A WOMAN from Brynmawr has won a prestigious award for Welsh language learners at the National Eisteddfod.

The Welsh Learner of the Year/ Dysgwr y Flwyddyn is Hannah Roberts, who was honoured in a ceremony at the Angel Hotel on the night of Wednesday August 3.

The award is one of the most important at the festival of Welsh culture, and the standard of competition this year was high, with five competitors making it through to the finals.

“This is such a privilege,” said Hannah, “I’ve worked hard to learn Welsh, and I use it in work every day. This is the icing on the cake of my efforts!”

Hannah currently works as a field officer for Menter Iaith Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen a Mynwy, a community-based organisation that promotes Welsh across the three counties of old Monmouthshire.

She works to support children, families, and young people as they learn and use Welsh across the area.

It was because of her hard work in the community that her boss nominated her for the sought-after award.

Hannah claims she first started learning Welsh “by accident“!

She took a taster course in Welsh while studying Geography at Aberystwyth University, and enjoyed it so much that she switched to a Welsh Language Degree.

The bounty of Hannah’s success are £300 in prize money, a subscription to the current affairs magazine Golwg, as well as a glasswork trophy created by Penarth-based artist Judith Martin-Jones.

She will also be initiated into the Gorsedd of Bards and ordained with the white robes of a figure who has achieved national importance.

This role will allow Hannah to have a say over the future of the National Eisteddfod.

The newly-announced winner wants to use her new profile to encourage others of all ages to learn Welsh.

She said, “I think the important thing with speaking Welsh is to normalise it, and make it a language that our communities use every day.”

Hannah is already hard at work setting up projects to support the learners of the future, one of her current initiatives to promote the language is a Welsh Lego club.

Hannah believes that the positive effect of the Eisteddfod will be felt in Monmouthshire over the next few years, as locals renew their interests in their heritage and culture.

Sian Merlys, chair of the Eisteddfod’s learners panel, said, “We were so fortunate to have an exceptionally high standard of entries this year.”

She added, “Welsh learners like Hannah are a hugely influential and important part of the future of the Eisteddfod.”