A WELSH-LANGUAGE warrior has been honoured at a national awards ceremony.

Nine inspirational teachers and education professionals were revealed as winners of the second Professional Teaching Awards Cymru.

And Gwenan Ellis Jones, of Gwynedd Council’s education department, picked up an award for Inspirational Use of Welsh Language and for improving the whole country’s drive to improve levels of Welsh speakers.

Judges said Gwenan had been chosen for her “commitment to spread the love of Welsh language far and wide across the country”.

Mrs Jones – who is Gwynedd and Anglesey language charter coordinator – was acknowledged for her hard work in recent years which has resulted in a Welsh-language coordinator being app­ointed in every consortia across Wales.

The popular Welsh-language stalwart started her career as a primary school teacher in Ysgol Dyffryn Ardudwy before becoming senior regional teacher in Dwyfor and a teacher at Botwnnog, Penrhyndeudraeth and Llangybi Welsh-language units.

She was also head of Ysgol Edern for a decade.

“It was an incredibly exciting experience to be part of the ceremony,” she said.

“I was pleased to see many familiar faces there; Ysgol OM Edwards and Ysgol Bro Lleu had been shortlisted in the Best Use of Digital Learning’ category.

“When they announced my name, my heart was racing!”

Mrs Jones was pleased with the impact her work had enjoyed.

“Gwynedd is a county which has been progressive in its vision regarding the Welsh language over the years and the first to implement a Welsh Language Charter aimed at encouraging further social use of the language amongst children,” she continued.

“I was fortunate enough to be part of the process that saw the charter develop into a county-wide, regional and national scheme.

“I would like to sincerely thank everyone that has been involved in driving forward the work of the language charter.

“Due to everyone’s dedicated work, the charter has been adopted by the Welsh Government, and is also a scheme that is now being followed by schools in every Welsh county.

“While there is always work to do, as agencies work together on a national scale, and by co-working in order to meet the same goal, I firmly believe these efforts will impact positively on the number of Welsh speakers in the future.”

Cllr Gareth Thomas, Gwynedd Council Cabinet member for education, said: “I am delighted that Gwenan Ellis Jones’ fantastic work on the Welsh Language Charter has been highlighted as an example for others.

“Thanks to this work, pupils across Gwynedd have benefitted from the scheme which aims to increase the social use of the Welsh language.”

The Welsh Government’s education secretary, Kirsty Williams AM, added: “The calibre of the finalists of our Professional Teaching Awards Cymru was outstanding and are a testament to the commitment, dedication and hard work of teachers and education professionals across the country.

“Our education professionals are changing the lives of our future generations and helping us to raise standards and deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and confidence.”