Don’t take the Welsh out of Welshpool!

In the aftermath of the vital public meeting held in Welshpool last week to discuss the future of education in the area, mywelshpool was contacted by a number of concerned residents.

 

We have selected the following letter from local mum Zoe Spencer which sums up best the town's mood:

 

“Growing up in Welshpool in the 1970s and 80s our first language was English. I, like so many people I knew, left school with a very limited ability to speak Welsh. Wherever I travelled in the world so many people I met were confused to meet a Welsh girl who couldn’t speak her own county’s language. So, when I became a mother, I was very enthusiastic about starting my daughter in the Welsh class at Ysgol Ardwyn and later Ysgol Maesydre.

 

She has thrived and blossomed, competing in many school, local, regional and national Eisteddfods. Unlike myself, she is truly bilingual, enjoying the best of both languages and cultures in our border town while maintaining a sense of Welsh identity and pride.

 

I am very concerned at the proposal to segregate Welsh learners, out of Welshpool High School, to Llanfair Caereinion. I strongly believe that this would cause a vacuum of Welsh language in town and have serious social effects on the Welsh cultural future of Welshpool.

 

The bilingual opportunities currently available, though not perfect, provide an accessible stream for children from families who would not have historically considered themselves first language Welsh but have chosen to try to develop their language skills so that they can connect with their ancestry and promote the Welsh language for themselves and eventually their own children. The proposal risks undoing the progress made over the last 20 years in our Welsh language education.

 

Many families will opt out of the Welsh language stream because they are unable to balance the demands of transport or fragmented schedules. The proposals made will have serious implications on Welsh stream education at nursery, infant and junior school level and hence a direct impact on where families choose to live so that they can be close to Welsh language schools, or not, as the case may be. There is so much more at stake than saving money and the implications for these proposals are far reaching and potentially damaging for a generation of new ‘would be’ Welsh speakers. It is very important to voice your concerns and stand up and be counted if you care about keeping Welsh in Welshpool.”