Independent Living skills are at gold standard
SHANNON Dukes from Penrhyndeudraeth is no stranger to hard work.
As well as studying for her A levels on Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s Pwllheli campus, Shannon plays in the left-back position for Wales’ Under 19s Football Squad as well as for Everton’s Over 16s Development Squad – which is just one below Everton’s first team.
Shannon started out playing for Penrhyndeudraeth Juniors when she was just six years old.
Her father is also a keen footballer, as are two of her brothers, but Shannon said that the only reason she went along initially was because some of her friends were already in the team.
She found that she loved it and had a natural gift playing in the left-back position.
Her passion for the sport and total focus has brought Shannon a long way in 10 years.
As well as playing for her country, Shannon practices three times a week at Everton, as well as playing a game each weekend there against teams such as Liverpool, Sunderland and Durham.
She is currently in a tournament, as part of her Wales Under 19s work, to attempt to qualify to play in the next Euros.
The next round of qualifying will be this April, when the Wales team will compete against other international teams in Portugal.
STUDENTS from the Independent Living Skills department at Coleg Meiron-Dwyfor’s Dolgellau campus won an impressive array of medals at the All Wales Inclusive Skills competitions in Newport recently, competing against colleges from all four corners of Wales.
This was the very first time the department had entered the competition, so the fact that they left with three gold medals and one bronze is particularly impressive.
Anna Haf Robert, from Pen Morfa, near Porthmadog, took gold for ‘Setting a Table’, whilst costudent Connor Jones, from Dolgellau, also had gold success in the category of ‘Preparing Tea for Two.’
As a result, they will both now go on to compete at the UK Finals in Birmingham this autumn.
Independent Living Skills Lecturer Morfudd Pughe Richards said: “The students’ success is due to their hard work and preparation and we are so proud of what they have achieved.
“It is the first time that we as a department entered this competition so it was all a bit nerve wracking at first, and the students managed to get gold despite being outside their comfort zone – they had to use unfamiliar materials and their initiative to follow the brief.
“They have done so well and we are proud of them. They certainly had to use their independent living skills to achieve this, and did themselves proud.”
Also winning medals from the department were Abi Jones, from Porthmadog, Freya Preston, from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Rose Sunderland, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, who were in the team which took the bronze in the Media Level 1 category for ‘Producing a Storyboard based on a Horror Film.’
Georgia Harley, from Blaenau Ffestiniog, took gold in the Health and Social Care Level 1 category for ‘Planning a day out for a Service User.’ Georgia will also compete at UK level at the UK Finals in Birmingham this autumn.