs; Jac Cernyw 1A*, 8As 2Cs; Cara Gates A*, 5As, 4Bs, 1C; Penri Metcalf, 2 D*, 3A, 4B, 2C; Chloe Thomas, A*, 4As, 6Bs; Nicola Woods 7As, 4Bs; Ella Murphy 6As, 5Bs; a Mared Thomas 5As, 5Bs, 1C. An outstanding performance from all these talented pupils across their GCSE subjects reflecting strong performance in the higher grades for year 11 and for pupils in year 10 sitting their examinations early.

One of our outstanding subjects this year is Agriculture, taught through a partnership with Conwy Authority at Coleg Glynllifon. All the pupils sitting the course this year succeeded in gaining a double Distinction star grade including Brenig above. Another subject performing exceptionally is Fine Art where over half of the pupils gained A*/A a third of them an A*.

I am thrilled at another strong year of results at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, especially in light of all the changes to the GCSEs this year. She said, “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our students on their results and wish them all the best in the future whether continuing in our 6th form, moving to college or to the world of work. I am very proud of them and look forward to hearing all their future success stories. I would also like to thank the staff who have taught them for their continued hard work and to our very supportive parents. This is a day for celebration and pride.

Elan Davies, Headteacher, 24/8/17


A place at Cambridge University
artistiaid

Congratulations to Jake Jones, Year 13 who has gained a place at Cambridge University to study Law. We wish him all the best! We are extremely proud of his achivement and of the success of all our learners. Well done Jake!


A Busy A Level Results Day 2017: 17/8/17
disgyblion disgyblion

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupils have once again performed exceptionally well with some outstanding results! This year’s results show continued success in Advanced Level/Vocational A Levels and BTECs and a high percentage of A*/A grades. Among our number of high achievers this year are: Tomos Arfon, 3A*s; Jake Jones A*AAC; and Russell Wingfield A*AA and a B in Further Maths AS. In addition 6 pupils also gained very high grades across their subjects, Angharad Jones-Young, Charlotte Wright, Peri Smith, Lowri Jones, Leusa Ellis and Meirion Layton. Congratulations to each one of them.

Pictured are Head Boy, Russell Wingfield who will be studying Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Leeds and Deputy Head Boy, Tomos Arfon who will be studying Medicine at the University of Birmingham. We wish them all the best in their courses.

Today is a day for celebration – well done! We are all extremely proud of our pupils’ achievements. They have worked hard over the last two years to gain their results and to plan their next steps for the future. I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the School and its Governors to congratulate all pupils their parents and families, and all of our staff for their continued hard work and dedication.

We wish all our students every success in the future and look forward to tracking their achievement through University, further study and their future careers.


Year 13 Progress Ceremony 2017:
disgyblion disgyblion

At the end of their formal period at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy a Progress File Ceremony was held for year 13 pupils in order to wish them well in their A level examinations and to say farewell to them and every luck for the future. The guest speaker this year was Mr Ifor Glyn Evans, former Headmaster, who spoke wisely about making the most of every opportunity that came their way. Pupils were also greeted by Headteacher, Miss Elan Davies who took the opportunity to acknowledge the spectacular work of this year's 6th form leadership team: Head Boy, Russell Wingfield, Head Girl, Leusa Ellis and their Deputies, Lucy Brown and Tomos Arfon. They have made the most of every opportunity to represent the school this year, leading the School Council and representing the Student Body on the Governing Body.

Pupils were also greeted by their very proud Head of Year, Mrs Glenda Barlow who was full of praise for them. Everyone involved in their experiences over their time at the school and in arranging the ceremony was thanked. Pupils received their progress files from Mr Evans and we were delighted by two lovely musical performances by Chloe Elliot and Ffion Cash. At the end of the ceremony there was also an opportunity to talk, reflect and reminisce over light refreshments provided by Popty Pen Uchaf. We wish all our pupils all the best for the future and look forward to celebrating with them on their results day, the 17th of August.


Year 11 Progress File Ceremony and Prom 2017:
disgyblion disgyblion

Following weeks of examination and hard work, it was time for year 11 to celebrate and enjoy an evening in each other's company as we held our annual Progress File Ceremony in the School Hall, followed by an evening at The Eagles Hotel, Llanrwst for this year's Prom. Pupils arrived looking smart and glamorous in their suits and gowns for the ceremony. Parents and family members also joined them to mark the end of their GCSE course and their statutory curriculum at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy. Speaking during the ceremony, Miss Elan Davies spoke about how hard the 'class of 2017' had worked, overcoming obstacles and persevering in their studies, determined to succeed. "We look forward to being with them on the 24th of August when they receive their hard earned results and look forward to seeing many of them return to the 6th form in September. Whatever they do in their lives beyond year 11 - we wish them every success and happiness."

The guest speaker for the Ceremony this year was Jess Kavanagh-Williams, squad member for the Wales' Womens' Rugby Team. She shared her success story with the audience, emphasising the importance of perseverance and making the most of all opportunities. Jess presented each pupil with their Progress Files, stopping to be photographed with our glamorous youngsters. Mrs Catrin Jones, Year 11's Progress Leader talked with fondness and pride about the pupils and their journey over their years at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy. The ceremony also included readings by Mrs Tesni Chaka, Head of English and Mrs Anna Roberts, Literacy Co-ordinator. There were opportunities too to thank their tutors and all the staff involved in their progress over their time at the school, and particularly over the last year to their GCSE examinations. The ceremony over, pupils left the main hall by bus to attend the Prom at the Eagles Hotel. The room was beautifully decorated and pupils enjoyed an evening of buffet, warm company, dancing and photography. Our thanks to Mrs Allsup, Mrs Algieri and Mrs Catrin Jones for all their hard work arranging the evening's events. Our thanks too to the Eagles for once again hosting such a successful evening. A wonderful and fitting end to year 11's time at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy. Pob lwc i chi gyd!

Click here to see more photos


Robotics Day:
disgyblion disgyblion

At the end of term a group of year 7 and 8 pupils had the opportunity to take part in a Robotics workshop. The theme of the workshop was 'Space' and pupils succeeded in programming small vehicles to move using their programming skills and software during the workshop. The day was arranged by Mr Carl Thatcher from the Physics department. The pupils had shown an interest in the field during their physics and/or ICT lessons. Teams from the workshop will now be taking part in a project during the Autumn term 2017. We look forward to hearing more about this exciting project!.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy – Pioneer School for the New Curriculum 2018-2021:

Our work as a Pioneer School for the second phase of the national programme for Wales – ‘Successful Futures’ – has come to an end. We have been contributing through our monthly meetings with the other members of the Languages, Literacy and Communication Area of Learning where we have been able to share our experiences as a bilingual school with the other schools in our group. The Head, Miss Elan Davies has also been asked to Chair the group on behalf of GWE.

We have presented our work to schools across the GWE region during several meetings to share good practice. We will be moving to Phase 3 in September, continuing with the work of planning the framework for the new curriculum for teaching languages, literacy and communication from 2021. We will also continue to research into excellence in the field and to trial different teaching and learning strategies in the classroom.

You can read more about the development of the curriculum through the link below:

Curriculum for Wales / Newsletter July 2016 Issue: 07


Year 10 – Work experiences and employment Week
disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Year 10’s focus during our annual activities week was the world of work and employment. They experienced a range of activities over the course of the week that will help them for the world of work in their future. They had a workshop on Work Skills from Learning Performance; guest speakers from different fields including Swansea and Glyndwr Universities came in to talk to pupils interested in the fields of Engineering, Medicine, Technology, Business and the Arts. It was also excellent to welcome local Hair Salon, Tsunami in to run a specialist workshop on hair and make up for pupils with an interest in the field. A group of learners interested in Agriculture visited a local farm, Llwyn Goronwy to see their resources and to learn more about the industry. We welcomed back ‘Syniadau Mawr Cymru’ (Wales’ Big Ideas) with the local company Siwgwr a Sbeis, Islwyn Jones from Pen y Bryn to discuss their businesses with pupils. They also took part in a ‘Life Skills’ workshop run by Barclays, focusing on the essential skills needed for the world of work.

Pupils also travelled to Patchwork Pate and the Rhyl Business Centre to analyse and experience other kinds of businesses in the region. On Friday pupils then had the opportunity to create their own businesses, researching the market, creating a logo and product of their own before presenting it in a Dragon’s Den session at the end of the day.

Pupils said:
‘I enjoyed the Arts workshops run by Huw Garmon. We had a range of varied activities and an opportunity to taste a university experience.” Siwan, year 10.
‘My highlight was the presentation from Islwyn Jones. I thought it was a really fascinating presentation and I learnt a lot’. Cai, year 10.
‘My favourite workshops over the week was the presentation from Swansea University about Medicine. This gave me a taste of what is offered and I learnt a lot that will be useful for my future.’ Elliw, year 10.

Year 10 also took part in the annual sponsored walk around Gwydir forest working as buddies for the younger pupils and enjoying the sun and fresh air.


Year 8 and 9 Activities Week:
artistiaid

Year 8:
Year 8 went to Nant Bwlch yr Haearn to take part in a range of activities which included orienteering, gorge walking and high ropes course. They also took part in STEM problem solving activities. They also created their own documentary, researching, scripting, filming and editing their production. Examples of their work can be seen on the school website. Pupils also went on a trip to the Penmachno and Llanberis areas where they visited Ty Mawr Wybrnant and the Slate Museum in Llanberis. During the course of the week pupils were also able to test their sporting abilities through taking part in the annual sponsored walk, mountain biking, tennis and dance workshops. The trip was arranged by the Humanities department. During the last week of term some of the pupils also had the opportunity to take part in a robotics event arranged by Mr Carl Thatcher from the physics department.

artistiaid

Year 9:
Over the course of their activities week year 9 had the experience of ‘Choose Life’ theatre performance. They also took part in the ‘Talk the Talk’ workshop developing their public speaking and presenting skills with the English department. One of the pupils, Elgan from year 9 said: “I really enjoyed the workshop and learnt a lot about how to be more confident whilst speaking in public’.
They returned to the home of Hedd Wyn in Tryweryn this year following its renovation, hearing about the life of the famous Welsh first World War poet with the Welsh and History departments. Pupils in year 9 also had the opportunity to go skiing in Plas y Brenin with trainers from the North Wales Skiing Club.

They were all part of our annual sponsored walk around the Gwydir Forest – around a 7 mile walk, enjoying the sun and fresh air. Thank you to all who sponsored our pupils with the walk.

It was also great to see our 6th formers supporting these activities and acting as buddies to younger pupils over the week. It was a delightful week for all. We would like to thank all the speakers and partners who came to work with us and support us over the course of the week. Thank you in particular to Miss Japheth, Mrs Allsup and Mrs Algieri for all their hard work in making the arrangements for the week and to all the staff who took part.


Year 7 Activities Week at Ysgol Dyffyrn Conwy:

disgyblion disgyblion

Year 7 pupils had a range of different experiences over our annual activities week this July. They had a number of memorable presentations from a range of external agencies including the fire service, road safety and young carers as part of their Health and Wellbeing curriculum. They also experienced a range of sporting activities including tennis where we were fortunate to have one of our ex pupils, Emily Watson training the pupils; dance and biking – again provided by local partners to the school. It was excellent to see the pupils enjoying these varied activities outdoors. They also went on a trip to Bala arranged by the Humanities department, visiting the World of Mari Jones and Llyn Brennig. They also took part in a treasure hunt around Bala. They also experienced a theatrical performance by the theatre company ‘Mirror Mirror’ which made them reflect on aspects of the PSHE course. Their Pastoral day also included a relaxation workshop, creative writing day and sessions on Healthy Eating and self image. This is what some of the pupils had to say – ‘My favourite activities were the workshops on Friday especially the workshop on Self image.’
‘My highlight was the sponsored walk on Wednesday and the disco on the school field in the afternoon.’


Dyffryn Conwy pupils inspired by CERN visit:
disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Dyffryn Conwy students have been inspired by their recent visit to CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). During the visit on 15/7/17 they discovered how CERN is helping to answer some of the most fundamental questions; how did the Universe begin? What are the basic building blocks of matter? Are there any other dimensions out there? Carl Thatcher, a physics teacher from Dyffryn Conwy said: “The aim of this trip has been met having inspired pupils to study physics and to open their eyes to opportunities out there and consider a career path either in physics or another STEM subject. It was also to show that these subjects are not just for the boys but also for the girls and to break the stereotype of traditional ‘boy’ subjects.”
Part of the trip was to visit Bern and the former dwellings of probably the most well-known physicist in Albert Einstein where he lived during his work on special and general relativity and also visit the museum dedicated to his life.

Year 11 pupil Rosy Pearson who will be studying physics at AS/A-level in September said “I was so excited when I heard about the opportunity to visit CERN, I was really looking forward to the trip. It turned out to be so amazing that it has inspired me to want to do my year out of my languages degree in Switzerland due to its multi lingual nature and also to hopefully work in CERN itself whilst I’m there.” The UK has been a member of CERN since the organisation was founded in 1954. Membership allows British researchers to take a wide variety of roles that contribute to CERN’s on-going success. The Dyffryn Conwy students’ visit was led by members of the CERN community who talked from personal experience about their contribution to CERN’s research programme.

STFC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Brian Bowsher said “The scale of the science and technology at CERN is awe-inspiring. There is no doubt that seeing it at first hand, and meeting the people who work on the experiments, can influence young people’s future education and career choices.”

Our thanks go to the staff who went with the pupils on their journey: Miss Hannah Jones, Mr Penri Jones and trip organiser, Mr Carl Thatcher. An excellent and memorable opportunity for our pupils!


End of Term Concert at Seion Chapel, Llanrwst
artistiaid

On Tuesday the 18t of July we celebrated reaching the end of term with a superb concert of talented musical individuals from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy at Seion Chapel in Llanrwst. Thank you for everyone who attended for their support – the collection will go towards the Air Ambulance charity and to support the Music Department’s activities. We would also like to thank Seion for hosting the concert and for their support to the Dyffryn Conwy Youth Choir’s practise for the Eisteddfod next month. Amongst those perfforming we had a number of items from our recent school Eisteddfod including the Geirionydd Ensemble perfforming a Disney Medley arranged by Cadi Edwards. We also heard performances from both the girls’ and boys’ singing groups, including a performance of a song which has become a bit of an ‘anthem’ following the school Eisteddfod – ‘Ty ar y Mynydd’ (House on the Mountain) by Maharishi. We were also entertained by the talented trio Modlen, Angharad and Elliw who performed the song ‘Angels’. The fruit of the labour from all the rehersals of the Youth Choir was also shared – a taste of what they will be performing during the Eisteddfod in August – best wishes to the choir! We also had a number of instrumental items including Lily on her Baritone and a harp group from year 7. A number of soloists also perfformed – thank you to Erin, Afan, Beca, Cari, Awel and Gwion for their powerful performances. We also had two duets – thank you to Lliwen and Lea, and to Gwern and Aron. A feast of performances – thank you to all involved, and a special thanks to the Music Department and their team for a lovely evening.


The Iorwerth Jones Art Prize:
In Memory of Iorwerth 1970-2006
artistiaid

We are delighted to announce that this year’s winners for the prize are: Lleucu Howatson, for her paint study of farm animals, and to Elin Cawley who produced a series of studies of close-ups of cats. Our congratulations to Lleucu and Elin, and our much appreciated thanks to Iorwerth’s family for their generosity.

Here’s some information about Iorwerth:
Iorwerth was a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy between 2981-87. He had demonstrated great talent in Art and Photography and had so much enjoyment following the courses that he decided to follow on to study a course in Visual and Aural Arts in Wrexham. This gave him a foundation in order to follow a HNC course in Film, Photography and Television at Plymouth Art School. After completing his course he had the opportunity to direct a black and white film called, ‘Efleychiad’ which was shown on S4C to much praise. This led to further work commissioned by S4C and to the production of a second film, ‘Er Cof’ (in Memory). There was excellent response to this file when S4C showed it; this gave him a boost that led to a colourful and successful career in the film and television industry. His work on S4C allowed him to travel around the world and the opportunity to work on numerous and varied projects over the years.

Art was central to Iorwerth’s life, and so his family felt it appropriate to award an annual award to the Art Department at Ysgol dyffryn Conwy, where his impressive art journey began.

We are extremely grateful to Iorwerth’s family for presenting the prize in his memory and also for the generous award to pupils who have demonstrated genuine commitment to their work and produced work of the highest standard.


Gwion Roberts, Yr. 12 – Talented Young Trainer for Squash!

footballers

During our recent transition sports activity days we had the privilege of activities from Gwion Roberts, a pupil in year 12 who was recently named as a national young trainer for Squash in Wales! Congratulations to Gwion on his success, not only playing Squash but also in training others in the field – quite an achievement! We thank him for his work with younger pupils, particularly as part of our recent year 5 and 6 transition days. It’s great to have such a talent working with us!



Year 5 and 6 Multi-sports and Rugby Days:

footballers

We also had a number of other events involving year 5 and 6 recently including out Rugby Tournament and Multi-Sports days organised by our year 10 Enterprise students. Pupils had the opportunity to compete, to collaborate and to be trained by pupils at the school, members of our Physical Education Department and our Rugby Officer, Mr Kevin Thomas. There was great excitement and anticipation during the three days with success being experienced in many different activities. The weather managed to stay favourable too! Our thanks goes to everyone who was part of the activities, especially to the PE department staff.


Year 6 Taster Days:

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming our new Year 7 class for September 2017 for two taster days. During the two days pupils met their new form tutors for September 2017, met new friends, began to be acquainted with the school site and building and lunch time arrangements, as well as the route into and from school and a range of taster lessons that will be part of their timetables from September 2017. We had a fabulous two days in their company beginning to get to know Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s newest members. During the two days they had experiences in: Welsh, English, Science, History, Geography, Physical Education, Drama and Technology workshops. There was also an opportunity on the Tuesday evening for pupils and their parents to visit the school to find out a bit more about arrangements for September. It was great to meet them all. We look forward to welcoming our new year 7 to the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy School community in September! We thank them all for their company, our primary schools and parents for their support and all the staff who were involved in the activities. We wish them all an excellent summer.


Young Poet:

Congratulations to Evan Burgess from year 7 who recently won the 3rd prize in the 11-15 age category for his poem ‘Why’ in the ‘Turn up the volume Poetry Challenge’ on the Young Poets Network. The poem can be read Evan’s poem by clicking on the following link: ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk


National Literacy And Numeracy Tests Summer 2017:

A link to an animation from Welsh Government about the national Literacy and Numeracy tests which are due to be published at the end of the Summer Term 2017: Read here

The latest on arrangements for reporting on literacy and numeracy: Read here

Parents’ and carers’ guide to secondary school for children aged 11 to 14: click here


YSGOL DYFFRYN CONWY EISTEDDFOD 2017:
disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

On Monday the 3rd of July Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Eisteddfod Festival 2017 was held in the school. It was a vision of colour and talent, including individual and group performances musical, dance and recitation. The staff mime to music provided much excitement; as well as this year’s new item for year 10 the ‘Hair and Beauty’ contest. Choirs competed from each of the four houses and fabulously entertaining items such as the sketch and ‘story and sound’ contest provided much humour. We also held the formal items including the Chair, the Crown, the Drama medal and the medal for Composition, finding winners in each of the four competitions. At the end of the day it was announced that first over all the contests was Geirionydd with Gwydir a close second, Hiraethog third and Crafnant in fourth place. We’d like to thank all the pupils who took part including the year 10 and 12 pupils who led their houses and individual items; to the staff for their support and inspiration. Our thanks goes also to Miss Andrea Parry for arranging the day and to our fabulous judges – Mr Dilwyn Price, Miss Erin Rossington, Miss Angharad Jones-Young and Mr Rhodri Sion for supportin us on the day and for their enthusiastic feedback to all who competed. Thank you too to our generous sponsors for supporting us with our main trophies and prizes. It was superb to spend a day in the company of such talent.

To view 'Is there Peace?’ Report - click here

Eisteddfod Page - click here


Numeracy Bulletin July 2017 - click here


Literacy Bulletin June 2017 - click here


Bangor University Geography Quiz Champions:

footballers

Congratulations to the two teams from year 9 who competed in Bangor University’s ‘WelshWise’ Geography trip on the 29th of June. The group won both first and second prizes, with YDC1 team gaining 70 points and 2nd place, and YDC2 gaining 75 points and first prize. Eight teams competed in the competition. We are extremely delighted with the group’s achievements. The award will be held by the school for the next year. Out thanks to Mr Carwyn Williams, Head of Geography for arranging the event and to Mr Kevin Thomas for driving the pupils there and back.


Congratulations to the School Eco Council on gaining the Eco-Schools Green Banner Award:
footballers

The School Eco Council, under the guidance of Mrs Anna Roberts have been very busy this year with a number of initiatives around the school, including their recent mission to reduce rubbish on and around the school site. Their work has led to many improvements including a noticeable reduction in the rubbish collected during their last activity early this month. The success of their work has now been recognised by gaining the coveted Green Banner Eco-Schools Award following a recent visit by Catrin Hughes from ‘Keep Wales Tidy’ to assess the progress made by the council towards the award’s criteria. The work of the council was praised during the visit and we have now received the award officially! Well done! We will now continue with the programme and respond to the recommendations in the award before the next visit in two years.

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Win A Coveted National Award - click here


Success in Llanrwst's Eisteddfod:
plant plant plant

Pupils from 7 Garmon and 7 Pandy recently competed in the Llanrwst Eisteddfod. The pupils wrote poems on the theme of 'Storm' in their Welsh lessons. Eben Davies came first in the contest with his poem whilst Owain Williams came 2nd and Ffion Phillips 3rd. Congratulations to all three and to those who competed.


Equestrian Team - success in Herefordshire

footballers

Two members of the club went to Kings Bromyard in Herefordshire over the weekend (18/6/17) to compete. Eben Davies came 3rd with his horse, Ben in the 75cm competition, and he will now go through to the championship in Keso. He will also be able to represent the Welsh School's jumping team at Addington Manor. Twm Cernyw also competed in the 85cm jumping contest, winning with his horse George and coming 4th with his horse Billy. This means that both horses are through to represent Wales in Addington Manor and Billy goes through to Keysoe. Huge congratulations to both on these excellent results!



School Eco Council
plant plant plant

As part of Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy's Eco Council's mission to reduce litter around the school site and our local area in Llanrwst, pupils from the Eco Council held a litter picking event on Tuesday the 6th of June. A team of pupils and staff were busy during the afternoon collecting and monitoring the litter around the school and along Nebo Road. The Eco Council were delighted to find out that less rubbish had been collected than during past events showing the support for their actions. Our thanks go to the community, staff and students for their support.


CONWY and NORTH WALES Schools’ Climbing Competition:

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy recently attended the Conwy Schools’ climbing competition at Ysgol Gogarth. Four teams took part and the motivation and determination they showed was such a joy to see! Here is a short write up from Elea Chennell (Year 7) . . .
When me and my group received a letter one day and saw that it was about climbing; we couldn’t believe it! We were so happy.
The following week we were sitting in a mini bus travelling to the climbing competition, where we would be representing our school and competing against other schools from Conwy County.
Finally we arrived. As we walked through the welcoming corridors I saw the colourful climbing wall with a few people scattered on it. I knew it was going to be a great afternoon!
We squeezed into our climbing shoes, buckled our harnesses safely - and we were off: climbing to the top, route after route. At first we were all speeding up the wall and feeling such satisfaction each time we reached the top of a climb. Only after climbing several routes did the satisfaction become slightly harder to achieve; we were tiring quickly! We weren’t going to let our tiring limbs stop us from at least trying to get to the top.
Time was up. I guess we were kind of happy seeing as we were all quite fatigued. The senior boys had managed to climb all of the available routes and between us, our team, the junior girls, had managed to have a go at most of them.
A few days afterwards we received some news, very good news actually. It turned out that Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy had won the Conwy schools climbing competition and some of us would now be representing Conwy in the next round: the North Wales schools finals - Yey!
Our senior boys and junior girls’ teams joined up with junior boys and senior girls from two other schools and travelled to Indy climbing wall on Anglesey to compete in the next round of the competition. This was going to be somewhat tougher than the previous round!
Bouldering this time. In my opinion bouldering is freer than climbing a climbing wall. You don’t have a rope so you can move freely to get to the next hold on the problem. Problems were graded from 4a all the way up to 7a, and we were competing against climbers from Anglesey and North / South Gwynedd. We had three attempts at each problem, and there were twenty problems to attempt altogether. It was once again quite strenuous and tiring! We really enjoyed the bouldering despite the fact that we came fourth overall; but oh well – it’s all about the taking part isn’t it!


EISTEDDFOD SUCCESS:

Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in the Eisteddfod over half term. The following had considerable success on the stage:

Christopher Sabisky, 2nd in the Wind Instruments Solo for years 7-9;
Modlen Alun, who won 3rd in the Folk Solo, for years 10 and under 19; 1st in the Cerdd Dant solo for year 10 and under 19; and 3rd in the solo from a Musical for year 10 and under 19 years old.

Congratulations to the following who were also successful in the homewor and Arts and Craft competitions:

Cai Williams, 3rd – Mask or Puppets for years 7, 8 a 9
Mali Bleddyn Evans, 2nd – Monochrome Print for years 7, 8 a 9
Sion Pyrs Owen, 1st – Artefact for years 7, 8 a 9
Cadi Gwyn Edwards, 1st and 3rd – Mucisal Composition for years 12 a 13

Our thanks goes to the staff and parents who supported them.


Year 8/9 Girls' Rugby

Congratulations to the year 8/9 girls' rugby team who won yesterday (7/6/17) in the 7 aside Urdd rugby tournament in Bala. The girls won against Brynhyfryd in the semi-final and against Llanidloes in the final. Our thanks to Mr Kevin Thomas, School Rugby Officer for arranging the activity.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Rugby update Summer 2017:

footballers

Congratulations to all those who competed in recent rugby tournaments. Here’s a summary:

Eryri under 18s Cup Final:
YDC 20/10 Ysgol Brynrefail

Eryri under 13s Cup Final:
YDC 46/0 Ysgol Botwnnog

North Wales Under 13s Cup Final:
Ysgol Uwchradd Caereinion 12 - 38 YDC
Ceisiau Tal Taylor 2, Morgan Jones -2, Owain Morris -1, Deio Williams -1.
Trosiad Ilan Roberts -4.

Our thanks go to Mr Kevin Thomas, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Rugby Officer for coaching, organising and arranging training and matches.


Congratulations to Fflur Williams
footballers

superb footballer from year 11. Fflur has been chosen once again for the Wales under 18s team for June. She will be travelling to Cardiff to play against the under 19 team. Whilst in Cardiff she will be staying with the Wales Women’s Football team and going to watch the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final. Well done Fflur – we wish you every success!


Internet Safety information night

As a school we would like to inform you of the Internet Safety Night held in Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s hall on Monday the 19th of June at 18:00. Parents of local primary schools are also welcome to join the Cyber Crime team of North Wales as the present the most recent information on how to keep children and young people safe online. Warm welcome to all.

Click here for more information


Urdd Eisteddfod
plant plant

We are extremely pleased again this year to celebrate the success of all our pupils in the Urdd Eisteddfod – both in the homework competitions and on stafe.
Congratulations to the following for their success already in the Pen-y-bont a’r Ogwr Urdd Eisteddfod this year in the homework competitions:
• Cadi Gwyn Edwards – 1st and 2nd for Musical Composition for years 12 and 13
• Sion Pyrs Owen – 1st for creating artefacts in years 7-9
• Mali Bleddyn Evans – 2nd for a monochrome print for years 7-9
• Cai Williams – 3rd for creating a mask or puppet in years 7-9
• Elea Chennell, Amy Imgham and Lily Taylor – 3rd for Digital Content in the secondary age group.
As a school we also wish all the pupils competing in next week’s Eisteddfod all the best and congratulate them for their success in last month’s County Eisteddfod:
Lily Taylor – brass solo years 7-9; Christopher Sabisky – harp solo and woodwind solo for years 7-9; Sion Dafydd Edwards – folk song solo, cerdd dant, boys’ solo and individual recitation for years 7-9; Lea and Lliwen – year 7-9 duet; and the year 7-9 Boys’ and Girls’ singing group; and Modlen and Elliw with their year 10-13 sketch.
Good luck to all! Here are pictures of some of our winners.


Rugby Tournament in France
plant plant

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s under 13 and under 14 boys’ Rugby teams went to Paris during the Easter holiday to compete in the Disneyland Paris tournament. They were extremely successful there with the under 14s team finishing 3rd in the Cup final; the under 13s winning their Cup Final – well done boys! Siencyn Metcalfe was awarded Player of the Tournament and Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy were awarded as the Tournament Team. In their last game the under 14s beat the Truro team 17 to 5 to come 3rd in the competition. Tries from Luke Roberts (2) and Carwyn Jones (1) and a conversion from Siencyn Metcalfe securing their win.
In the under 13s Cup Final, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy won by beating hitchin Boys’ School 20 to 0 with tries from Aron Davies (1), Tal Taylor (2) and Owain Morris (1).
During both days, Dyffryn Conwy boys were awarded Star of the Game twelve times – Owain Morris (3), Tal Taylor (2), Kyle Kelly (1), Morgan Jones (2), Carwyn Jones (1) and Siencyn Metcalfe (2). Congratulations to all the boys for their success – they were excellent ambassadors for the school and its local community. Our special thanks go to Kevin Thomas and all the staff and parents of the school for arranging and supporting the trip.


CREATIVE WRITING PROJECT

During the past few weeks, one of our year 7 classes has been taking part in a project with the Arts Council Wales. The aim of the project was to develop creative writing skills through in English, which has been led by their English teacher Michelle Mosley. As well as developing their writing skills, the pupils had opportunities to develop their art skills by bringing their stories and poems to life through various images. The pupils attended a series of ten workshops with professional writer Heather Dyer and professional artist Alana Tyson. At the end of the project, the pupils’ work was gathered to publish a book, “Creative Kids of Y.D.C.”
To celebrate the success of the project, as well as the pupils’ work, a special launch event was held at the school on Monday evening, 15th of May. Parents of the pupils who took part were invited to learn more about the project and view the book featuring the pupils’ work.
This is what some of the year 7 pupils had to say about the project and their experience:
• “I really enjoyed taking part in the project, because I learnt new skills.”
• “I really enjoyed the project because we made some printing and we had lots of fun during the story boxes.”
• “I have immensely enjoyed taking part in this project, I have learnt so much about myself.”

THE CREATIVE KIDS YCD 1 click here

THE CREATIVE KIDS YCD 2 click here

THE CREATIVE KIDS YCD 3 click here

THE CREATIVE KIDS YCD 4 click here

To find out more about the project click here


‘Bin It’ Presentation
footballers

On the 12th of May a theatre performance called “Bin it” performed to all Year 7 and 8 pupils in Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s school hall. The performance promoted recycling as well as putting our rubbish in the bin and closely links with the Eco Council’s near future scheme to keep Llanrwst tidy. Members of the School Council and the Eco Council will be collecting litter around Nebo Road, Llanrwst and around the school site to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and putting rubbish in the bin. It has certainly been very helpful in raising awareness and reducing the amount of rubbish on our school fields after lunch!


Information for Year 11
Revision and Exams Timetable Year 11 - click here
Revision Sessions Letter Year 11 - click here

Wales Schools’ Under 18s Cup

Date: 7/5/2017
Place: Stadium Park Hall, New Saints, Croesolltwallt
There was great excitement on our journey to the final round of the 2017 Welsh Schools’ Under 18s Cup. Pupils looking forward to their second final round in three years, and others experiencing it for the first time… To read more click here (Welsh version only - translation to follow).


Easter 2017 Skiing Trip: by Nanw Grug

Report on Skiing Trip to Les Deux Alpes 2017
We were really looking forward to our skiing trip to France – the excitement accelerating as the day neared! We needed to get up early on Friday the 7th of April to get the bus from school. I arrived at school to meet everyone arriving with their multicoloured cases, each one dragged in turn to the back of the bus. That was the beginning of our journey – everyone sitting on the bus full of excitement, ready for the long journey.

After finally arriving at the hotel, “Moutet Pied”, completely exhausted we took our cases to our rooms. We walked around the village that would be our home for the next five days, admiring the fantastic views. In any direction, high mountains were covered in a white snowy blanket. We went to fetch our skiing gear to use the following morning before enjoying a tasty supper and crawling to our beds, extited and tired.

After an early awakening, change and breakfast – a feast in the dining room of toast, bread and fruit – we left, our bellies full, our full gear on, ready for the day’s adventure ahead. I enjoyed the lift up to the skiing place – an opportunity to relax before our first session with Nancy, our skii instructor. On this first day I had fun, falling everywhere, a taste of what was to come.

The second day began with my exhausted self walking down the stairs for breakfast. Today we were going to be able to go further on the snow, on the ‘Magic Carpet’. This was a lot of fun, skiing the whole way down. At night we had a 10 pin bowling session after supper at the hotel – a lot of fun and more delicious food.

As the third day dawned, an even more exhausted self emerged – but I carried on regardless. The morning brought another journey on the magic carpet followed by a skiing obstable race through plastic cones and pulley ropes to help us back up the slope. The sun was burning hot and bright. In the evening we went to the arcade – spending all our spare coins.

The last day, the fourth day of skiing dawned. Today we went on the blue slope in the afternoon – the best day so far. Skiing down the side of the mountain enjoying the breathtaking views. We went on the chair lift to reach the top. On our way down the breeze blew in our faces. By the end of the day we had gone down the slope at least 4 times. This was the last night so a tasty celebration of pizza for us! I slept well that night – completely exhausted!

On the last day our gear was returned to the shop. We stayed behind that morning to pack. By now we were looking forward to our journey home, some sleep and the chance to see our families again. Even so it was disappointing to leave France. Once everyone had returned from the slopes we did a little sunbathing. The bus was due to leave at five pm with the long drive home getting us back to Dyffryn Conwy by 3pm the next day.


EASTER EGG RAFFLE
footballers

We would like to thank Mrs Bassett for her very generous donation of Easter Eggs in the run up to Easter. Pupils in year 7 had the opportunity to go around pupils and staff at the school selling raffle tickets with these lovely Easter Eggs as the reward. In light of the generous support for all £200 was raised towards the school fund. Thank you to everyone who supported us with this event.


DYFFRYN CONWY YOUNG COMPOSER: WINNER OF SONG FOR WALES 2017

We are extremely proud of the talents of our pupils and on Saturday the 11th of March we received the fantastic news that Cadi Gwyn Edwards, from year 12 had won this year’s 2017 Song for Wales competition with her song ‘Rhydd’ (‘Free’).

Cadi is extremely musical and has been composing since she was 10 years old. She is masterful at playing the guitar, piano and singing. We are thrilled to hear of her success in this national and prestigious competition. We wish her all the best with the next step and know that we are bound to hear far more from this talented composer in the future.


Geography Department Field Trip to Manchester

On March the 21st the Geography Department organised a field trip to Manchester for year 11 GCSE and 6th Formers studying the subject. The group’s focus was understanding the human geography of a city setting. As part of the day pupils were given a presentation with staff in the Lowry Outlet shopping centre before taking a journey to Media City where they produced some map work. After lunch in the dockland area they attended an exhibition on how the cotton and textile industries worked in the Museum for Culture and Science. This was an opportunity to explore the different and interesting exhibitions about the history of these industries in the city.
During the afternoon we visited the city centre to see how the CBD has developed and explore the Arndale centre’s shopping experience. Before leaving to journey back to Llanrwst we visited the Etihad Stadium in the east of the city – the home of Manchester United. It was a busy and varied day – and we were lucky with the weather which helped! We hope that what we learnt about the city’s economy and landscape will help us prepare for questions based on industrialised settings – in contrast to our rural Conwy Valley.


Research Visit to Hong Kong
plant plant

Recently, we welcomed Miss Japheth back to the school after an exciting and successful visit of Hong Kong. Miss Japheth was representing the school with the British Council as she researched into the use of ICT within the classroom setting. She was invited to visit pupils at various schools across the city and see their use of iPads and robots in class. This is what Miss Japheth has to say about her experience:
“It was fascinating to see pupils using ICT to develop their learning within the classroom. During the visit, I has fortunate to meet and discuss with pupils from various backgrounds in Hong Kong. We here in Wales have much to share with our friends in Hong Kong and I hope that we will be able to develop the links made in the near future.”


CYFANSODDWRAIG IFANC Y DYFFRYN : ENILLWR CAN I GYMRU 2017 (Welsh only available)

Rydym yn hynod o falch fel ysgol o dalent ein disgyblion a chafwyd newyddion ardderchog nos Sadwrn y 11eg o Fawrth wrth i Cadi Gwyn Edwards, disgybl blwyddyn 12, ennill y gystadleuaeth Cân i Gymru 2017 gyda'i chan “Rhydd.”

Mae Cadi yn gerddorol tu hwnt ac wedi bod yn cyfansoddi caneuon ers oedd hi’n ddeg oed. Mae’n feistr ar chwarae’r gitâr, piano ac wrth gwrs canu a braf oedd clywed am ei llwyddiant arbennig. Rydym yn dymuno gorau iddi ac yn sicr byddwn yn clywed mwy am y gyfansoddwraig dalentog yma i’r dyfodol.


Conwy and The Great War : "Y Rhwyg"

rhwyg

Pupils from the school have been busy researching and preparing a performance that explores the effect of World War One on the language, culture and society of rural Conwy county, "Y Rhwyg." There will be two performances produces by Eilir Jones. One performance will be in Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy's Hall on Wednesday the 5th of April. We welcome your support and wish the production all the best.

Click here for more information

 


St David's Day Quiz

A chance for pupils to win Welsh themed prizes by competing in our St David's Day quiz.


St David's Day
plant plant plant

Our pupils dressed in Welsh colours as part of our St David's Day celebration on March the 1st and raised over £300 for Hope House. The school council also arranged Welsh music to be played in the canteen during the day.


A Skiing Success

footballers

Scott a Year 7 pupils over the past few months has been busy representing Wales and England in a Ski competition in Les Croset Portes du Soleil in Switzerland.

On the 20th of January he travelled from North Wales to Switzerland a journey that took him 22 hours. He took part in race training for three days and then on the fourth day, the 26th of January, the competing began.

He races a 39 gate on a 250 meter course, Giant Slalom, and came 19th overall in 1:22:18. On the following day he races again in a 24 gate, 240 meter course called Stubby Slalom. He came 20th overall with the time of 39.25. He also took part in The North Wales sports club race and came 1st.

After the competing there was a prize giving ceremony in Champery and Scott had his picture taken with Richard Parks, a former Wales International Rugby player and Extreme Athlete, now an Ambassador for Snowsport Wales. It then took 25 hours for Scott to return home to North Wales.

Scott is a registered Racer for Snowsports Cymru Wales and has skied for North Wales Snowsports Club at this competition, the club is local based at Plas Y Brenin, Capel Curig. We as a school wish Scott all the best in his future competitions and I’m sure we will hear much more about his successes in the future. All the best Scott.


Young Composer – Cadi Edwards, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy

footballers

As a school we are very proud of the talents of our pupils. Last week we had the excellent news that Cadi Edwards, a year 12 pupil at the school and a talented composer has been successful in having her song ‘Rhydd’ (Free) in the final 10 songs for this year’s 2017 ‘Can I Gymru’ competition (A Song for Wales).

Cadi is extremely talented in music and has been composing songs since she was 10 years old. She is an accomplished guitarist, pianist and of course singer. Her latest composition, ‘Rhydd’ tackles the complex issue of abuse within a relationship and the desire to break free from the relationship. It is always a delight to hear Cadi perform her songs which astound her audiences.

In addition to studying for Music, French, English and Welsh as well as the Welsh Bac at A Level, Cadi is busy supporting a range of different activities within her community. She is a passionate member of Llangernyw Aelwyd and a member of the school’s Senior Choir. She was also one of the main characters in our recent musical, ‘Grease’ taking on the role of Rizzo which she performed superbly!

Cadi will be performing on the stage during the ‘Can I Gymru’ contest on Saturday the 11th of March at 8.30pm and we will all be supporting her from Dyffryn Conwy. We hope you enjoy her song too and you will pick up the phone to vote for Cadi, Dyffryn Conwy’s talented composer! Good luck, Cadi!


Schools Climbing Wall Contest:

Congratulations to all the enthusiastic teams who competed in this first competition. The competition was strong but during the event both the year 7 and 8 girls' and years 9-11 boys' teams came first in their competitions - the girls gaining 260 points and the boys a very impressive 480. The year 9-11 girls' team also came third scoring 153 points. As a result of everyone's efforts the School gained first place overall with 950 points. Thanks to everyone who took part - congratulations to all!


Remembering the Holocaust: a visit from Arek Hersh

footballers

On Tuesday the 31st of January, following Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27th of January, pupils had the privilege of listening to Arek Hersh, an 88 year old Holocaust survivor originally from Poland. He shared his experiences of a number of concentration camps and his account of survival through atrocities astounded and inspired the pupils from years 10 to 13 who came to listen to him. He brought their understanding of the Holocaust, relevant to their study of history, alive to them through his talk. It was also a pleasure to welcome staff and pupils from Ysgol John Bright to the event. The hall was full. We would like to thank Arek for visiting us and sharing his experiences with the pupils and staff. Our thanks also to Sharn Asbridge from the Llandudno Holocaust Memorial Day Committee for arranging the event with Ms Beca Brychan, Head of History.
Arek Hersh an 88 year old originally from Poland who amazingly survived a number of concentration camps



Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy - one of the NEW PIONEER SCHOOLS for the future Curriculum in Wales:

As a result of our school to school work on Language and Literacy we have recently been announced as one of the 25 new Pioneer Schools for the new Curriculum. As a Pioneer School we will be working closely with other schools at a National and Regional level through the Pioneer Network, focusing specifically on the Area of Learning and Experience for 'Languages, Literacy and Communication'. This will be an excellent opportunity for staff, pupils and stakeholders to be a direct part of shaping, planning and developing the New Curriculum for Wales.

You can find out more about the Pioneer Schools and the new Curriculum through the links below, including Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy's response to being a new Pioneer School on the 'Curriculum for Wales BLOG':

http://learning.gov.wales/news/
https://curriculumforwales.gov.wales/
http://learning.gov.wales/news/


2017 School Categorisation:

2017 School Categorisation: For more information about the school's performance and Categorisation for 2017 click here

Following the announcement of the annual school Categorisations in Wales on the 31/1/17 we are very pleased that the work we have done as a school to sustain and improve standards and to develop our practice and processes as well as supporting other schools has been recognised. Our categorisation for capacity to improve has changed from B to A reflecting the work done over time to improve standards, develop teaching and learning and responding to school priorities at every level. We have also been working for over two years now as a leading school for Language, Literacy and Numeracy for GWE and working with schools across the North Wales region. You can read more about the Categorisation process through the link above, including a guide for parents.


National Literacy and Numeracy Tests 2017:
Information for year 7-9 parents: National Literacy and Numeracy Tests 2017. Letter and timetable for the tests - click here.


Under 13s Eryri Cup:

Congratulations to the under 13s rygbi team who were recently victorious in their game against Ysgol Friars. They won 37 to 10 with the following scoring:

Tries: Tal Taylor -4
Kyle Kelly -1
Morgan Mc Breeze -1
Cain Jones -1
Conversions: Aron Davies -1

Well done boys! Thanks to Mr Kevin Thomas, the school's Rugby Development Officer for coaching and supporting the team.



Fabulous Footballers!

footballers

Huge contratulations to Owain Jones and Sam Roberts who recently represented Wales in a friendly against Australia with the under 18 Football Team. This is what Sam had to say about his experience:

“This year I have the privilege to play for Wales under 18’s national team in a friendly against TNS, where we lost that game however it was our first game together as a team. I also have played for the Wales school boys under 18’s team in a friendly against Australian school boys where we won 7-4. I am hoping to be selected for upcoming games for both Wales under 18 teams, to also hopefully gain an international Capp representing Wales in a competitive game. There is a tournament coming up for the welsh school boys called the centenary shield where we will play The republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and also England school boys teams. I am hoping I am selected for this tournament as it will be an amazing experience for me and I will gain more knowledge of skill and understand new ways of playing which will improve me as a player.“ Sam Roberts, Blwyddyn 12.

 


Football:

Congratulations to the 6th form Football team who won their recent game against Syr Hugh Owen 7-2 on Thursday afternoon 12/1/17. The game’s goal scorers were: Sam Roberts (3), Owain Jones (2), Jac Parry (1), AronHughes (1). Well done boys! They are now through to the semi finals – in the last 8 in Wales!

Congratulations too to Sam Roberts and Owain Jones, two members of the victorious team who will be representing Wales against Australia on the 19th of January in Cardiff. An excellent opportunity and privilege for both.



6th Form Open Evening

pupils

 

 

Click here to see more information about the Open Evening

Click here to see the 6th form handbook



Level 2 Rugby Leadership Course, WRU an RGC

disgyblion ac athrawon

Our thanks go to the RGC and WRU staff for arranging and running a very successful Level 2 Rugby Leadership course last term. The course, delivered to years 12 and 13 helped support essential aspects of the A Level Physical Education course - tactical, technical, physical, psychological and community skills. The pupils involved had the opportunity to develop their planning, preparation, presentation and reflection skills during the training sessions aimed for developing young players.

 

Mathematics Challenge

disgyblion ac athrawon

Congratulations to both teams who took part in the recent Mathematics Challenge. Pupils from both year 13 and year 11 competed this year.



Urdd Swimming Gala

disgyblion ac athrawon

Congratulations to the year 7 pupils who recently competed in the Urdd Swimming Gala. The pupils received their certificates during the end of term assembly for years 7, 8 and 9.


End of term Carol Service:

During the last morning of term we held a carol service for years 7 and 8, and 9 and 10. This was an opportunity to celebrate the end of term together and to consider the true meaning of Christmas together. Thank you to all the staff and 6th form pupils who took part in the service and to Mrs Glenda Barlow and Mrs Rhian Evans for arranging the service. A lovely opportunity to end the term singing and celebrating together.


Christmas Child Box Appeal: Year 7-9

disgyblion ac athrawon

Thank you to all the pupils in years 7, 8 and 9 who contributed gifts and boxes towards this year’s Christmas Box appeal. During November 35 boxes were collected as part of the School Council’s initiative to support as many different charities as possible. Well done you!



2016 Christmas Jumpers Day: 16/12/16

Congratulations to the year 10 COPE group who raised over £400 today towards their three chosen charities – St John’s Ambulance, Save the Children and Ty Gobaith Hospice. The pupils held a raffle and a number of other activities leading to the Christmas Jumper day on the last day of term. The work will be part of their GCSE qualifications and support the charities they have chosen. The staff and pupils who won the raffle left happy at the end of the day today! We would like to take the opportunity of thanking the local businesses who were very generous in their donations towards the pupils’ cause – thank you very much!


Grease the Musical at Dyffryn Conwy!

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion
disgyblion disgyblion

 

A Phenomenal Production: Grease the Musical at Dyffryn Conwy!
Congratulations to all the cast who were part of this week’s excellent performances of Grease the musical. The show was phenomenal! A feast of performances from a very strong cast, including two teams of main characters who shared the responsibilities for managing back stage and performing on stage across all four performances. On Monday morning the 12th of December we had the pleasure of welcoming pupils from our primary schools to see the premier performance of the show and to take part in the performance following a series of workshops over the previous weeks with Miss Angharad Ellis, Miss Llio Japheth and cast members. Their enjoyment and enthusiasm was superb – thank you!

On Monday night the first performance of the show to the public took place to a full hall anticipating and enjoying an excellent show! A very successful first night. The enterprise groups from year 12 took turns to provide a raffle and a refreshments for those attending. Everyone left elated, full of praise for the high standard of the performances. The cast left happy and excited after a very successful first night. Thank you to everyone who supported us over the three nights.

After an essential day’s rest on Tuesday the performance was back on in the hall on Wednesday and Thursday night – the hall full to the brim and the audience entranced by the very high level of the performances by all the cast from the chorus to the main characters who performed or shared performance and stage management over the four performances. Again there was extremely high praise for all the pupils who took part. Well done, all of you!

We would like to thank everyone who came to watch the performance; everyone who sponsored the enterprise work or supported by buying raffle tickets and refreshment; to all the school’s staff and partners for their support; to the band; to parents who supported the shows and all the evening and weekend practises; and in particular to thank the awesome team in the Music and Drama Departments, Miss Llio Japheth, Miss Angharad Ellis and Mr Christ Roberts! Superb work – well done!


Parents Bulletin

Bulletin for Parents - December 2016 - click here


Year 11 Mock Interviews

disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion

Congratulations to all members of year 11 who took part in the mock-interview day on Friday 9/12/16. They were formally dressed for the occasion and grew in confidence over the course of the day. They were given the opportunity to take part in a formal interview during the day, winning prizes for best interview, best presentation, best CV and best application letters. At the end of the day awards for each category within each of the 7 groups were awarded along with the overall prizes accross all aspects of the day. Congratulations to all the winners including the overall winners - Ifan Jones who won first prize, Rosie Pearson second and Amaan Abassi in third place – well done to all three. We would like to take the opportunity to thank all the partners from local businesses, employers and agencies who helped us over the day for their support, their time and expertise as well as their feedback to the pupils. More information about the day’s winners can be found by clicking here.


Celebrating Conwy School of the Year PE Award 2016: A visit from Ashley Dykes

disgyblion ac athrawon

To celebrate the PE department’s ‘School of the Year’ award year 7 and 8 pupils were treated to a presentation by Mr Ashley Dykes. Mr Dykes is a British Adventurer, Extreme Athlete and 2X World First Record Holder. He has been invited to 10 Downing Street on two occasions after his feats, was shown social support by Bear Grylls, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Duncan Bannatyne and won the 2015 UK Adventurer of the Year Award and the 2016 Welsh Adventurer of the Year Award.

In 2014 – he became the first person ever to walk across Mongolia solo & unsupported, over the Altai Mountains, Gobi Desert & Mongolian Steppe, 1,500 miles in 78 days whilst pulling 120kg in a wheeled trailer carrying provisions needed to survive.

In 2016 – he became the first person ever to traverse Madagascar’s length, through its interior taking on eight of the highest mountains on the fourth largest island in the world, 1,600 miles in 155 days.

The pupils were enthralled by his presentation and there were some excellent questions at the end. This was a very memorable occasion.


RGC Under 15 Rugby Match:

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been selected to play for RGC west under 15 v Swansea Schools on Saturday, December 10th at St Helens, Swansea.
I'd like to applaud their commitment to the recent training sessions, and congratulate them on being selected to the squad for this Match.

Sam Jones - Dyffryn Conwy a Nant Conwy
Osian Dobson - Dyffryn Conwy a Nant Conwy
Deian Roberts - Dyffryn Conwy a Nant Conwy
Dylan Jones - Dyffryn Conwy a Nant Conwy


Wales Champions: Senior Girls’ Rugby Team 2016

disgyblion ac athrawon
Huge Congratulations to our senior girls' Rugby team who are now National Champions having won their series of matches in Cardiff yesterday. We congratulate the girls on their ability to work as a team and to bring such success in their achievements. Excellent work, girls! Our thanks also go to their coach, Mr Kevin Thomas and Mrs Nia Roberts who went with the group to the capital yesterday. We are also grateful to the partners who have enabled us to emply Mr Kevin Thomas as our Rugby Development officer.

 


Rememberance Service 11/11/16: Melin y Coed Church

disgyblion ac athrawon
On Friday the 11th of November, Pwyll from year 10 represented the school at the annual Rememberance Day Service at Melin y Coed Church. We thank the church for the invitation to take part and Pwyll for representing the school at the event.

Over the period leading up to the day 6th formers also sold poppies on behalf of the British Legion, raising over £100 towards the cause. We thank Russell Wingfield and Leusa Ellis our Head Boy and Head Girl for arranging this.

 


Best GCSE Results in Conwy 2016!

pupils

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Governing Body is delighted to announce that the school, in addition to gaining their best ever GCSE results this Summer also gained the best results in Conwy in the main GCSE indicators including the percentage of pupils who gained 5 A*-C GCSEs or more including Mathematics and Welsh and/or English. 73% of pupils gained this key indicator above the school’s aspirational target of 70% and the Conwy average of 52% and all Wales average of 60%.
Click here for more information


Unexpected visitors: 29/11/16
rotari plant

On a quiet and sunny lunchtime, Tuesday the 29th of December a hot air balloon landed on the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy playing field. Colourful in the bright blue sky the staff and pupils who came out to see it were astounded as it landed on the playing field. Pupils had the opportunity to see how the balloon was lowered and turned from a floating object to a neatly folded package and basket to fit into the back of a van. Quite an achievement! A very eventful lunchtime in the end for all who witnessed this unexpected sight.

Thanks to Gareth, year 9 for his excellent photos of the event!


The Cast of 'Grease' Are Busy Rehearsing
plant rotari

The cast of 'Grease' are busy rehearsing - here's a snap shot from one of their rehearsals. Tickets for the performances (12th, 14th and 15th of December) are available from the school reception.


Ysgol y Flwyddyn 2016

disgyblion ac athrawon
Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy announced as winners in this year’s Annual Award Ceremony by Conwy Education Authority, 25/11/16

We are delighted to announce that on Friday the 25th of November, the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy PE department attended the annual awards ceremony held at Venue Cymru to receive the accolade of ‘School of the Year 2016’. Attending were members of the school’s Physical Education Department, Mr John Roberts, Deputy Head and pupil representatives including Young Ambassador, Angharad Jones Young. The award recognised all the curriulum and extra-curricular activities that the Department and our pupils have been participating in over the last year to develop pupil participation, skills and talents in the field. We are extremely proud of this recognition and this award as it recognises the school’s work in this important field. Our thanks go to the staff, pupils, parents and key partners who have supported and contributed to this work over the last year.

 


Children In Need Update

By now we have raised over £1,000 towards Children in Need!


Children In Need

pupils

Considerable excitement and activities took place today as part of our celebrations in aid of ‘Children in Need’.

Over £860 was raised for the charity through a range of activities including: own clothes day; lunchtime fair of competitions and baked goods; sports challenges; the popular ‘sponge the teacher’; and staff fancy dress contest. Considerable fun was had by all over the course of the day. Our thanks go to everyone who was involved, particularly those who were leading the different activities including members of the School Council, Sports Council, Miss Japheth and Miss Iola Jones.

In the pictures are the staff in their fancy dress and some of the stalls selling baked goods - click here

 


Netball

Congratulations to the pupils who competed recently against St. David’s in a netball match. Particular praise goes to Leah 7M and Elan 8T who were nominated player of the match in their respective games. Year 8 girls won their match 6-4. An excellent start for the year 7 team too. Well done, girls!


Volcanoes Competition

pupils

 

Congratulations to all the pupils in year 9 who have recently been very busy creating model volcanoes as part of the Geography Department’s annual competition. Pictured are Tomos and Aron from 9T who won this year.


MOCK EXAMINATIONS YEARS 10,11, 12 and 13 November/December 2016

Click here to see the timetable


Senior Maths Challenge

Congratulations to the following pupils from years 11 and 13 who have recently taken part in the Senior Maths Challenge. Year 11 were particularly successful competing against 6th form pupils. Well done. The following achieved bronze and silver awards:

Russell Wingfield Gwobr Arian / Silver Award
Meirion Layton Gwobr Arian / Silver Award
Charlott Wright Gwobr Efydd / Bronze
Howard Wingfield Gwobr Efydd / Bronze
Trystan Jones Gwobr Efydd / Bronze
Rosy Pearson Gwobr Efydd / Bronze

Two teams will now be competing in the next round at Rydal. Good luck to Russell, Charlotte, Howard and Trystan; Meirion, Gwion, Rosy and Amaan.


Dyffryn Conwy Rotary Club
Rotary Members Rotary Members

Thank you to the representatives from Dyffryn Conwy Rotary Club who recently visited the school to award some of our pupils in the Learning Hub with colourful dictionaries. We are very grateful for their generous gift to the pupils and school.


Historical Artifacts
pupils pupils

Year 7 pupils recently presented different historical artifacts in their history lessons. Many fascinating presentations were given by the pupils about the different artifacts they had brought in – an excellent opportunity to share memories and things of local historical significance.


Physical Education and Sports Award Ceremony

pupils

On Tuesday the 8th of November we held our first annual awards ceremony for physical education and sports. This was a wonderful evening, an excellent opportunity to begin this new tradition at the school. By now there are so many successes in the sporting field and in physical education at the school – including success in subject and the academic, extracuricular and competative elements. It’s been hard to aknowledge all these successes within our annual awards ceremony – time to give full attention to the physical education and sports department. We are extrememly proud of all our pupils who received awards during the evening. You can read more about the awards in the following booklet.

The evening was also an opportunity to recognise the support we have from all the clubs and agencies who work with us in this field including Nant Conwy Rugby Club, Llanrwst Fishing Club and the Youth Workers, Llanrwst Football Club and Conwy Authority’s Sports and Fitness officers. Mrs Ann Davies, recently retired from the School and PE Department was welcomed back as guest to present the awards. Amongst the many awards during the evening was the Best Team Award, this year going to our exceptional Equestrian Team for all their success and hard work competing in the name of the school. There was an excellent turn out of club members on the night along with their very supportive families. Another award recognised for exceptional achievement went to Angharad Jones Young, one of our leading Sports Ambassadors. Angharad’s excellent troupe of dancers opened the evening with a special choreographed dance. Angharad’s passion for her field and her enthusiasm and expectional work with the young people in the school was fully recognised during the ceremony.

Tomos Land was the recipient of the Christie Holt award. The award has been given annually to the top athlete at the school, in memory of Christie a former pupil at the school who sadly passed away. We are incredibly grateful to Christie’s family for the award in her name and for their presence during the evening. It was a great priviledge to be able to remember and recognise Christie’s achievements and life during the evening. Tomos is more than just an exceptional athlete, as we learnt from Mr Roberts, Deputy Head who presented the award on the evening.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended and supported the evening. Also to the PE department for arranging the ceremony and for their work in supporting both the curriculum and extracurricular activities. Within that the support given to the school through the grant from the WRU, Zip World and Nant Conwy Rugby Club to invest in our Rugby Development Officer, Mr Kevin Thomas has been invaluable in helping to develop and broaden a whole host of different activities both within and outside the curriculum. Diolch!

We now look forward to the next event Autumn 2017!

Click here to view more photos / Click here to see the brochure


Rememberance Day

Tîm Kayak

As part of Rememberance Day arrangements we were privileged that Pwyll from year 10 attended the service at Melin y Coed Chapel, playing his cornet as part of the service. Pwyll also contributed to our school arrangements, taking us through our minute of rememberance during the morning. We thank him for his contribution on the day.


A visit from former pupil, Tolly Taylor: Project Trust
pupils pupils

Recently our sixthformers had the excellent opportunity of listening to Tolly Taylor, former pupils about his experiences on a gap year with the Project Trust. He had a post with the Trust educating young people and helping reduce poverty in Guyanna.

His experiences were eloquently shared with the students who listened with interest and admiration as Tolly shared photos and stories about his year abroad. He also shared with them his experiences from applying to beginning his gap year with Project Trust, including the work he undertook to fund his year. We wish him all the best this year at University. I’m sure he’ll be back to share more of his experiences and stories with us again in the future!

For more information about the Project Trust click here: projecttrust.org.uk


Year 12 Geography Fieldwork
pupils pupils

Recently year 12 Geography students went on a fieldwork trip to Plas Tan y Bwlch. You can read about their experiences in the following article by Lois Williams - click here


School Musical, Grease

Tîm Kayak    

We are delighted to announce that performances of this year’s School Musical, Grease will be on Monday the 12th, Wednesday the 14th and Thursday the 15th of December. Tickets will be available from the school reception from the 21st of November. Rehearsals are progressing with pace and we are very much looking forward to the performance! We wish the cast all the best!

Click here to view more information


Eirias Park in the County Championships

On a very cold November afternoon the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Cross Country team competed at Eirias Park in the County Championships. Our learners once again excelled with a number of them qualifying for the next round of competition to be held in Dolgellau early 2017. Stand out performance included;
Math Thomas 1st
Evan Burgess 2nd
Nel Metcalfe 3rd
Tomos Land 1st, and
Gruffudd Edwards 6th.
Congratulations to all that competed!


Photography Competition

Congratulations to year 7 pupil, Evan for gaining joint first prize in a recent S4C photography competition linked to the series ‘Y Gemau Gwyllt’. To win the prize he had to send a photo under the theme ‘Wild Wales’. Prizes included a camera and a choice of adventure activities.
To see the winning images click here


‘SKILLS CYMRU’ EVENT, VENUE CYMRU

Tîm Kayak

At the beginning of October a visit was arranged for year 10 and 12 pupils at the school to attend the national ‘Skills Cymru’ conference held at Venue Cymru. At the conference pupils had the opportunity to find out about a range of careers including vocational careers such as hair dressing, catering and construction. There were opportunities for pupils to try different activities linked to the different sectors with large national employers taking part in the day. Opportunities to find out about the qualifications needed to follow careers in specific fields and to talk to providers and employers about different career paths and receive guidance. This was an excellent opportunity for pupils across a range of interests. All seemed to have enjoyed and gained a lot from the experience and looked forward to a return to the conference next year!

Click here to view more photos

 


APPRENTICE WEEK

It was a pleasure to invite Careers Wales and guest speakers to hold a question and answer session for our year 11 pupils on the 18th October as part of the Apprenticeship Week. The pupils were given the opportunity to enquire into possible future careers and receiving many different pieces of useful information.


SKILLS DAY

Tîm Kayak

Thursday 6th of October was our Skills Day for the pupils of Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, where all pupils took part in a variety of activities throughout the day. Year 10 and 12 pupils took part in a Careers Skills Day at Venue Cymru, where they learned about different career pathways for the future. Year 9 also took part in a careers-based workshop, learning about different future careers and options and were fortunate enough to receive presentations from Myrddin ap Dafydd Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Gaz Thomas from Gaz Thomas Media Ltd, Islwyn Jones from Pen y Bryn Falconry and Tim Penn. Year 13 pupils worked on their revision skills with the Learning Performance company. Internet Safety was the focus for our year 8 pupils, learning about different safety aspects through interesting lessons delivered by PC Meirion Williams. As part of their transition from primary to secondary school, year 7 pupils took part in Growth Mindset workshops where all pupils had the opportunity to take part in a sports challenge and develop their problem solving skills.

Click here to view more photos


RESTART THE HEART

On Tuesday 18th of October, year 8 pupils had the opportunity to learn CPR as part of the national Restart a Heart day. We were fortunate to have two community first responders from the North Wales Ambulance Service join us for the day and running workshops in the school hall with the year 8 pupils. By the end of the day, each year 8 pupil had the opportunity to learn new skills in saving lives in the future


RYLA Leadership Course

prif ddisgyblion

Three pupils from the 6th form attended a RYLA leadership course during the Summer 2015. The course is arranged by the North Wales Rotary and places on the course were sponsored by Dyffryn Conwy Rotary, Ymddiriedolaeth Llanrwst and the school for three pupils – Tomos, Ffion and Lucy. The pupils and their families were invited to join Dyffryn Conwy Rotary Club on the 17th of October to present their experiences during the course and its effect on their leadership skills. This was a memorable occasion for the pupils to develop their leadership skills, collaboration and problem solving skills, and to enjoy a unique way to learn through experience in the outdoors at the Arthog Centre. Mrs Glenda Barlow, Year 12 and 13 Progress Leader attended the evening with the Rotary and was delighted by the confident and engaging presentations the pupils shared with Rotary members. Our thanks go to the Rotary for arranging this excellent experience and allowing three pupils to attend again this year, and to ‘Ymddiriedolaeth Llanrwst’ for their sponsorship too.



Developing Mathematical and Numeracy Skills
Support for developing mathematical and numeracy skills. Free support for pupils with the new GCSE courses for free through the following link - click here


Congratulations to the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Kayaking team

Kayaking team

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Kayakers were in great form at Plas y Brenin on September the 28th, the team consisted of Tomos Land, Tomos Jones, Owain Williams, Deio Jones, Sam Roberts, Jacob Duncalf and Evan Burgess. Competitors raced twice with their best time being converted into a place (points) which determined their place in the Regatta. At the end of competition Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy finished in 1st place and will now proceed to the Eryri round being held at Llyn Padarn on the 13th of October. Good luck in the next round!

 


YEAR 6 TASTER DAY
We thoroughly enjoyed having year 6 pupils from our cluster primaries visiting for their first official ‘taster day’ on Monday the 3rd of October. During the day they had the opportunity to taste different subjects including: English, Mathematics, Music, Technology and French. They were supported during the day by our sixth form pupils who along with the staff involved were delighted to spend the day in their company. We very much look forward to seeing them again during the year including at the very first performance of our school musical, ‘Grease’, our sports challenge days led by year 10 and other subject taster days. A second taster day and parents’ evening will take place on Monday the 3rd of July.


Year 7 Football Team

Congratulations to the year 7 Football team who won their first game by 6-2 against Ysgol Aberconwy.


Under 18 Rugby Team

Congratulations to the under 18 rugby team who won against Ysgol Eirias 32 to 12 in their match on Wednesday the 28th of September.

Tries 2 - 6 Penri Metcalfe (1), Russell Wingfield (1), Brychan Dafydd (1), Gethin Roberts (1), Kieran Russell (2)

Conversions 1 -1 Steffan Morris (1)


Under 18 Football Team
Congratulations to the under 18 Football team who won 8-0 on Monday the 16/9/16 in a home game first round match for the Welsh Cup.


Congratulations to the Equestrian Team

equestrian team equestrian team equestrian team equestrian team

Congratulations to the Equestrian Team who were competing in Cheshire at the weekend. A superb set of results! Congratulations to everyone who took part and to the families who supported them there. Here are the results – our thanks go to Ceri for arranging for the team to compete in the event and for the update of results.

“Saturday 24/9/16

• Dressage Team - Mared and Harri Williams, Jac and Twm Cernyw – 4th position
• Showjumping - Twm Cernyw 3rd out of 40 pupils under 17 (narrowly missing out on the next round at Addington)

Sunday 25/9/16

• Twm Cernyw 2nd in the Individual event out of 58 pupils under 14 years old and securing a place in the next leg of the Championships at Addington
• Team under 17 (80 cm) Harriet Williams, Alex Neale, Jac and Twm Cernyw First with Jac yn 5th out of 77 competitors – again through to the Championships at Addington
• Team under 17 (90cm) Harriet Williams, Efa Davies and Jac Cernyw 3rd with Harriet Williams in 3rd place in the individual and Jac 4th (36 competing in this event)

Eben Davies and Cari Jones also represented the school in the two day event. The team are to be praised for looking after each other – down to sharing equipment where needed. The team would like to thank the PE department for the rugby shirts used for the team events. We wish them all the best in the next round at Addington!”


E-safety Evening for Parents

poster poster

On Tuesday the 27th of September an e-safety evening for parents will be held in the school hall. The evening is being hosted by the North Wales Cyber Crime team and our school Police Liaison Offer will also be there to answer any questions. For more information about the evening click here:

Further information can also be found from the following website: http://hwb.wales.gov.uk/esafety-parentzone


Additional web-links for parents:

www.swgfl.org.uk

www.ceop.police.uk

www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/


Head Boy and Head Girl

prif ddisgyblion

Friday the 16th of September was a very exciting day for Sixth form pupils and staff at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy as everyone voted for the new Head Boy and Head Girl of the school. Earlier on in the week seven members of Year 13 had been through an interview process with the Senior Management Team. Every candidate made an impression and on the morning of the 16th they all made a presentation to the rest of the sixth form on why they should be voted the next Head Pupils of the school. During the morning pupils and staff members voted. We are very pleased to announce that this year’s Head Pupils are Leusa Ellis and Russell Wingfield with two Deputies Lucy Brown and Tomos Arfon. We wish them all the very best in their new roles.


Own Clothes Day
On Friday the 23rd of September Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s pupils wore their own clothes day to raise money and awareness for two charities, Jeans for Genes and Macmillan. The day was a success and over £500 was raised, the money will be shared between the two. Thank you everyone for your support.


Open Evening for year 5 and 6 pupils and parents - 4/9/16 4-30pm – 6.30pm
plant

Click here for more information


2016 Celebration of Achievement Ceremony: Tuesday 13/9/16

derbyn gwobr
Some of the pupils who received the Conwy Valley Rotary Award for excellent GCSE results by Mr. John Mitchell and Mr. Richard Howe of Rotary Conwy Valley

On Tuesday the 13th of September the annual Awards Ceremony was held in the school hall. The evening was an opportunity to celebrate the superb successes of our students in their A Level, AS, GCSE, KS3 and National Tests. Our guest speaker for the evening was Mr Paul Matthews Jones, Head of Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen and former Head at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy. It was delightful to be able to welcome him back to the school for his wise and entertaining words of praise and inspiration. He noted that the school was celebrating their best results this year at GCSE, the highest in Conwy, and another year of excellent A Level results. The Derbyniodd William J Lewis scholarship went to Luca Carpena for the highest A Level results this year. Receiving the Dr Harold Williams scholarship for their excellent A Level results were Tomos MacDonald a Luyba Donskaya. Hannah Cash and Elin Angharad Evans received this year’s Holt scholarship. Other members of the sixth form receiving awards during the evening were Maisie Bowker, Talitha Fenton and Hannah Cash who each received a scholarship bursary from the Alfred Davies Art Scholarship award. We were also delighted that Guto Jones, Tomos MacDonald and Alannah Russell received an award to support them with their further study of History at university from Llanrwst’s History Society. We wish all of them all the best as they leave for university.

derbyn gwobr
Angharad Jones Young receiving her award by Llanrwst Town Mayor

Receiving the Governors’ award for excellent AS results this year were Tomos Arfon a Russell Wingfield. The evening also gave us an opportunity to recognise the invaluable contribution made by Angharad Jones Young through her dance clubs with younger pupils including year 7 pupils in Llanrwst and some of our primary cluster pupils. Angharad received the Llanrwst Town Council award this year which was given to her by Councillor Ian Jenkins, Llanrwst Town Mayor.

Following the school’s best GCSE results it was great to celebrate the achievements of the top 9 students who received the best GCSE results from an exceptional year group. The students were rewarded with Dyffryn Conwy Rotary’s annual achievement award. It was also an opportunity to reward individuals who had overcome personal challenges to reach successful GCSE results in the core subjects and in their chosen subjects. The successful Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Fishing Club were also recognised during the ceremony and given a bursary to help them with their next adventures and competitions. Attendance was also high on the agenda with the 14 pupils who had achieved a full 100% attendance from September the 1st 2015 until the 20th of July given an award from sponsors, Llew Jones. There were also awards fro the 11 pupils with the highest performance at the end of year 9 and for the 15 pupils who achieved the highest scores in the national Welsh and English reading tests and numeracy tests in May.

We are very grateful to all our generous sponsors, to the parents and pupils who attended the evening including Cadi and Siôn Edwards, Modlen Alun, Elliw Jones and Angharad Butler who performed during the evening. We would also like to thank all the staff involved in arranging the evening and to Mr Paul Matthews Jones our guest speaker. We now look forward to the Physical Education Department’s first Annual Awards Ceremony on Tuesday evening the 8th of November.

For more information read the evening’s programme here

Click here to see more pictures


Annual Awards Ceremony
We will be holding our annual awards ceremony on Tuesday evening the 13th of September at 6.30pm. This will be an opportunity after this year’s excellent results, to congratulate the pupils who have won governor bursaries, or prizes from the school and our local partners for their A Level, AS, GCSE, KS3 or national test results. This will also be an opportunity to congratulate pupils who have achieved 100% attendance and those who have been active in the school community and the local community. Our guest speaker on the evening will be Mr Paul Matthews Jones. Pictures and further infromation to follow after the evening.

 

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy celebrate their best GCSE results so far!
plant plant plant

A huge congratulations to year 11 2016 for gaining our best GCSE results yet!
Read more about their success stories in our press statement - click here


Superb A Level results 2016
plant plant

Congratulations to all our pupils on their A level results today! We wish all our year 13 pupils all the best in their future pathways, world of work or further education. We look forward to hearing all about your future successes too. We also look forward to welcoming year 12 back to complete their A level courses on the 5th of September.

We are very pleased with this year’s results. All pupils entered for 2 A Levels or more succeeded in passing (100%) with a high number of pupils gaining the higher grades, A*-C. Some of the individual highlights can be found in our linked press release below. Congratulations to all our pupils!

Click here to read more

Click here to see more pictures


2016 Activities and Skills Week
pupils
pupils
pupils
Some of year 12 Marshalls for the sponsored
walk with Mrs Ann Davies, Healthy Schools
Co-ordinator who arranged the sponsored walk.
The Runners – including the 3 winners,
Tomos Land, Gruffudd Edwards a Dylan Jones. Pictured with staff runners Mr Eurig Williams
and Miss Hannah Jones.
The first group of walkers from year 7 with Miss Angharad Ellis, Year 7 Progress Leader.

During the week of the 11th of August years 7, 8 and 9 took part in our annual skills and activities week. They participated in a range of different activities at the school and around North Wales. Here are some of the images from the week. I would like to thank the staff and partners who arranged and took part in the week. I would also like to thank our parents for their support. It was a busy and exhausting week for all with a range of different activities experienced.

During the week pupils walked in the local area through Gwydir Forest as part of the week and will choose their chosen charity to support from the money raised in September through their class and year forums. Particular congratulations go to Tomos Land, Gruffudd Edwards and Dylan Jones who came first, second and third in the running race on the day. Tomos had a fantastic result of 36 minutes and 58 seconds for his run – an excellent result, Tomos – well done! We would like to thank everyone who took part and those who sponsored our pupils for the activity.

Year 10 were also given an opportunity to develop their employability skills through a range of activities during the week linked to work experiences. We are extremely proud of the achievements of the pupils who took part over the week. They will have the opportunity to practise many of these skills during our annual ‘Interview Day’ for year 11 in the autumn term.


Summer 2016 Geography and History trip to Italy
4 girls 4 girls

 

The 2016 trip to Italy was both educational and enjoyable. Over the six day course we managed to visit many historical sites and monuments including the ancient ruins of Pompeii, and well-known geographical locations, such as the Amalfi coast. For me, the best day of the trip was our visit to the Vatican. Despite being one of the smallest countries, the Vatican is filled with religious history and out-standing architecture. Whilst in Sorrento, we travelled to the famous volcano Mount Vesuvius. The walk along the steep mountain gave incredible views of the town below and the information from the tour guide served for both historical and geographical purposes and is sure to be of use to further my educational interests. This is definitely a trip I would participate in again and I would urge others to do the same. It was both educational and there was plenty of leisure time for us to roam the streets of Italy and experience a new way of life. Shannon Jones, Year 10

Out of all school trips Italy was by far the best. With its beautiful sceneries and historical sites, it was definitely a trip to remember. My favourite place by far was the visit to the Colosseum. It was very educational and gave us the change to follow in the footsteps of the gladiators. Another favourite of mine was the visit to the Amalfi coast. We travelled along the coast for a large proportion of the day and from each viewpoint the views were phenomenal. We got to see a new lifestyle to ours and experience a new culture. The boat ride along the cast gave an amazing view of the town above and to see is from another perspective. I would definitely go on the trip again because not only was it educational, but it was enjoyable as well, and I would definitely recommend it to others. Jemma Roberts, Year 10

In June this year, we as a school went on a trip to Italy. Over the course of a week, we visited Sorrento and Rome. In Sorrento we visited many historical and geographical sites. On the first day we visited Herculaneum, which was a village the volcano Vesuvius destroyed. We also walked up Mount Vesuvius, and we had a very interesting factual talk from a geologist guide at the top of the volcano. To us this was one of the most interesting parts of the trip as we learnt many different facts about Naples and the volcano. We then went down to explore Pompeii, which was also destroyed by Vesuvius, after being buried in the hot ash when the volcano erupted. We got the chance to look at all the bodies which were buried in the ash, and we also got a tour of Pompeii city itself. Towards the end of our time in Sorrento, we got the chance to visit and go swimming in the Amalfi coast. Some people got the chance of going on a boat trip whilst others could walk around the town, to see all the different places. At the end of the week we visited Rome. During this time we visited the Vatican, and got to explore the city of Rome and its famous landmarks such as the Colosseum. On the last day we also got the chance to go shopping around the beautiful city centre of Rome, were we got to visit many lovely restaurants and shops. Overall this was a lovely school trip, and we would both love to go again soon. Izzy Roberts & Harriet Williams, Year 10


Important Dates

poster dyddiadau pwysig

The school will close for staff and pupils on Wednesday the 20th of July and will re-open for pupils on Monday the 5th of September 2016. Further information about term times and INSET days for 2016/17 can be found in the following document. Click here for more information. The school will open for year 13 between 9am-12.30pm on Thursday the 18th of August for the A Level Results. Year 12 results will be available from 10am -12.30pm. Staff will be available to discuss results with pupils and to give guidance on their next steps.

GCSE results will be shared between 9am and 12pm on Thursday the 25th of August with an opportunity for those pupils wishing to return to the 6th form to discuss their option choices on the 26th of August between 9am and 1pm.

Pupils from outside our catchment area who would like to join us for the 6th form are welcome to come in and see us between 11am and 1pm on Thursday the 25th of August or to make an appointment for the morning of the 26th of August. We are very much looking forward to celebrating with our pupils on these days after all their hard work revising and sitting their examinations and external assessments.


National Quality Award from the Welsh Healthy Schools Scheme

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy have recently been awarded the National Quality Award from the Welsh Healthy Schools Scheme following a 2 day visit by representatives from the Welsh Government. Pupils from the School Council, Healthy Schools (BOBs) Group, Sports Council and Eco Council presented the school’s work in promoting wellbeing at the school. Some of the strengths noted in the report are the: ‘The very well organised and successful school council’; “student participation across the age range of the school and the mature way these groups deal with their work”; and “the behaviour and courtesy of students.” The role of key partners in the school such as the school nurse, Mrs Sian Edwards and School Counsellor, Ms Jill Riley were also recognised. The work of the Physical Education department, including the range of extracurricular activities provided was also noted as a strength in the report.
In the feedback to pupils contained in the report, Mrs Eurwen Hulmston said: “You were very welcoming and open in your discussions and the behaviour of all students was outstanding - polite, cheerful and welcoming. A calm and happy atmosphere at Dyffryn Conwy is indicative I believe, of the fact that the students feel happy and safe at school.” She also added that: “student participation in school is particularly high and it is good to see young people who are so willing to share their time, skills and maturity with others to help them live healthier and safer lives. The work of the Sex Education Buddies, the Sports Ambassadors, the school council, the BOB's and 6th form teams was extremely good. Well done all of you.” Pupils and staff were delighted that the hard work, contributions and behaviour of the pupils had been recognised in this very positive report. We would like to thank Mrs Wendy Ostler, Conwy’s support officer for helping us as well as Mrs Ann Davies, the school’s Health Education Co-ordinator and Assistant Head Miss Llio Japheth for all their work in preparing for and co-ordinating the visit, as well as to the pupils, staff and partners of the school who were part of the two days’ visit.
The school will receive their award at a ceremony on the 14th of July held by Conwy Authority. The full report can be accessed here.


Raising the attainment, achievement and aspiration of children who are looked after - a best practice report
As a school we are particularly proud of the recognition in supporting pupils who are looked after children as part of one of 12 case studies of good practice in Estyn’s recently published thematic review on ‘Raising attainment, achievement and aspiration of children who are looked after’. The school has been recognised for our work in this area following our 2014 inspection and follow up good practice visit from the inspectorate in the Autumn 2015. Our thanks go to our pupils and their foster carers, and to the team of external partners and agencies who have worked with us, as well as to the staff at the school who have worked with and supported our pupils. The report can be accessed from the following link - click here


Iorwerth Jones Arts Prize 2016 awarded by Mrs Elizabeth Jones
disgyblion
disgyblion

Congratulation to Lowri Jones and Peri Smith from year 12 who have won the prize this year. Pictures of their excellent art work are attached.


St Crwst Flower Festival Winners
Congratulations to the following pupils who were successful in last weekend’s flower festival a St Crwst Church in Llanrwst (weekend of the 3rd of July): 2nd Elen Jones 7 Pandy and 3rd Gwenllian Lawrance 7Machno. Well done girls!


Interpreting National Reading and Numeracy Test Results

The latest information from the Welsh Government about how the year 7-9 reading and numeracy tests have been published on the following link


Eisteddfod Bro Aled

Congratulations to the following who were successful in the Bro Aled Eisteddfor over the weekend. The pupils all received part of the special arts award for their excellent art work:
Rosie Pearson, Blwyddyn 10 – 1st
Ella Murphy, Blwyddyn 10 – 2nd
Becky Cash, Lauren Taft, Trystan Jones ac Alys Erin Hughes, Blwyddyn 10 – joint 3rd.


Year 11 Progress Files Ceremony

DISGYBLION MEWN GWISG PARTI

Year 11 enjoyed celebrating on Friday evening the 24th of June when they received their progress files during a ceremony in the school hall followed by the year 11 prom at the Eagles Hotel in Llanrwst. The guest speaker during the ceremony was Ms Alwen Williams, a former pupil at the school who is now the Director of BT Wales. She inspired the audience with her presentation, sharing her memories of the school, including her own progress file and her career journey to date. Following the ceremony pupils and staff attended the prom at The Eagles Hotel. The pupils were beautifully dressed and suited for the occasion. They enjoyed a buffet and disco and spent time having photographs taken by the professional photographers attending – as well as taking many ‘selfies’ of their own. A lovely evening was had by all.


PDG Grant

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Pupil Deprivation Grant Statement 2016 - 2017 - click here


Year 6 visit and sports community challenge with year 10

We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming our year 6 pupils to the school for their second formal visit on the 27th of June. During the day they had the opportunity to attend taster lessons for a number of subjects including science, drama, geography, food technology and physical education. It was delightful to see them enjoying the activities, making new friends and setting into the school environment. At the end of the day an information evening was held for parents and pupils with the opportunity to buy school uniform/sports kits and to ask any questions. We very much look forward to welcoming all the pupils back on September the 5th when the school will re-open to pupils after the summer holiday.

Follow up visits have also been held through year 10’s community challenge for the Welsh Bac on the 29th and 30th of June. As part of their challenge year 10 pupils have organised two days of different sporting events for year 5 and 6 pupils from our cluster schools. The activities have included tennis, dodge ball, fitness and circuit activities, netball/basketball and weather permitting rugby and football. It was lovely to watch the pupils enjoying the activities and year 10 managing and coaching them so professionally. Our thanks to the primary schools for their support and to the PE department and year 10 pupils for arranging the day.


School Fishing Club

Congratulations to the school Fishing Club who won first prize for a national rural fishing club at a prestigious ceremony Friday evening. For further information and a video of their presentation see the Conwy Youth Service’s Facebook page - click here
Dylan Jones and Gruffudd Edwards represented the club at the ceremony. Well done boys!


Attendance Awards
disgyblion disgyblion

Congratulations to all our pupils that had 100% attendance over the last term. As part of the attendance raffle the following pupils received an award. Congratulations to the following pupils. Year 7 pupils Poppy, Angharad a Michael; Year 8 Rhys a James; Year 9 Modlen a Jacob and year 10 Cail, Chloe a Katie.


Ysgol y Gogarth Visit

Pupils form Ysgol Y Gogarth joined our Physical Education team and their activities on Wednesday the 8th of June lead by Mr Ricky Jones. The activities were lead by our gold and silver ambassadors who have recently completed a 'Qualification in Sport' Workshop. These workshops are held through Sports Wales and we are very proud of our ambassadors leading the workshops to Ysgol Y Gogarth’s pupils. The ambassadors that lead the activities were Anagharad Jones Young, Rebecca Elliot and Harry Thomas other ambassadors will be part of the process in the next few weeks.


Year 12 : CV and Personal Statement Workshop by Glyndwr University
disgyblion disgyblion It was nice to welcome back Glyndwr University on Thursday the 24th of June to present and hold a workshop with our year 12 on CV and personal statement writing. During the day pupils developed essential skills needed in the future to ensure a successful University and job application.

Volunteering

On Monday the 20th of June year 12 pupils volunteered in Ysgol Bro Gwydir taking part in their Growth Mindset day. They lead and worked with other members of the school to ensure the pupils were enjoying and persevered through the activities. We are very proud of our year 12 pupils as they presented the school so well and thank you to Ysgol Bro Gwydir for the opportunity to take part in the day.


Year 10 : Talk the Talk Workshop
disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion
On Tuesday the 21st of June year 10 pupils were given a full day workshop by ‘Talk the Talk.’ During the day they developed their communication and presentation skills. The day was a huge success with the pupils actively involved in the workshop. By the end of the day pupils were presenting their view confidently on their chosen subjects. This workshop and skills will be essential for the pupils when working towards their GCSE next year and for the future.

Eisteddfod Yr Urdd
disgyblion disgyblion disgyblion
It was a pleasure again this year to support our pupils during the half term holiday as they competed in the Eisteddfod yr Urdd in Flintshire. Their effort and dedication was a credit to them all, and we would like to thank the continuous support of all the staff and parents. We as a school would like to offer our huge congratulations to the individuals who were successful this year on the stage but also with homework tasks that were on display in the Eisteddfod. On the Wednesday Sion Dafydd Edwards and Modlen Alun recieved second prize with their Cerdd Dant Duet year 9 and younger. Christopher Sabisky was also successful coming third with his harp solo year 7- 9. On the Thursday Sion Dafydd Edwards was on the stage again and received a second prize with his Solo year 7-9. Pupils were successful with their homework tasks Cadi Gwyn Edwards came first and third in the composing competition ; Lliwen Dafydd Williams was first in year 7,8 and 9 jewellery making competition; Mali Bleddyn Evans came second in the monochrome photography competition year 7, 8 and 9 ac Elan Williams received first prize for her weave/crotchet competition for year 7,8 and 9 . We are extremely proud of every single one of you, congratulations.

Even though we weren't so successful this year within the other competitions, the choir, dramatic performance, dancing, parti bechgyn and parti merched we were very happy and proud of each performance as they were very high in standards. We had very complementing feedback noting that many of our performances were ‘very very close to the stage.’ A warm congratulations to everyone, and thank you for all your hard work.

Supporting Wales
disgyblion disgyblion 16/6/16 – pupils enjoying watching the Wales and England game.

YDC Fishing Club success in logo contest for Llanrwst Fishing Club

Congratulations to Gruffudd Edwards, year 9 who came first in the logo competition for Llanrwst Fishing club, winning £20.

All members of the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Fishing Club won a year's fishing permit licence on Llanrwst river for competing from Mr Pierino Algieri, representative of Llanrwst Fishing Club. Our thanks go to Eifion and Garth for their work with the Fishing club and for encouraging the members to compete in the logo contest.


Congratulations to the under 15 girls’ rugby
under 15 girls’ rugby

under 15 girls’ rugby

Congratulations to the under 15 girls’ rugby 7 aside team who won the national round of the Urdd 7 aside rugby competition yesterday (9/6/16). The girls won by 27:0 in their final round. Excellent results girls!

Scholastic Book Club
Not yet sorted your child’s summer reading out? The latest Scholastic Book Club offers are out. Simply go to http://schools.scholastic.co.uk/dyffryn-conwy-sec-lower to browse the latest books and order online. Please note, for every £1 you spend on this month’s Book Club, our school will earn 20p in Scholastic Rewards, which allows us to purchase more books for your child’s classroom.

Please place your order online by Friday, June 17th, 2016.


Congratulations to Tom – member of the final band line-up for the S4C series ‘Pwy Geith y Gig 2016’ (‘Who Gets the Gig).
poster

poster

As part of his entry into the competition Tom performed against others on the programme to reach the final selection and become part of the winning band performing at this year’s Urdd Eisteddfod in Flintshire. Tom’s progress in the competition was shown on S4C over the half term holiday. The final performance at the Eisteddfod will be shown on Wednesday Evening the 8th of June.

Flint Urdd Eisteddfod
Congratulations to all who took part in the Flint Urdd Eisteddfod over the half term week. In particular our congratulations go to those who reached the finals and performed on the Eisteddfod stage including: Sion Dafydd Edwards, second for the year 7-9 boys’ solo; Sion and Modlen who came second in the ‘cerdd dant’ duet; Christopher Sabisky, third in the harp solo for years 7-9. We are very proud of all who were competing. Our thanks go to the teachers who prepared them and to the families who supported them. Well done!


Year 13 Progress File Ceremony
staff

pupils

On Friday the 27th of May 2016, we had the opportunity to wish a fond farewell to our year 13 pupils during their Progress File Ceremony. Our guest at this year’s event was Professor Arwyn Tomos Jones, Professor or Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery at Cardiff University. He gave an inspiring and entertaining presentation which gave the pupils plenty of guidance and thought for their life journeys ahead emphasising the importance of friendship, roots, and making the most of every opportunity.
Following the presentations we had the opportunity to reflect and chat over some light refreshment. We would like to thank everyone who took part in the ceremony, including our Head Girl, Hannah Cash and Head Boy, Sam Power and to the staff who helped prepare for the ceremony, especially Mrs Gwyneth Griffiths who was responsible for organising all the progress files and arrangements for the ceremony. It was a bitter-sweet moment when the pupils presented Mrs Griffiths with a bunch of flowers as this will be Mrs Griffiths’ last ceremony in her role supporting the sixth form. We wish her all the best as she retires this Summer. We also wish all our pupils the very best with their forthcoming examinations and for their extended summer break. We look forward to seeing them all at the A level results day on the 18th of August. Good luck to you all!

Year 12 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy

pupils

Congratulations to all year 12 pupils who presented some excellent business presentations last week as part of the BAC Enterprise Challenge.

After months of hard work creating and developing their business enterprise ideas, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy's year 12 pupils presented their work to a panel of dragons as part of their Enterprise Challenge for the Welsh Baccalaureate. The business pitches were of an excellent standard, displaying innovative and creative ideas along with prototypes as part of the process. It was a pleasure to young entrepreneurs excelling in front of the panel. A big congratulations to all who took part in the presentations as well as the dragons.

pupils

"Rocket Science"

plants

Earlier this month, the science department took part in an exciting experiment called "Rocket Science" with pupils from year 7 taking part. The experiment was part of a campaign into raising awareness about how research into space influences on our lives. Two different types of seeds were planted as part of the experiment, one type which had been into space and one type that hadn't. The pupils will be monitoring and comparing the growth of the seeds in the coming weeks. At the end of the period, the pupils will collate all the relevant data and come to a conclusion as to which seed type had been to space by sending their findings to the European Space Agency. This will give the pupils a fantastic opportunity to develop their knowledge of careers based on scientific fields. All the best year 7!


Rondo Auditions
It was a pleasure to invite television company Rondo to the school this month to hold auditions for an upcoming television series on S4c. Boys and girls from years 8, 10, 11 and 13 attended the auditions with the company and the show's writer which is to be broadcasted next year. We are proud to announce that year 11 pupil, Mali Sion has been successful in obtaining a call-back for a second audition. We wish you all the best of luck Mali.


"King Lear"
A group of sixth form pupils attended a performance of the famous "King Lear" at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester with the English department. The pupils and staff thoroughly enjoyed the show. The performance contained striking scenes such as experiencing rain inside the theatre! The performance will prepare our pupils towards their English Literature exam in the summer. Best wishes to each and every one.


STEM Cymru Activities
We are delighted that STEM Cymru recently visited the school’s Technology department to conduct activities and to raise awareness of coding skills. These are essential skills for preparing our learners towards the business world of the future. The pupils’ behaviour and participation in the activities was highly praised. Pupils from both year 7 and 8 took part in the activities. Chelsea from year 7 said ‘I really enjoyed taking part in the STEM activities. My favourite part was when we created traffic lights using the computer and LED lights. I learnt so much from the day’.

We thank STEM Cymru for visiting the school and to Mrs Heledd Griffiths, Head of Technology for arranging the day.


Sporting Success

chwarel

Congratulations to year 10 pupils who recently completed their Sports’ Leaders qualification. To complete the course they planned and delivered a successful day of activities for years 5 and 6 at Ysgol Bro Gwydir. We now look forward to the next days of activities for Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy cluster schools including a rugby tournament planned by the year group!

Congratulations also to the 7 aside boys’ rugby team from year 7 who won their recent tournament on Friday the 29th of April.

chwarel
chwarel

Updated Year 11 Examination and revision timetable 2016

Click here to download the timetable


Bethesda Trip 2016

chwarel

As part of our A Level Welsh course, our class travelled to Bethesda to meet the author, John Elwyn Hughes, who was a good friend of Caradog Prichard, author of ‘Un Nos Ola Leuad’, the novel that we’ve been studying. J. Elwyn Hughes took us on a fascinating journey around the village and showed us many locations that appear in the novel ‘UNOL’. We began our journey on foot, walking along Bethesda High Street, and saw the Blue Bell, Rheinws, Capel Bethesda and many more buildings found in the novel. Then we boarded a minibus to visit places that greatly influenced Caradog Prichard when he was writing the novel, e.g. the coalhouse in which he was locked by his mother. We also went along Lon Bost which is often referred to in the novel, and briefly visited the football pitch where the momentous game is played in the novel. We were also lucky enough to be given permission to visit Penrhyn Quarry where Caradog Prichard’s father died. We saw many of the locations that the boy in the novel attended, such as Ysgol Glanogwen (Rysgol), Glan Ogwen Church (Reglwys) and the homes in which C.P. lived. Before leaving, we were taken by J. Elwyn Hughes to the graveyard where Caradog Prichard and his wife, Mati, are buried. He showed us the graves of other famous people from the area, such as R. Williams Parry. We had a very interesting and useful day that increased our understanding and brought the novel to life, preparing us for the oral examination.

Cara Bryn Williams, 13C

chwarel

Eryri Cup Winners

y tim

Congratultions to the under 13 boys’ rugby team who yesterday (20/4/16) won the Eryri Cup in the last round at Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen. Congratulations also go to the under-15 girls’ team who won 5 rounds over the day winning the final 6th round! Superb results for both teams. Our thanks go to Mr Kevin Thomas the school’s Rugby Development Officer for making the arrangements and to the parents and staff who helped to support the teams’ progress and final matches.


Congratulations!

plant plant Congratulations to Tomos Arfon, Russell Wingfield and Annest Jones, year 12 who were successful in Bangor University's Chemistry Department's recent Schools' Analyst Competition over the Easter break. We are delighted with their work and their achievements. Their efforts have resulted in a beautiful trophy for the school. Our thanks also go to Dr Mark Thomas from the Chemistry Department for organising their entry. Following their success the university will be holding a workshop at the school.
plant

Sports Relief

It was a joy to see so many pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy taking part in activities for the charity “Sports Relief” before the Easter Holidays. Under the leadership of the School Council a number of different activities took place over lunchtime on Friday the 13th of March in aid of the charity. In addition, year 7, 8 and 9 pupils worked in teams during their PE lessons to run a sponsored marathon. Over £800 was raised for the charity through these activities. As a school we would like to thank everyone that was part of the activity.

Students On Board to raise Autism Awareness
plant

Conwy sixth formers are ‘on board’ to help raise awareness of the issues and difficulties facing children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). To mark Schools' Autism Awareness Week [14-18 March 2016] Conwy’s ASD Outreach Team have been meeting sixth formers at local secondary schools to share information and resources produced by the National Autistic Society about autism. Thanks to a generous donation of bus and driver time from Arriva Wales Rhyl, the ASD Outreach Team were able to visit Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy on the day.

The sixth form students were invited onto the bus at each school to find out more about Autism and to collect resources they’ll be able to use in workshops and school assemblies over the coming weeks, as they help spread the word amongst their fellow pupils about why it's so important to understand and accept autism.

Cyng Wyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Education said, “The ASD Outreach Team are part of Conwy’s Education Service and they support children and young people with autism to access mainstream schools. A major part of integration is to help other people in the school community understand that autism is a spectrum condition that affects each person differently.

“This week’s visits to schools, followed by the workshops and assemblies organised by the sixth formers themselves, aim to help pupils understand the barriers that people face and how these barriers can be overcome with the right adjustments and support."

Important Message - Easter Holidays

The Spring term ends for pupils at 3.30pm on Wednesday the 23rd of March this year. Thursday the 24th of March is an INSET day with Friday the 25th a bank holiday this year. The school will re-open for pupils and staff on Monday the 11th of April 2016. We wish all our pupils, staff and their families a Happy Easter.


AS/A level geography students discussing flooding scenarios
plant plant plant

Here we have members of the community and also students studying AS/A level geography in Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy discussing flooding scenarios in order to gather young people's opinion on flooding. NRW will take on the opinions in order to better many flooding schemes around Wales.


Information about the 2016 National Literacy and Numeracy tests for Yr. 7, 8 and 9
plant

Click here for more information

Letter about the 2016 National Literacy and Numeracy tests for Yr. 7, 8 and 9 - click here


Year 12 Drama Performances

2 boys

On the evening of 4th March, parents and pupils were invited to watch year 12 pupils’ drama performances.

 

Parents, pupils and teachers made up an intrigued audience for the three performances. The pupils performed a bilingual extract from “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller in the style of Physical Theatre and the practitioner Berkoff. This performance was followed by two devised performances in the style of Artaud. One of the performances was based on execution during the Second World War and the other on mental illness.

The Drama Department would like to thank parents, pupils and teachers who have supported throughout and help make a very successful evening.

2 boys

Year 9 Trip: Justice in a Day

A small group of year nine pupils attended a “Justice in a Day” workshop in Llandudno on Friday March 4th. Along with being taught practically about the justice system, pupils also visited the Llandudno court. Thank you to Theatre Clwyd and North Wales Police for the opportunity to be part of the day which was a very memorable experience for the pupils of Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy.


Visit of Dr Ruth Hussey, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer
2 boys Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy looks forward to the visit of Dr Ruth Hussey, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer. Dr Ruth Hussey, a former pupil at the school, is visiting the school on the 11th of March to speak to pupils from the 6th form and year 11 about pathways in medical care. Further information about Dr Hussey can be found through the following link

2 boys


St David’s Day 2016
2 boys

St David’s Day 2016 was a day to celebrate. The day began with a special St David’s Day assembly. During the week pupils from years 7, 8 and 9 also took part in a Famous Welsh Personalities Quiz. Morgan Jones from year 7 was the winner. Pictured are the pupils who came 2nd and 3rd.

2 boys There was a lot of activity during the day including the DJ sessions of Welsh Music provided by members of the 6th form at lunch time and break time. It was also an opportunity for the school to support Macmillan Cancer Care’s daffodils campaign
2 boys Other winners on the day were Patrick Lynch from year 9 who recently won a creative writing contest and received his prize during the assembly. It was also an opportunity to hold our termly attendance raffle – congratulations to all the pupils from years 7, 8 and 9 who won in the raffle and to the pupils who have managed to sustain their 100% attendance.

Maths Challenge

Congratulations to all the year 10 and 11 students who took part in the recent maths challenge. Between them they won 2 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze awards which is a fantastic result! Our thanks go to the maths department for arranging and training the students.

Hannah Roberts 65 Gold Gwion Jones 50 Silver Owain Vaughan 44 Bronze Ar on Hughes 43 Bronze
       
Howard Wingfield 65 Gold Rosy Pearson 54 Silver Brenig Hughes 50 Silver Ifan Jones 49 Bronze
       
Efa Davies 47 Bronze Aiden Quilter 46 Bronze Trystan Jones 40 Bronze  

Reading for Pleasure: English

We have recently set up the Scholastic Book Club online, this means parents and guardians can order and pay for books on line. Click here to browse the latest books and order online. Please note, for every £1 spent on this month’s Book Club, our school will earn 20p in Scholastic Rewards, which allows us to purchase more books to support the curriculum and for your child’s classroom.


Food Banks
plant

During our tutorial lessons this year, we as year ten Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupils had the opportunity to discuss social issues such as poverty. We were given a series of presentations from our tutors that included information and facts about the subject and the support available to people and families in need. After looking at the subject in general, we concentrated specifically on food banks, with the aim to support Conwy Food Bank.

Along with other members of the Year Forum, I considered how best to raise awareness of our project and how to involve the whole school. We shared ideas and decided that we would present a service to each year group, offering them information about how Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy would support the Food Bank. This was a good opportunity for us to explain to pupils how to contribute and about the types of food the forum and school would be collecting. We also presented posters around the school to raise awareness for pupils and school staff.

The project has been very successful and we are extremely happy with the response we have had. The support has been excellent and we are very appreciative of everyone’s effort. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed in supporting not only the school but the local community.

By Rosy Person, Year 10

plant

S4C's 'Pnawn Da'
plant plant

On Wednesday the 10th of February the film company, Tinopolis visited the Geography Department to discuss the recent floods in Llanrwst and their effects. Sixth Form pupils, Ilan and Branwen were interviewed as well as Head of Geography, Mr Carwyn Williams. The film crew also captured footage of the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy stream which has felt the impact of this year's high rain fall. The footage will form part of the S4C afternoon show, 'Pnawn Da' during the half term break.


Have a good half term break!

We wish all our pupils, parents and staff a good half term break. The school will re-open on Monday the 22nd of February.


2016 Examination Timetable

A message for year 10, 11, 12 an 13 parents - a drafft copy of your son/daughter's summer 2016 examination timetable has been sent home today.


S4C's 'Pawb a'i Farn'

Pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy took part in the S4C programme 'Pawb a'i Farn' from Llanrwst on Thursday evening the 11/2/16.


Philippa Tuttiett - Sport for girls

A unique opportunity to promote sport for girls: On Wednesday the 10th of February pupils at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy had the opportunity to be inspired and coached by Philippa Tuttiett, one of Sky Sports' ambassadors promoting sports for girld nationally. During the day Philippa shared her experiences with pupils, joining them for rugby and learning about the activitiespupils take part in and enjoy as well as inspiring pupils to take part in more physical and sporting activities. We were very glad to welcome Philippa to the school for the day and thank her for her inspiration and participation during the day.


Congratulations to the BOBs group

Congratulations to the BOBs group who have been developing their knowledge about healthy eating and running workshops for primary pupils during the Food Festival at Glasdir on the 4th and 5th of February. Congratulations also to Sam and Lowri from year 8 who were working as mentors for the current year 7 BOBs group.


Under 16 Rugby
plant

Congratulations to the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy under 16 Rugby Team on their success in the latest round of the Welsh Cup on Friday the 29th of January.


Pupil Governors
plant

Congratulations to our Head Boy and Head Girl for completing their training as Pupil Governors.


School Welcoming Back Former Pupil
plant

On the 8th of January the sixth form pupils at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, Llanrwst, were privileged to receive a presentation by a former student of the school about the Lloyds Scholarship scheme. Viktor Hewitt, who is now a student studying politics at the University of Warwick, attended the school on Friday morning to deliver an interesting talk about the values of the Lloyds scheme. In a matter of minutes we learned a lot of valuable information about the programme run by the Lloyds Banking Group who supports young people from lower-income families who are attending one of the eight universities in partnership with the programme. Some of the universities involved are the University of Birmingham, University of Oxford, University of Bath and the University of Warwick.

The scheme offers a complete package of financial and vocational support, including cash awards, mentors, paid internships and the chance to develop your employability skills. In return for this package Scholars are committed to at least 100 hours of voluntary work in their local community.

Following the presentation delivered by Viktor there were a number of students who seemed eager to learn more about the programme. This is what one of the pupils, from year 12, had to say after her conversation with the Scholar: ‘Before Viktor’s presentation I was unaware of the Lloyds Scholar Scheme. This has definitely made me start to research not only this scholarship but also what other universities offer. It was a very beneficial experience and has made me consider careers in the financial sector.’

The school was very happy to welcome Viktor back to the school and to hear of his success at his first year at Warwick University.

By Elin Williams, Year 13 pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy

plant

Guidance for parents on the National Categorisation of Schools 2016

Click here for the latest information about the performance of Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy and the National Categorisation.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Careers Fair for year 9
plant plant plant

On Wednesday the 27th of January the school hall was filled with local businesses and presenters for the year 9 annual Careers Fair. The fair gave pupils the opportunity to find out about different careers pathways for the future – important as they are currently making their option choices for year 10. Stalls included representatives from local businesses including ‘Siwgr a Sbeis’; Howell Jones Solicitors; The Welsh Agricultural Union; Llanddoged’s Groesffordd Garage; North Wales Training; Coleg Cambria; Cywain; along with Mrs Sian Edwards from the Welsh Health Service. Pupils had the opportunity to question the employers completing questionnaires and collecting information about the various pathways. The day was a huge success – we would like to thank all our guest speakers for sharing their experiences and time so generously.


Year 8 Rail Safety Presentation

On the 26th of January members of the local police force visited Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy to give a presentation about rail safety to year 8. Pupils listened well and responded to the thought-provoking points raised by the presenters and to the accompanying video clips. Pupils from 8 Cennin, reflecting on the presentation said that it was “a very interesting presentation – I liked the way the images were used to help us think and realise the potential dangers and how to keep safe” and “It was an emotional experience to hear about the real life stories of those injured or killed on the rail tracks – it made me realise the dangers involved.”


Holocaust Remembrance Week
plant

As part of the Holocaust remembrance week over 200 pupils from years 10 to 13 had the opportunity to listen to a presentation from Mrs Ruth Hughes, a Holocaust survivor. She told the story of her family and their journey to Britain before the beginning of the 2nd World War, and her experiences of going back to Germany and her home more recently. The pupils listened attentively with many pupils asking questions at the end of the presentation about her experiences and her views. We would like to thank Ruth for visiting the school and sharing such an important message with our pupils. It will have been a memorable and thought-provoking experience for all of them.


6th Form Open Evening on 26/01/16
poster

Letter to Year 11 parents – Parents’ Evening and Sixth Form Open Evening - click here

Poster - click here


Congratulations to Tomos MacDonald
plant

Congratulations to Tomos MacDonald, year 13 on being accepted to Oxford for 2016/17. Tomos was delighted at being accepted following a competitive application and interview process. Tomos will now be concentrating on his final exams for History, Science and Government and Politics A Levels. We wish him all the best – Congratulations Tomos!


FFUG GYFWELIADAU BLWYDDYN 11 18-12-15 (Cymraeg yn unig)

Congratulations to year 11 on their GCSE Mathematics Results. Their success in Summer 2015 and November 2015 mean that they have already reached their target of 76% for Summer 2016! They will now be concentrating on improving their results by Summer 2016 with some beginning to study for A Level and Additional Mathematics. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Mathematics Department, school staff and our parents for all their support.

plant

Dyma restr o’r gwobrau a gyflwynwyd i’r disgyblion:

Best Application Letter
Llinos Williams
Nathan Rowlands
Connor Boswell
Kelcee Frost
Elin Cawley
Kimberley Godbert

Best CV
Lloyd Evans
Tom Smith
Amelia Maddox
Chloe Adams
Elain Davies
Beca Williams

Best Presented Pupil
Owain Vaughan
Tayler Wilkes
Lleucu Howatson
Sam Roberts
Aron Hughes
Chloe Congrave
Cyfweliad Gorau/Best Interview
Cassidy Bailey Tomkins
Dylan Roberts
Hannah Roberts
Loui Harris
Jac Metcalfe
Mali Sion
Sophia Edwards
Kelcee Frost
Shauna Lyons

Successful Applicant
Kimberley Godbert
Cadi Edwards
Lleucu Howatson
Gwion Roberts
Kelcee Frost
Amelia Maddox

OVERALL SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT
Cadi Gwyn Edwards

Fe wnaeth un panel benderfynnu rhoi gwobr am CV Gorau i Mary Jane Brauanton ond nad oedd yn ysgol i’w dderbyn.

plant
plant
 
plant
plant
Christmas Concert

A busy term ended with a celebratory concert at Capel Seion yn Llanrwst on Tuesday the 15th of December. It was delightful to see the range of talents on the night from soloists, instrumentalists, actors, choirs, ensembles and parties. There were also two superb presentations from the members of the Drama club – one of the scripts had been written especially for the night by Miss Llio Japheth. The Head Boy and Head Girl, along with their Deputies and members of the 6th form took part in the readings. It was wonderful to see how the junior and senior choirs have developed with both familiar voices and new voices in their midst. The evening was certainly one to feel very proud of, particularly of the varied talents throughout the evening. Our thanks go to each one for taking part, for the Music and Drama Departments for preparing them and leading them on the night, to every member of staff who supported and in particular to all the parents and members of the community who came along on the night. £680 was raised on the night with a contribution going towards Capel Seion in thanks for their support and the remainder going to support music and drama activities over the next term.


Christmas Jumper Day
plant

As part of the end of term activities, pupils supported the year 10 COPE class’ Christmas raffle, cake stall and Christmas Jumper day. Over £400 was raised to support charities including Cancer Research, Save the Children and St John’s Ambulance. The group had planned the activities over the last half term as part of their course. This included a presentation to the Head teacher, visiting local businesses in Llanrwst to ask for donations towards the raffle, they also had to work with Sodexo to ask for permission to hold the cake stall on the last day of term. The group would like to thank all the pupils and staff, local businesses and Sodexo for all their support.

Another part of their COPE course included a first aid course. They were trained by the St John’s Ambulance for a day and successfully passed their course at the end of the day. Congratulations to the group and many thanks to the St John’s Ambulance for their support.

plant

Welsh Baccalaureate
plant plant plant
As part of year 10’s Global Citizenship Challenge pupils created a raising awareness project on the subject of the Syrian Refugee crisis. From bunting to leaflets, posters to stories, year 10 produced a range of projects for different audiences. The work will form part of their overall Welsh Baccalaureate qualification. The effort, focus and results of their work has been superb – congratulations goes to all involved.

Christmas Assembly

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Christmas Assembly. During the day on Friday the 18th of December, a special Christmas assembly was held at the school. This was an opportunity to sing carols, to see productions from the Drama Club and from the junior choir, as well as to hear readings from the Head Boy and Head Girl and members of staff. Our thanks go to everyone who took part. In particular to the Reverend Helen Jones who spoke to the pupils and who led on the closing prayer. This was an excellent opportunity to celebrate the end of term and the Christmas festival together.


Interview Day

Congratulations to year 11 who participated in an interview day on the 18th of December. During the day they had the opportunity to be inspired by Mr Wyn Williams, Governor and local employer. Following the presentation each pupil had the opportunity to be interviewed by a panel of local employers, governors, community partners and members of staff. Each panel interviewed the pupils for specific posts giving them a unique opportunity to be in an interview situation. During the days the panels evaluated each of the applicants letters, CVs, presentations and interviews in order to nominate a final short list of winners. For each category pupils were awarded certificates recognising their achievements. The overall award went to Cadi Edwards with high commendation to Amelia Maddox, and praise to the other pupils in the final group. The pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and responses over the course of the day were praised. We would like to thank them for all their efforts preparing and participating. Our thanks go also to the members of the panel for their time, experience and support for this worthwhile experience for our pupils. Thanks also goes to the team of staff who worked hard to prepare for and to manage the day under the leadership of Mrs Marian Pritchard – Mrs Iona Owen, Mr Roger Beech, Mrs Elliw Davies, year 11 Tutors and Progress Leader. The pupils were very positive about the day – it had gone well, particularly once they began to relax and respond to the interviews and see the fruits of their labour.


Fixture Results for Autumn Term 2015/16

We would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the extra-curricular achievements of our pupils in the football (boys’ and girls’ teams), rugby and netball fixtures over the last term. Thank you to the PE department and to Mr Danial Meredydd and Mr Kevin Thomas for organising the activities and to our parents for their support.

Fixture Results for Autumn Term 2015/16:

Football
Rugby
Netball

Under 18s Football
YDC v Creuddyn: Curo 2-0
YDC v Emrys ap Iwan: Colli 5-0

Under 16s Football
YDC v Creuddyn: Curo 4-0

Under 15 football
YDC v Eirias: Curo 1-0
YDC (Merched/Girls) v Llangefni: Colli 4-1
YDC v Friars: Colli 3-0

Under 14s Football
YDC v YJB: Colli 5-1

Under 13s Football
YDC v Aberconwy: Curo 4-1
YDC (Girls) v Creuddyn: Colli 8-1
YDC v Creuddyn: Cyfartal 0-0 (Curo ar pens 5-4)

Under 18s Rugby
YDC v St David's College: Curo 29-19
YDC v Glan Clwyd: Cyfartal 7-7

Under 16s Rugby
YDC v Eirias: Curo 5-3

Under 15s Rugby
YDC v Creuddyn: Curo 41-0
YDC v Glan Clwyd: Curo 46-0

Under 14s Rugby
YDC v Creuddyn: Curo 52-0
YDC v St David's: Curo 25-15
YDC v St David's: Curo 45-5

Under 13s Rugby
YDC v Creuddyn: Curo 55-0
YDC v St David's: Curo 57-7

Under 12s Rugby
YDC v Eirias: Curo 29-0
YDC v Creuddyn: Curo 26-7
YDC v Berwyn: Curo 43-0

Netball (Girls)
Dan 13 v St David's College: Curo 5-1
Dan 14 v St David's College: Colli 7-2
Dan 12 v St David's College: Curo 12-0
Dan 13 v St David's College: Curo 6-1
Dan 12 v Llandudno: Colli (Cynghrair Eryri)
Dan 13 v Creuddyn: Colli 12-6
Dan 16 v Creuddyn: Curo 10-7
Dan 12 v Pwllheli Tornadoes: Colli 12-18
Dan 15 v St David's: Colli 7-4
Dan 16 v St David's: Colli 9-8
Dan 12 v Creuddyn: Curo 9-0
Dan 14 v Creuddyn: Colli 6-2


Merry Christmas

We wish all our pupils, parents and partners in the community a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The school will re-open for pupils on Tuesday the 5th of January.


Mock Examinations Timetable December 2015

Click here for more information


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Christmas Concert

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s Christmas Concert will be held at Capel Seion on Tuesday the 15th of December. A warm welcome to all.


Children’s Christmas Box Appeal
plant

This year as part of the School Council’s focus on supporting charities and good causes years 7, 8 and 9 took part in the Christmas Box Appeal. Following a presentation from Wyn Owen in their assembly, year 7, 8 and 9 pupils were busy preparing boxes. On the 23rd of November 43 boxes full of gifts, sweet things and other products for children were produced and collected for this important cause. Thank you to all the pupils and parents who supported the appeal and to the form tutors who helped ensure that everything was safely delivered.

Click here for more images


Geography department Volcanoes project
plant

This year’s Geography department Volcanoes project once again produced an exciting and challenging competition for year 9 pupils. Over half term they produced models of volcanoes using a range of materials. An excellent response from pupils (and their parents who provided support and resources) followed! The task of judging the final products was a daunting one this year as the standard was so high, with each volcano an excellence in itself. However, with the support of the 6th form students who are studying Geography the awards were given as follows: first prize went to Rhiannon Rippin 9C, second prize to Ifan Hughes 9M, and 3rd prize to Cai Williams 9M. Congratulations to all who competed – the department were delighted with the responses. It shows the scale of what they have learnt from their recent studies of volcanoes.


Activities led by Conwy Disabilities Sports group
plant

On Friday the 20th of November a group of pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy took part in activities led by Conwy Disabilities Sports group. The pupils were able to take part in activities that promoted physical education. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play wheelchair basketball in specialised ‘Boccia’ wheelchairs. They worked as a team developing confidence and skills. At lunchtime there was an opportunity for more pupils to take part in a competitive game.


Follow us on Twitter!

twitter

Click on the image to see Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Twitter!

Congratulations to all the pupils who collected money towards charities

Congratulations to all the pupils who collected money towards charities on Friday the 25th of September. £500 pounds was raised through the own clothes day. £250 going towards ‘Jeans for Genes’ and £250 towards Macmillan Cancer Care. Thank you to the pupils for their support.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Equestrian Team
y tim

Congratulations to the pupils who took part in the Equestrian Team at the weekend. A very successful field of results often in competition with 70 - 93 others from around schools in the North of England. We are delighted with their efforts and achievements! The next stage of competition takes place in October with their eyes firmly set on Bury Farm and another successful Summer. If any of our partners are interested in sponsoring the team with the next stage of the competition, please contact the school’s office.

Dressage Team 2nd - Harri Williams, Mared Williams and Elain Jones
Individual dressage - Harri Williams 3rd; Elain Jones 8th
Jumping with style – 1st Harri Williams
Showjumping Team - 1st of 93 - Jac and Rhys Cernyw, Harriet and Hermione Williams
Individual showjumping – 3rd out of 93 - Mary Jane Broughton

Head Pupils for 2015/16
prif ddisgyblion a pennaeth

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been elected as Head Pupils for 2015/16:
Head Girl – Hannah Cash
Head Boy – Sam Power
Deputies – Lliwen Williams a Tomos MacDonald.

The standard of this year’s interviews and presentations were particularly high. We wish them all the best in their new roles.


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy celebrates a year of Success and Launches new School Rugby Officer!
swyddogion On Tuesday the 15th of September, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy held its annual Awards Ceremony. Guest speaker Sean Taylor inspired the audience with tales of his successes and the experiences that have led him to his various business ventures within the Conwy Valley and beyond. Pupils were awarded for academic success in their end of key stage three, GCSE, AS and A Level results. Recipients included Tomos Arfon who received an award from the Rotary for his excellent 8A* and 3As at GCSE; Aron Kirkman and Viktor Hewitt who both won the Dr Harold Williams award for their excellent A level results this summer.

Amongst the school’s guests and sponsors on the evening were Mr Richard Howes and Mr Graham St John-Gillan from Dyffryn Conwy Rotary Club, the Mayor of Llanrwst, Mr Nelson Herr and Mr Edgar Jones representing the Llanrwst Historical Society.

The top ten students in the end of KS3 results were also awarded for their achievements – we are likely to see them winning the GCSE and A Level results in the future! Full attendance over the academic year was celebrated with a number of pupils being rewarded through sponsorship by Llew Jones Buses. The evening’s Special Recognition award went to the school’s unique and talented Equestrian Club following their huge success at Bury Farm last summer where on top of successes in the individual comps and the Show jumping team, the Dressage team came first out of 22 competitive entrants. Members of the team now hope to crash through the first part of this year’s competitions at the end of the month and go back to fight for their top position again next summer at Bury Farm!

The evening was also an opportunity to launch the school’s Rugby Development Officer post which has been developed in partnership with the WRU, Nant Conwy Rugby Club and sponsors Zip World. Speaking during the ceremony, Mark Roberts from the WRU explained the vision for this exciting project and the range of skills and experiences pupils would gain from participating in the events and activities organised by the new rugby officer. Mr John Roberts, Deputy Head introduced Mr Kevin Thomas who will begin in post on the 21st of September. The school is now looking forward to further developing rugby and the community element and ethos around the sport as part of a wider extracurricular agenda over the coming years. Thanks went to the sponsors who have allowed this exciting development to take place.

To close the evening refreshment was provided by 6th former Ciara Rickard who is raising money to be part of Project Trust’s development projects around the world. She is looking forward to begin working for the trust as an English teacher in a year’s time working in underprivileged communities in Thailand. An enjoyable evening was had by all attending, a chance to recognise and reward pupils for their hard work and dedication. Click here to see more photos


Trystan Lewis' Visit
Trystan Lewis Trystan Lewis Pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s 6th form were given the opportunity to engage in political debate with Plaid Cymru’s Aberconwy Consituency Candidate Trystan Lewis. Trystan visited the school to discuss hot topics in the political arena such as: the environment, agriculture, health and education and the current refugee crisis. Pupils listened, questioned and responded with enthusiasm and passion to Trystan’s views, presenting a range of views on current affairs.
Pupils Sam Ward and Ilan Owen are pictured with Trystan Lewis, Elan Davies, Head and Mr Eurig Williams (Head of Y1. 12) and Mr Carwyn Williams (Head of Geography) who arranged the debate. Closing the session Trystan promised to come back to the school again to continue discussion, hopefully with Plaid Cymru Leader Leanne Wood!

 

21.08.15 - GCSE Results 2015

GCSE Results GCSE Results

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy are once again celebrating another year of excellent results. We are all proud of our pupils and on behalf of the whole school we congratulate all pupils and their families on their success – it’s richly deserved after all their hard work. We look forward to welcoming many of our pupils back to our sixth form next week.

Once again a number of pupils have achieved at the very highest including: Tomos Arfon 8 A*,3A; Hannah Jones 7 A*, 4 As; Russell Wingfield 4 A*, 1 A, 4 B – all three also received a Distinction in Additional Maths; Jake Jones 4 A*s, 4 As, 2 Bs and 2 Cs; Sophia Dallimore 2 A*, 5 As and 4 Bs; Charlotte Wright 3 A*, 5 As, 2 Bs, 1 C and Distinction in Additional Maths; Annest Jones 6As, 3 Bs, 1 C; Meirion Layton 4As, 4 Bs and 2 Cs. Pictured are Hannah, Sophia, Charlotte, Russell, Jake and Annest. A delighted Tomos heard the news by email from his holiday in Spain!

At the end of a successful first year at the helm, I was delighted to see so many smiles, a reminder of what success means to our young people and how hard they have worked and deserved it. I congratulate all of them and all their families. It really has been a wonderful year for everyone associated with the school. Today as always is about the pupils, their achievements and next steps and they have plenty to celebrate. I wish them all the best for the future. I would also like to thank all my staff for all their hard work.

Elan Davies, Head Teacher, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, 20/08/15


13.08.15 - Celebrating Success - Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy A Level Results, 2015

cricket

We are all delighted that Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupils have once again performed exceptionally well and we are all very proud of their achievements. This year’s results show continued success in Advanced Level, Vocational A Levels and BTECs, as well as the Welsh Baccalaureate. Among our number of high achievers this year are Aaron Kirkman (A*A A A B), Lois Evans (A* A A), linguist Viktor Hewitt (AAAB), Tolly Taylor (A*A B), Wil Jones (AAB), Iestyn Thomas (A*B B B), Talia Williams (A A C) and Ynyr Jones (A*B C). The boys have been particularly successful this summer!

Today is therefore a day for celebration – well done! I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the School and its Governors to congratulate all pupils their parents and families, and all of our staff for their continued hard work and dedication.

We wish all our students every success in the future and look forward to tracking their achievement through University, further study and their future careers.

Elan Davies, Head Teacher, Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, 13/08/15

Click here for more images


20.07.15 - Congratulations to the Drama Club

Congratulations to the Drama Club on their excellent performances Thursday the 16/5/15. Read about their work in the drama club this year. We look forward to seeing mor of their performances and hearing about their successes next year!

For more information - click here


17.07.15 - Congratulations to the cricket team

cricket

Congratulations to the cricket team who were successful in their match against Ysgol y Creuddyn on the 15th of July – well done!


13.07.15 Adran Gelf 'Tlws Iorweth Jones' (Welsh Only)


Llongyfarchiadau i Matthew Barton oedd yn fuddugol am ennil gwobr ‘Tlws Iorweth Jones’ a roddir yn flynyddol er cof am Iorweth gan ei deulu. Derbyniodd wobr o £100 am ei gynnydd a’i ddyfalbarhad mewn Celf yn ystod y flwydddyn.


13.07.15 Ffeil Gynnydd a'r Prom (Welsh Only)
Cafwyd noson y Ffeil Gynnydd i ddisgyblion flwyddyn 11 ar yr 18fed o Fehefin. Dafydd Jones oedd y siaradwr gwadd yn seremoni. Chwaraeodd Dafydd dros ei wlad 42 o weithiau gan sgorio dwy gais, bellach mae’n gweithio i Oil4Wales sydd wedi ei leoli ym Mlaenau Ffestiniog.

Yn dilyn y seremoni Ffeil Gynnydd aeth y disgyblion a staff draw i Westy’r Eryrod yn Llanrwst ar gyfer y Prom!  Fel y gwelwch o’r lluniau, roedd y disgyblion wedi gwisgo yn arbennig ar gyfer y prom - yn lliwiau, siwtiau ac esgidiau crand iawn!  Erbyn diwedd y noson roedd eu traed yn boenus o’r holl ddawnsio a hwyl wedi ei gael gan bawb!  Rhaid canmol ymddygiad y disgyblion mewn lle cyhoeddus a diolch yn fawr i’r staff fuodd yn trefnu'r noson ac yn eu goruchwylio. 


13.07.15 Wythnos Gweithgareddau (Welsh Only)

Tra fo blwyddyn 10 a 12 allan ar brofiad gwaith bu blwyddyn 7, 8 a 9 yn profi amrywiaeth o weithgareddau gan gynnwys teithiau treftadaeth i Drawsfynydd a Tryweryn (blwyddyn 9), i Lanberis a Penmachno (blwyddyn 8) ac i Eisteddfod Llangollen (blwyddyn 7).  Bu cyfleoedd hefyd iddynt brofi gweithgareddau awyr agored yn Nant BH (blwyddyn 8) neu ar y safle drwy weithgareddau chwaraeon a datrys problemau. 

Yn ystod yr wythnos hefyd, profodd staff a disgyblion yr ysgol y tywydd a mynd ar y daith gerdded flynyddol i goedwig Gwydir.  Braf oedd gweld y disgyblion yn ymdrechu er y tywydd a’r holl gyn disgyblion a ddychwelodd er mwyn cefnogi'r daith gerdded hefyd.  Daeth Ifan Jones, blwyddyn 9 yn ôl gyntaf yn y ras rhedeg ar y diwrnod, Caron Davies yn 2ail a Carwyn Davies yn 3ydd.  Llongyfarchiadau mawr i’r tri!


13.07.15 Gwobrau Celf: (Welsh Only)

Bu nifer o’n disgyblion yn datblygu gwaith celf amrywiol er mwyn cystadlu brwd yn ddiweddar yn Eisteddfod Bro Aled, ac yn Gala Llanrwst.  Ceir mwy o wybodaeth am lwyddiannau'r disgyblion o’r linc ganlynol: http://www.llansannan.org/item/eisteddfod_bro_aled__.html ac ar safwe Rotari Dyffryn Conwy.  Roedd llawer iawn o ddisgyblion blwyddyn 7, 8 a 9 wedi cystadlu yn yr oedran 12-14 ar gyfer Ffotograffiaeth a gwaith celf yn defnyddio pensil neu olew.  Daeth Katelyn Airey, Rhiannon Rippin a Dionne Jones yn 1af, 2ail a 3ydd yn y categori olew; Nicola Wood, Caspian Sunerton-Burl a Sam Thomas yn 1af, 2ail a 3ydd drwy ddefnyddio pensil neu bastel; a Mali Evans, Lewis Jones a Sam Jones yn 1af, 2ail a 3ydd ar gyfer eu Ffotograffau.  Llongyfarchiadau mawr i bawb fuodd yn cystadlu ac i’r Adran Gelf am eu harweiniad a’u cefnogaeth i gystadlu yn lleol.


13.07.15 Cyngerdd Yng Nghapel Seion (Welsh Only)
Ar nos Fawrth y 30ain o Fehefin cynhaliwyd Cyngerdd diwedd tymor yng Nghapel Seion, Llanrwst.  Bu llawer yn cymryd rhan yn ystod y noson, yn unawdwyr, deuawdwyr, Parti Bechgyn, Parti Merched Iau, Ensemble, Telynorion a’r Côr Hyn.  Roedd hi’n wledd o berfformiadau o safon uchel iawn sydd yn rhoi syniad o’r holl dalentau gwahanol sydd gan ddisgyblion Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy ym maes Cerddoriaeth.  Diolchwn yn fawr i’r pawb ddaeth i gefnogi'r noson ac i’r holl ddisgyblion a staff fuodd yn cymryd rhan, yn enwedig i Mr Chris Roberts a Miss Angharad Ellis fuodd yn cydlynu a hyfforddi'r disgyblion. 


13.07.15 Ymweliad Bl 6 (Welsh Only)

Daeth blwyddyn 6 i’r ysgol ar gyfer eu hail ymweliad swyddogol ar ddydd Llun y 29ain o Fehefin.  Yn ystod eu diwrnod cawsant gyfle i flasu gwersi daearyddiaeth, drama, technoleg bwyd a gwyddoniaeth ynghyd a chyfle i gyfarfod eu tiwtoriaid dosbarth.  Roedd hi’n braf iawn eu gweld yn ymgartrefu yn yr ysgol ac edrychwn ymlaen at eu croesawu yma ym mis Medi i flwyddyn 7.

Bu rhai ohonynt yma hefyd ar gyfer Her mathemateg ar ddydd Gwener y 3ydd o Orffennaf yn dilyn ymweliad blwyddyn 5 ar  2ail o Orffennaf.  Roeddent wedi ymateb yn dda iawn i’r Her gan wneud llawer o waith blwyddyn 9 yn ystod y dydd!

Ar ddydd Mercher y 1af o Orffennaf daeth blwyddyn 5 a 6 o’n hysgolion Cynradd yma ar gyfer diwrnod aml-gamp gan brofi ystod o weithgareddau chwaraeon.  Roedd eu brwdfrydedd yn arbennig a’r tywydd yn boeth iawn!  Cyfuniad gwych ar gyfer diwrnod ymweld!  Diolch yn fawr i’r disgyblion ac i’r staff fu yn trefnu ac yn arwain y dydd.


13.07.15 Blaenrybudd (Welsh Only)

Dymunwn wyliau braf iawn i’n disgyblion a staff yn ystod mis Gorffennaf ac Awst.  Byddwn yn ailgychwyn i ddisgyblion ar ddydd Iau'r 3ydd o Fedi yn dilyn dau ddiwrnod HMS ar y 1af a’r 2ail o Fedi.  Bydd yr ysgol yn agored ar gyfer derbyn canlyniadau Lefel A ar fore'r 13eg o Awst o 9o’r goch ymlaen ac eto ar gyfer canlyniadau TGAU ar yr 20fed o Awst. 


The School today received the Careers Quality Mark.


 


Llongyfarchiadau i ddisgyblion Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy ar eu llwyddiant yn Eisteddfod Bro Aled, Llansannan gyda’u gwaith Celf/Congratulations to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupils on their success with their art work at Eisteddfod Bro Aled, Llansannan. (Welsh Only)

Gwobrau fel a nodir isod/ Prizes are as stated below::

ARLUNIO

63. Blwyddyn 7-11 Hunan ddewisiad
1af. Mai Evans.
2il Holly Carpenter, Ela Owen, Gwenllian Hughes.
3ydd. Sara Roberts, Haf Roberts, Glain Jones

CYSTADLEUAETH ARBENNIG

64. 16-25: Unrhyw waith celf, dylunio neu thechnoleg
1af.Barton Mathew Thomas
2il. Charlie Parry, Anest Roberts, Morgan Metcalfe, Amelia Maddox, Elin Cawley.
3ydd. Kelcee Savanha Frost, Lleucu Howatson, Megan Lowe,
4. Sabrina Haf Jones, Jac Power log, Chloe Congrieve

Dilynwch y linc isod am fwy o wybodaeth a lluniau o waith y disgyblion:/Follow the link below for more information and pictures of the pupils work:

http://www.llansannan.org/item/eisteddfod_bro_aled__.html


Maths Challenge
pupils pupils

Congratulations to Ifan Jones, Hannah Roberts, Anna Carpena and Tomos Arfon who won the Bronze certificate during the recent Leeds University ‘Maths Challenge’. Charlotte Wright, Rory Thorburn and Elain Jones also won silver certificates whilst Russell Wingfield won a coveted gold certificate and an invitation to compete at the next, even more challenging level!

In another maths challenge, Ceiran Kelly came to the fore in a Welsh medium mathematics competition held by Bangor University. He has been invited to collect his award at a special ceremony at this year’s Urdd Eisteddfod. Congratulations also go to Ethan Witt and Gwion Jones who both won certificates for excellent performance in the Liverpool University competition. Gwion was invited to a special presentation at the university to celebrate his success. Well done to all of them!

Congratulations to the under 15 Rugby Team

Congratulations to the under 15 Rugby Team who won the Eryri Cup 22-20 against Ysgol Glan y Môr, Pwllheli. It was a tight competition between the two teams leading to Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy’s victory. It was an added bonus that the match was being played at Ysgol Syr Huw Owen – Mr Matthews-Jones presented the team with their winning cup.

Athletau y Sir (Welsh Only)
Tim athletau Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy a ddaeth yn fuddugol yng ngystadlaeth Athletau Sir Conwy ar y 29.4.2015 ym Mharc Eirias. 
100m Iestyn Thomas  1af
200m Arthur Lennon 1af
400m Aled Osborn 2il
800m Sam Power  2il
1500m Sam Power 2il

Ras gyfnewid  4 x 100m   1af

Naid Hir Tom Casey  1af
Naid Triphlyg Tom Casey 2il
Naid Uchel Tom Casey 3ydd

Gwaywffon Aled Osborn  3ydd
‘Shot Put’ Aled Osborn  3ydd

Y Tim Marchogaeth yn son am eu llwyddiant (Welsh Only)

Mared Williams, Harri Williams, Jac Cernyw, Lois  Williams a Mary Jane Braunton disgyblion Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy yn cael sgwrs ar y ffon ar raglen ‘Shan Cothi’ Radio Cymru am eu  llwyddiant yn cystadlu yn Bury Park.  Daeth y ‘ Tîm Dressage’  gyntaf eleni sydd yn arbennig (daethom yn 4ydd llynedd allan o 22 yn cynnwys ysgolion bonedd enwog iawn!).  Trafododd aelodau’r tîm am eu profiadau gan esbonio'r broses o gystadlu, eu teimladau am wneud ac am eu ceffylau.  Llongyfarchiadau mawr i’r tîm ifanc a thalentog yma! Edrychwn ymlaen at glywed mwy am eu llwyddiannau.

Click here to read the Daily Post article about the team's success


Conwy's One Act Play Festival

Congratulations to Cora Roberts, Elliw Jones, Modlen Alun and Nel Davies who came 2nd on Saturday night at Conwy’s One Act Play Festival in Glan Conwy. The girls also received the Adjudicator’s Award for their performance – excellent! A talented group succeeding locally.

(Welsh Only) Ar ddydd Sadwrn 25 o Ebrill cynhaliwyd Gŵyl Un Act Conwy. Gyda arbenigedd Craig Ryder a Nathan Goodwin fel yr is-gyfarwyddwr fe ddaeth grŵp o ferched Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy, sef Cora Roberts Bl.10, Elliw Jones Bl.8, Modlen Alun Bl.8 a Nel Davies Bl.7 yn ail yn y gystadleuaeth. Roedd y merched hefyd wedi cael ennill Gwobr Beirniaid Perfformiad Unigol Gorau am ganu yn yr act. Cefndir yr act oedd bod y merched yn blant mewn gofal. Cafwyd un o’r merched eu mabwysiadu ond fe redodd i ffwrdd o’i theulu newydd. Cyfarfu’r pedair merch a’i gilydd ar drip Dug Caeredin lle aeth chwarae droi’n chwerw.   Llongyfarchiadau mawr i’r merched ar eu llwyddiant!


The Equestrian Team at Bury Farm
Congratulations to the following who were very successful in last weekend’s equestrian event in Bury Farm. The Equestrian team won First place this year in the dressage – a spectacular win! Congratulations to the team – Mared Williams, Harri Williams, Jac Cernyw and Harriet Williams. The Show-jumping team was also very successful gaining 6th place against a very competitive field. Congratulations to Jac Cernyw, Loiw Williams, Harri Williams a Hermione Williams. Hermione was also 7th in her individual event. The team are going from strength to strength. We are very proud of them all – well done!

Congratulations Morgan Metcalf
Congratulations to Morgan Metcalf, year 12 who won first prize for his artefact under 19years old in the Urdd Eisteddfod this year. Mali Bleddyn Evans, year 7 was also successful in winning first prize in the colour print competition for years 7, 8 and 9. Congratulations also go to Owain Llyr Williams who won first prize for his creative 2D Textiles work for years 7, 8 and 9 and to Elin Badger Watts who came 3rd. This is a superb achievement for each of them and our thanks go to the Art Department who supported them.
Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupils researching the Eclipse: 20/3/15

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Girls' Rugby team - Second in Wales in the Urdd tournament in Llanelli 19/3/15.
Congratulations to the girls who represented the school at the match. After a very early start and a busy day of matches, the girls competed furiously across the different rounds ending up in the finals. This is their record of achievement:

Game 1: Ysgol Aberaeron 0 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 25
Game 2: Ysgol Bryn Tirion 12 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 34
Game 3: Ysgol Bryn Gwyn 12 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 17

Quarter-final: Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen 0 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 24
Semi-final: Ysgol Bryn Gwyn 12 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 19
Final: Ysgol Dyffryn Aman 12 Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy 0.


Congratulations to the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Equestrian Team and their recent success in competing at Northcott, near Blackpool.
Following a very early journey here are the team’s success stories:
1) Dressage 7 Test
Individuals
1st Harri Williams
2nd Jac Cernyw
3rd Cari Jones
4th Mared Williams

12 Test
1st Harri Williams
Joint 2nd Mared Wiliams and Jac Cernyw
3rd Russell Wingfield
Timau Dyffryn Conwy 1st and 2nd in both tests.

2) Jumping:

70cm Team event: Lois Williams, Harriet a Hermoine Williams a Jac Cernyw 1st
Unigolion: 2nd Hermoine Williams 3rd Jac Cernyw

80 cm Team Event: Lois, Hermoine, Harri a Jac 1st
80 cm Team Event: Mary Jane Braunton, Russell Wingfield, Harriet Williams, Efa Celyn 4th
90 cm Team Event: Mary Jane Braunton, Cari, Harriet and Efa 4th
Mary Jane Braunton 3rd in the individual event.

The pupils were very supportive of each other throughout the competition, even in competing teams! They were a real asset to the school – we are very proud of them!


Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Chaired Eisteddfod 2015
plant yn canu

Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Chaired Eisteddfod was held on Friday, February 27th.

Osian Roberts – Head Boy, Lois Evans – Head Girl and Elliw Baines, Youth Officer, guided competitors and audience alike through a day filled with activity and variety.

Thanks is due to our adjudicators, including Rhiannon Ifan, who adjudicated Music and the Composition Medal, Esyllt Tudur, who adjudicated Recitation and Light Entertainment, Grace Charles, Dance adjudicator and Dwynwen Berry, Drama Medal adjudicator for their work in the Eisteddfod. Many thanks, also, to Myrddin ap Dafydd for adjudicating the competition for the Chair this year.

The Eisteddfod was opened by Elliw and five points were immediately offered to the House that could make the loudest noise, to ensure that everyone was awake!! Geirionnydd were the first to win some marks! Click here to read the full report

Click here to see more photos


Art and Craft Yr Urdd Competition (Welsh Only)
morgan

Llongyfarchiadau mawr i Morgan Metcalfe o Flwyddyn 12 ar ennill y wobr am yr Eitem Orau yn yr Adran Uwchradd yn nghystadleuaeth Celf a Chrefft Urdd Conwy.

Pob lwc i ti yn y rownd nesaf!

 

 

 

"Y Bont" (Digital) Archive

Y Bont 2014 - click here

Y Bont 2013 - click here