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Two women born thousands of miles apart have ended up working at the same Welsh primary school after learning the language.

Edina Potts-Klement, from Hungary, and Lin Dodd, from China, now call Caerphilly their home, and they have recently been appointed to posts at Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili.

Edina and Lin moved to Caerphilly after meeting their partners, who are from Wales, abroad. Lin met her husband, Martin in Ireland and Edina met her husband, Neil in Hungary.

Both wanted to send their children to a Welsh language primary school and made the decision to learn Welsh through Learn Welsh Gwent, which is run by Coleg Gwent on behalf of the National Centre for Learning Welsh.

Edina explained: “All four of our children were born in Wales, and I wanted them to receive their education through the medium of Welsh. I love languages and speak Hungarian, German and English, so signing up to a Learn Welsh class to support the children was an easy decision.”

Lin said her confidence as a Welsh speaker had grown since starting at the school and has even started a Mandarin Club which she runs through Welsh.

She said: “I was pleasantly surprised when Mr Griffiths, the headteacher, offered me the job and also extremely pleased as it had always been my goal to work at the school. Both of my tutors, Karen Riste and Helen Hollyman have been ever so encouraging and extremely supportive throughout my journey of learning Welsh.”

Lin decided to take her oath in Welsh during her citizenship ceremony in Ystrad Mynach in 2021, and her Learn Welsh tutor, Helen Hollyman, was present for the event.

Helen said: “I was very proud of Lin. Teaching Lin over the past five years has been a pleasure, and it’s wonderful to see how far she’s come. Edina has also come a long way since I first met her two years ago. She’s conscientious, enthusiastic and has a clear flair for languages. I’m thrilled that they’re working in a Welsh language setting, and I’m sure they’re a great asset to Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili.”

Lynn Griffiths, headteacher at Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili added: “Edina’s first language is Hungarian and Lin’s first language is Mandarin, therefore having staff members who are plurilingual working at our school enables us to promote the importance of learning new languages.

“Both Edina and Lin are great linguistic role models for everyone in our school community, and Lin’s Mandarin Club, which she runs through Welsh, has been very well-received by pupils and parents alike.

“We are all immensely proud of their achievements and see them as highly regarded members of our school family.”

• The National Centre for Learning Welsh will be offering Learn Welsh courses free of charge for those working in the education sector in Wales from September. To register your interest click here.