Swansea University School of Medicine, in conjunction with Academi Hywel Teifi, were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to hold a very special book launch on Singleton Campus on March 14th. Kay's Anatomy, by Adam Kay, has been adapted into Welsh by Eiry Miles, Editor of Children's Books for Rily Publications and also, a graduate of Swansea University.
As the book, Ti a Dy Gorff, is particularly suitable for school children between the ages of 9 and 11, a local primary school was invited to the event and over 60 children from years 5 and 6 of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Bryn-y-Môr had the privilege of coming in the launch. Swansea University’s Medical School put together a display of various models of body parts and all pupils had the opportunity to view the interactive models and learn a little about each one.
Welsh medium staff and students from the Medical School were on hand to share facts about the body and answer any medical questions the children had. Dr Llinos Roberts, a GP and Lead for Community Based Learning for the Graduate Entry Medicine course at Swansea University, also came to share her expertise and help host the event.
As well as enjoying browsing through the wealth of books on Rily's stand, the children had a lot of fun competing in teams against each other in a quiz created by Eiry Miles and based on the book. The members of the winning team were even lucky enough to win a copy each of Ti a Dy Gorff!
Eiry Miles, from Rily Publications, said:
"We had a lot of fun launching Ti a Dy Gorff with the staff and students of Swansea University’s School of Medicine and the wonderful children of Ysgol Bryn-y-Môr. The children had the opportunity to touch all kinds of equipment and medical objects, things that are usually kept safe under lock and key and this was extremely exciting for them. They all did brilliantly in the quiz based on Ti a Dy Gorff and I was delighted to see their positive response to the book. It was a pleasure to chat with them on the Rily stand about their favourite books and their reading habits. They were very lovely children. I'm sure that the experience of talking to Dr Llinos and the students made quite an impression on the children and that many will think about pursuing a career in medicine in the future. It was also nice for them to do it all through the medium of Welsh. Hopefully as a result of this special morning and by publishing Ti a Dy Gorff, children will see that medicine, technology and everything can be discussed through the medium of Welsh."
