Council discussion on Welsh medium education in Cardiff branded ‘worse than disappointing’

Emily Price

Campaigners calling for more Welsh-medium education in Cardiff have branded a council cabinet discussion paper on the matter “worse than disappointing”.

It comes amid long running calls for Cardiff Council to address the notable absence of Welsh medium education in the south of the city.

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.

A fourth school to serve the south of Cardiff was ruled out in 2024 after Cardiff Council argued a drop in the birth rate meant there would not be enough pupils.

This was despite some parents saying they have to drive halfway across Cardiff to take their children to school.

Earlier this month, Cardiff Council proposed to undertake two engagement exercises aimed at shaping the future of Welsh-medium secondary education in the city.

The first looked at seeking options to ensure short term sufficiency of places for 2027/28 where projections show that demand for places could temporarily exceed current capacity.

A second engagement exercise would look at collating views around options for the longer term.

The first report, published today (January 22) reviewed Cardiff’s Welsh-medium primary and secondary school catchment areas and informed the planning of long-term strategic changes to Welsh- medium secondary school provision.

Options

The paper discussed the suggestion of temporarily increasing intakes at Cardiff’s three Welsh language secondary schools. It also discussed six other options:

*Option 1 – Expand on existing sites to provide additional places (temporary and permanent).

*Option 2 – Relocate and Expand Ysgol Bro Edern to South Cardiff, followed by fourth Welsh-medium Secondary on an LDP site in future.

*Option 3 – Establish a combined and expanded Welsh-medium Post 16 site enabling increased intake for 7-11 on existing sites.

*Option 4 – Establish a fourth Welsh-medium Secondary School with a reduction to existing Welsh-medium secondary school PANs c6FE (medium/ long term).

*Option 5 – Establish a new 3-16/19 Welsh-medium school in South Cardiff.

*Option 6 – Establish Welsh language provision in an established English-medium Secondary School to serve South Cardiff.

Anger

The report caused anger among members of the Ysgol De Caerdydd campaign group who say it offered “cynical options” that “muddied the waters” and a risked “playing communities against each other.”

The group warned that the only credible choice they would accept from the council would be for a brand new all-age Welsh medium school to be built in the south of the city.

However, council officials have raised concerns about how this would be funded.

Campaigners have accused Cardiff Council of trying to “mask” the fact they have statutory duties to fulfil due to its Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and the Welsh Language and Education Act 2025.

Ysgol De Caerdydd campaigner Catrin Dafydd said: “Huw Thomas’ legacy in terms of securing Welsh-medium secondary education for the children of Tre-biwt, Grangetown and surrounding areas is at stake unless he establishes a lifelong school to serve the communities of south Cardiff and immediately.

“Supporting and implementing option 5 of the cabinet paper is the only way to ensure equality of access to the Welsh language for children and young people in south Cardiff. This cannot wait to suit the Local Development Plan.

“After all, the leader of the council and the members of the cabinet know that the south of the city is one of the most deprived areas in Wales and one of the most multicultural as well.

“Families miss out on the opportunity to have a Welsh-medium education every year and this structural inequality has existed for decades with the leader himself publicly acknowledging this in the Council chamber in the summer of 2025.”

‘Inadequate’

Former headteacher and education consultant Geraint Rees said: “The discussion paper for Cardiff Council’s Cabinet published in recent days is worse than disappointing.

“In it, the authority admits that they lack secondary places for the Welsh medium sector in 2027. The children who need secondary education in 2027 have been in the Welsh-medium sector for 6 years, and those numbers are fully known to everyone.

“The proposed solution is equally inadequate. Adding yet another class to Ysgol Glantaf and Ysgol Plasmawr is completely unrealistic.

“Both schools have been expanded piece by piece for almost a quarter of a century. The core areas of both schools have remained relatively unchanged, and all educators know that it is not just classrooms that are needed to run a good school. What is the County’s intention? Is it that the schools reach a point of not being able to cope?”

“In the report, officials raise concern about a lack of funding to expand the provision of Welsh-medium education. This comes after a long period of building one new secondary school after another in Cardiff for the English-medium sector, and those are dynamic buildings that reflect the modern era and can serve their communities with special resources.

“At the same time, the three Welsh-medium secondary schools have grown and grown, and the three exist on sites that years ago belonged to English-medium schools needing more contemporary buildings. Arguing now that the authority cannot afford a Welsh-medium secondary school is unacceptable.”

Cardiff Council says it remains committed to driving the growth of Welsh-medium education and ensuring fair access for all learners.

Concerns

A spokesperson said: “Cardiff’s commitment to growing the Welsh language is clear, reflected in our target for 25–29% of Year 1 pupils in Welsh‑medium education by 2031, rising from 17.6% today. We remain determined to expand opportunities for young people to learn and thrive through the Welsh language.”

“We recognise the strength of feeling around Welsh‑medium education and welcome the passion of campaigners, school leaders and families.

“This report responds to the concerns they have raised, setting out a broad range of options to expand Welsh Medium Secondary education, and to provide it as close to pupils as possible.

“The forthcoming engagement process is hugely important, to ensure all voices are heard, including parents and learners currently in the system.”

They added: “Our approach must be evidence‑led, financially responsible, and sustainable. Many of the options proposed carry significant capital cost and will also have implication for the three existing Welsh-medium secondary schools as well as the catchment of Welsh-medium primary schools.

“This engagement with the Welsh education sector, and the city at large therefore is imperative, alongside an assessment of long‑term demand, catchment patterns, travel implications to ensure any proposal is sustainable and aligned with the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and Cymraeg 2050.

“Short‑term pressures are being actively managed. Although projections show a temporary rise in demand around 2027/28, we have clear measures to ensure every pupil seeking a Welsh‑medium secondary place will be admitted, just as we have successfully done during previous demographic spikes. Cardiff Council continues to be fully committed to ensuring that every child who wants a Welsh‑medium place can access one.

“No child has missed out, and there continues to be more surplus capacity in Welsh‑medium than English‑medium at both primary and secondary phases.

“This report sets a course to further expand Welsh medium education – including through the potential establishment of a 4th Welsh Medium secondary – through a responsible, strategic and inclusive process to ensure the right school places are delivered in the right locations at the right time. The Council believes a careful, city‑wide engagement that considers the widest range of options possible, provides the strongest foundation for sustainable, confident growth in Welsh‑medium education.”

“These latest proposals take place against a backdrop of sustained investment and expansion of Welsh medium education in Cardiff. Since 2012, the Council has built five new Welsh-medium and dual-language primary schools providing over 2,500 new-build Welsh-medium places and has permanently expanded four other schools by over 700 places, including Ysgol Plasmawr, to help sustainably grow the sector.

“In doing so, we’ve created a significant margin of surplus places to support continued growth through the pre-school, primary and secondary age phases against a backdrop of falling birth rates and intakes to schools. Growing the primary sector is key to sustaining an expansion of secondary school provision in the future.”

Efforts

Council Council says that since 2022 it has delivered new Welsh-medium nursery provision in Whitchurch, approved a new nursery class in Pentrebane, expanded and invested in Ysgol Mynydd Bychan, developed a new language model to boost growth, established Ysgol Groeswen, and developed investment proposals that introduce new Welsh-language specialist provision in five schools.

A spokesperson said: “Cardiff has also committed in its Welsh in education Strategic Plan to further expanding Welsh-medium provision including 50% of additional provision serving the strategic LDP sites being through the medium of Welsh.

“The Council is working closely with representatives from across the Welsh language sector on the Cardiff Welsh Education forum to increase intakes to Welsh-medium schools at all ages, improve retention of pupils in the sector, develop the Welsh-language workforce and specialist provision.

“The launch of a new website the Ein Dinas, Ein Hiaith / Our City, Our Language and promotional video published in November 2025 clearly demonstrate the efforts being made by the Council to encourage the take up of Welsh-medium school places.”