WELSH MEDIUM EDUCATION: TWO LANGUAGES – DOUBLE THE OPPORTUNITIES!

Whatever language you speak at home, Welsh-medium education can give your child additional opportunities, experiences and skills.

WHAT DOES WELSH MEDIUM EDUCATION DO?

Welsh-medium education has a very simple aim – to enable children to become fully fluent in both English and Welsh while teaching all the other subjects across the curriculum. Young children learn languages remarkably easily – it’s by making the most of this potential that Welsh-medium education has become so popular.

WHY CHOOSE WELSH MEDIUM EDUCATION?

Welsh Medium education continues to grow in popularity in Wales as parents and the wider community appreciate the value of being bilingual. Education in Wales has undergone a transformation over the past 60 years as Welsh Medium Schools have offered a real alternative to parents and families, in offering a bilingual and rich cultural heritage to their children and young people.

The vast majority of pupils at Pen-y-Groes and other Welsh Medium schools across Cardiff come from families where Welsh is not the main language of the home. This fact alone, demonstrates the fact that Welsh Medium and Bilingual skills add value to an individual’s education, success and opportunities.

Benefits:

• Receive a fully bilingual education ensuring your child becomes fluent in Welsh and English as the leave Secondary Education
• Connect directly to the heritage and culture of Wales, through immersion in the Welsh language and history
• Increased opportunities in school and within the wider community, through the work of Menter Caerdydd, the Urdd and the numerous Welsh language societies, institutions and groups within Cardiff and beyond
• Extensive extra-curricular activities through cultural competitions (Eisteddfodau etc) and in numerous residential and sporting competitions, (Urdd, Sporting associations of Wales).
• Increased job and career opportunities as the value of bilingual and Welsh language skills are appreciated by business, institutions and public bodies not only in Wales, but in broader principles of bilingual skills in the UK / European and Global marketplace
• A broader perspective on Wales, UK, European and Global matters. Bilingualism often means having a better understanding of other perspectives, opinions and an appreciation of diversity. 

Please see this further guidance and advice: Continuing with Welsh-medium education | GOV.WALES

BUT WE DON'T SPEAK WELSH AT HOME?

This will not be a problem at all. In fact, the vast majority – over 70% – of children in Welsh-medium education in Cardiff do not speak Welsh at home. And for some of those, a language other than English is the main language of the home. Therefore, coming from a non-Welsh speaking background is absolutely no problem, and our curriculum is designed with that in mind.

Welsh-medium schools do not expect that children speak Welsh when they start and will help those children to become fluent in Welsh before the end of their early years.

IT's NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN WELSH!

If your child is age 3 to 11 and is new to the Welsh language or a latecomer to Welsh-medium education, you can still join the Welsh language journey!  

Cardiff's highly successful Welsh Immersion Unit is the ideal place for children to learn Welsh quickly and effectively. The intensive language course gives every child in Cardiff the opportunity to access Welsh medium education. Primary-aged learners are immersed in the Welsh language to get a level of fluency that will let them succeed in their Welsh-medium school in Cardiff. 

If you are new to Cardiff and your child is age 3 to 11, you can visit Cardiff Council’s website to apply for a school place during the academic year in Cardiff.  

If you want to find out more, please contact the Welsh Immersion Unit on 029 2062 6650 or by email Welsh.immersion@cardiff.gov.uk

HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD IF I DON'T SPEAK WELSH?

As most children don’t speak Welsh at home, Welsh-medium schools are very experienced in supporting both pupils and parents.

For younger pupils, homework instructions and class/school notifications will be given in writing in both English and Welsh. At a later age, children will be able to explain their work to their parents themselves. In fact, research suggests that dealing with their work in two languages can actually help children understand the subject that they are studying.

The website Hwb​​​​ also gives access to a range of nationally provided digital learning tools and resources.

HELPING YOUR CHILD IN WELSH MEDIUM EDUCATION

The majority of pupils who attend Pen-y-Groes (and other Welsh Medium schools across Wales) do not have Welsh as the main language of the home. Therefore, the most frequent concerns or requests is how to support my child in Welsh Medium education.

We will ensure that all letters, notifications and class communications are available bilingually. 

There is a breadth of resources, technologies and individual support available to help your child or yourselves as parents. These are all FREE to download.

Hwb: Hwb is the National Learning Platform for Wales and your child has their unique Hwb email address as well as full access to all the bilingual support and materials in all subjects found on Hwb. Hwb is a completely bilingual platform which hosts pages to support parents, teachers and pupils. Hwb (gov.wales)

Cysill a Cysgair: These are Word and Spell checkers that are free and available to be placed on all your devices at home.  Cysill Ar-lein (cysgliad.com) Free download: Cysill | (cysgliad.com)

 

Porth Termau: This is a fantastic online dictionary / resource to translate terminology (Welsh > English or English > Welsh) which is free to download to your PC / phone or device.  termau.cymru

 

Visit our Ein Dinas, Ein Hiaith section for more information.