Welsh Medium

[Gingernut1989]

We are thinking of a move from Scotland over to North Wales when my 2 eldest are both at uni. Youngest will be starting reception at the same time and hopefully would have had another one by then to keep him company.
I like the idea of welsh medium and the benefits of being bilingual . We would also learn ourselves and pay for tuition for us.
Is this a stupid idea ? I keep seeing that kids struggle when they get to uni after having been educated in the welsh language.
We do have immigrant children in the rest of the UK though who pick up English very quickly and supposedly it is a very difficult language to learn. If EAL kids can learn quickly how different is it in Wales ?

Please tell me if this is the most ridiculous idea ever. I can take it.

It’s a great idea and I think only benefits children (unless they have learning disability and then may need more careful thought).
I moved to north wales and did this with my eldest in reception /year 1 (but then sadly moved away 2 years later) he did learn to speak Welsh in school very quickly but hasn’t remembered it (he’s 18 now).

@WhatAPavalova thank you 😊 that's positive your son learned so quickly. We have another 2 school years left so I was considering learning beforehand even if there was someone to do online tuition so we are able to get correct pronunciation.

Not stupid at all. Children that young learn quickly in Welsh medium school. Say something in Welsh is a good way for you as an adult to learn.

I keep seeing that kids struggle when they get to uni after having been educated in the welsh language.

Not sure how much of an issue this is - DH say he had one student who struggled with English tecnical terms having learnt only welsh having come up entriely in welsh medium but uni put in support though we are near the border.

Plus fair few welsh uni allow you to do selection of degrees in welsh medium.
Also depending on which part of north wales you could swap to English medium for secondary school.

Our kids did english medium and welsh as second language - they got decent GCSE grades but are far from proficient in welsh - yes they'd hear it more in north wales than our location but I think welsh medium probably only way you can get any fluency.

Ds went into welsh language primary aged 9 and was fluent in 6 months. Younger ds started from nursery then into school and was fluent naturally. They both however went into the English stream at secondary. We did have the choice of welsh language secondary or welsh stream. We are not Welsh speakers although I have some. We found the experience really positive and the dc never really struggled as there was support for them to learn. We never felt excluded and I love that they have such strong language and cultural links to their community.

DD2 was five when we moved here - we started some welsh before hand with on-line resources and she had rest of her education in wales in english medium - she's got some welsh exactly as she has some french which she also took at GCSE and been learing only a few years less.

Hi there - I’m from North West Wales and went through Welsh-medium education from 3-18. Being educated bilingually has only ever been a positive for me - I went on to do my degree at Oxford and then worked as an English teacher in London secondaries for years, so I wouldn’t say my English skills suffered ;) Now back in North Wales and doing a job I love where I work through both languages every day.

Growing up bilingually opens so many new windows to the world, and Welsh is such a huge part of cultural life here, so it’s great to hear you’re thinking of learning too. There are loads of classes available through Dysgu Cymraeg (in-person and online) and a really good culture of events and socials for Welsh learners - they’re also really well-priced, it’s around £90 for a year I think?

The extent to which Welsh is spoken varies hugely across North Wales - v high in Gwynedd, much lower when you’re closer to the border.

I’d say go for it - I think you and your children would get a lot out of it.

This is the Dysgu Cymraeg website if you want to look at online courses, most courses tend to start in September: learnwelsh.cymru

I did Welsh as a second language to A level but that didn’t give me fluency and I’m very vey rusty now. DH is English.

Sending DD to Welsh medium school is the greatest gift we could have given her. She’s never struggled with it and picks up other languages with ease. (I think she’s currently learning 3 for fun.). The pastoral care has been incredible and I believe that if you focus on wellbeing, learning is much easier. The equivalent English medium school has much greater issues with pupil wellbeing and I think it’s because they hothouse the bright kids and ignore everyone else.

Thanks . That sounds so promising for us especially if they are online too we can learn before moving. Your experience sounds like what I would want for my children . My eldest are finishing up now with my daughter just going into S5 and my son going to uni in September. So a new language isn't in the cards for them but I hope to give my youngest a real opportunity here.