Campaigners calling for new Welsh-medium school in Cardiff say case has been proved following special panel

Emily Price

Campaigners calling more Welsh-medium education in Cardiff say the case has been proved for a fourth secondary school following arguments and testimonies discussed by a panel of academics.

A new Welsh-medium school to serve the south of Cardiff was ruled out last year after Cardiff Council argued a drop in the birth rate in Wales’ capital means there would not be enough pupils.

But members of the Ysgol De Caerdydd group say some parents having to drive halfway across Cardiff to take their children to school.

A symposium was held on Wednesday (May 14) at Gwersyll yr Urdd, Cardiff Bay where a panel discussed the issue.

‘Urgent’

Campaigners say the personal testimonies were “clear proof” of an “urgent need” for a dedicated Welsh-medium high school to serve south Cardiff communities “as a matter of social justice.”

The panel included Dr Gwennan Higham from Swansea University, politics student and activist Samia Yassine and Dr Siôn Llewelyn Jones from Cardiff University.

It was chaired by Emily Pemberton – a campaigner raised in Grangetown, with an interest in issues of equality and anti-racism.

She said: “My mum sent me to Welsh-medium education, Ysgol Pwll Coch first and then Plasmawr. But it wasn’t easy. Often a 6-hour school day turned into 8 hours or more depending on the bus, traffic, if there was an event on in the city centre and so on.

“There are many families who don’t think of Welsh education as an option because of their family situation, transport, costs, distance, responsibilities and work, and so on. In terms of the development of Welsh-medium education in the city I’d have expected that things had progressed a bit faster since my time.”

Disadvantaged

Dr Siôn Llewelyn Jones, who specialises in access to Welsh-medium education warned that economic and social barriers can prevent children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, from attending Welsh-medium schools.

He said: “The establishment of a Welsh-medium secondary school in south Cardiff would ensure that children from all social backgrounds can continue to receive Welsh-medium education and can continue to use the language on a daily basis.”

The importance of being able to participate in extracurricular activities such as music and sports were also discussed by the panel.

Samia Yassine, now a politics student and activist, said: “I went to Ysgol Pwll Coch and then on to Ysgol Glantaf. I always wanted to do sport and be a part of Glantaf sports teams.

“But that was very difficult. There was no way for me to stay after school because my family and I lived so far away in Grangetown.

“My parents were working. So it can make you feel isolated in terms of groups, like my friends and stuff, because they could stay there and go to these clubs.

“They were in the situation where they could stay after school and walk home but for me that wasn’t possible.”

Journey

There are currently three Welsh-medium secondary schools in the capital – Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf in Llandaff, Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr in Fairwater and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern in Penylan.

But some parents whose children were able to secure a place at Ysgol Gyfun Glantaf – one of city’s most oversubscribed schools – say they face a 30 minute journey.

Campaigners say that because Cardiff Council’s school admissions criteria include distance – parental school preferences exceed places available leading to discrimination against families in areas such as Butetown and Grangetown.

As part of the symposium this week, there was also a presentation from Paul Bilbao Sarria of the Basque Country, former chair of Euskalgintzaren Kontseilua and currently Executive Manager of Armentia Ikastola, a Basque immersion cooperative school.

‘Uprooted’

Paul Bilbao Sarria said: “I believe that what is happening now in Wales makes no sense. It is up to the public authorities to provide schools in the places where these pupils live.

“If what happens is that we send pupils to schools that are not close to where they live, we are taking a step backwards in terms of the neighbourhood education project.

“Pupils cannot be uprooted from their places of residence and placed in schools far from where they live. Among other things, such uprooting would also have linguistic consequences in terms of use of or adherence to the minority language.”

He added: “Lately there has been talk of bilingual educational models where the hegemonic language is used for some subjects and the minority language for others.

“If our real aim is for pupils, whatever their mother tongue, to reach an adequate level of the minority language, then the minority language must be the language of instruction; in other words, a total immersion system.”

The Ysgol De Caerdydd has now called on Cardiff Council leader Huw Thomas to urgently establish a Welsh-medium high school for south Cardiff communities.

Catrin Dafydd, on behalf of the campaign for a Welsh-medium secondary school in south Cardiff, said: “The arguments put forward today and the personal testimonies of some panelists are clear proof of the urgent need for a dedicated Welsh-medium high school to serve south Cardiff communities as a matter of social justice.

“We therefore call on the Leader of the Council, Huw Thomas and Cardiff Council to urgently enact a plan to establish this school.”

Plan

A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Cardiff remains dedicated to promoting the benefits of a bilingual education and will prioritise the wide range of commitments set out in our Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) 2022-2031 that will make a fourth Welsh Medium Secondary school viable, especially in view of the current fall in birth rates.

“Of the seven most recent new community primary schools built in Cardiff, four have been Welsh-medium or Dual language, including Ysgol Hamadryad in Butetown and Ysgol Glan Morfa in Splott, demonstrating Cardiff’s clear commitment to investing in and growing the Welsh language, particularly in the south of the city.

“The Council must firstly increase the number of learners enrolling in primary education, against a backdrop of Cardiff’s birth rate having fallen by over 20%, to make a fourth Welsh Medium Secondary school viable.

“Ysgol Gynradd Groes-wen Primary School opened in September 2023, becoming the city’s first school to offer Welsh-medium and dual-language streams. In the dual-language streams, 50% of the areas of learning are taught through the medium of Welsh and 50% through the medium of English.

“This new model has emerged from international research and several of our Local Authority officers spent time visiting successful schools in the Basque Country which helped to significantly increase language. Ysgol Gynradd Groes-wen Primary School is one of the authority’s fastest growing schools where the dual language stream has been oversubscribed for Reception pupils for September 2025.

“A third Welsh Medium secondary was established in 2012 to support growth of the Welsh language in Cardiff and the number of learners in Welsh-medium secondary schools has increased over the period by 57%, from 2,328 to 3,650.

“As a result, there are sufficient places available in the medium term within Cardiff’s three Welsh-Medium Secondary Schools to support any pupils who want to learn through Welsh.

“The Council welcomes the encouragement from the Campaign on this issue, and would be keen to get into dialogue to discuss some of the practical challenges that exist in the short term, and how together they could be overcome.”