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North Wales

17 replies

Sina82 · 19/10/2021 20:46

Hi to all!
We are a family of four living in Norway. My husband got a job offer in North Wales and we consider moving to the UK.
Our children (8 years old twins) go to the international school and are fluent in English. Does anyone know how the public school in Wales are? I read that they are bilingual Welsh/English - so they would have to learn Welsh? How big are the classes normally?
Maybe anyone could share their experiences with me - thanks a lot in advance!
Sina

OP posts:
Mormont · 19/10/2021 20:59

It depends where you are moving to. North East Wales and along the coast up to Llandudno are mainly English speaking areas so the schooling is in English unless you opt for a Welsh medium school where the schooling is in Welsh (The majority of the pupils that attend these schools are from English speaking families). Inland and in Gwynedd/Anglesey it is more common for Welsh to be used as the first language in daily life so the schools are naturally Welsh medium.

Daisy4569 · 19/10/2021 20:59

Classes are typically 28-32 depending on the school and the intake that year. Schools in Wales can either be Welsh speaking (where all subjects are taught through Welsh), English speaking (where all lessons are taught through English but Welsh is a compulsory subject until 16) or some schools have both options. I moved to Wales when I was a similar age to your children and had no trouble picking up Welsh as a second language.

HazelandChacha · 19/10/2021 21:02

There is a Welsh board too if you want to ask about specific areas

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/draignet

CheshireSplat · 19/10/2021 21:10

Where in North Wales ... ? England may be an option...

Schools in Wales are either "English medium" or "Welsh medium", meaning the school conducts its activities in English or Welsh. So in a Welsh medium school all lessons, break times etc are in Welsh. In an English medium school Welsh will be taught and maybe used a little, but the school day will generally be in English.

Generally speaking, but not exclusively, the further West you go (away from England) the more Welsh medium and fewer English medium schools there are.

There are also private schools which may appeal if your DC are in an international school. I don't know if these are English medium but expect they would be.

RubyViolet · 19/10/2021 21:27

Is it possible to commute from Chester or The Wirral ? The schools are pretty good in those areas. Kids over 11 can commute from North Wales to the grammar schools on The Wirral if they pass the 11 plus exam. Boys to Calday Grange Grammar www.calday.co.uk/ and girls at West Kirby Grammar wkgs.org/
There is also Wirral Grammar, separate schools again for boys and girls, www.wirralgirls.co.uk/ and www.wirralgrammarboys.com/
The west side of The Wirral is really lovely, Heswall, West Kirby, lrby, Parkgate/ Neston.
Might be worth considering if the job is commutable.

Mormont · 19/10/2021 21:39

I'm not sure that commuting to Chester or the Wirral is needed as there are perfectly good schools in Wales.

HTruffle · 19/10/2021 21:49

My children go to school on the English side of the border, but just came along to say that north Wales is lovely, very pretty with lots to do and lovely beaches (in summer!)
There are all kinds of good opportunities for family fun here.

Happyface120 · 19/10/2021 21:50

@CheshireSplat

Where in North Wales ... ? England may be an option...

Schools in Wales are either "English medium" or "Welsh medium", meaning the school conducts its activities in English or Welsh. So in a Welsh medium school all lessons, break times etc are in Welsh. In an English medium school Welsh will be taught and maybe used a little, but the school day will generally be in English.

Generally speaking, but not exclusively, the further West you go (away from England) the more Welsh medium and fewer English medium schools there are.

There are also private schools which may appeal if your DC are in an international school. I don't know if these are English medium but expect they would be.

This isn't strictly true. We live in an area where all primary schools are Welsh medium, however, my DCs school have mostly English first language children, and so breaktimes etc tend to be in English.. Lessons are Welsh immersion (so all direction given in Welsh) however, every year there will be non Welsh speakers arriving and so the schools are well set up for this. We are an exclusively English speaking home, but DC are fluent Welsh due to school.

Children who enter the primary years halfway through often have additional Welsh lessons to get them up to speed, but at 8 they will pick it up incredibly fast, especially if they are already multi lingual.

When it comes to secondary there are Welsh, mixed and English streams for the children depending on their preferred language. Private schools locally tend to be English language only, with Welsh taught as a second language.

North Wales has a lot to recommend it, beautiful countryside and a generally calm pace of life. Jobs are less plentiful, but if your DH has an offer already you are halfway there.

Where in North Wales are you likely to be based? As this will have a huge impact on how "Welsh" your experience will be.

RubyViolet · 19/10/2021 22:08

@Mormont

I'm not sure that commuting to Chester or the Wirral is needed as there are perfectly good schools in Wales.
I was suggesting this as many schools in Wales do teach in the Welsh, language. The OP has Norwegian children speaking English as a second language . It’s just an option, not a judgement on the academic standard of schools in North Wales.
Mormont · 19/10/2021 22:14

Yes, but if they are close enough to commute to Chester or the Wirral then they will be in a predominantly English speaking part of North Wales where the majority of the schools are English medium.

ChipsNCurry · 19/10/2021 22:23

North Wales is a very big area- if you specify roughly where the job is, people can tell you about the schools there!

Tiggles · 19/10/2021 22:30

Lots of schools in North Wales are very good. Some are obviously better than others. Often the Welsh medium schools and the Church in Wales/Catholic schools have a very good reputation.
In primary there is a limit of 30 children per class. But in our local villages there are often less than 100 children in the whole school, so the classes are mixed age groups.

Sina82 · 20/10/2021 09:59

Thanks so much for all you answers! I didn´t expect such a high response in such a short time - thanks a lot!

Your answers made me think: As children pick-up languages pretty soon, maybe it would be even good if they would learn Welsh, especially as we plan to stay for a longer time.
More important is that they feel safe and happy. Right now there are only 14 children in their class - so it will be quite a change.

For those who asked: We would move close to Conwy. Maybe it would also be an option to get closer to Liverpool where would be English schools - but then my husband would have to drive every day.

[Actually I am very excited - I have never been to Wales before, but indeed it seems to be a lovley place with amazing nature]

OP posts:
Happyface120 · 20/10/2021 10:22

Conwy is a lovely area. Conwy valley especially is beautiful. The areas get more Welsh speaking as you go in land towards Llanrwst, Creuddyn is a great Welsh language secondary, Ysgol John Bright is English and also excellent. Out of the loop on primaries in the area though Smile

WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly · 20/10/2021 10:49

Ysgol John Bright had a terrible inspection report the last time I looked! Ysgol Bryn Elian is the best in the area IMO.

There are some lovely primary schools near Conwy. And they will be predominantly English in that area unless you choose a Welsh medium school.

Happyface120 · 20/10/2021 11:30

@WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly

Ysgol John Bright had a terrible inspection report the last time I looked! Ysgol Bryn Elian is the best in the area IMO.

There are some lovely primary schools near Conwy. And they will be predominantly English in that area unless you choose a Welsh medium school.

😱 Oh really, that's a shame, it was always an excellent school. I went to Bryn Elian, glad to hear it has improved!
Tiggles · 20/10/2021 13:48

Conwy area is lovely
Bit further west than I am, but we walk or cycle there down the coast path. Easy reach of the mountains in Eryri (Snowdonia).
And actually i have found Welsh is surprisingly easy to learn. Phonetic. Full of patterns. Just be aware that things like Duolingo use South Welsh which is similar but different to the Welsh spoken up here in the North.

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