A NORTH Ceredigion school has turned one its annual trips into a ‘Magical History Tour’ by mixing ancient history with a little modern day technology.

Pupils from Ysgol Pontrhydfendigaid near Ystrad Meurig got to grips with a new app put together for Discover Ceredigion to learn about Legends of the West.

Using GPS and beacon location technology app users can tell how far they are from a spot associated with a local legend.

The free app, built by Locly, explores the places associated with 12 fascinating legends, including Taliesin, Cantre’r Gwaelod and Twm Siôn Cati.

As part of the tour, the school enlisted former teacher and local guide Dafydd Wyn Morgan, who transforms himself in to the 16th century highwayman Twm Siôn Cati to encourage young children’s interest in local legend. He has been introducing the legend of Twm Siôn Cati to children for almost a decade, having visited nearly 50 schools in that time.

Headteacher Joyce George said: “The Legends of the West app was an extraordinarily useful resource for the children in bringing local heritage to life.

“In the digital age we know how important it is to engage the children using technology where we can and I would highly recommend the app to fellow educators wishing to ignite a child’s interest in local history.

“The school bus had never been so quiet as they used the app to listen to recorded tales by story teller Angharad Wynne, play interactive games and snap selfies.

“Pupils even impressed us with their own videos of the day, editing and publishing as the trip unfolded.”

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