New Gaelic Primary in Glasgow

[Sevendown]

In addition to SGG and Glendale from August 18 there will be a new annexe of SGG first in Whiteinch then at Cartvale Scool in Govan from 2019.

Apparently this means every parent who requests a Gaelic place will be given one.

It sounds like good news but will mean disruption and possible sibling splitting for those in the south west of the city.

I'm not sure that many parents who put in placing requests at SGG speak Gaidhlig either. 🤔 The plot thickens..

I thought about it fir my kids due to the handy free bus service ... but being a cockney, Gaelic doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue

I don't know about the Glasgow Gaelic school but the Edinburgh Gaelic primary has 15-20% SIMD20 children, which is high for a city centre school (i.e. it has a lot of children from deprived backgrounds) and has about 40 different languages spoken. It's very socially mixed. It also has a high number of SEN kids. I believe higher than average, but don't actually have the numbers. Where does this idea that the Glasgow Gaelic school ha hardly any SEN kids? Can you reference that?

here

Dr. Will Lamb
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-16983134

And your point is, cdtaylor?

Some Gaelic dialects are in danger of dying out so none should be taught in schools? Or what?

Tinycitrus... rubbish excuse.

Loads of non Scots have their kids at GME. It's successful and that pisses folk off.

WRT to dialects dying off... well that's not down to GME. That's down to whatever (loads of reasons) brought about the demise of their dialect. If there isn't an Argyll speaker left to teach it... then what?

There are still a lot of Uist and Lewis speakers left comparative to the smaller, easier to reach (migration in and out) areas. Dr Lamb is very knowledgeable but this is old news (2012). Plus he has kids in GME so it can't be that bad.

And Tinycitrus what about highland and island communities? Hardly the richest middle class communities? And the communities from whence Gaidhlig came? Dirt poor.

I find that a little surprising, to be honest, as I know a lot of people from both Barra and Uist, and hear a lot more Gaidhlig in Barra. It is a much smaller population though, so that's probably something to do with it. On the other hand, surely dialect is more of a community / family thing, and all children should be taught a more 'standard' Gaidhlig? Taynuilt is probably not a very good example, as from what I know it's an area that's attracted a lot of incomers. (NOT a bad thing, just that they will not have the local Gaidhlig.)

I'm not a fan of a standardised 'accent'. A lot would be lost and not just pronunciations but the richness of words peculiar to an area and spoken in context of a persons relationship with their area, heritage etc...

But isn't that what happens with English teaching? Standard English is what's taught, and dialect comes from elsewhere.

FWIW, I agree re the richness of dialect, but hopefully it wouldn't be entirely lost.

Standard spelling has been a part of Gaidhlig teaching for about 20-30 years now. Gaelic Orthographic Convention or GOC. However a standardised pronunciation is a bit of a way off yet. Though some learners adhere to what is termed Mid-Minch.

It’s just striking that the Gaelic school has no children on free school meals given where it is situated.

It looks like a great school, it gets really good results so why aren’t the families in Anderston sending their children there?

It does have some free meal receivers. Maybe not enough to register? WRT to local going there instead of Anderston/St Patrick's, who knows.

Anyone can put in a request but it prioritises children who have already been to Gaelic nurseries. Parents are also expected to complete Gaelic language classes. That's simply not feasible for many working parents.

I also agree that there should be more support for children with extra needs. My DC's education has really been affected by children with extra needs. Another 500 places in special schools would be much more beneficial for more children.

DilutantJuice. It DOES NOT give priority to any group whether they have had a child in Gaidhlig nursery, stepped fresh off the boat at Mallaig or whatever. It has no particular criteria that it can reasonably apply. It is, this year, hugely oversubscribed in the middle of an over subscription exercise. This is how the annexe to Ladywell then Cartvale was brought about. The only barr this year was school space.

Parents are also expected to complete Gaelic language classes

To be accurate, parents who do not already have Gaidhlig are asked to attend classes. So they can support their children's learning.

Yes parents are encouraged. And often want to. No one is forced and a goodly number don't/can't attend.