STUDENTS at Ysgol y Dderi, Llangybi, beat off stiff competition to win Cered – Menter Iaith Ceredigion’s 2017 Minecraft competition.

Minecraft is a computer game phenomenon currently being enjoyed across the world by over 100 million people, and the software is now available in Welsh.

The Minecraft competition was launched by Cered for students in Ceredigion between 10 and 14 years of age.

Cered development officer Rhodri Francis said: “We asked students to work as a group to create the perfect village in Minecraft and then to create a ‘walkthrough’, to show and explain the village.

“This gave the students the chance to develop several skills like mathematics, spatial awareness, language and creativity, team-working, speech and interpretation – and all this through the medium of Welsh!”

Cered manager Lynsey Thomas said: “Our aim was to target children and young people who don’t take part in the usual Welsh activities, and to get them to use the language in a different way.

“The software is available in Welsh and this is the way to normalise the language for some young people. The response has been great, with over 75 students and 13 schools across the county taking part, made up of Welsh learners and fluent speakers.”

Cered will be launching a new Minecraft competition again this year so keep an eye on www.cered.cymru.

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