Welsh language secondry eduction

[Rmehta]

Hi,
We are new in Wales and our son is now in year 7, he is studying in English school but has Wales as second language (one subject)

we are worried about Welsh language as subject and how will it affect GCSE and other chances in engineering (as might get c grade or lower in Welsh just an logical assumption as second language )

How will this low score affect his chances for good further education and also at A levels .
Should I relocate to London only for this reason ? So that he does not Wales language

Please guide

Why would it affect anything? Taking it as a second language subject is no different to taking French/Spanish/German etc.

Why would it affect anything? Taking it as a second language subject is no different to taking French/Spanish/German etc.

The grade boundaries for Welsh will be harder because most people taking it are immersed. OP is worried about a high achieving kid with one weak grade.

I can't see it will make a significant difference, OP. It won't limit A-levels. I would be frustrated by the lack of choice, but on it's own that's nowhere near enough reason to move region.

It won't make a difference OP. My brother is an engineer, we both grew up in wales but he got a U in his GCSE because he hated languages. Hasn't made a bit of difference to him. Your son can do a short course GCSE to mitigate the low grade if he wants to but I really wouldn't be worrying! You're wasting far too much headspace on something tiny.

For a PP, it is different to starting a European language in year 7 because the GCSE is Welsh as a second language, not as a modern language. It's somewhere between a French GCSE and English Language.

I doubt that anyone looking at an application form showing a bunch of high-grade GCSEs and a low grade in Welsh is going to take much notice of the Welsh. They may well guess that he started late with Welsh. It's also possible that it will be obvious from something else in the application that he only moved to Wales at 11, or he could even talk up the experience of having to catch up as an example of his independent learning skills.

For engineering degrees (any many courses are not hugely competitive anyway) he needs maths, physics and FM if he can. Whether he has Welsh at a higher grade at GCSE is irrelevant. Even for the most competitive courses, dropping a grade in Welsh will look like a rogue grade, but it is unlikely to make any difference if his other grades are very strong, especially in the maths and science subjects. If you are looking at the highly competitive universities, he just needs to ensure he nails his other subjects to be in with a shout (and I say that with a DD who did not nail her GCSE in IT but was still offered a place at Oxford - IT was not remotely relevant to her subject).

I really wouldn’t worry about it, OP. My family are not welsh speakers and my sons were born in England, but now attend school in Wales. There will be many other children in your position.

I don’t have any welsh at all really so can’t help with welsh homework. What is different about welsh in schools these days is that the teachers use it in all classes, not just welsh. So my boys often use the welsh days of the week instead of English, because they do in school. So your son will pick it up. It’s hard not to these days.

Children not attending a Welsh language secondary will not be immersed at all. My DH doesn't speak Welsh, attended an English speaking secondary and took Welsh gcse as it was compulsory. He achieved a much higher grade in Spanish than in Welsh. He was definitely not immersed.

He will be studing for a second language GCSE in the same way as he would French or any other language. No reason why he can't do well in it.

Duolingo is available for Welsh for extra practice if you're worried he won't pass.

OP, is your son planning on going to a school where the pupils are taught in Welsh for every subject?
If so, I would find out as much about any provision for pupils who are learners and not mother tongue Welsh speakers.
They probably will have a learners class.
My school days were a long time ago, and I went to a Welsh-medium comprehensive. We were taught in Welsh for all subjects apart from English lang and English Lit. By that I mean that science, geography, history, French etc were taught by a teacher speaking in Welsh and the exam papers were in Welsh.

There were comprehensive schools locally where the teaching was in English.