Welsh Language Schools

[MummytoMJ]

Heyy everybody!

My daughter currently goes to a welsh-medium playgroup. I was very adamant on sending her to a welsh-medium primary school too but now I'm not so sure. I've read on here that it can be difficult with being able to read and write in English etc. I was wondering if anyone here is sending their kids to a Welsh Language School? How are you finding it in terms of homework etc?

Xxx

P.s I don't speak any Welsh.

I have 3 DC at a welsh medium secondary, having been through a Welsh medium primary and nursery before that. They could all read and write in both Welsh and English by the end of reception, the eldest is now in Y11 and is predicted A grades in both Welsh and English. So I really wouldn't worry.

I’m afraid I’m in the against camp because I have seen so many children attend a first language primary and then secondary and struggle massively with the English language and particularly so at university.

I think it’s great to keep the language alive and advocate for compulsory Welsh lessons but I’d rather my child focused on English rather than the Welsh language because speaking Welsh doesn’t come with that very many advantages in my opinion.

Im Welsh and studied all my secondary school subjects in Welsh. So did my brother who is a solicitor in Bristol. So being Welsh does NOT hinder anyone’s future.

You sound like Katie Hopkins.

@escape - wow, harsh! I do hope I’m not like Katie Hopkins, simply giving first hand experience of some of my friends. I’m really pleased to hear that it didn’t impact you or your brother negatively.

I don’t speak Welsh but DCs dad & both our families do. Both DC went to Welsh medium primary & secondary schools. We managed fine with homework in primary school, by the time they’re in secondary school they will usually understand what is being asked of them & can ask you for guidance if needed. My eldest went to a sixth form college, this was the first time she had done academic work in English, but it was fine and she’s about to start University. Go for it, I really think children benefit having the two languages

I don't have children in welsh medium schools but have English speaking friends who do, and doesn't seem to be a problem. I couldn't get over that I (who am English ) and dh (who is Welsh and speaks it but is not first language by any means) wouldn't understand it. Also dc would start speaking only English and wouldn't understand. Now ds1 is in secondary and has 3 lessons a week of Welsh and is enjoying it more than he anticipated he would.
Not sure what I'm saying tbh

I worried about this but after researching the schools in my area I found that the welsh language secretary School had better estyn reports and that the pass rate for English lit and language gcse and a level is very high. Based on that I chose the welsh medium for my dc. If you're unsure then chose the school that has the likely best estyn/ gcse a level results in your area. If the welsh School secondary that the primary feeds into are failing in English, then that is very easily exposed.

I have to be honest, I am not wholly pro Welsh Medium schools.

I went to university (an English medium education course) with students who had been educated via Welsh medium, and it was much more difficult for them to access at the level needed. However, the thing that really stays with me was the fact one girl failed to get on the PGCE course and was told the only reason they turned her down was that her written English wasn't good enough. It was hugely unfair (especially since she wanted to teach in Welsh medium schools) but it does indicate to me that there are extra challenges if your English is not at a first language level...

I was educated in Welsh and my parents were not Welsh speakers. It was honestly been the best decision my parents made for me. It has got me almost every job I've ever had and given me a natural aptitude for learning other languages.
IME if a child doesn't get on with it this is noticed quite early, and there are the options of moving to English medium or extra tuition (tbh in this situation I wouldn't push it).
DD is inYr1 in Welsh medium and even though I don't speak Welsh to her very much (really should and we're getting better at it), she's coming on a bundle.
I don't relate at all to a PP's description of struggling at uni. Quite the opposite in fact.

Katie Hopkins comment is ridiculous.

It depends on the child. My niece had been through Welsh schools and will achieve highly regardless. Nephew was moved from Welsh school to English speaking in year 8 and had struggled to adapt to doing everything in English. Comprehension and spelling isn't great. But it probably would have been either way.

We have a Welsh school in our town, just outside Cardiff. A very non-Welsh speaking area. A lot of parents move their DC from this school to other schools when they go into Yr6 so they can get into local comps as they think their DC aren't doing as well as they could. In Welsh language schools ALL subjects are taught in Welsh including maths. Very hard for a child from a non-Welsh speaking family.

My three DS all attended Welsh medium primary schools and have progressed to Welsh medium secondary as well and as far as I'll ever know it's not hindered them in the slightest. In fact the two older ones are equally competent in both languages (passing their GCSEs with the same grades in Welsh lang as English although neither of them did Welsh lit because they were already doing 12 GCSEs and it seemed like too much to do another one) despite the eldest having learning difficulties. Homework in school was always well supported with English versions for non-Welsh speaking parents as well so I didn't feel at a disadvantage, also letters home and parents evenings for both schools have been tailored to the parent's first language.

In my experience it's a good idea to go to the primary and see how it progresses from there, you can always switch to English stream education (depending on where you live, choices are limited here) but it's much harder to go the other way. Our Welsh medium secondary is excellent and has the best results in the county compared with both types of school. Saying that all my children have done/are doing science through the medium of English because in my eyes that's the international standard and there's no point learning any other way if possible although their father did A levels in all the sciences through the medium of Welsh and did very well in an English uni.

I've been fortunate that my children are relatively bright but even those who struggled were supported in primary school and have gone on to English language secondary with no issues. Even though they didn't study English until KS2 the fact that it is the main language for TV etc meant that they all progressed very quickly once they started reading and writing that language too.

There have been a lot of studies showing early bilingual brains are also helped in maths and other languages so it would be a shame not to try it out and see.

As an anecdote my eldest has just started uni in a Welsh speaking area and is now speaking it a lot more because he feels pride in his 'home' language now he's away from it being compulsory.

DD is at Welsh Medium primary. It’s an AMAZING school that is giving her all round experiences. She’s extremely fluent in Welsh (she’s 7) and it hasn’t hampered her English reading either. Her reading age in both languages is 10+.

My (English) parents decided against WM education for my sister and I. I studied second language and wish I’d been educated in WM school instead. DH is English but has learned enough welsh at night school over 2 years to understand most of the basic sentences and everything comes home bilingually anyway.

I can’t see early bilingualism as anything other than a gift.

I’m also of the belief that school isnt the only place children learn. If children from English speaking homes are struggling with English in their teens, their parents need to take some responsibility for that.

I have known different children both flourish and struggle as a result of Welsh-medium education. Many people here consider Welsh-medium to be of a better standard, but personally I think that’s because it was always a more middle class thing to do. Mant Welsh-medium schools are not truly comprehensive, although that is changing slowly.

I wouldn’t trust anything written by Estyn about a Welsh-medium school. Although they are a quango, they are biased and come with fixed agendas, in my experience.

Where we live, Welsh medium primary is the only option.
I went to Welsh medium primary from an English speaking home and had no issues. Children immersed in the language become fluent quickly.

I wish I had gone to Welsh medium secondary. I am fluent but not quite as fluent as I am in English, whereas as a child, the two languages were interchangeable for me. So I'm less confident in interviews etc where Welsh has to be used.

My dc will go to Welsh medium secondary. There is no way they won't be proficient in English. English is everywhere.

My Dd is in Welsh Medium High School and went to mixed Welsh/English primary from year 4. Excellent school and she's doing really well. It'll set her up for jobs in the furture. Most good jobs here say Welsh needed or desired and so it gives you a step up from those who don't speal it..

My kids attend a Welsh medium primary (we're in a fairly Welsh speaking community - around 50%). We spoke no Welsh when they started, though I've been dipping in and out of lessons, and now have much more of a clue.
Kids are both fluent in Welsh, though perhaps lacking the richness of language that their peers from Welsh speaking homes have, but they're doing very well. English is brought in from Yr3 onwards and my DCs have had no problems at all - they just jumped straight in with reading and writing, though they complain it's more complicated than reading Welsh.
I think acquiring (not learning) another language is hugely beneficial (no matter what the other language is), but in Wales, of course Welsh will give you a huge edge in the job market. One language is always going to be your primary language though.
I can imagine exactly the sort of family that kids who struggle with English come from... I know families where if it doesn't come in Welsh it doesn't exist. Completely unaware of culture unless it's broadcast on S4C, and whilst the kids speak English fluently, their not half as articulate as they are in Welsh (and vice versa for my kids).
You will struggle a bit with homework, so I'd strongly recommend at least a year or two of lessons to grasp how the language is put together.

We're an English speaking family, sent our daughter to English speaking school until year 6, then she attended Welsh integration school for a term (north Wales), then year 7 in Welsh medium secondary school , now in English speaking secondary, she is fluent and just had A*s, I am so proud of her, I wanted her to speak the language of her birth place and have a good national identity, she can converse as easily in Welsh as English and has taught me a lot. Hopefully if she stays here ,employment will be easier for her, especially in public services etc. To be able to speak different languages is such a gift