Next year my eldest heads off to secondary school and already I have a real bee in my bonnet!  You see living in Wales I accept learning the language.  I have no issues with that whatsoever! But I hadn’t realized that our children are expected to sit ALL their GCSE’s in Welsh in their next school! I studied in Wales and back then it was bi-lingual.  You had more flexibility, but the Welsh government has decided it wants the number of Welsh speakers to reach one million by 2050. However that objective would seem to be at the expense of some of our children’s grades!!!  No wonder the league tables show secondary schools under performing.

I am more than happy to embrace the language.  But aside from the Welsh language GCSE I think children should be allowed to sit the rest of their exams in their strongest language.  The one that everyone speaks at home. Let lessons by bilingual or have two separate streams if needed. Find some middle ground that will work for everyone.  Rather than force children to sit every exam in the medium of Welsh. According to my son’s next headteacher if children are capable according to their assessments they are sitting exams in Welsh or they go into a “special needs” group – his words!

Children perform best in the language used at home

Statistically it’s been proven children who sit an exam outside the language used at home don’t do as well. I am not a happy bunny.  Why should my children not reach their full potential just so that the welsh government can meet its targets.  I wouldn’t mind so much if I had found some decent resources.  But I am really struggling to find good educational books in all the subjects for the boys to refer to at home.

Yes, they want to stop a language from dying out, I get that.  At the same time don’t put off people moving here, because they are don’t want to put their children into Welsh schools where they may well struggle with the language. Skilled capable people I know have left the area when it’s time for secondary school just because of this very problem. If I am honest we have considered it ourselves.  Moving to England so we can help our children with their studies. I am Welsh, born and bred, and I struggle with the language. But we are settled here, surrounded by family and friends.  My husband has a good job, mine could be transferred anywhere his sadly can’t. I don’t want to uproot my kids I want them to have their best chance in the language they are strongest in.  Is that too much to ask?