TWO talented high school pupils have been praised after designing and making brand new prizes for their school’s annual eisteddfod.

Will Davies and Rhys Jones are responsible for the new crown and bardic chair that were handed out as prizes earlier this year at Ysgol Calon Cymru’s eisteddfod.

The crown was made out of brass by Year 10 pupil Rhys, who also used copper to design intricate daffodils to decorate it.

The bardic chair was designed and made by Year 13 pupil Will using totally computer-aided design and manufacturing.

In posts on the school’s Facebook page, Ysgol Calon Cymru said: “This is Ysgol Calon Cymru’s beautiful new eisteddfod crown, made by our very talented Year 10 pupil Rhys Jones.

County Times:

“Rhys used brass for the main crown and designed the intricate daffodils out of copper. The crown will be awarded to pupils for years to come in our school eisteddfod.

“In addition to our new eisteddfod crown, this year Ysgol Calon Cymru also gained a stunning new bardic chair for our school eisteddfods, designed by our very talented Year 13 pupil Will Davies.

“Will produced the chair using computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software, and the smaller version you see here will be awarded to winners.”

The school’s eisteddfod took place in February, held at the sports hall, adjacent to the Builth campus’ school building.

In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry, prose and music. The earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron, occurred in Wales in 1176.

The loss of Welsh independence in the 13th century saw a lot of traditional Welsh customs like the eisteddfodau lost, but it has returned to prominence following an 18th-century revival, first overseen by the Gwyneddigion Society and later co-opted by the Gorsedd Cymru, a secret society of poets, writers and musicians.