Wednesday 17 November 2010


Yn ystod yr wythnosau diwethaf rwyf wedi ymweld â Tsieina a Fietnam ar ymgyrch recriwtio myfyrwyr rhyngwladol a phenderfynwyd ar bartneriaethau gydag ysgol yn Ho Chi Minh City yn Fietnam a thri choleg yn Chongqing yn Tsieina. Mae pob un o’r partneriaethau’n cynnwys hyfforddi staff a datblygu rhaglenni ar y cyd.

Ar y 7fed o Hydref, roedd y coleg yn falch o gynnal dau ddigwyddiad i ddynodi agoriad Canolfan Ddysgu’r Bae a Chweched y Rhyl. Roedd y ddwy fenter yn cynrychioli ymateb pwysig i’r fenter trawsffurfio a buddsoddiad sylweddol mewn isadeiledd dysgu.

Yn ystod y bore agorwyd Canolfan Ddysgu’r Bae ym Mae Colwyn yn swyddogol gan Lesley Griffiths AC, Y Dirprwy Weinidog dros Wyddoniaeth, Arloesi a Sgiliau.


Agorwyd Canolfan Ddysgu’r Bae ym Mae Colwyn i fyfyrwyr cynharach yn y flwyddyn ac mae’n cynnwys swît Astudiaethau Byddardod pwrpasol a chyfleusterau TG blaengar. Ystyrir datblygiad Canolfan Ddysgu’r Bae, sy’n cael ei gydnabod fel prosiect blaenllaw yn Ardal Adfywio Strategol Arfordirol Gogledd Cymru (SRA), yn ganolog yn y broses o adfywio Bae Colwyn. Mae’r ganolfan yn cynnig cyngor, gwybodaeth, cefnogaeth ac addysg i’r rheini sy’n economaidd anweithgar, di-waith, wedi colli eu gwaith yn ddiweddar neu’n dymuno symud ymlaen o gyflogaeth sgil isel. Mae’r ganolfan yn cynnig amrywiaeth o gyrsiau yn cynnwys cynorthwywyr dosbarth, Astudiaeth Byddardod, TG a chyrsiau cyn-alwedigaethol eraill. Bwriedir yr olaf o’r rhain i helpu pobl ddatblygu eu hannibyniaeth bersonol a’u paratoi ar gyfer gwaith. Mae Coleg Llandrillo Cymru wedi datblygu’r ganolfan mewn partneriaeth â Chymunedau’n Gyntaf a’r Gwasanaeth Ieuenctid gyda chefnogaeth APADGOS (Yr Adran Plant, Addysg, Dysgu Gydol Oes a Sgiliau) a Menter Bywyd y Bae. Dyma ‘Cronfa Adfywio Strategol’ Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru yn cyfrannu £1 miliwn tuag at y broses o drawsnewid yr adeilad.

Hwyrach yn y dydd roedd hi’n bleser croesawu Leighton Andrews AC, y Gweinidog dros Blant, Addysg a Dysgu Gydol Oes i agor cyfleuster Chweched y Rhyl sydd ar Gampws coleg y Rhyl. Dyma lawer o bobl yn mynychu’r digwyddiad ac roedd yn gyfle i’r Gweinidog a’r gwesteion gwrdd â’r dysgwyr a chael taith o amgylch y cyfleuster.

Mae Chweched y Rhyl yn bartneriaeth chweched dosbarth sy’n cynnig gwell cyfleoedd dysgu a hyfforddi i bobl ifanc y Rhyl a’r ardaloedd cyfagos. O ganlyniad i ganolfan bwrpasol Chweched y Rhyl gellir cynnig y dewis ehangaf o bynciau Lefel AS/A a Galwedigaethol yn Sir Ddinbych. Rydym yn rhagweld y bydd cyfnod pellach o ddatblygiad a fydd yn cynnwys partneriaeth estynedig gydag Ysgol Uwchradd Prestatyn, sy’n cynrychioli datblygiad sylweddol ar gyfer ardaloedd arfordirol Sir Ddinbych.

Yng nghanol mis Hydref gofynnwyd i Louise Jowett fel Cyfarwyddwr Strategaeth Rhyngwladol y Coleg, a minnau, i wneud cyflwyniad ar ddatblygiadau rhyngwladol y coleg yn y Barbican yn Llundain. Dyma’r digwyddiad yn rhoi’r cyfle i ni ddathlu’r Cyrhaeddiad Beacon AOC yn y categori yma ac i ddisgrifio pwysigrwydd strategol o fyfyrwyr tramor i ddatblygiad y coleg.

Mae’r tymor yma wedi gweld cychwyn adolygiad Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru o wasanaethau rheng flaen ac adolygiad o’r drefn llywodraethu mewn colegau. Mae’r adolygiadau yn cyflwyno llawer o gyfleoedd i golegau a sefydliadau awdurdodau lleol, ac rydym yn edrych ymlaen am yr heriau a ddaw o ganlyniad i’r rhain. Fel rhan o’r ymarfer yma rwyf wedi bod yn cyfathrebu gydag aelodau o sefydliad byd-eang PIN i bwyso a mesur y cyfeiriad ar hyn o bryd sef teithio byd-eang mewn colegau tebyg. Mae Byrddau bychain sydd â’u ffocws ar fusnes yn dueddol o fynd i’r cyfeiriad teithio, drwy adlewyrchu annibyniaeth a rhyddid o weithredu gyda phwyslais ar leihau biwrocratiaeth.

Mae mis Tachwedd bron â dod i’w ddiwedd ac mae’r myfyrwyr yn ymgynefino’n dda. Rwyf wedi cael y cyfle’r wythnos hon i dreulio amser ar Gampws Glynllifon, profiad y byddaf bob tro’n ei fwynhau ac mae cynlluniau cyffrous ar y gweill a chanlyniad y rhain fydd strategaeth seiliedig ar y tir unedig i Ogledd Cymru mewn partneriaeth â champws Llysfasi yng Ngholeg Glannau Dyfrdwy. Mae’r fenter yma’n elfen bwysig o fewn y Gynghrair Strategol ddiweddar a gytunwyd arno gyda Glannau Dyfrdwy a bydd yn cael effaith gadarnhaol ar addysg dysgwyr yr ardal.






Over the last few weeks I visited China and Vietnam on an international student recruitment drive and partnerships have been agreed with a school in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and three colleges in Chongqing in China. All partnerships involve staff training and the development of joint programmes.

On 7th October, the college was delighted to hold two events to mark the openings of its Bay Learning Centre and the Rhyl Sixth. Both initiatives represented an important response to the transformation initiative and a significant investment in learning infrastructure.

During the morning, Lesley Griffiths AM, the Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills officially opened the Bay Learning Centre in Colwyn Bay.


The Bay Learning Centre, which is located on Conway Road, opened to students earlier this year and includes a custom-built Deaf Studies suite and state-of-the-art IT facilities. The development of the Bay Learning Centre, identified as a flagship project in the North Wales Coastal Strategic Regeneration Area (SRA) Action Plan, is considered pivotal in the regeneration of Colwyn Bay. The centre provides advice, information, support and learning to those who are economically inactive, unemployed, have been recently made redundant or wish to progress from low skill employment. The centre offers a range of courses including learndirect, Classroom Assistants, Deaf Studies, IT and other pre-vocational courses. The latter are intended to help people develop their personal independence and prepare them for work. The centre has been developed by Coleg Llandrillo Cymru in partnership with Communities First and the Youth Service supported by DCELLS (Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills) and the Bay Life Initiative. The funding to convert the building was supported by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Strategic Regeneration Funds to the tune of £1 million.

Later that the day it was a pleasure to welcome the Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, Leighton Andrews AM to open the Rhyl Sixth facility based at the college’s Rhyl Campus. The event was very well attended and culminated in the Minister and guests being able to meet learners and tour the facility.

The Rhyl Sixth is a partnership sixth form developed to offer enhanced learning and training opportunities for young people in Rhyl and surrounding areas. Through its purpose built centre the Rhyl Sixth offers the widest choice of AS/A Level and Vocational subject options in Denbighshire. It is envisaged that a follow up phase of the development will include an extended partnership with Prestatyn High School, which represents a significant development for the coastal areas of Denbighshire.

In mid-October I was asked, together with Louise Jowett as Director of International Strategy at the college to provide a presentation on the college’s international developments at the Barbican in London. The event provided us with the opportunity to celebrate the AOC Beacon Achievement in this category and to describe the strategic importance of overseas students to the college development.

This term has seen the start of the Welsh Assembly Governments review of frontline services and the review of FE governance in colleges. The reviews present many opportunities for colleges and local authority organisations and we are looking forward to the challenges these will provide. As part of this exercise I have been communicating with members of the PIN organisation worldwide to gauge the current direction of travel globally for similar colleges. Small, business focussed Boards seem to be the direction of travel, reflecting independence and freedom of operation with an emphasis on reducing bureaucracy.

November is now fast disappearing and students are now settling well into the term. I have had the opportunity this week to spend some time on the Glynllifon Campus, which I always enjoy and exciting plans are beginning to evolve which will result in a unified land based strategy for North Wales in partnership with the Llysfasi campus of Deeside College. This initiative is an important element within the recent Strategic Alliance agreed with Deeside will have a positive effect on the learners of the area.