03 August 2016

Students supported by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol will now benefit from using S4C's vast programme archive to support their studies.

A new resource is launched today, Wednesday 3 August 2016, which allows Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol students and staff access to view and use S4C programmes through the college's online Library.

The scheme is part of a partnership between S4C, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) to ease access for staff and students to a wide range of useful programmes from the Welsh broadcaster's archive.

Among the over 100 programmes currently available for students in the online Library are the series Gwlad Beirdd, which celebrates some of the nation's greatest poets; the history series y Tywysogion about the Welsh Princes and Lleisiau'r Rhyfel Mawr, telling the story of WW1 in the words of those who witnessed it. The science series Corff Cymru is also among the titles available, as well as Yr Afon, a series which takes a journey along some of the world's great rivers.

Ian Jones, S4C Chief Executive says; "Television programmes are a great way to learn about the world around us and S4C's archive is a treasure trove containing over three decades of fantastic programmes on all aspects of Welsh life, made possible by Wales' fantastic production sector. To make education a cornerstone of our digital strategy was an aim announced in our Looking to the Future document published last November. Our aim is to work with educational institutions, such as our relationship with Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and ERA, to create and release resources which have a long-term educational value. I hope the students will benefit from this new resource, and in the future we will see many more S4C programmes given a new lease of life as an educational resource."

Dr Ioan Matthews, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Chief Executive says; "The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol are very proud of this new partnership with S4C and ERA. By working together, a wealth of Welsh language resources from the S4C archives will now be available for education and academic research for the first time. Staff can request programmes and series from the archive to enrich the experiences of their students and for use in research, and we look forward to seeing how staff and students will use this resource to their advantage."

The college is licenced by ERA which allows teachers to record television programmes for use in the classroom. This scheme has been facilitated with the support of ERA.

Helen Nicholson, Chief Executive of ERA says; "This is a great opportunity to show how the ERA Licence facilitates access to a wide range of broadcast material. Using the ERA Licence to allow access to the extensive archive of S4C programmes, establishments in Wales are able to harness the power of TV and radio programming. This material can then be used in innovative ways to engage students, illustrating topics clearly."

Currently there are over 100 programmes available for students and staff by logging into the online Library. These programmes have been carefully selected to match the student's study subjects and more programmes will be made available over time. Students and staff at the college can request programmes which they would like to gain access to, to aid their studies.

Ends