Plans backed to expand age range at Welsh medium school

Lewis Smith, local democracy reporter

Members of Cardiff Council have given the go-ahead for plans to extend the age range at a Welsh medium primary school located the west of the city.

The proposal will see the offer at Ysgol Gymraeg Coed-Y-Gof in Pentrebane, expanded to include a Welsh-medium nursery unit at the site in the coming years.

Establishing the facility means the age range will be updated from the current four to eleven, to include three to eleven year-old pupils within the catchment area.

This would create a provision for 24 part-time places with additional resources for children enrolled at the nursery funded by the Governing Body of the school.

The move was approved by council cabinet members at a meeting held in December 2025 and is now expected to begin from the school year starting in September of 2026.

It came after an initial approval was given in September before being brought back to cabinet for members to hear any objections that might have been raised.

However, a report given to council bosses said there were no objections to the published proposals which were expected to have a “a positive impact”.

The report said: “Establishing a nursery class at Ysgol Gymraeg Coed-Y-Gof would directly support the growth of Welsh-medium education and would align with the outcomes, aims and aspirations of both the Bilingual Cardiff 5-year Strategy and Cardiff Council’s 10-year Welsh in Education Strategic Plan
(WESP). ”

It added: “Overall, the council expects the proposal to have a positive impact on the quality of standards of education for children from all backgrounds.”

Support

The leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas was also in support of the plans that had already been brought before them several times.

Speaking at the meeting he said: “It is good news and I for one am delighted that we’re moving forward with the nursery provision on this site.”

The move was later approved unanimously by those in attendance.