The four friends are committed to preserving the language and helping fill a void for more bilingual teachers in schools across the country, as the Welsh Government targets one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

All four studied A Levels – including Welsh First Language – at Cambria’s Yale site in Wrexham.

Mirain, Elin and Abbie were also successful in securing three of around 40 scholarships to study for the degree at Bangor, having excelled in entrance exams.

They look forward to joining the teaching profession in the future.

“It is incredibly important we try and encourage the younger generation about the language and culture that comes with being Welsh,” said Abbie, from Wrexham, a former pupil at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd.

Mirain, from Ruthin and an ex-student at the town’s Ysgol Brynhyfryd, added: “I definitely feel it’s more important than ever these teaching roles are filled in order to pass on the Welsh language to the next generation and to develop Welsh education, so they can have the same opportunities we’ve had.”

Former Ysgol Dinas Bran Llangollen pupil Lisa, from Glyndyfrdwy, and Elin, who also spent her secondary education at Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham, thanked lecturers at the college for guiding and inspiring them to follow this path.

“I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me and helped me over the last two years,” said Lisa.

“I am excited to start this new journey alongside my friends and look forward to making new ones at university.”

The Welsh Government recently announced a new £5,000 bursary will be available to teachers who gained Qualified Teacher Status from August 2020 onwards, and who have completed three years of teaching Welsh or through the medium of Welsh.

The bursary will initially be available until Autumn 2028 to assess its success in encouraging teachers to enter and remain in the profession.