Party of Wales Gwynedd Councillors' Group

Have we seen future councillors at Dafydd Orwig’s chamber in Gwynedd recently? 60 pupils from Ysgol Waunfawr and Bontnewydd visited the council to learn more about its work and to hear what their local county representatives are doing on their behalf.

Photo: Cyngor Gwynedd chair, Cllr Beca Roberts greet staff and pupils from Ysgol Bontnewydd

"We got to use the voting system that the councillors use in council. We used the buttons to vote for our answers in a quiz," said Eban, 10 from Ysgol Waunfawr.

"Gwenllian spoke to us about recycling and said how important it is that we don't put any waste food in the black bin bags. This costs the council a lot of money, as well as mum and dad through their council tax bills”, said Beca, 10, from Ysgol Waunfawr

Photo: Pupils from Ysgol Waunfawr and Bontnewydd at Dafydd Orwig's Gwynedd chamber

"The voting was the best bit, we pressed the buttons to answer the questions and saw if we were correct. We were also allowed to ask the Chair a question, so we could press a button to use the microphone and could see our faces on the big screen. That was cool!" said Enlli, 10 from Ysgol Bontnewydd.

We heard from our County Councillor, Menna Trenholme. She talked about the work of the council and about keeping Bontnewydd clean and tidy. We were given a dog bone for our dog’s collar which holds dog waste bags, to make sure we keep everywhere clean. These will be really handy!" said Deio, 10 from Ysgol Bontnewydd.

A number of Councillors took part in the session and their hope was to plant a seed in the youngsters’ mind of a career in local authority or as community representatives of the future as part of the democratic process. They stressed the importance of hearing what local residents think about topics that matter to them and of working with communities at grassroot level.

Picture: Ysgol Waunfawr and Bontnewydd pupils and staff with Gwynedd's recycling representative and the councillors who organised the visit

Council Chair, Councillor Beca Roberts, who facilitated the session said it was a breath of fresh air to see the chamber full of enthusiasm and interest about the council's work: "We had a brilliant session, as we always do with children. Their enthusiasm and interest is contagious and hearing questions about the democratic process of electing councillors, asking about the cabinet’s work, and their interest in recycling was great to see.

Councillor Menna Trenholme, who represents Bontnewydd Ward on the council, said: "It was a pleasure to see the children of Ysgol Bontnewydd in Caernarfon recently. I usually see some of them when picking up my own children from the school.

"Explaining more about my work and having the opportunity to welcome the staff with the children to the chamber was a great experience. After all, these are future members of Bontnewydd community and raising the profile of our work as county councillors at an early age with children is rewarding.

Picture: Pupils from Ysgol Bontnewydd chat with their local Councillor, Menna Trenholme

"As deputy leader of the council, I would like to thank the staff for organising the session and to Gwenllian from the Recycling Department for sharing her work so passionately. Showing the recycling bins and discussing the food waste bin with the children brought the educational importance of the council's work to life.

Picture: Pupils from Ysgol Waunfawr pictured with their local Councillor Edgar Owen

For Councillor Edgar Owen, who represents Waunfawr Ward on the council, the experience was even more special, as he welcomed his granddaughter with the school into the chamber.

"My granddaughter was looking forward to coming to see where her grandfather worked! There's nothing better than seeing the world through children's eyes and hearing their questions about the council's work was a breath of fresh air. There was considerable interest in the council's recycling work, so we hope that a visit by the team to the school can be arranged soon which will be of use to the staff as part of the school’s curriculum work."