15 June 2015

  Author Fflur Dafydd, who wrote S4C's popular Sunday-night drama Parch, visited Ysgol y Strade, Llanelli today to take a script-writing masterclass.

Fflur Dafydd has long established herself as a writer, and has won many awards including the Prose Medal, and the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize at The National Eisteddfod; as well the Hay festival award in 2013 for the best English-language novel, "Twenty Thousand Saints." Fflur is also a lecturer at Swansea University, a songwriter and a lyrical pop singer.

Parch is aired on Sundays at 9.00pm (with English subtitles available) and can be seen again on Tuesday evenings with on-screen English subtitles. The series is available to watch on demand on the S4C website.

Fifteen pupils from years 11 and 12 who are studying Welsh at Ysgol y Strade, wrote a short play in the masterclass, and also interviewed Fflur about a range of topics, from how to create and develop characters to her methods of writing. The interview was filmed and will be broadcast on Facebook and Twitter this week.

Sixth Form student Gwenno Evans said, "This was a great way to see the process develop from script to screen. I'm very grateful to Fflur Dafydd and to S4C for a fantastic experience. I would also like to thank S4C for the great opportunities we've received over the course of the project."

Ysgol y Strade is part of the ambassador project. Three pupils from the school, Gwenllian Jones, Gwenno Evans and Ela Davies, all from year 12, are ambassadors for S4C at the school.

Eight schools are part of the project, where dedicated youngsters aged 16 and 17 help promote S4C in these schools. These ambassadors write reviews, distribute marketing material and provide feedback about programmes, as well as having a chance to go behind-the scenes on some productions.

Fflur Dafydd said, "It was lovely to hear the pupils' response to the series, and see that they were excited by the stories. It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm amongst young people to creativity generally, and see that they have a drive to write and share their imagination with the world – after all these are the next generation of Welsh writers, and it's important to nurture their talents, and make them feel that anything is possible."

Head of Welsh at Ysgol y Strade, Lowri Davies said, "The pupils gained valuable experience by meeting a successful writer, and listening to her ideas about how to build a script for the screen. Thank you to Fflur and S4C for the opportunity."

S4C's Head of Promotions and Marketing Jane Felix Richards said, "We are very grateful for the opportunity to work with the pupils. It's great having their input on our programmes."