Ellen Evans

Evans was born in Gelli in Wales in 1891. Her parents were John and Ellen Evans and they both came from Cardiganshire.[2] She went to Rhondda secondary school and after becoming a pupil-teacher she went to the University of Aberystwyth where she obtained a degree in 1914.

Ellen Evans and her students in 1951-2

In 1914 Glamorgan County Council created Glamorgan Training College to train women to teach and Hilda M Raw was the first Principal.[3] Evans began work there in 1915. Raw served until 1923 when Evans was promoted to succeed her.[3] She was an leading advocate for teaching Welsh in schools.[1] The college only took women who lived in Monmouthshire or Glamorganshire.[3]

In 1947, the college decided to accept students irrespective of where they lived and in the same year she was given a CBE for the work in Education.[3]

Evans served as the Principal of Glamorgan College of Education until she died in 1953 when she was succeeded by Olive R Powell. In 1965 her college changed its name to Glamorgan College of Education.[3]

In 1924 she published The Teaching of Welsh[4] which was adapted from her masters thesis. In 1926 she published lesson plans for teachers starting to teach Welsh in her book, Llawlyfr i athrawon[5] and in the following year Cynllun Cymraeg. These books enabled teachers to teach in the Welsh language. She created source works adapting the classic Mabinogion for younger readers in her Y Mabinogion i'r plant which was published in four volumes in 1924. She also wrote Hwiangerddi Rhiannon in 1926 and Y Wen Fro in 1931.[2]

She has been seen as an overlooked person in Welsh history.[6]