Darllen Co. is an interactive Welsh reading book resource for primary school children, teachers, and parents across Wales. The business offers a platform where the Welsh books can be read and listened to. The books also allow readers to click on unfamiliar words for definitions and pronunciations. The company supports the Welsh Government objective to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
Darllen Co. has been operating since 2022 and was set up by Alex Knott, who was a successful primary school teacher for 7 years when he had the idea for the company.
Darllen Co. received £5500 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This grant was dedicated towards Darllen Co through Caerphilly County Borough Council’s intervention of UKSPF funds. The funding helped with starting up the new business and supported the development of getting their first books illustrated and written. It also helped with the completion of a website and voice recording equipment.
The platform has gone from strength to strength and now has over 100 schools across Wales signed up and are looking to work with Bangor University on Innovation in Welsh Language Tech. Darllen Co. is also looking to employ two Welsh speakers by end of their first year.
They have accessed the UKSPF grant again this year for another £5,000 revenue to help support the writing and illustration of new books, as their customers have requested new content.
They have now moved into an office space and have two employees and are looking at taking on one more full-time staff member in the near future.
Cllr Jamie Pritchard, Cabinet Member for Prosperity, Regeneration, and Climate Change commented “Darllen Co. offer a platform where Welsh books can be read and listened to, with the ability to click on unfamiliar words for definitions and pronunciations. It was good to see how the funding has helped develop Welsh medium education”.
Alex Knott said, “The help from Caerphilly Council’s business team has been invaluable, the grant has supercharged the business and allowed me to create 25 books and expand the business that much quicker than I could without their support.”
