Welsh language ‘zealots’ plan to stop schools teaching in English

Welsh councillors have been accused of being “zealots” who want to stop state schools teaching primarily in English.

Gwynedd council, in the north-west of Wales, has put forward plans to prevent its secondary schools using English as the main language of instruction.

All but two of the 13 secondaries in Gwynedd are required to ensure 60 per cent of pupils receive at least 70 per cent of their lessons in Welsh.

The new proposals would force 100 per cent of pupils to be taught in Welsh 70 per cent of the time.

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, accused those behind the plans of being “linguistic zealots”.

He said: “While I fully support access to Welsh medium education in all parts of Wales, linguistic zealots should remember that there are two official languages in our country that all local councils and education authorities should cater for: English and Welsh.”

Mr Millar later wrote on Conservative Home that the plans were “fundamentally wrong”, as he called on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to “step in”.

“In effect, should the plans be implemented, English-medium education will be being phased out entirely in Gwynedd’s schools irrespective of the views of parents and pupils in the local authority area or the best interests of their children,” Mr Millar said.

Mr Millar said he had written to Lynne Neagle, the Welsh government minister for education, calling on her to intervene.

‘Government must step in’

“If the Welsh Government fails to act to protect the rights of citizens, then UK Government must step in to do so,” he said.

Under the plans, all lessons for pupils aged between four and seven would be in Welsh, dropping to 80 per cent for seven to 11 year-olds and 70 per cent for those attending secondary schools.

The policy follows the renaming of the Brecon Beacons as Bannau Brycheiniog and Snowdon as Yr Wyddfa by their respective national park authorities.

Last week, residents of Northop Hall in Flintshire said plans to reintroduce the settlement’s Welsh name, which translates as “Pig Village”, would make them a “laughing stock”.

In 2022, the renaming of the Glan y Môr holiday park in Ceredigion as Aber Bay was branded a “a step in the wrong direction” by Cymdeithas yr Iaith, the Welsh language campaign group.

Gwynedd council, run by Plaid Cymru, said the plans would make sure all children were “proficient users of the Welsh language”.

It was hoped that over time the proportion of lessons taught in Welsh would further increase beyond 70 per cent.

“In all schools within this category, Welsh will be the main language of education for all pupils up to 16 years old,” the draft policy reads, adding that English would still be used in some lessons and extracurricular activities.

Cllr Dewi Jones, who holds the education portfolio on the council, said: “The current emphasis is on bilingual learning but we’re moving towards a system of Welsh-medium education.

“Of course not all schools are at the same stage of the process and they will be ready to offer these changes at different points.”

The proposals will be debated by the council’s cabinet and the full council, and a public consultation will also be held.

Gwynedd is one of only two counties in Wales where a majority of the population speaks the native language. In 2021, 64.4 per cent could speak Welsh, down from 76.2 per cent in 1981.