GwyddonLe's incredible activities at the Anglesey Urdd Eisteddfod 2026
This year, Swansea University's presence will once again be evident at the GwyddonLe as we prepare to travel to Anglesey to showcase a variety of scientific experiments and interactive activities to please everybody!
The GwyddonLe week will start a little differently this year due to a special partnership between Swansea University and ESports Wales meaning that the usual stands will not be open to the public over the opening weekend. Instead, an exciting Rocket League Tournament will be held in the GwyddonLe with an exciting competition held between teams of school pupils with the chance to win a trophy, medals and prizes. All are welcome to come and watch the action!
On Monday, the doors of GwyddonLe will be open as usual with a wide variety of stalls to spark the imagination of the young people of Wales. Among the activities, the Teddy Bear Hospital will return along with an opportunity to learn life-saving skills with the medical team, a midwifery stand showing how a baby grows in the womb, and a mathematical circus full of fun interactive activities. A number of local partners have taken advantage of the opportunity to exhibit at the GwyddonLe this year, including Menter Môn Morlais, Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, Project Seagrass Project, Scottish Power Energy Networks, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Nuclear Restoration Services, and the Primary Science Teaching Trust.
Bangor University will also contribute to the GwyddonLe with stands from the Engineering and Computer Science department, Sports Science, Health Sciences, Psychology, Ocean Sciences and MSparc. In addition to all this, the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) will have a fantastic Learnning Laboratory outside the GwyddonLe in a lorry! Lots of different activities to keep everyone entertained!
Our public speaking competition, the Morgan Institute Challenge, returns to the GwyddonLe stage but this year, we will be watching the schools go head-to-head on Monday. This year's topic is, "The NHS should proactively offer health care in Welsh to everyone in Wales", and pupils from Ysgol Glan Clwyd, Bro Morgannwg and Bryn Tawe will be debating in order to win the trophy this year. The judges of the competition will be Dr Alwena Morgan, Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Swansea University and Owain Clarke, BBC Wales Health Correspondent.
Following the Morgan Institute Challenge on Monday afternoon, a launch of the new booklet Gofalu trwy'r Gymraeg / Caring through Welsh will be held. The booklet was created by Swansea University staff with the financial support of HEIW (Health Education and Improvement Wales) which enabled the booklet to be printed. It is a practical, small resource that provides quick access to useful Welsh phrases to enable healthcare workers to communicate with patients across Wales in their chosen language.
Professor Gwenno Ffrancon, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Welsh Language, Heritage and Culture, said:
"Swansea University is pleased to coordinate the activities of the GwyddonLe at the Urdd Eisteddfod again this year, and we have an exciting range organised for the festival in Anglesey. Thanks to easy collaboration with the Urdd, Bangor University and ESports Wales we have managed to respond not only to the challenge of organising an activity that is quite a distance from our area in south Wales, but also to the new routine during the week of the Eisteddfod. We will have an innovative and exciting opening weekend with sports e-steddfod in partnership with ESports Wales, before we and Bangor University have various engaging stands to present science and technology to the young people of Wales for the rest of the week. The GwyddonLe reflects Swansea University's commitment to support the Urdd but also to communicate science through the Welsh language in a fun and entertaining way for all Eisteddfod attendees."