AIBU to relocate so my DD will sing "Little Donkey"

[farmerswifey]

We moved to Wales from England almost before we had children. We've tried to learn Welsh but it is so bloody difficult and as we so rarely need to use the language, we only know the basics. DD will start school next year, the main problem being ALL of the schools in the area have recently become Welsh language schools. For the first 3 years DD will learn everything in Welsh.

AIBU to be upset that I will not be able to help her more with her education? I am sure she'll be fine, and growing up bilingual would be good, but I feel I will miss out on so much. AIBU to want to move house and up-route our family just so I'll understand her reading books and school plays.

I think its called integrating into the community!

I totally agree with Star.

I'm 41. I grew up in Gwynedd at school in the 1980's. My family have lived there for 2 generations. It was a great school. It was totally bilingual, in the sense that everything was taught in Welsh and English and we were 'streamed'. As a result, all the English speakers learnt virtually fluent Welsh by 'osmosis' and everyone mixed really well. Great results, great friendships, great school.

My parents still live in the area (my true home in my heart) but I would never dream of returning. Both my sister and I agree. As much as we'd like, we would never put our children through the current system.

Where my parents live, there are many surplus school places (apart for the one school on Anglesey where Welsh is taught as a language but everything else is through the medium of English. It's so oversubscribed people ate trying to come to it from over 30 miles away). In the area there is also a huge shortage of teachers, nhs staff etc. This is because there is virtually nil movement nationally as people are quite put off by the job requirements and school system. Most of the parents I knew who I went to school with have left or either have the means to send their children to private schools.

Wales last year was ranked below Latvia for literacy standards. They have there own Ofsted and there own exam standard so The Welsh Assembly will deny everything.

It breaks my heart. For me, Welsh was alive and well when I was in school. I don't know why they changed it.

To answer the OP though - it would be fun and easy to learn basic Welsh. Most nativity/songs etc are really cute in Welsh. I don't think it will ruin your enjoyment honestly.

Master the alphabet and you're halfway there. Just roll your r's and stick your tounge to your teeth for the 'dd's'

Good luck x

Stick with Wales for all the reasons already given, plus more chance for them to resist the delightful efforts of a certain government minister....

Yeah, it's gone the usual way. Haters ranting on, ignoring facts or research to push their own hobby horse. Hope you got something useful out of the beginning of the thread OP!

Golly, I'm so sorry to have ignited such strong debate. I didn't realise that English/Welsh language schooling was such a contentious issue.

My concerns do seem to be more for me as opposed to DD. As previous posters have mentioned children are adaptable. I have tried to learn Welsh but unfortunately I don't seem to have an aptitude for languages - I must try harder.

We live in a semi-rural community and the schools here are not perfect. For example, at the school my DD is set to attend, there is a shortage of teachers meaning the children have to travel 12 miles to sit in with another school for science, maths and music.

Because of this and another couple of other issues, I feel I will need to enhance my daughters education more than most. I worry that as I don't speak the language fluently I will hold her back somewhat.

Also I can't get past the school plays thing....

Other than the schooling, we love it here. I really don't know what to do for the best.

I honestly don't know what peoole do either, like Harryhanson I would never go back to living in Wales.

I could't put my dyslexic DD, who finds English hard and MFL impossible, into the Welsh school system.

I have friends who live in Herefordshire who commute into South Wales. They have colleagues comming from Bristol. Schools and jobs for DPs mean they will never move. It's ok if you are an engineer, but no use for your teacher DP.

As an English girl who spent all her school years in Wales, it's where I feel most at home. I resent terribly being made to feel an alien in my own home town, by politicians playing games. Because just as much, if not even more than Gove, that is what they are doing.

The Cardiff elite are taking the Welsh peoples distrust of the London elite and twisting it to there own ends.

And I m sorry to rant rather unhelpfully on your thread, but I get really angry that the BBC run Welsh education stories, avoiding the language issue altogether.

I think the best gift you can give your DD is the very best English-language skills you can. After all she can't MN in Welsh

Wales last year was ranked below Latvia for literacy standards

I would move too. In fact I wouldn't have gone there in the first place (like lots of people by the sounds of it).

it's the land of song! I wouldn't worry, she would learn lots of carols, in Welsh and English!

HarryHausen- this is me and my sister exactly.
Mum and dad still live on Anglesey, and we both wish we could go back. (My kids are 13 and 15, hers are younger), they have been in the English system and I actually looked into moving back and asked what support my dds (having no welsh) would have. They would get intensive Welsh lessons at the expense of Maths, Science etc.
I can't do that to dds in Y9 and Y11.

A friend of mine who did have to go back due to marriage breakdown had her dd start Y7 with no welsh. She sat in lessons having no clue what was going on, copied everything down and her and her mum spent the evenings on Google translate trying to decipher it. Staff didn't care- they had all the normal pressures of teaching etc.

Another friend was told by her school they didn't need to teach English as children would pick it up from the TV and computer games

We don't have the means to go private, so I can't return to my homeland until the DDs have finished school

For the record, before I get flamed, I am a product of the old "streaming", ie you chose whether you were in the English stream or Welsh stream. Worked perfectly well. Got an A for my Welsh O-level, consider myself a welsh speaker.

The language is definitely not dead, but by not offering parents the choice it is creating a negative effect IMO

I know which over-subscribed school the poster is talking about which teaches in English (Teaches Welsh as a subject). I know parents who travel 30 miles each way to get there. Says a lot.

I was educated in England. My dc are educated in a welsh medium school in Gwynedd. Believe me the welsh medium school wins by miles. Excellent teaching, small class sizes, low turn over of staff, lovely community feel, lots of outdoor activities, music, drama etc. what's not to like? I'm English, and proudly so. But I'm also very proud to be living in Wales and to be bringing my children up to speak welsh. Anyone who says the welsh language is dead has clearly not been to north Wales, or many parts of the south. As someone else said maybe we should stop putting resources into teaching English in England? Surely your better off learning polish or Arabic!