Welsh education boost in county
Carmarthenshire County Council’s executive board has welcomed the news that Welsh medium education in the county is on the increase.
At its most recent meeting the board heard that the growth has been most dramatic in the Llanelli area. Despite a significant increase in the number of parents opting for places in Welsh medium schools this year, every child in Llanelli who wants to be educated through the medium of Welsh has been given the opportunity.
In time, an additional 340 Welsh medium places will be created in Llanelli schools through the council’s Modernising Education Provision programme. A second form has been added at the Furnace school to help accommodate the increased demand.
Looking further ahead there are major investment plans for the three Welsh medium primary schools in the town.
The council plans to build a new school to replace the existing Brynsierfel School. Work is due to start in September on a £5.1million facility which will cater for 210 pupils. The plans also allow for nursery provision in the school.
Capacity has also been increased at Ysgol Dewi Sant through providing additional temporary accommodation, and plans for a brand new school are included in the Modernising Education Programme.
There are also plans to build a new £8million two-form entry school at Furnace, with a planned start date of 2011.
The Executive Board was also told that the Lakefield and Copperworks schools, which are to merge, have now both categorised themselves as ‘English with Significant Use of Welsh’, demonstrating clear progress in increasing the amount of Welsh used in the schools.
The council plans to build a new school to replace these two existing schools in the near future and there will be an opportunity for parents to consider whether additional Welsh medium provision could be incorporated into this new school once it is built.
The Executive Board was pleased to hear that other schools categorised as “English medium” are also increasingly using Welsh in their day to day activities.
Council leader Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “This is really good news. It is so exciting that we have schools in Llanelli now teaching a lot more subjects through the medium of Welsh. Our aim is for all pupils to have the opportunity to be bilingual and I feel we are leading the way across Wales as a whole in this ambition.”
Education executive board member Cllr Gwynne Wooldridge said: “There is unprecedented demand for the Welsh language in Llanelli and every child has been offered the opportunity for Welsh language education.”
At its most recent meeting the board heard that the growth has been most dramatic in the Llanelli area. Despite a significant increase in the number of parents opting for places in Welsh medium schools this year, every child in Llanelli who wants to be educated through the medium of Welsh has been given the opportunity.
In time, an additional 340 Welsh medium places will be created in Llanelli schools through the council’s Modernising Education Provision programme. A second form has been added at the Furnace school to help accommodate the increased demand.
Looking further ahead there are major investment plans for the three Welsh medium primary schools in the town.
The council plans to build a new school to replace the existing Brynsierfel School. Work is due to start in September on a £5.1million facility which will cater for 210 pupils. The plans also allow for nursery provision in the school.
Capacity has also been increased at Ysgol Dewi Sant through providing additional temporary accommodation, and plans for a brand new school are included in the Modernising Education Programme.
There are also plans to build a new £8million two-form entry school at Furnace, with a planned start date of 2011.
The Executive Board was also told that the Lakefield and Copperworks schools, which are to merge, have now both categorised themselves as ‘English with Significant Use of Welsh’, demonstrating clear progress in increasing the amount of Welsh used in the schools.
The council plans to build a new school to replace these two existing schools in the near future and there will be an opportunity for parents to consider whether additional Welsh medium provision could be incorporated into this new school once it is built.
The Executive Board was pleased to hear that other schools categorised as “English medium” are also increasingly using Welsh in their day to day activities.
Council leader Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “This is really good news. It is so exciting that we have schools in Llanelli now teaching a lot more subjects through the medium of Welsh. Our aim is for all pupils to have the opportunity to be bilingual and I feel we are leading the way across Wales as a whole in this ambition.”
Education executive board member Cllr Gwynne Wooldridge said: “There is unprecedented demand for the Welsh language in Llanelli and every child has been offered the opportunity for Welsh language education.”
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