A BARRY schoolgirl has exploited one of her ancestors to pen a letter that scooped her the Bard chair prize at the school’s Eisteddfod.

Year 6 Ysgol Gwaun y Nant pupil Beca Jones used her hero great granddad Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards - a Welsh academic, film-maker, writer and the founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh League of Youth.

His letter to the periodical Cymru'r Plant in 1922 led to the founding of the Urdd, with the first Urdd recreational camp held at Llanuwchllyn in 1928, under his direction.

He also made the first Welsh language sound film, The Quarryman, and was knighted in 1947 for his youth work.

Head teacher Rhydian Lloyd judged the Bard competition entries, all submitted under a pen name, which included Sir Bradley Wiggins and Nelson Mandela named as some of the youngsters’ heroes.