Following Gower College Swansea’s successful bid for Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol project money, a taster day was organised for students interested in following a career in nursing or midwifery.
“The aim was to encourage Welsh-medium students to study their course in Welsh at Swansea University and to apply for the incentive scholarships that are available for those courses,” explains Bilingual Champion Anna Davies. "We worked with Welsh-medium schools in the South-West region to ensure the message reached as many people as possible and that every potential student had a chance to attend on the day."
Students received short lectures in nursing and midwifery from Welsh-medium lecturers Amanda Jones and Rachel Willis which included tips on their application forms, the interview process and studying through the medium of Welsh.
Lois Griffths, Branch Officer for the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol at Swansea University added: “They received practical sessions in the clinical rooms which varied from brushing patients’ teeth, delivering a baby, making a bed and taking blood pressure - these were all totally new experiences for the students. Elen Wyn Davies delivered a beneficial session on the university’s learning facilities and Beryl Mansel, Welsh-medium mental health lecturer, led a discussion on what it takes to be a good nurse. This focused the students' thoughts on what they need to demonstrate in the application forms and at interview.”
"Following the success of the day, we hope to track the number of students that now go on to study on these courses in Welsh and receive a scholarship to do so," says Anna. "The hope is that we can arrange a similar event annually."