Bethel is a village in

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, Wales. It lies east of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

on the B4366 road. Bethel Primary School is located in the village. The population of Bethel

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

was measured in the 2011 Census, and found to be 1,395. The village population is 1,171 with 87.3% having some form of Welsh identity one of the highest figures in the north of Wales.

Welsh Language

According to the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

, 85.8% of the electoral ward's population could speak Welsh. 40.2% of the population born outside Wales can speak Welsh - the highest figure in

. 93.7% of the population who were born in Wales could speak Welsh.

Ysgol Gynradd Bethel

Ysgol Gynradd Bethel is the main serving

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

for most children from Bethel, the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Llanddeiniolen Llanddeiniolen (; ) is a community in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, and is from Cardiff and from London. It comprises the hamlet also called Llanddeiniolen, and the villages of Deiniolen, Bethel, Dinorwig, Rhiwlas, Brynrefail and Penisar ...

and the surrounding rural areas. The school educates children aged between 3–11 years old. In 2015, the school had 153 pupils on roll.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

is the school's main language medium. According to the last inspection conducted by

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb meaning 'to reach (out), stretch or extend'. Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and stand ...

in 2019, approximately 90% of the pupils spoke Welsh at home. In 2015, approximately 96% of pupils were fluent in Welsh. Ysgol Gynradd Bethel was previously named Bethel British School and was located on a different site. The old school was opened on 11 April 1864 with 71 pupils. In October 1881 the school was reopened, with the current name.

Sport

Bethel Juniors Football Club is one of the most successful junior clubs in North Wales, producing many players who go on to play at Academy level. In the 2009/10 season, the under 16s became only the second Gwyrfai League team to win the North Wales Coast F.A. Cup, beating Towyn Rangers in the final 2–1 at Denbigh Town F.C.

Notable people

Selwyn Griffith Selwyn Griffith (1928 – 10 August 2011) was a Welsh language poet and the Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales, known by the bardic name Selwyn Iolen. Selwyn Iolen was born in Bethel, near Caernarfon in 1928 and lived in the area thro ...

(1928–2011), bardic name ''Selwyn Iolen'',

Archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of Gorsedd Cymru, the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the C ...

for the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

, 2005-2008. *

Angharad Price Angharad Price FLSW is a Welsh academic and novelist. She is a recipient of the Glyndŵr Award. Biography Price was born in Bethel, Gwynedd, Wales, the daughter of the Welsh historian . She graduated with a BA and DPhil in Modern Language ...

(born 1972), a Welsh academic, novelist and recipient of the

Glyndŵr Award The Glyndŵr Award ( Welsh: Gwobr Glyndŵr) is made for an outstanding contribution to the arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation. The award takes its name ...

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Bethel and surrounding area
{{Authority control Llanddeiniolen Biblical place-names in Wales