Plans for Welsh language school backed after councillor says ‘people have gone to jail’ to speak Welsh

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

Councillors have backed plans to move a local primary school towards Welsh-medium education following a passionate debate on the Welsh language.

Conwy councillors backed the recommendation to change Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan to a Category 3 Welsh-medium school.

One councillor said “people had gone to jail” to fight for the right to speak Welsh and that speaking the language was every child in Wales’ “birthright”.

The proposals align with the local authority’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP).

The school has gradually increased its Welsh provision since 2008 and has been designated as a T2 dual-language school since September 2022.

Under the proposals, Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan would progress to C3 status to deliver its lessons and daily activities predominantly in Welsh. The transition process can take up to 10 years.

But while several councillors spoke in favour of promoting the Welsh language in schools, some councillors expressed concerns about restricting parental choice.

Penmaenmawr councillor Anne McCaffrey, who is a governor at the dual-language Ysgol Capelulo in Dwygyfylchi, expressed concern about restricting parental choice.

Restricting parental choice

Cllr McCaffrey explained the change would result in two of the three schools in Penmaenmawr, Dwygyfylchi, and Llanfairfechan being Welsh, as Ysgol Pencae in Penmaenmawr had already made the transition.

“A number of years ago, Pencae went completely Welsh medium, and that’s working really well, and it’s really good to hear all the belief and the confidence that officers have in Llanfairfechan.”

She added: “But I think is it important to think, plan, and act strategically and also think about this wider community that Llanfairfechan sits in, as opposed to looking at it as a small school with infant pupils in a part of the community.

“I don’t see anything within the report that evaluates the impact of this decision if it’s successful after consultation. Because in essence, as a result of this, it will actually mean two out of three schools west of Penmaenbach will be Welsh medium, and patently that has an impact on parental choice.

“Now I did do a bit of research, and as you know in Colwyn Bay, I think we have seven primary schools and only one Welsh-medium school.

“In Llandudno I think we have seven primaries, and again only one Welsh-medium school. So there is a choice, probably a balance more for bilingual education.

“I completely understand that we are transitioning to Welsh medium, but given that this is the first school in a very end-of-county coastal area, it seems to be restricting parental choice, and yet I’m not sure we are actually planning to consult across the three communities that I just referenced, and I don’t see any documentation around the impact.

“I know when Pencae went Welsh medium, there was a fairly significant impact on the Ysgol Capelulo. I’ve no idea whether that will be similarly repeated within the impact of this decision if it is made.”

School transport 

She then questioned “what was driving demand” suggesting the move could “bring west of Penmaenbach out of kilter in terms of parental choice or lack of it”.

She added: “And we need to be prepared for that and potentially be prepared for what the school transport costs may well be.”

Officers said five schools were listed as consultees potentially affected by the decision.

These included Ysgol Pencae, Ysgol Capelulo, Ysgol Aberconwy, Ysgol Creuddyn, and Pant Y Rhedyn, which officers said could be affected by increasing or decreasing parental choice.

Officers maintained feedback would be sought by the consultation process. Cllr McCaffrey then asked if residents would be consulted as parental choice would be reduced, adding that public consultations historically didn’t always see a high number of responses.

Officers said school governing bodies would be part of the communication process as well as community representatives.

The chamber was then told “almost all of the schools in Llandudno were T2 (dual-language) schools now” who would also be “on that journey”.

English parents

Cllr Jo Nuttall asked if English-speaking parents would get help at home with the Welsh language.

Officers said the council would be consulting with parents and admitted school staff had raised “similar concerns” but added a “booklet” and “support package” would be put together for parents, who would still receive homework bilingually.

But several Welsh-speaking councillors vehemently spoke in favour of Welsh-speaking schools. Cllr Austin Roberts was one such councillor.

“The oldest spoken language in Wales if not the British Isles is Welsh, and despite the 1536 Act of Union and despite the notorious Blue Books of 1847, as my colleague Trystan (Cllr Lewis) has already mentioned and the Welsh Not, Welsh remained the language of the majority in Wales until the census of 1911,” he said.

“I was fortunate to receive my primary education at a Welsh-medium school. My wife received hers in English as she is originally from South Wales, and although her father could speak Welsh, her mother would not allow him to speak Welsh in the house. She continuously reminds me of how lucky I am to be able to speak both Welsh and English.

“If I had a pound for everyone who has said to me, including a lot of people in this building, they wish they could speak Welsh, that they wish they’d had the opportunity for a Welsh-medium education, I would be able to go up to Amanda Hughes the director of finance and say, ‘Here is a cheque for £500,000 towards the deficit.’”

He added: “Last week in this committee, there were several negative comments made and most of them started with the comment, ‘I support the Welsh language but…’ There should be no buts when it comes to the Welsh language. Welsh-medium education is a positive thing, not a negative, and every single child in Wales should have the opportunity to learn it.”

He added his father had told him in the 1970s that “people had gone to jail” to have the right to correspond in Welsh officially.

“For years, we have struggled for equality. Why deny our children their birthright?”

No harm to children 

Cllr Elizabeth Roberts then said children up to the age of five were like sponges and “could pick up five languages”.

She added: “So in this respect, it does no harm to children at Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan because they will quickly pick it up.”

She then added she had grown up in an English-speaking home but spoke Welsh at school and that it “didn’t harm us one jot”.

Cllr Goronwy Edwards went on to say it was important to look at how the number of Welsh secondary schools could be increased as Ysgol Creuddyn was full.

Officers said they were looking at that as part of a long-term strategy. Cllr Trystan Lewis proposed the committee recommended cabinet approve the public consultation after scrutinising the report, this was seconded by Cllr Austin Roberts, and councillors were unanimous in their vote to support the proposal.

Soft collaboration 

Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan is currently in a soft collaboration and shares a headteacher with Ysgol Pant y Rhedyn, the junior school in the village and a T2 language category school.

The proposal will now go before Conwy’s Cabinet on October 6, where members will be asked to give permission for the consultation to take place.

If approved, that is expected to begin in late October this year and run until January 2027, with views sought from parents, staff, stakeholders, and the Llanfairfechan community.

Responses would then be expected to be reported back to councillors in spring 2027. Cabinet would then consider the feedback and decide whether to proceed to a statutory notice, with a final decision on the proposed change expected in July 2027.

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